by P. Jameson
Cassian was there, with his big hand on my back. I couldn’t let him know that it soothed me. That it was more than anyone had done for me, outside of my girls, in a long time. Usually, people who did nice things wanted something in return. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I was protected simply because I was part of the queen’s court. If that were the case, he would’ve sent me to Zelene along with Rielle and Ashla.
The alpha wanted to teach me a lesson.
“You know my name,” he said as he considered me, making sure I was steady before he walked away.
“I do.” And I wouldn’t say it on command. “But I like mister alpha sir better.”
He pressed his lips together when he returned with a small box. He set it on the counter, and it was full of medical supplies.
“I’ve treated many wounded soldiers out in the field.” His voice was soft, soothing, as he poured liquid onto cotton batting. “Some of them only had surface wounds, like you claim to. Others needed triage until we could get them more thorough medical help.”
The liquid stung my cut. I sucked in a sharp breath, but Cassian held my head steady and firm in his grasp as he pressed the cotton to the wound.
When he was satisfied with his work, he opened a bandage and stuck it to my forehead.
“You expect me to walk around with this thing on my head?” I touched my fingers to the bandage, wincing when even that little bit of pressure made me woozy.
“Just until the cut scabs over. I don’t think it will scar.”
“A scar would be cool.” Not a big ugly one, of course. Just something that would make people think twice before they fucked with me.
A muscle in his jaw ticked. I couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed with me. In the desert, he hadn’t backed down from my arguments. But he hadn’t left my side, either. Even when Tavia was in heat. I knew how hard it was for him to resist that alpha urge, but he did.
I wasn’t exactly ready to elevate him to hero status. Especially when I didn’t know how he intended to punish me for taking the Humvee.
And I wouldn’t tell him I was glad it was him who’d come to our rescue, instead of one of the others on the king’s court. They may not have shown us the same mercy.
But I knew all about wolves who waited for their prey to let their guard down. I wouldn’t relax yet.
Cassian held out a glass of water and two pills to me. I took the water, but shook my head, refusing the pills. Damn. I saw double again.
“They’ll take the pain away.” That was a tempting offer.
“I need to stay alert.” I took a big gulp of water.
“You’ve almost passed out more times than I can count since I found you,” he countered.
Damn. My brave little soldier act needed some serious work. “I’ll be fine.”
“I have no doubt you will. But until you’re better, you won’t leave my sight.”
Don’t threaten me with a good time, alpha. “Don’t you have anything better to do besides hold me hostage?”
“There are plenty of things that deserve my attention.” He rubbed his hand over his forehead. Cassian was a little bit older than the rest of the generals. Not old, but his hair was streaked with gray. I wonder if it bothered him to answer to a younger, inexperienced king. To follow his rules to the letter of the law. “But it’s either I stay here with you, or I find you a cell in the dungeon—”
“Yeah, you mentioned that.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I didn’t think he’d actually take me to this dungeon, but I also hadn’t expected him to bring it up again. I thought once he’d brought me into his space, I’d moved past the possibility of punishment. But I’d underestimated him. I wouldn’t make that mistake twice. “Why don’t you just take me there now and you can get back to your very important business.”
He stepped close to me. So close I could feel the heat rising from his body. And there was definitely only one of him. “You didn’t call me mister alpha sir.”
“Are those the magic words now?”
His lips twisted as he fought his grin. “You keep daring me to bring you there. You need to be careful what you wish for, omega.”
Unblinking, I met his gaze. I wouldn’t let him think he could intimidate me.
“Tonight, you’re staying here with me. I don’t need to find out you’ve charmed your way out of your cell and caused any more destruction.” He sighed. “And I still want to know, what the hell were you thinking? Every vehicle in the armory has a tracking mechanism. Had you actually managed to steer it in a straight line and opened the gate, you would’ve been shot on sight. I can treat surface wounds, my little rebel, but gunshot wounds aren’t so easy. That kind of crime, I can’t cover for you.”
He was covering for me. Good to know.
“What the hell was I thinking?” I took a moment and tapped my finger against my lips. That tick was back in Cassian’s jaw. He only had so much patience for me, and it was running out.
“Before you tell me your grand plan, I’d like to remind you, it’s not just about you and your friends anymore. Adalai’s decision to reunite the Badlands with Luxoria is nothing short of historic. I understand things might not be to you and your friends’ liking, yet. But you have the chance to make things right for all omegas. To shape the reconstruction of the Badlands the way you think will do the most good for your people.”
“My people,” I grumbled. “That’s the problem. The territories might be reunited, but it’s still us versus them. We’ll always be omega. Never Luxorians.”
Cassian lowered his gaze. “It will take time to change old habits.”
“Exactly. Like it will take me a long time to trust the king’s generals after they’ve spent years looking the other way as their own brutal rule was enforced over our people.” I didn’t want his apology, but I wanted him to think the next time he had the opportunity to help an omega, or leave them to the mercy of the guards. More specifically, I wanted him to think of me. Because I wasn’t a nameless, faceless omega to him. He’d cared enough about me to tend to my wound. But I didn’t know how much farther that feeling extended.
“So your theory is good, except, I’m not looking to destroy the Badlands reconstruction.” He raised an eyebrow at my declaration. Good, I had his attention. “I’d never do that to Tavia.”
“Then what did you need heavy artillery for?” he asked.
I took a deep breath. I only had one chance to sell this to him. “I want to go back to the Human Keep.”
“Why? The omegas weren’t captured. They’re there on their own accord.”
“Exactly.” I rose from my seat too fast and winced. Cassian rocked forward, like he was ready to catch me if I fell, but he stopped himself. Our gazes locked again for a dangerous moment. “Something isn’t right there. Why are the humans treating the omegas like they’re better than them? What do they think we have to offer?”
He pressed his lips together, considering my theory. “What do you think they want?”
I shook my head. “I love the idea of an omega utopia, but they’ve sent those mutants to the Badlands to fight with us. The quick explanation we got from Rupert didn’t quite cut it. I didn’t like the way he talked to Tavia. Like she wasn’t smart enough to understand what was going on there. We need more time to see what they’re really up to. And if it really is a better place for omegas, I want to bring those ideas back to the Badlands.”
“If you go to the Human Keep, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to come back,” he said quietly.
“That’s where you come in, mister alpha sir.” My heart was pounding, because I only had one chance to get this right. “Looks like I need a chauffeur. Are you in?”
Chapter Seven
Cassian
“You want me to take you to the Human Keep?” I stared at Charolet, not sure if I was impressed by her gumption or angry over her blatant disregard for danger. Maybe both.
“Sure, why not?”
“Why not?” She co
uld not be serious. “Why not? For starters, crossing the desert alone with me, would be dangerous. What if you went into heat like Tavia did? Who would keep watch while we…” My voice drifted off as I realized what I was saying. Desire struck me hard as visions of her naked and writhing beneath me flashed through my mind.
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re assuming I’d let you service me.”
I lifted my chin. “Of course you would. Better someone you trust over a stranger.”
“Now you’re assuming I trust you.”
I narrowed my gaze at her. “You trust me. You’re here now, aren’t you?”
“Sure…” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “… but not because I chose to be.”
Her denials were causing anger to mix with desire in my blood, and it was a heady concoction.
“We can’t cross the desert alone,” I said firmly.
“Fine. We’ll take Rielle with us.”
“One female.”
“One omega female,” she corrected. “That’s gotta be equal to like… one and a half of your piddly males.”
“My piddly ma…” She was testing me. Trying to get under my skin like she did before, in the desert. Pushing and prodding to see which way I’d move. She had no idea how dangerous I could be. I let out my breath, counting to five. “I have duties here to see to. A piddly army to command. A border to defend. You know… important stuff. Besides that, the king will never sanction it.”
Two could play this game.
“So what.”
“So what?” My risky little omega was practically begging for trouble.
“Yeah. So. What.” She stood to meet me head on.
“Charolet,” I warned. “This is verging on treason. Like it or not, he is your king.”
“I don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Like it. Do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Do you like King Adalai?”
I stared at her, my head spinning with the turn this conversation had taken. “He was a good friend to me. I serve him as an equal, or nearly so. He is the alpha of our pack. A powerful warrior in battle. He has earned my respect.”
“Has he? How so?”
My mouth opened to respond but nothing came out. Her fists settled at her hips, the bandage on her head forgotten.
“He nearly buckled under pressure when we returned from the Human Keep. He doesn’t know any more than we do what the humans are up to or how to make peace among our people. So tell me… should he be blindly followed? Should his sanction mean what he wishes it meant?”
I took my time considering her words. They were an echo of everything I’d already thought, especially since Adalai took an omega queen. Except they didn’t change the fact that if she went against the king’s wishes—if anyone did for that matter—she would be punished.
I didn’t know how I would react to seeing Charolet in the dungeon. Or worse. That was why I’d brought her here. To give her time to come to her senses. But all she was doing was spiraling into pure rebellion.
I stared at her. “If a man makes a mistake, does he forever lose the respect of those he guards?”
She frowned, cocking her head. “No,” she said finally. “Not if he can admit he’s wrong and change his ways.”
“If he admits he’s wrong once, must he admit it again and again to eventually receive forgiveness?”
Her frown deepened. “What’s your point?”
“King Adalai made a mistake. He has admitted it before the entire kingdom and is attempting to make amends. I’m not sure what else he can do to earn your respect.”
Charolet’s expression grew angry and she took a step toward me. “That is dramatically over-simplified,” she huffed. “How can you boil it down to just a mistake?”
“How can you fluff it up and use it as an excuse to put everyone around you in danger?” I bellowed in return.
Her breath came quicker and I could practically taste her fury in the air. But there was something else too. Something alluring.
Desire. It filled the room sending me into a whiplash.
Never before had I wanted to fuck someone into submission as much as I did Charolet.
“The humans are catering to omegas for a reason,” she said. “Don’t you want to know what it is? Or… maybe you already do, and that’s why you won’t admit something is wrong here.” Her voice rose with each word, her chest lifting with each breath. Her cheeks bloomed with a rosy flush, and I stepped closer.
“There is something wrong here. Something very wrong. But I don’t need to go to the Human Keep to know that.”
“So you admit it!” she cried. “The alphas are hiding something. The king is hiding something.”
“The alphas aren’t hiding a damn thing except that we can’t keep our heads straight anymore. It took one of you to change everything. Now we’re scrambling to keep things together, keep the pack together, to hold the city against our enemies.”
She blinked in surprise, and I realized I’d said too much. Revealed a weakness.
The omegas were a weakness but not in the way most people thought. Not because they were lower class or because the Badlands was impossible to protect. Not because the humans had found a way to weaponize them.
They were a weakness because they challenged us to think higher. Bigger, when the world grew smaller. They challenged us to open our hearts when we should keep them locked tight under four layers of encryption. They softened us when we desperately needed to be harder.
“So do something about it,” Charolet breathed, close enough I could kiss her if I wanted. And damn, I wanted. Her eyes lit up with excitement, as if she knew what she did to me. As if she knew, when I didn’t even know. “Take me to the Human Keep and find out what the humans are hiding. Use this chance to prove you’re right, and the king isn’t hiding anything from Zelene. What have you got to lose?”
“A lot, actually. My title, for one, but I doubt you care anything about that.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What’s a title compared to the truth? Seems like a fair trade to me.”
I measured my options.
Charolet was going with or without me, I knew that much. She was determined. She would find a way. At least if I went along, I could keep her safe.
The king would be furious, but I could handle him. And getting some inside knowledge of what was happening in the keep could put us at a tactical advantage.
Was I really considering this? Breaking the rules?
Maybe just bending them.
I eyed my mate, half wanting to strangle her, half wanting to nail her to the wall and show her what this alpha was hiding. “I will see you to the Human Keep.”
The relief in her expression satisfied my inner beast, and I realized that I liked giving her what she wanted. Even if she behaved like a brat.
“You’re going to owe me, omega. You know that, right?”
She smiled tightly. “Great. I pay in truth bombs and the occasional dirty joke. I hope that’s an acceptable currency.”
“How dirty?”
“Oh, now. Wouldn’t you like to know.” She gave me a saucy smile and settled back in the chair, pulling a blanket around her shoulders as if to end the conversation.
“We’ll leave in the morning. Now get some sleep.”
“I’m fine. I don’t make it a habit to sleep in strange places. I’ll stay awake.”
Strange places. This was my home away from home. It was damn sure more comfortable than the shack she used to sleep in.
“Sleep or we’re not going,” I demanded.
“Fine, mister alpha, sir. Whatever you say.”
Chapter Eight
Charolet
I’d hit my head pretty hard in the accident, I thought I remembered something about how people with head injuries shouldn’t sleep. I would use that in my argument, but then I’d have to admit I hurt myself worse than I’d owned up to.
That wasn’t the only reason I di
dn’t want to let my guard down and relax under the close watch of Cassian. The outpost wasn’t grand like the castle, but it was pretty cozy. A small cabin with leather chairs and couches and so many books on the shelves. I wished Cassian would leave me alone long enough that I could run my finger over their spines and drink in a hint of their stories. But that was never happening. He was convinced if he took his eyes off me, I’d run. I’d given him plenty of reason to think that.
We weren’t exactly having a staring contest, but we’d each chosen a leather chair on either side of the fireplace. Man, we could have used one of those at our old shack where the walls were so thin we could never get warm on cold desert nights. I sank into the chair, under the soft blanket, not wanting to show how good it felt to sit in something that wasn’t hard and broken. I couldn’t give him any advantage. I’d give him a side glare, and every time, he was looking back at me.
“Don’t you have alpha things to do?” I finally asked, pressing my lips together to stifle a yawn.
“I am doing alpha things,” he growled. I could never admit what that did to my lady parts, not even to myself. Especially not to him, especially after his offer of service. “I’m guarding a fugitive who’s confessed to intending to incite anarchy against the kingdom to make sure she doesn’t attempt to steal any more military vehicles or lead my territory into rebellion.”
“When you put it like that, I sound like a total badass.” I grinned at him. “So you don’t want me to see how the other half lives, huh? I bet they’ve never heard what life in the Badlands is really like from an omega.”
His body tensed, and his big hands clutched the thick arms of the chair. “My people live very comfortably. They work hard and I make sure they’re safe.” He let out a sigh. “And they’d be shocked to hear their leader is going against the king’s wishes and plans on aiding and abetting a fugitive on a journey to the Human Keep. But they’d want to know the truth about what is happening to the omegas as much as you do.”
“So that’s why you’re doing it? For them?” That shouldn’t have disappointed me, but it did.