Chapter Twenty- Seven
Drazien
Allowing her to walk away was the worst form of torture I’d ever endured, and it almost broke me. She’d said she wanted to stay, that she chose me, and then I’d been forced to let her go.
“What’s taking so long?”
My snarl was swallowed by the dark cavern. Rhydek stood far enough away to avoid my lashing tail, but I didn’t miss his chuckle and turned my snarl to him.
“I never thought I’d need to tell the Torvashek to be patient.”
His voice was a low rumble, his brow arched as he met my gaze, not backing down, but also not pressing.
Most Morraki had three Veyrakk, three alphas they trusted with their life and their future omega, but he and Teylan were the only two standing with me.
If Kael had been on Morrakan he would have been there as well, but with him on the Zeydrassk hunting Skarashk, I had no other to take the final place.
It didn’t matter. Rhydek’s reminder that Elaina would suffer more than I if we failed to follow tradition had been enough for me to regain control. I wouldn’t fail her. Not after she’d chosen me when I’d given her reason not to.
“A bath does not take this long.”
I snarled back, turning to pace the way I’d come, tail still lashing. My kethra shone brighter than the glowing moss on the walls but keeping them calm was the last thing on my mind.
Where was my omega?
A whisper of sound had me whirling to face the entrance to the Bonding Hall. It was a massive cavern, large enough to hold most of the alphas and omegas in Korvashan, and I was dizzy from holding my breath by the time I spotted the first figure walking through the arch.
Not Elaina.
My eyes searched until they fell on a shorter frame than all the rest, her body draped in a violet Shavari’zorr. The color was perfect on her, so similar to the purple dress she’d worn at the gala on Earth.
Had that been truly what had prompted me to choose her? That she would look good with my luth’rein?
Even I couldn’t answer that question. This moment had seemed inevitable since the moment I’d seen her in it, though, and my heart stumbled over the fact that it almost hadn’t come to be.
But she’d chosen to remain.
To stay with me.
To be mine.
Her steps were slow and careful as she moved through the archway and began her descent.
She was surrounded by Karzhari, and I wanted to plunge my tail through the heart of the one touching her, but the steadying hand on her elbow was necessary to keep her safe.
One misstep and she would tumble to the floor of the Bonding Hall.
My heart pounded so hard it was all I could hear until she was safely on the bottom level of the Hall. It had been shaped like a bowl with rising tiers up the sides, all focus aimed at the mattress currently hidden behind long curtains hanging from the ceiling of the chamber.
Vorrashan usually shone down from the opening in the roof of the cavern, but the veyr’karin punishing Korvashan blocked its light.
Funny how even our mating was a confused jumble of mixed signals. A veyr’karin during Khavren meant a difficult summer ahead, yet a new bonding was a time of celebration and bounty. To bond during Khavren was good fortune, but during a veyr’karin meant the relationship would face trouble.
None of it mattered. If the summer grew too harsh, I would take her from Morrakan. If we faced more trouble, we’d already proven we could make it through together.
The bond was eternal. There was no backing out once it was complete.
The Hall was dark, even for my eyes, but I watched Elaina’s head turn towards me. I knew her gaze found mine, the whisper of a whine reaching me across the space still between us.
I curled my claws into my palms, clenching my jaw and tightening every muscle in my body so I didn’t run to her. If I touched her before the Horns, I’d lose the right to claim her.
The Karzhari stepped between us, blocking our view. I wanted to both curse and thank them, the effort needed to remain where I was diminishing when I couldn’t see Elaina’s lush curves draped in my color.
Turning my head for a moment, I spotted Rhydek, closer than before. A single lunge and he’d be able to grab me.
To stop me from giving in to instinct and ruining the future I’d dared to hope for.
The rebels had lost my undivided focus. Elaina was now my priority, but worry tugged at the edges of my mind.
“Are we sure it’s safe?”
I kept the question quiet so only Rhydek would hear.
I didn’t need to explain. We’d already discussed the possibility of the rebels attacking the Bonding Hall.
An omega’s heat distracted all unbonded alphas, made us all vulnerable, and even if the Bonding Hall was sacred, we couldn’t count on them ignoring the opportunity it presented.
“The team that protected her on the stairs will guard the entrance. Your unit will be scattered amongst the attendants, along with others I trust.”
Some of the tension in my chest loosened but it wasn’t gone. Nothing would erase it but the death of every Morraki involved with the attacks, and I planned to see that happen.
Just as soon as I claimed Elaina as mine and satisfied her heat.
Even the worry couldn’t stop my shaft from twitching as she made her way to the piles of fabrics waiting for her outside the curtain obscuring the dais.
I was leaking enough to leave a wet patch on my pants, but I couldn’t claim her yet.
She still had to build her nest, and then I had to defeat any challengers for her.
My lips peeled back, tail lashing as my kethra flared. Anyone who dared think they could take her from me would be lucky to leave the Hall with their lives.
I was so caught up with the thought that I almost didn’t notice what was happening outside the dais.
Elaina had stopped to inspect the fabrics the Karzhari had on offer, stacks of everything I’d told them she preferred, as well as a selection of other options.
Her arms were full, overflowing with jewel bright colors, but instead of crawling onto the platform, she was backing away.
“No… I—I can’t.”
Her words were laced with panic, and I was crossing to her before I was aware of what I was doing.
“Drazien!”
Rhydek’s voice was sharp, commanding me to stop. I knew what he was going to do, so I darted to the side before sprinting forward.
Our general was a beast capable of taking down anyone in a fight, but he wasn’t as quick on his feet as I was.
I stopped just before I reached Elaina, my chest heaving as I stared at her. Her scent had grown thick and rich, laced with the sweetness of slick and pheromones that made my teeth ache to sink into her.
“Elaina.”
I called her name softly, turning her head towards me. Her eyes were wide, the pupils blown, hiding her multi-colored irises.
“Drazien— I– They—”
She was breathing faster than I was. Short, desperate gasps of air that interrupted what she was trying to say. Clutching the fabrics to her chest, she ducked her face into them as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, backing away another step.
“Elaina, what’s wrong?”
Rhydek hovered near my shoulder, not dragging me away since I’d been able to stop myself. The Karzhari encircled us, two of them close enough to Elaina to grab her if she tried to move towards me, but she looked more likely to collapse in on herself.
“Rethari, tell me.”
She blinked open eyes swimming with moisture, her face so hopeless it stole my breath.
“I—I don’t know how.”
It was a broken declaration. A desperate plea for help, but I still didn’t understand.
I took a step closer, ignoring the way Rhydek reached for my arm. My tail curved, ready to stab him before he could stop me, because nothing was going to stop me from going to her if that was what she needed, traditions be damned.
“You’re smart, rethari. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
She shook her head again and squeezed the blankets harder, as if she could ball herself up with them. Tremors wracked her body and I could scent the pain she was in, but she kept moving away from the place where she could find relief.
“I’ll help you. Tell me what you don’t think you can do.”
She took a few gulping breaths before her hold on the blankets loosened. When her eyes met mine there was more sense in them, but she still trembled as if she stood out in the winds of the veyr’karin.
“They said—They said I have to… build a nest. I—I don’t know how. Humans don’t nest.”
I remembered how it had bothered me when she hadn’t arranged the bedding in my home. How disappointed I’d been, and how I’d thought that perhaps, once she was comfortable, she would begin to nest.
While she had never gone to the lengths I’d heard some omegas went to, she eventually did add things to the bed. A little at a time, she’d replaced blankets and pillows she didn’t like with others.
Letting my muscles relax, I forced myself to breathe deep, then immediately regretted it when her scent flooded my lungs, making my groin tighten so hard it hurt.
“Rethari, you’re overthinking it. You know how to do this.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips twitched like she wanted to bare her teeth at me. Her tiny growl followed, and I smirked at her even as instinct urged me to show the little omega who was dominant.
“I don’t.”
Her words dripped conviction, but I shook my head.
“Do you like those blankets?”
The question seemed to surprise her. Her brow furrowed and she looked down at the colorful fabrics before brushing her cheek against the top one.
“Don’t you want to lay in the bed with those, all snuggled deep and cozy?”
When she looked up at me again her face had lost the fierceness, yearning taking its place.
“Yes.”
It was the barest whisper.
“Wouldn’t it feel good if that bed was covered in those blankets, so you could lay there and rest after climbing all those stairs?”
Her lower lip trembled, water filling her eyes again as she sniffled and nodded.
“Yes.”
I tipped my head towards the opening in the curtains, a tiny sliver of the dais showing the bare mattress inside.
“Then why don’t you get comfortable and rest? I’ll take care of everything else.”
Her shoulders sagged, worry leaving her face, replaced by exhaustion, although she offered me a small smile.
“Okay.”
The Karzhari moved out of her way, and she shuffled towards the dais. Everyone held their breath when she paused and looked back at me, but then she turned and disappeared inside, one of the Karzhari closing the curtain behind her.
My shoulders slumped as I let the air burst from my chest, relief making me dizzy until I was sent staggering by a hand slapping my shoulder.
“Good job, Drazien. Now comes the hard part.”
“What?”
I stared at Rhydek, mouth hanging open as he let out a laugh.
“Yeah, waiting for them to get here is nothing. Now you have to wait for her to be happy with her nest.”
His laughter echoed through the cavern as he walked away, leaving me standing there wondering how I was supposed to keep myself from going to her when her scent was swirling around me and I could hear her little mutters as she made the nest where I would claim her.