Chapter 6 #3
Brushing her hand aside, he continued to right his clothing.
“No, Svana.” Shepherd felt an impure film on his skin, everywhere Svana’s hands had crept over him unclean.
“It was wrong for me to take you now. Your assessment was correct, we have surpassed physicality, and I will not defile our bodies by attempting to mate with you again. Things have changed, we must both accept that.”
Her voice cracked. “You cannot possibly prefer another to me.” Svana stood before him, demanding he see reason. “Especially a woman who defies you, who prefers the pretty Beta downstairs.”
Shepherd lowered his chin to his chest, the deep furrow between his brows sinister. “Claire is unenlightened and misunderstands my purpose. The very fact that she abhors what I’ve done to her people demonstrates her worth.”
“I am the one who loves you,” the beauty pleaded. “Do you not see that she hates you? Has run from you… The Omega could never love a marked man from the Undercroft. You disgust her.”
The sharp sting of Shepherd’s tattered bond concurred. “But she is still mine, carries my heir, and is under my protection.” He grew, cracking bones as he postured. “You will not touch her again, Svana. Do you understand me?”
“You will come crying to me when everything you imprudently created falls apart.” Svana nodded, staring forward as if she could see into the future. “And I love you so greatly that I will give you the comfort you do not deserve.”
Shepherd could not tolerate another moment of such spite.
After what he had heard earlier, the lie spilling from her lips, it was painfully obvious Svana had never intended to let him keep his due.
She’d expected that he would cast off the Omega.
Nothing he had done had satisfied her—and like the monster Claire believed him to be, he’d stood by and let Svana debase his mate… even willingly participated.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he heard Jules’ words echo for what felt like the hundredth time: You allowed Svana to manipulate you into dishonoring your pregnant mate.
Shepherd had accepted his beloved’s liaisons, even though the revelation had dumbfounded him. He had even adored Svana despite her foulness with Premier Callas. The same respect was not wielded in his direction, her expectations contradictory, immature.
Every word Svana had spoken when they’d faced off over Premier Callas had been carefully chosen to extradite herself of blame, to justify her own actions. Now he understood—she’d never expected him to seek sexual fulfillment with another.
His beloved had taken him for granted, made his devotion common.
There was something so very cutting in the revelation. After all, her actions had led to his response… his needs apparently considered less important than hers.
Svana had never truly been concerned about Shepherd’s feelings on the matter, and now she stood before him and openly lied.
Faith shaken, Shepherd nodded sadly. What had once been the adolescent who’d climbed atop him at her first urge and mated, swearing to be his forever, was not the woman he found he could not look at.
Shepherd left in disgusted silence.
Back in his room, he showered in water so hot his skin burned, found the discomfort cleansing, but still felt the taint of what he’d done—found the recoil of the bond, the violent sting, a welcome penitence for mating in a way that degraded them all.
No stranger to suffering, he relished it as his due, just as he had each time he had purposefully harmed Claire for her own good.
A knock came to the door. One of his lieutenants entered to hand him something far more disturbing than anything else he had faced in the last grueling twenty-four hours.
Shepherd held a wretched piece of paper in his hand, unable to look away.
Even with the consuming sadness of Claire’s expression, even with the arrogant tilt of her chin and judgment in her eyes, she was beautiful. But it was the marks on her neck, the split lip… wounds created when Svana had forced Claire to spread, that held Shepherd’s attention.
Look at me. I am what you have done to yourselves.
“Sir,” the Follower began, “these are blowing all over Thólos. Reports say they were discovered scattered at six locations so far. They have already been seen by the citizens lining up for rations.”
Shepherd’s unresolved anger, the long hours of poisonous rage, vanished at the realization of what her actions could mean. His silver eyes darted all over the page, absorbed every curve of a body that was only for his eyes… read her words… and could not look away from the complicated pain.
He wanted nothing more in the world than to hold her, to touch that naked skin, to do anything necessary to remove that expression from her face.
I was pair-bonded to Shepherd against my will. I carry his child.
Her message to the world, the exposed expression of her spirit—it was the final rebellion. Death was coming for her, and she was going to feed herself to the city in an attempt to show them all the truth of what they had become. The foolish, brave little Omega.
Do not make me stand alone.
There would be no sanctuary for Claire after this. She would not live long enough to know the pain of Red Consumption. Thólos would slaughter her, rip her apart like dogs fighting over a bone if he did not get to her first.
Knowing the Beta Corday had been with Svana and under surveillance all evening meant the man could not have known the Omega had done this.
If the Enforcer did care for her, even a little, he too would know exactly what that flyer meant.
Banking that once Corday saw the image he would impulsively run straight to Claire, Shepherd grabbed his coat and organized a team to make sure the Beta stumbled on that very flyer the second he stepped out his door.
The hulk addressed his soldiers, resolute and indomitable, with a mind as still as a frozen river. “A team must keep visual contact on Svana. Should she attempt to interfere or leave the Enforcer’s domicile, I authorize interception and detainment.”
“Yes, sir.”
Not one man questioned him.
How could one female cause such havoc? Corday was furious, looking down with a scowl at the suggestive image. At first he saw only rubbish on the ground; most of it wet from the sludge, and then he saw familiar eyes.
Naked, she looked out at him from the page, marred and damaged, but so fucking proud. Then there was her message… her goddamn message! What the hell was she thinking?
As he made his way to her, Corday passed people on the street who had their own copy, whispering the name ‘Claire’ amongst themselves.
Corday moved as cautiously as he could through the city until the mid-level byways spread out before him.
The flyer crushed in his hand, past pissed off, he found the Processing Plant shut up, desolate and lifeless, just as the Omegas intended it to look.
But a careful eye could see the sentry with one of the Omegas’ acquired automatic rifles guarding from the chute hatch.
The way was opened for him and he went inside, barreling through the space to find Claire and shake some sense into her.
“Corday has made contact with the Omegas. No visual on O’Donnell.”
Shepherd and a team of twenty had already surrounded the clever home Claire had found for her pack.
There was little view within. Even so, from Shepherd’s invisible perch on the building opposite, he and Jules could see the females mulling about in the dim space…
but just like the Beta Enforcer scanning the room, they saw no sign of Claire’s raven hair amongst the herd.