“That’s up to you.”
Her eyes flew to his face in surprise. “Why me?”
“I owe Legion more than my life. But I know that he wouldn’t want me to die with him if I had a chance to save you. What he’d really want is for me to spirit you away to wherever the Undersecretary cannot reach, but I suspect you would be resistant to leaving him here.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that Legion would want you to sacrifice his life for mine. If another Omega had crossed his path before I did, it would be her standing here instead of me. I’m completely replaceable to him.”
The sharp words sounded false even to her own ears, but the emotion spurring them was rooted in some truth. How did she know that Legion cared for her as anything more than a convenient hole to fuck into submission.
“I’m sure you know that’s not true. Legion risked more than you could imagine to have you. Now you are his only weakness. Do you really think that Legion would have allowed himself to be arrested without a fight, save for you. The defenses in his compound are automated and he disabled them because if the Guardians had attacked in force, something might have happened to you. He allowed himself to be taken without a fight so that you wouldn’t be hurt. The Undersecretary knew that you were his only weakness and he exploited it.”
“Am I supposed to feel bad about that?”
“You’re supposed to recognize what’s in front of your face instead of letting yourself be blinded by old resentments. The bond between an Alpha and an Omega is sacred. We aren’t complete without it.”
Something in his tone made her eye him more closely. And the moment that the truth dawned on her felt like the last puzzle piece sliding into place. “You’re an Alpha.”
His expression immediately shuttered. “I am none of your concern.”
But Ianthe was undeterred. “Why would you hide your dynamic?”
“Are you honestly asking me that question?”
“But it’s different for you. No one controls Alphas. You get to decide your own fate.”
“If you truly believe that then you’re even more naive than I thought.”
“Just tell me how it’s possible.” Adrian was on the smaller side for an Alpha, although not dramatically so. But it was his strength that truly gave it away. No true Beta could accomplish the athletic feat of carrying an unconscious Alpha slung over his shoulder while fighting his way out of a government detention center. She was almost angry at herself for not seeing it before. “And why would any Alpha would choose to hide their dynamic?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation.”
She just looked at him, not reacting even when a torture-mad Legion hit the wall at her back, sending flecks of paint raining down around her. “Please.”
“The man I was is dead and gone. He has to stay buried. A Beta with an unremarkable history would not be recognizable to anyone that knew me before.”
“But you smell like a Beta.”
His lips twisted in droll amusement. “Hormone suppressants don’t just work on Omegas.”
She tried to imagine what sort of circumstances might lead to such a momentous decision. She hesitated to ask further questions as Adrian’s patience with her obviously waned. “Thank you for telling me.”
“This world is rarely kind to anyone, regardless of their dynamic. You should keep that in mind.”
A wave of sudden fatigue welled up in her and she had to squeeze her eyes shut until it passed to prevent herself from passing out.
Adrian watched her with a frown, as if she were a spoiled child trying to delay her bedtime. “You will have to sleep at some point.”
“Perhaps I’ll sleep when he does.” A loud crash from inside the room placed unneeded emphasis on her words.
“I can’t say that I think that’s wise.”
“And if I had any wisdom than neither of us would be standing here right now.”
“Fair enough. But you can’t blame yourself for all of it. Legion made an enemy of the Undersecretary long before you ever met.”
She tried to imagine what would happen if she were to simply open the door and let Legion out. Would he attack her? Or would he go dashing off into the night and fall off the side of the unsecured courtyard to his death. It was impossible to know for sure.
And what would it be like to spend the rest of her life bonded to a raving lunatic. Or worse, saddled with a bond that had been fractured by death, left jagged and painful like an open wound. Unsure if the thought was irrational, Ianthe wondered if she were partially to blame for Legion’s mental state. She had done her best to avoid any experience of their connection after they had been separated. She had put walls up between them, as well. Even if she’d been under the impression that her mental barriers were easily breached by her mate, the fact remained that she had put them up in the first place.
Perhaps that psychic isolation had prevented his return to sanity.
A terrible idea began to form in Ianthe’s mind, one she could barely believe that she was even contemplating. It was the stupidest thing that she had ever considered doing, worse than signing the contract with Eros House or her repeated assignations with Legion, despite the dangers.
This would qualify her for some sort of award in stupidity.
“I want you to let me in there.”
Adrian didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely not.”
“You don’t understand. There’s something wrong with the bond, we’ve become disconnected somehow. I don’t think his mind will recover if it can’t be fixed.”
“And what if he kills you?” Adrian rejoined, voice heavy with sarcasm. “Whatever will happen to your bond then?”
“He won’t.”
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“We’re already out of options. Every moment we stay here puts my family at risk. If Legion doesn’t recover soon then he’s already dead. I don’t have a choice.”
Even though a large part of her still hadn’t decided if it still hated him, Ianthe knew that if he died then a piece of her would as well. Logic had flown out the window and the time for caution had long since passed. She couldn’t just let Legion die without a fight, despite the risk.
“And how is your sister going to react if I let you do this?”
Circe had long since retired to bed and Eaon before that. It was only the two of them who felt compelled to stand vigil at the door while Legion raged inside. The answer to his question likely involved significant verbal abuse and possibly bodily harm. But no one else had the right to make this decision for her, not even her family.
“Where is the key?”
Adrian held it up between long fingers, his gaze steady on her face. “I have to lock the door behind you. There won’t be an escape until Legion returns to his senses.”
A roar loud enough to shake the rafters erupted through the walls. Legion sounded as if he were at war. And he might be, at least within his own mind.
“Do it.”
I’m your monster.
Keys jangled as Adrian pushed one into the lock. He pressed his ear close to the door and waited, likely to ensure that Legion had crossed to the other side of the room.
“Okay,” he said, sliding the bolt. “Hurry.”
Taking a deep breath, Ianthe stepped forward into the dark to face her monster.
Chapter Nine
Ianthe entered the darkened room, startling as Adrian slammed the door shut behind her. The bolt shooting through the lock reminded her nails driving into a coffin, locking her into a black and suffocating space. She could not yet see Legion as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
But she could smell him.
A heady mix of Alpha pheromone and palpable rage permeated the air so completely that it saturated every molecule of oxygen that she frantically inhaled. She couldn’t fight the visceral reaction that clenched her belly and made her knees weak. She was in the presence of an Alpha who was all animal instinct with no conscious mind to mediate his
baser urges.
She heard his heavy breathing before she felt him push up against her side. Legion wasn’t yet aggressive, but his body crowded hers. He bent low over her, nose brushing the top of her head as he deeply inhaled. Ianthe held herself completely still with effort. She knew that his predator instinct would take over completely, if she tried to run. He would be compelled to chase her.
“Legion,” she whispered, and even that echoed in the thick silence that was broken only by his panting breaths. “It’s Ianthe. Can you hear me?”
A thin ray of moonlight shown around the curtains on the window. It streaked across his face, revealing an expression that was entirely feral. Any color in his eyes was eaten up by a pitch black pupil that had dilated to fill nearly the entire iris. His normally expressive lips had twisted into a snarl, spittle dripping from teeth that seemed sharper than they ever had before. She found herself suddenly very aware of the fact that he could snap her in half with a flick of his hand.
Ianthe took an involuntary step back, her instinct to flee in the face of a volatile Alpha impossible to completely overcome.
But any sudden movement, no matter how small, was a mistake. He reacted as if she had struck him, face contorting into something out of a nightmare as he reached for her with a snarl.
Abandoning any hope of soothing him, Ianthe tried to spin away but Legion was simply too fast. Strong hands caught both of her arms and yanked her towards him, snarling mouth gaping as if he intended to eat her alive.
Fever-hot lips traced along the curve of her neck as he pulled her body flush against his, licking and tasting the delicate flesh. She tensed, waiting for the inevitable crunch of bone and answering pain as he bit down, but it didn’t come.
His body stilled as his tongue traced indecipherable patterns on her skin. She simultaneously wanted to shove him away and force her body closer. The warring reactions were a constant feature of their time together, even when he was completely out of his mind.
Ianthe risked a glance at his face, not even an ounce of sanity had returned. But his expression had shifted from rage to something more recognizable as he continued to breathe in her scent. His chest expanded against her with each inhalation, as if he could consume her whole being one breath at a time.
Strong hands gripped her more tightly. In the next moment, she was lifted in the air only to be slammed back down on the bare mattress of the bed. There was no time to think before he was bodily on top of her, caged in by a wide chest and broad arms. His legs moved over her, preventing any movement.
He had always been significantly larger than her, but now it felt like she was trapped under a mountain.
A Legion with no awareness beyond his own urges was not capable of gentle caresses. Instead, the hands that roamed over were rough and bruising. He bordered on savage, but even in this state he held is weight slightly above her and his touch wasn’t quite heavy enough to actually hurt her.
Perhaps her mate was still in there, somewhere.
Ignoring every instinct that she had for self-preservation, Ianthe ignored the urge to fight him. Instead, she pulled her hands from beneath the trap of his body and brought them to his face, cupping cheeks that burned beneath her touch.
“I’m here,” she said, hoping against all reason that her words might penetrate his haze. “Please come back. I need you.”
And she realized as she spoke, that she did need him. She needed him to protect her in a world that left her little means of protecting herself. She needed him to reign in the nightmare that he had unleashed by putting her in the crosshairs of the Undersecretary.
But when his lips took hers in a brutal kiss, he was only capable of indulging her need to dominate. Protection was the furthest thing from his broken mind.
He kissed her in a way that was all heady consumption and animal claiming. His tongue forced its way inside of her mouth, dancing along her tastebuds and leaving a tantalizing flavor behind rich with Alpha aggression.
Teeth pressed into the sensitive flesh of her lips, not quite hard enough to break the skin but such that an involuntary gasp escaped her throat. That unwilling sound seemed to spur him further. He did nip at her then, hard enough that the sharp tang of her own blood exploded on her tongue.
Unbidden desire lapped at her senses. She tried to convince herself that she had come here only in the interests of returning him to some form of sanity, knowing it was a lie. Because she wanted to be underneath him as much as he wanted her there.
She did not know how to react to him, unwilling to encourage him further or inspire anger by shoving him away. Her fear only served to excite him more as she shifted helplessly beneath him.
Her body telegraphed its own desires even as her mind rebelled. Slick already gathered between her thighs, soaking the thin fabric of her underwear. As if sensing her weakening, Legion broke off their kiss as his head shifted from her lips to blaze a trail down her neck.
He bit too hard on the sensitive skin, inches from wear the claiming mark permanently marred her shoulder. She cried out as the surprising jolt of pain but he had already moved on.
Fingers followed his mouth, kneading at whatever flesh was closest to hand and likely leaving a trail of bruises in his wake to mark his passage. It was as if his touch passed some of its burning fever onto her as Ianthe felt a growing heat raging in her blood.
Fear and desire coiled like twin dragons inside of her. She was still unconvinced that he wouldn’t devolve into a truly ravenous animal and bite a chunk out of her. But pressure built between her legs, pushing and pulsing against her oversensitive flesh, desperate for relief. Her hips lifted and fell in a dark rhythm, no longer under conscious control.
Her dress tore like damp tissue paper under his hand. The sudden rush of air did nothing to soothe the fire raging along her skin. She told herself that she didn’t want him, didn’t want this, but it was impossible to remember that when he touched her, even in this animalistic state.
She keened when thick fingers stroked the soft skin on the inside of her thighs, shifting closer to the slick-soaked core at her center. Paradoxically, the obvious evidence of her arousal seemed to calm him somewhat.
When his mouth latched on to her dripping cunt, a sound escaped her lips that was unlike anything she had ever produced. It was irrational and animalistic, a perfect match for her equally insensible mate.
He wasn’t gentle as his mouth sucked at her, licking biting her like a feasting predator. She tried not to respond but he ripped the pleasure from her body. Her hands tangled in the coarse hair of his head, yanking at the strands when the pleasure grew to be too much to bear.
His hands pressed hard into her thighs, stilling the frantic movements of her legs as she tried to escape his feasting mouth. Teeth pressed against her most sensitive flesh and the slight pain only further punctuated the pleasure that he forced on her.
Legion growled with his mouth pressed against her flesh, the sound reverberating through her and down the bone. Her body responded, pussy clenching on empty air as the call of her Alpha wrenched pleasure from her body without any need for her consent. When he growled again, more slick spilled from her, soaking the mattress beneath them.
Her nails bit into the skin of his shoulders hard enough to scratch his skin. If he noticed the small pain, Legion did not respond to it as his assault on her continued. No part of her body was safe from the hands roaming over her. Then his teeth closed on the tiny ball of her clit, just hard enough for her to feel the edge of violence barely contained within him.
Orgasm ripped through her body, sending her careening over the edge into oblivion even as her body still fought to escape him. The pleasure was too much for one body to contain. She thrashed and twisted underneath his weight as the impossible pleasure exploded across every nerve-ending, burning her from the inside out.
Ianthe lay prostrate beneath him, so out of her head in the aftermath of orgasm that she did not notice as he rose over her. Her limp body was turned so t
hat her belly pressed into the mattress and her hips rose into the air.
There was no question of what would come next as she floated in a haze while facedown on the bed. Strong hands pressed her down even as she no longer had the strength or will to fight him. Fingers traced the sharp curve of her spine, pinching and kneading the flesh until both hands finally settled on her hips.
She was not in control of any of this, not that she ever had been. And Legion’s previously profound control had been sacrificed to save her, his mind fractured by the torture that he had endured to protect her.
And the part of her that wanted to be held down and mounted in the most animalistic way possible was what consumed her mind.
The large knob at the head of his cock drifted against her thigh, damp with pre-cum and sweat. At that moment, he was little more than a rutting beast intent on slaking his desire in the most convenient place possible.
His hand caught around her throat. He pulled hard enough that she was forced to arch her back, pushing her hips higher in the air and exactly where he wanted them.
Ianthe came back to herself at the exact moment that Legion shoved inside of her without preamble. With no tension in her limp body to prevent him, his hardened flesh stretched her far enough to leave her reeling before bottoming out in one stroke.
It hurt, even with the copious amounts of slick easing his passage. as he thrust in and out of her. But the pain only added to her arousal, just as it always had. He took her roughly, fingers digging into her sides hard enough to bruise as he forced her body back to meet his thrusts.
She whimpered from the shame and desire that was always an integral part of their mating. No one had ever made her feel like this, nor would anyone ever again if they became permanently separated. Legion was her beginning and her end. He always had been, even before she knew he existed.
He speared her over and over again, so many that she lost count. And the rage overpowering his senses seemed to prolong his stamina. The pace increased to something that would have torn apart anyone who wasn’t made to fit with him so perfectly. They had fucked dozens of times before but she couldn’t remember if it had ever been like this.
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