by Hawke Oakley
Zenon smiled darkly.
Our fight was entertaining Zenon.
Something clicked into place. Everything had turned out for the worst for the two of us, but not for him. He had everything he wanted.
The gears turned in my mind. Halo was up to something.
He wanted me to be angry. But why?
I kept my face scowling and still, not letting my slow trickle of realization change my expression. If this was a trick, I had to figure it out - fast.
Would Halo really not tell me if our daughter was dead?
I swallowed the gasp threatening to come out. Angel wasn’t dead at all, was she? It was a lie, just a trick so that…
The pieces fell into place. Halo was lying, and doing a damn good job of it, too. He wanted to make our split as realistic as possible, and I’d played right into his hands. My reactive blow-up was real. They thought I believed Halo, and therefore they believed it, too. The truth dawned on me.
He’s keeping her safe. By convincing Zenon she’s dead, they won’t go looking for her.
My heart ached for Halo. He was putting himself in danger again just to protect his daughter.
But then, with a jolt of shock, I realized we had another problem. Halo might be pregnant - right now. Did Zenon know? Did Halo want him to know?
Halo was tense as he stared at me. He was waiting for me to act.
Silas scowled. “Well? Aren’t you leaving?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Do you really not care that we have your mate in our possession?”
This is what Halo wanted. I knew that now.
My expression never changed from one of grief and fury. I avoided looking at Halo now, turning to Silas instead. “No.”
Silas crossed his arms. “You don’t even care what the master wants with him?”
I glared visibly back at Halo, but this time, I searched his expression carefully. If he wanted me to know something, now was the best time to reveal it. His jaw was tight, his mouth set. He stared back at me, completely still except for the tears running down his face.
He’s trying to tell me something.
Somehow in my heart, I knew what he was trying to tell me. He wanted me to leave.
My mind instantly went to the possibility of our unborn child. Was Halo thinking about that, too?
But I couldn’t doubt him now. He was the master of this sort of thing, not me. All I could do was trust him.
“No,” I said loudly to Silas. “I don’t care what you do with him.” I frowned, making it clear I was uncomfortable spending even a moment longer in Halo’s presence. “Am I free to leave now?
Silas glanced to his master for confirmation, but Zenon was currently more enamored with Halo, never taking his smug eyes off him. Silas shrugged and waved me off half-heartedly. “Go. Don’t let me see you around here again.” He paused, then added coldly, “Captain.”
I turned and began walking away in the direction of the cavern’s entrance. I didn’t dare take one last glance back at Halo, but I wished desperately that no matter how this ended, he and the baby would be okay.
The tunnel of darkness finally broke. Early morning light illuminated the cavern’s mouth.
We must have been unconscious for a while, I thought.
I aimlessly stumbled down the mountain side. The back of my head still throbbed, and my whole body ached from being contorted into an uncomfortable, tied-up position. But this was no time to be thinking about my own pain - Halo was in horrible danger, and I still didn’t know what exactly the danger was.
A wide chasm seemed to stretch between me and my next decision. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Halo wanted me to leave, and I’d done that - but now what? I couldn’t charge back in and take him back by force.
“Kassius!”
The voice nearly caused me to leap out of my skin. A familiar red-snouted face popped out of the bushes and shifted into human form.
“James,” I said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I ran, obviously!” He threw his hands up. “Those dragon freaks let me go as soon as they had you and Halo.”
“No, I mean, what are you still doing here? It looks like you were waiting for someone.”
“Well, I was,” he admitted. “As much as I’d love to run from this place and forget this ever happened, I can’t do that. You and Halo risked your lives for me.” James grimaced, like he was afraid to ask his next question. “Um… Where is Halo?”
My heart clenched in agony. “He’s still there. Caged.”
“What? Why?” James cried. “Why didn’t you get him out?”
My temper flared and I had to restrain myself from shouting at James. “Because I’m one man.”
“You’re an alpha dragon!” James argued.
“Against two other alpha dragons,” I growled. “If I got myself killed, I wouldn’t be much good to Halo, would I?”
James hung his head sheepishly. “You’re right. Sorry.”
I sighed. “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to snap, this is just so…”
“Shitty?” James offered.
“Yes,” I admitted. With a heavy heart, I sat on a rocky outcrop and buried my face in my hands. “What am I supposed to do?”
I felt James’s hesitant hand on my shoulder. “Er, not to make you feel worse, but… Do you know what Zenon is planning to do with Halo?”
“No,” I replied miserably.
James’s voice caught in his throat. “Oh.”
I lifted my head. “Why? Do you know something?”
“Kind of,” James said, now clearly uncomfortable.
I shot up and grabbed him by the upper arms. “Tell me.”
James seemed to deflate, like the truth was weighing him down. “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” I snapped. Not wanting to scare him, I removed my hands and repeated in a calmer voice, “Yes. Please, James.”
“You might want to sit back down,” James suggested, his face tense. My impatient scowl and refusal to move made him sigh. “Okay, then.”
The fact that he was delaying the inevitable irritated me. “Just spit it out.”
James’s hard eyes met mine. “Zenon is planning on using Halo to… create a magic army.”
The words sounded like nonsense. Agitated, I said, “What?”
“Do you really not get it?” James asked. “Zenon wants to breed Halo to have his children.”
My heart turned to lead, and my blood to ice. The world crashed down around me. I could barely understand what I was hearing, but I knew horribly in my core that it was the truth, as much as I didn’t want it to be.
“But - ” I tried to think of any reason, anything at all, that would refute James’s words, and couldn’t find anything. “No, he can’t!”
James’s frown was full of sympathy. “I’m sorry. I almost wish I hadn’t overheard.”
“When did you learn this?” I asked, grabbing his arm again. This time James didn’t flinch away. He just looked sad.
“When you and Halo were unconscious,” he mumbled. “Those two dragons were talking about it. The weaselly one - Silas, I think - he was all excited, sucking up to the other guy. With the way he acted, you’d think he was in love with him or something.”
“This is bad,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose hard. “We need to save Halo, but how? What can I do?” I groaned, feeling hopeless. “I’m so stupid! How did I let him get caught in this?”
“It’s not your fault, Kassius,” James insisted. “Nobody could have figured out things would happen this way.”
Everything seemed so futile. James was right when he said I was an alpha dragon - if anyone had the strength to stand up to Zenon, it should have been me. But instead, I ran and left my possibly pregnant omega mate alone. What good was I? The familiar cold darkness of depression crept up my spine, threatening to overtake me.
“Hey. Stop that,” James urged, shaking my shoulder. “Don’t let yourself fall into a spiral, okay? Halo needs you.�
�
“I’m just one man,” I mumbled, “what can I do? If I fight Zenon alone, I’ll be killed, and my mate and children will be left behind.”
“Who said anything about fighting alone?” James snapped.
For an omega, he was pretty fierce. In this moment he reminded me a lot of Halo. My heart ached.
James grunted. “Get up. You don’t have to do this alone. I’ll help you.”
My brows raised. “You will?”
He nodded firmly. “Yeah. You guys saved me. Least I can do is return the favor.”
I felt a rush of friendly affection for the fox shifter. “James… Thank you.”
James groaned but he was blushing in embarrassment. “Come on. No time for all that mushy crap. We have to save Halo.”
“I know. But where are we going?”
“We’ll start with my skulk. I know they’re not the bravest bunch in the world, but they also owe Halo a big favor.” James shot me a meaningful smile. “Especially since he’s the Golden Dragon.”
“Ah… So you figured that out, huh?” I asked.
James shrugged. “Kind of hard not to since he’s locked up in a cage for being so special. And y’know, seeing him shifted into a golden dragon form kinda helped.”
“Right.” I sighed. “Well, now you know the truth. Halo Fire-Eater is in grave danger.”
“And we’re going to be the ones to save him,” James added.
Determination flashed across James’s eyes, and I’d never been so grateful for a friend. I thanked the gods for his help, but Halo wasn’t safe just yet. And if we didn’t save him soon…
Well, I didn’t want to think about that.
18
Halo
I prayed to every fucking god in existence that Kass understood my intent.
When he flipped out and I saw the pure anger erupt on his face, I knew it was real. For a moment he really thought our daughter was dead, and that I’d failed to tell him. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or stung.
At the very least, it sold the lie. Zenon bought it. He didn’t send Silas out scouting for Angel, or her body.
Miserably, I knew he had no reason to - Angel as an individual was of no consequence to him with what he was planning for me, and unfortunately I had a very good idea of what it could be. I didn’t know why, or what the purpose was, but my best guess was that Zenon intended to mate with me. To breed me.
I shuddered.
“Cold?” Silas asked.
He was stationed outside my cage, for whatever reason. It wasn’t like I could go anywhere with my shackled hands and the literal cage surrounding me. But Silas was under strict rules not to harm me. As far as I could tell, he wasn’t even allowed to lay a finger on me. That “kindness” also extended into keeping me safe, and fed, and warm. Comfortable.
As comfortable as one could be while kidnapped in a cage, I guess.
“No,” I muttered. “Just thinking about how disgusted I am.”
Silas narrowed his eyes. He held his tongue, since Zenon was out of earshot but still in the caverns. At one point Silas had mentioned that his master retreated in the afternoons to eat in the privacy of his own den. Of course, he never hunted on his own - Silas was responsible for gathering all the food for all three of us.
From what I could tell, Silas held a genuine fondness for his master, and as much as he hated me, he couldn’t openly announce it anymore for fear of… What? Inciting jealousy because Zenon liked me more than him?
With nothing better to do, I asked, “What’s your deal, anyway?”
“What are you talking about, omega?”
“Why are you so obsessed with Zenon?”
I could tell from the nasty look on his face he wanted to berate me but I didn’t dare. That was one smug pleasure I got to indulge in, at least.
“You wouldn’t understand my love for my master,” Silas muttered.
I sat cross-legged on the cage floor. After Kass left and the three of us were alone, Silas was instructed to make it cozier. He dumped a bunch of blankets and pillows in the cage, so I currently snuggled up in one as best I could with my bound hands.
“No, I don’t understand,” I said. “So explain.”
“It’s not any of your business!” Silas snapped.
His nasty remarks no longer meant anything to me. If he wasn’t allowed to hurt me in any way, I was going to make the most out of it by verbally poking and prodding him.
“Come on, man.” I sighed dramatically. “I’m bored out of my skull here. And it’s not like I’m gonna run off and tell everyone your big secret, okay? So just tell me.”
Silas scowled. He glanced distantly at the torch’s light. In a lower, genuine voice, he finally said, “I’m not obsessed with him. I love him.”
“Huh?”
“What part of that don’t you understand?” Silas growled.
“Uh - no, I understand, I’m just… surprised, I guess.”
“I could say the same about Kassius and you,” Silas replied, rolling his eyes. He added in a low mutter, “I’ll never understand what everyone sees in you. Kassius and Zenon both.”
I bit my tongue when I wanted to argue that Kass still loved me, since Silas wasn’t supposed to know, and that Zenon didn’t love me so much as love the concept of what I was to him - an omega baby-making machine.
“What’s there to like about Zenon, anyway?” I muttered. “And aren’t you an alpha dragon, too? What’s he have that you don’t?”
Silas flinched and I knew instantly that I’d touched a nerve.
“What? Don’t like something I said?” I pressed harder. “Maybe the part about both of you being alphas?”
“Silence,” he snapped.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” I realized. “You’re an alpha in love with another alpha.”
Two alphas being mates wasn’t unheard of - sure, it happened - but just like how omegas were thought less of back in our time, alpha pairs were seen as unusual. I didn’t blame Silas for being touchy about it.
He currently glared daggers at me.
“Hey, I’m not judging,” I said, putting my hands up. “I mean, I’m all for it. It’s just your choice of alpha is a little weird, is all.”
“He is a powerful man. He is cunning, ambitious and a true leader,” Silas said, then his eyes flashed. “And he is also a mage, like you.”
“He was the one who put you in stone, right?” I asked.
“Yes. And once that was complete, he turned to hiding.” His glare returned. “All to capture you.”
The pieces fell together in my head. I grimaced. “So if Zenon is a mage, and he has me - an omega - caged up, I can only think of one reason why.”
Silas frowned, looking strangely jealous. “Yes. He intends to breed you.” In a small mutter, he added, “Unfortunately.”
Despite my hatred for Silas, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny shred of sympathy for him. The alpha he was in love with was only using him as a tool, and had no romantic feelings for him in return.
“But why?” I asked, increasingly confused. “What’s the point of all this? He went through all this trouble just so he could have magic children?”
Silas opened his mouth to reply but shut it when thumping footsteps approached. Zenon appeared into the cavern clearing in his dragon form. Blood and scraps of fur from his last meal were visible in his teeth from where the burns had scorched his skin away.
“Well, then,” Zenon said as he shifted into his human form and dabbed the blood away with a cloth napkin from his pocket, “shall we begin, Halo?”
My stomach lurched. He wanted to breed me now?
“You can’t,” I said quickly. “I’m not in heat.”
Zenon’s shoulders rolled in a shrug. “No matter. It’s possible for a pregnancy to take place even outside of an omega’s heat. There’s no harm in trying.”
Oh, hell no, you nasty freak.
“That won’t be possible, either,” I said, feeling a cautious s
ense of smugness.
Zenon’s brows raised. “Oh? And why not?”
“Because I’m already pregnant.”
His calm veneer broke for a moment as he snapped, “What?”
“Kass and I had sex during my last heat,” I told him, secretly reveling in the annoyance in his face. “So you won’t be able to breed me until my child is born.”
Silas’s eyes flashed with cold sentiment - and then I realized in horror what he must be thinking before he said it out loud. “Master, you can always get rid of the child.”
Any sympathy I felt for Silas shrivelled up and burned away in my fury. If I wasn’t shackled and caged, I would’ve choked the life out of him for even suggesting that.
“No,” Zenon said calmly. My rage and fear died down. “A child is a child, even if it’s not mine through biology.” A cold smile spread across his lips. “Regardless, the child will never know that alpha. I will raise it as my own.”
Like hell, you will, I thought.
Zenon brought his hand to his chin in thought. “This changes things. If Halo is already pregnant, I suppose all I can do is wait.” He sighed. “And I was quite looking forward to mating with him, too.”
My stomach flipped with disgust. I bit my tongue to hold back my retort that I would rather die than have sex with him.
“Make him comfortable,” Zenon ordered Silas. “If we are to waste months bringing this child to term, I won’t have it be lost. Bring him everything he demands.”
Silas scowled at being ordered around for my sake again. “Yes, master.”
Zenon shifted back into his dragon form and lumbered off. “I’m returning to my den. Do not bother me unless it’s urgent. And Silas?”
“Yes, master?” Silas said, perked up.
“We need more food, especially since Halo is pregnant. Go hunting again.”
Without waiting for his confirmation, Zenon left. I could practically see the irritation radiating off Silas in waves. With a single glare in my direction, Silas shifted into his wyvern form and shot out of the cavern, leaving me completely alone.
I sighed and collapsed into my pile of blankets. I’d bought myself time, but how much? My child would be born in six months, and then hell would truly begin.