Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
I snort. “Unlikely, since I’m not from here.”
“Ah, yes, your human status. Ulf is all-powerful. He found you, and helped you traverse the galaxies so we could be together.”
“Fine. Maybe he did. But I don’t want to be your mate,” I say, even as I melt back into his chest. It feels right, being this close to him.
At least he’s stopped growling. If he starts purring now, I will punch him.
“You lie, Omega.” His voice rumbles through me, as effective as a purr. Dammit. “I don’t understand. Why fight so hard to deny your true nature?”
“Some of us have responsibilities.” Unlike you, oh, king, who holes up in your magical castle and leaves your kingdom to rot. “I’m not going to ditch my only family because of some epic sex.” Besides, I add silently, that true love forever bullshit isn’t real.
“Epic sex?” Again with the amusement.
“You know we’re compatible,” I mutter, and try to ignore how a fresh wave of my scent rises to mingle with his.
“I will send the whisps to check up on Matron—a mercy, since she was concealing an Omega from me. By Ulfarri law, she should be punished, not rewarded.”
A cold finger of dread travels down my spine. “She didn’t know.”
“Did she not? A healer with extensive knowledge of Ulfarri physiology? I find it hard to believe she did not scent your Omega status from the first.”
“But I’m not Ulfarri. I’m human—”
“Not any longer. As much as you deny it, you are more Omega than human.” He cuddles me closer. “Perhaps a part of you is reluctant to accept it. I will allow you time to grieve.”
“Oh well, thanks. How gracious of you.”
“I understand grief, little one.”
That shuts me up. There’s so much about him I don’t know. “Your parents?”
“Yes.”
I keep my voice level, fighting to remain logical. “So you understand what Ma means to me. She saved me, took me in. No questions asked. She’s the reason I survived here, in Medela.” I turn in his lap, not facing him, but letting him see my profile. I keep my eyes fixed on the fountain, and my tone mild. “What do you think your Alpha soldiers would have done if they had found me?”
A menacing growl bursts out of Bestian’s chest. I jump but can’t escape his imprisoning arms. Even if he didn’t have iron muscles, I don’t want to leave my cozy perch. The heat from his body makes me drowsy.
“It is not worth thinking about,” Bestian says. “Ulf preserved you for me.”
“If he did, he used Ma to do that. She clothed me. Fed me. She’s my family.”
“Do you not have family back on your planet?”
“No. I was all alone.” That much, I do remember. I was a model, working to pay my way through a bachelor’s and ultimately medical school, but all alone. No one in my tiny apartment but me—and a hundred potted plants. “Ma’s cottage is my home now.”
Bestian’s arms tighten around me. “The palace is your home now.”
“No.”
“Yes. You have set the challenge, little one. I will do anything to convince you.”
“You have your work cut out for you.” I yawn.
Instantly, he’s on his feet, striding to the palace. “My Omega is tired. I have not cared for you as I should.”
He makes it sound like I’m his pet.
“I want to keep talking,” I say stubbornly.
“I will talk with you for as long as you wish. After you’ve slept.”
I fight to keep my eyes open but as he ducks through an archway, his purr roars to life.
After a few seconds, I’m lost to the world.
TWELVE
Bestian
My Omega is sleeping. There is so much for her to know. About me, about herself. About us. Reading the histories of Omegas will only do so much good. She is part human, no matter how much I want to deny it.
I wish to deny her human side, she wishes to deny her Omega dynamic. I wish to keep her here, she wishes to leave. We must find a truce.
Fortunately, I know of three other Omegas like Rose. Each one a Hew-man, or human. Each one mated to a king.
I call the Wanderer King first. Khan was like me, preferring to let his councilors do the bulk of the ruling while he wandered the galaxies, looking for Omegas; for a queen. Word is he’s home more now that he has one.
The orb pulses with a purple glow before going dark. Khan declined my call.
No use calling the Hunter King, not if I want information. That only leaves King Aurus—the most talkative Alpha I know. He loves the sound of his own voice. He’ll answer my call, if only to gloat about his gaudy gold castle and golden-haired Omega.
Sure enough, the magical orb pulses only a few times before Aurus’s face appears.
“Learned King,” he hails me with a grin.