Another deep breath to steady her nerves, then Clara began to talk, her words almost becoming jumbled in her desperation to get them out quickly. “Please just let me get all this out before you say anything. I realize it might be quite a shock but you’re my closest friends and I love you and I don’t want this to change anything between us. Yes, I found my mate, but he’s an Alpha.”
Averting her eyes, unable to look at the three women, Clara tugged the scarf from around her neck and waited for the audible gasp her friends let out simultaneously.
They didn’t disappoint her.
“I’m an Omega,” she gabbled on. “I’ve been using suppressants and hiding my real status from everybody ever since I was twelve years old. Nobody knows, not even my father.” A lump formed in her throat and she blinked back the sudden tears which pricked at her eyes. “Please know, I hated having to hide it from you. From everyone. I’m not a dishonest person and I’m so, so sorry for keeping such a big secret, but I honestly had no choice. I wanted to be an Alpha so badly. I wanted to be one of you. I love working with you and hanging out with you. I couldn’t bear the thought of being forced to go to that horrible Facility and give up my whole life as I knew it, not to mention having to give up school and spend the rest of my days either waiting to be a breeding vessel, or serving as one. Plus, there’s also my father…” The tears were sliding down her cheeks now, and she swiped them away angrily.
There was a stunned silence. Zandra was the first to break it. “Your father would kill you.”
“I know.”
“Let me guess, the suppressants failed?” Elena said.
Clara cringed at the memory. “Yes. At the Facility. While I was talking to Evander.”
“Evander’s your mate?” Zandra said. “Evander Bellum?”
Clara nodded, relieved that the tears, at least, had stopped flowing.
“Gods,” Zandra said, her blue eyes like saucers, “you could do worse. I’ve always thought him very handsome.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Lucia said. “All this time… and we never knew. We never even guessed! I just thought you were… small.”
Although her eyelids felt like lead weights were attached to them, Clara dragged them up and studied each of her friends’ faces in turn, closely, terrified she’d see any kind of derision or anger. Instead, she saw only sympathy—mixed with disbelief.
“What were you thinking, taking suppressants over the course of so many years?” Elena asked incredulously. “You should know how dangerous that is!”
“I do know,” Clara admitted. “But I was willing to take the risk. I figured a short life as an Alpha would be better than a long one as an Omega.”
“Gods,” Zandra said again. “Gods.”
“So nobody else knows?” Lucia asked.
“Well, Evander, of course. Arius and Saskia. And now you.” Clara exhaled slowly, still expecting an explosion of anger to come from at least one of the three women on her sofa.
“The royal couple knows?” Zandra said.
“Yes. Evander and Arius are close friends. And Saskia… well, she was able to give me advice…” Clara trailed off uncertainly.
“So you’re not coming back to work?” Elena asked, a look of shocked sadness on her beautiful face.
“Oh, believe me, I want to, but it depends on you. And everyone else, too, I guess.”
“Evander doesn’t have a problem with his mate going to work every day?”
“No. And even if he did, I would go anyway,” Clara said hotly.
Elena held her hands up in protest. “All right, I was just asking!”
“Sorry,” Clara said. “I’ve been on edge all week, trying to work out what to do. Evander suggested we move somewhere else but I don’t want to leave here. This is my home! Besides,” she sniffed, “this is where you are. And work is.”
“I can’t speak for the company heads but I’d let you stay at work,” Zandra said after a slight pause. “You’re great at your job. And I’d hate to lose you as a friend.”
An enormous weight slid off Clara’s shoulders at that statement and she was unable to suppress a choked sob.
“So would I,” Lucia said.
“And me,” Elena added.
“So you’re not… mad at me? Disappointed? You don’t see me differently?” Clara asked, desperate for yet more confirmation.
“I can’t speak for these two,” Elena indicated the women on either side of her, “but I’m neither of those things. I’m sad that you didn’t feel you could tell us before, but I get why you thought you couldn’t. And I don’t see you differently at all. Well, maybe I do. You’re even stronger than I thought you were.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Zandra added. “An Omega living among us for years? Studying and working with us? Having to live every single day with the very real fear that the suppressants would suddenly fail—or kill her? That takes an incredible amount of courage.”
More tears spilled down Clara’s cheeks, and this time, she didn’t wipe them away. “I guess I never saw it like that.”
Lucia leaned forward and took both Clara’s hands in her own. “You’ve been my friend ever since we were children,” she said. “You were there for me no matter what, and as far as I’m concerned, nothing will ever change how much I care about you. You have my full support, in everything, always.”
Clara was too moved to speak. Her friends had taken the news better than she could ever have dreamed, and she couldn’t wait to tell Evander. One huge hurdle had been overcome. But there would be more.
And her father would be the biggest of them all.
Clara’s normally pale face was flushed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she paced back and forth, up and down her living room, happily telling Evander how her visit with her friends had gone.
It warmed his heart to see her so lit up, as if a flame had been rekindled within her.
“And they said they’d support me no matter what, they’ll even fight my corner so I can keep working if they have to!” She rushed into his arms, hugging him with delight. “It was better than I even dreamed. And I’m so much less afraid now than I was. I no longer fear people finding out. Maybe not even my father will react as harshly as I thought!”
Evander opened his mouth to reply but she gabbled on before he could get any words out.
“But even if he does, so what? I’ll still have you, and my friends, and hopefully my work. They all said they’d threaten to quit if the heads didn’t agree to keep me on. Can you believe that? That’s loyalty. They really care about me.”
“That’s truly wonderful, sweetness,” Evander said, kissing the top of her glossy head. “But if you don’t slow down, I’m worried you’ll have a coronary!”
She let out a sigh and he felt her relax in his arms. “I know. I’m just so relieved. You can’t even imagine how relieved I am.”
Evander bit back a jolt of envy that he never seemed to engender such happiness in her—at least, not while they were both fully clothed. Those three women have been her closest friends for years, he told himself. You’ve barely known her a week. Give it time. She’ll learn to love you.
He could only hope that would be the case. “So you’re going back to work tomorrow?” he asked.
She nodded against his chest. “I’ll wear a scarf until I decide how to tell my boss and the other company heads. I feel like I should tell my father first. The Hill can be a tiny place when it comes to gossip. I know I can trust you, and Saskia and Arius, and Lucia, Zandra and Elena—wow, that sounds like so many people already!—but no one else can know before Father does. I need him to hear it from me.”
The mere mention of Neros brought a note of sadness to her voice, and Evander’s heart squeezed for her. To have a man like that as her only parent. Her only family…
“I understand,” he said. “But remember what we agreed. You’re not to tell your father alone. We’re going to arrange a meeting with him and A
rius.”
“I know,” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. “But you can’t be there. He’ll definitely kill you.”
“In front of the king?” Evander scoffed. “I doubt that very much.”
Saskia leaned back and looked up at him, concern making a little v-shaped crease form in her brow. “He wouldn’t do it in front of Arius,” she said, “but he’s certainly capable of getting someone else to do it for him. To lie in wait. Poison, cut your brake lines… I wouldn’t put anything past him. So he can’t find out you’re my mate until much later in the future, if ever. And if you’re there for his meeting with Arius, he’ll get suspicious.”
“You really think Neros would actually have me killed?” Evander had always thought it had merely been a figure of speech whenever Clara had mentioned it. Until now.
“Yes! That’s why it’s so important to have Arius send him away for a while.”
They had come up with a plan to have the king send Neros to a city on the other side of Sandor. Arius would find him a position and title he couldn’t refuse. They all hoped a year or two away would give Neros enough time and space to grow accustomed to the idea that his only daughter was an Omega. If it didn’t… Evander didn’t want to think about that. He would deal with it when the time came.
“Well, sweetness, it’s getting late and we both have to work in the morning,” he said, softly caressing her cheek. “Are you sure about me spending the night at my place?”
“I’m sure. I might even actually get some sleep,” she said, but her tone was warm.
Evander hesitated. Part of him loathed the idea of leaving her alone all night, but another part of him hoped she would realize how much she missed having him there. He already knew he would miss her. And she was safe in her apartment; she’d lived alone there for years. “All right,” he said, giving her a brief, chaste kiss on the lips. Anything more would tempt him to spend the night with her after all.
Once at the door, he hesitated again. “You’re sure you’ll be all right?”
Clara rolled her eyes. “I have my phone. I’ll call you if I need anything. I’m a grown woman, you know.”
“I know. You’re beautiful and capable. Hey,” he went on, suddenly keen to prolong the conversation, if only for a few minutes, “what did you end up doing with those patches you ordered?” He watched her reaction carefully.
“I still have the box here but I’m going to send it back. Keep around three patches for research, send the rest back.” Her stunning green eyes were clear, there was no trace of anxiety or deception.
Evander exhaled a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. “Good,” he said at length. “Then I guess I’d better get going. It’s getting late.”
Going up onto her tiptoes, she pressed her full, delicious lips against his and he closed his eyes, inhaling her sweet essence. “Sleep well,” she whispered.
He cleared his throat. “You too.” The moment he turned around, he heard the door click shut behind him.
The uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach remained as Evander made his way to the elevators, down to the ground floor, and out onto the street. It was dark and there was a light drizzle, so he turned up the collar of his coat and began to walk the three blocks to his own apartment building.
As soon as everybody had been made aware of Clara’s status as his mate, he vowed to himself, they would set about finding a place together. His apartment was bigger, but if she wanted to live somewhere else, he would be fine with it. A new start in a new home.
He smiled to himself at the thought of falling asleep and waking up beside her every day, of sharing his life with her—and creating new life. Even now, he realized with a jolt, she could be pregnant. Stranger things had happened. It was rare for an Omega to conceive during her first heat cycle, but not unheard of. And who knew what havoc those drugs she’d taken for years on end had wreaked on her system? With a grimace, he made a mental note to take her to get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. Over a decade of suppressant use might have caused internal damage she wasn’t even aware of. It was a wonder he hadn’t considered that before.
Evander had just reached his own block when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He smiled to himself when he saw Clara’s name. He wasn’t even home yet, and already she was calling to tell him she missed him.
Pushing the button to take the call, still grinning broadly, he held the phone to his ear.
What he heard made the blood turn to ice in his veins.
Chapter Fourteen
Clara had just set about tidying her living room, putting the used glasses into the kitchen sink, when there was a knock on her door.
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that Evander had returned so soon.
“Did you forget some…” she asked as she tugged open the front door. Her words died on her lips.
Neros was standing in front of her, his big body almost filling up the entire door frame, his eyes cool, calculating as they swept over her.
“Father!” she turned her body slightly, her heart pounding, hoping to hide the scar on the left side of her neck. “This is a surprise!” Her mouth was suddenly dry and her palms damp.
“You’re not dead then. I’ve been calling all week. Why haven’t you responded?” he ground out, pushing past her into the apartment without waiting for an invitation. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were avoiding me!”
“I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly, her mind racing. Her scarf was still lying discarded over the back of the couch—she couldn’t reach it without going past him. Desperately, she swept as much of her hair as she could over her left shoulder, glad she had already unpinned it. “I was sick.”
He turned to glower at her. “You were? That’s unlike you.”
“Even I get sick sometimes, Father.”
He let out a strange harrumphing sound.
“But as you can see, I’m fine. I was just on my way to bed, actually. I’m going back to work tomorrow morning.”
“And when were you going to call me back?”
“Tomorrow, as it happens,” she said. She was still standing beside the kitchenette counter, frozen with panic, unable to move closer to him.
Just stay calm. He hasn’t noticed anything. Get him to leave, be as surreptitious about it as you can, and then everything will—
“Have you spoken to Arius again yet? I’m still waiting for you to arrange a meeting for me.”
Clara cleared her throat. “Actually, yes. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but I might as well tell you now. He’s asked to see you. Personally. He said he has a proposal for you.”
“Is that so?” Neros raised a thick black eyebrow and his cruel mouth twisted into a smirk. Then his brow furrowed. “What kind of proposal?”
“I don’t know the details,” Clara said hastily. “He just asked me to set up a meeting between you both, and said something about wanting to give you the opportunity to expand.”
Neros clapped once, making Clara jump. “Excellent,” he said. “That is good news.”
“It is,” she agreed. Her phone was lying on the kitchen counter, within easy reach. Everything within her wanted to call Evander, who would rush over and pull her into his arms. She’d be safe with him. But she knew that would be a mistake if she was unable to get Neros to leave before Evander arrived.
Neros had moved to the large picture window and was staring out into the blackness. “You don’t have much of a view here,” he said. “I thought it would be better.”
While his back was turned, Clara pressed the redial button on her phone, then picked it up and concealed it in the palm of her hand, cursing the fact that she didn’t have any pockets. “It’s better during the daytime,” she said. “You can see almost all the way down into Sandor town.”
“I’ve been worried about you,” Neros said, his tone suddenly plaintive. “Come here, and let me make sure my daughter is all right. You said you were sick. What did you have?”
“Just migraines,” Clara said, well aware that he had only become conciliatory because she’d successfully completed yet another task he’d set her: to get him a meeting with the king.
“Still, come here and let me look at you.”
Careful not to turn her head, hoping her hair was hiding the bite mark, she edged closer to her father. It wasn’t until she took her first step that she realized her knees felt like water. Why had he come here? She had lived alone for years, and could count the number of times he had visited her on one hand. Once she was within a few feet of him, she was able to make out the dangerous glint in his eye, and her panic went into overdrive. With her hands still behind her back, acting as casually as possible, she pushed the call button on her phone.
“As you can see,” she managed, “I’m much better. Which is why I’m going back to work tomorrow. So I really should be going to bed now. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Neros was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. When he inhaled deeply and his nostrils flared as if in slow motion, it hit her. His features twisted into a scowl of fury unlike anything she’d ever seen before, and all she could think was how stupid she’d been.
Neros was an Alpha.
Alphas could always recognize Omegas by their scent, regardless of whether they were a mating match.
He didn’t even need to see the bite scar on her neck. He could smell her deception as surely as he could smell the scent of freshly cut grass.
“So it’s true,” he said, his tone a low, ominous rumble. “You know, I first had my suspicions at the gala, but we were among many people, some of them Omegas. And I didn’t want to believe it. My prized, precious daughter, my only child…
“Then you disappeared for a week, and failed to return my calls. I came here to confirm it—hoping I’d be mistaken, hoping there’d be some innocent explanation. But nothing can disguise that scent.” He wrinkled his nose. “Reminds me of your mother.”
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