31. Zoe
Zoe
The realm is governed by the Archon, the Primes, and the subprimes, and the churches have their own political structure that complements it. Every church has a priest, and each God has a high priest. Those high priests, like the Primes, serve on a council overseen by the Arcanist.
The Hierophant is an outsider, ranked not as high as the Arcanist, but above the high priests. While he's not a part of legislating the realm, he is the keeper of knowledge, the pinnacle of religious education.
And he fingered me against a tree.
I'm gonna be sick.
I came on the hand of the man regarded as one of the most holy in the realm.
I rest my head between my knees, breathing raggedly as he rubs me between the shoulder blades.
"It sounds fancier than it is."
"It sounds like you're the person who is consulted on questions of faith. The priest of priests."
He makes a dismissive noise. "It's an inflated title. I'm a researcher and a scholar."
"Oh my Gods, I'm being stalked by a priest."
"Hierophant."
I sit up and pin him with a glare. "Of course, your holiness, how could I forget?"
He looks frazzled for the first time in this entire conversation. "Zoe, I was given this job because they needed to keep a close eye on me. There is no power in this title, only responsibility."
I have so many questions, and everything he says leaves me with more. "How did you get the notes to me?" Of all the questions I have, that feels like it has the lowest stakes.
"I have a lot of free time, and I am very sneaky." He laughs at the dumbfounded expression on my face. "I don't know what you expect me to say. I have a master key. I can get into any room on campus."
The sound of doors slamming open startles me, and he swears under his breath.
"Stay here. Be quiet."
Cameron grabs a piece of cloth that's resting over one of the busted pews and throws it on. It's a robe. He's wearing religious garb.
Oh my Gods, forgive me, he is a sexy priest.
I hear voices growing closer, so I duck to the floor and crawl toward the door to listen in.
"No Omegas in this year's class, Hierophant?" Who is that?
"No, Archon, there are not."
Shit, the Archon is here? No wonder Cameron told me to hide.
"And the Gods are still quiet?"
"Should you not be having this conversation with the Arcanist? I am but a vessel for the Gods' knowledge."
Cameron plays his part well. So well that it's easy to forget that he's the guy who pinned me to a tree in the woods and fucked me with his hand.
I can't think about that right now. I don't think I'm supposed to get horny for a holy man.
"Cut the shit, Soter." So much for religious deference. "Did any Omegas go unreported?"
There's the screeching sound of a chair being pulled out. "The Gods are Blessing fewer Omegas every year."
That wasn't an answer to the question, and both of us know why he sidestepped it.
"It's sad, really, that the Gods have abandoned us the way they have. The chance of our Alphas finding their Omega continues to get smaller and smaller. I worry we may start to have to form extra large packs and give them a community Omega to keep them healthy."
My stomach churns, and I almost lose my dinner. Is he really suggesting assigning Omegas to large swaths of Alphas?
"The Gods would not look favorably upon us ignoring the gift of scent matches for such an arrangement." Cameron's voice is tight, and I can hear he's as disgusted by the idea as I am.
"There is no incentive to go through the process of finding scent matches when we have so few Omegas. We just need to collect them in groups that the Omega is scent-sympathetic to. It makes sense to train them to handle many Alphas. Some time with an Omega is better than none at all."
"And you're here, what, to look for my Blessing?" The edge in Cameron's voice reminds me of the way he spoke when he had Cliff by the neck.
"Not yours, Hierophant." The Archon's voice drips with derision.
"I wanted to let you know directly that we will be moving the Omegas off campus.
For their protection, you see. There are so many Alphas here, we can't risk them getting into the Omega dorms. The director knows.
You no longer need to hold your Omega service. "
There is a heavy pause that has me squirming and straining my ears to see if I'm missing something.
"Locking the Omegas up is not the way to get the Gods to Bless more."
"I am simply protecting the Gods' Blessings. You think you'd be happy about that, Hierophant." Another scraping sound and heavy footballs. "You know, you could benefit from an Omega, Hierophant. I imagine you'd be able to rid yourself of that collar if you had access to one."
A loud thump startles me so much I jump, covering my mouth to hide a squeak.
"I will be waiting for my Gods-Blessed scent match, as they intended."
"Have a good evening, Hierophant."
The click of dress shoes on the concrete floor fades as they move away from us, culminating in the crash of heavy doors, but I still don't move.
Cameron finds me right inside the doorway and squats in front of me.
He takes me by the chin and tilts my face to his.
"I imagine you have more questions than ever.
Come, then." He stands, leaving me gaping in the doorway, and grabs the portrait of Ilota.
When I'm still on the floor, he holds his hand out to me.
The chapel is beautiful, capturing my attention as he leads me through it and toward a set of stairs. He unlocks the door and leads me by the hand up, and up, until we're in an apartment at the very top of the steeple.
An unmade bed sits in the middle of the room with a chest of drawers directly across from it.
There is a desk with a notebook on the top and a worn stool facing the window.
Cameron stands back as I examine his domain.
The view from his window is beautiful, and, if I squint, I can see my building from here.
No personal effects line the walls, and no clothing is on the floor. The room is soulless, not at all what I would have expected from Cameron.
He places the portrait of Ilota on his desk, and I hover over it, drawn like a moth to her fiery visage.
"You said you destroyed this?"
"I did."
I roll the garnet pendant between my fingers. "Because of this?"
He nods. "It won't conceal you forever, you know."
"Conceal me?"
The Alpha doesn't strike me as the type of man to fidget, but he keeps pulling at the collar of his shirt. "The pendant. It hides that you're an Omega. For now."
"How does it do that?" I appreciate that we're not pretending that he doesn't know I'm an Omega. After everything that has transpired this evening, I just want some answers, and then I want to sleep for a week.
"How do the stones pass on the Gods' Blessings? Because they will it." He takes slow, measured steps across the room to me and takes the pendant in his hand. "May I?"
I don't know what he's asking, but I nod anyway. He reaches behind my head, unclasps the necklace, and places it on his desk. I feel no different without it.
Cameron takes a step closer and presses his forehead to mine. Memories of our bodies pressed together in the woods come rushing back, and I drown in his sweet, toffee scent.
"The thought first crossed my mind when I saw you in the library.
I couldn't leave you alone after that. I needed to know where you were, what you were doing, at all times, but I swore to myself I would keep my distance.
" He chuckles. "That didn't last long. I convinced myself that I was still keeping my distance as long as you never saw me leave the notes. "
"I knew they were from you."
"I wanted you to." As he speaks, he moves his mouth to rest just over my lips, not touching, and he breathes me in as if I am the only oxygen he needs. "I couldn't stay away from you. I never stood a chance."
His proximity is taking every thought from my mind. I am overwhelmed with his presence, the heaviness of his Alpha nature wrapping me like a blanket and pulling the tension from my limbs.
"You know I belong to you, don't you, lovely Zoe?"
Do I know that?
My dragon has been quiet since I got here, but now she pushes against my mind. It feels different from the times she wants me to shift. She wants me to tell me something, but we're not in sync enough for me to know what it is.
Cameron's eyes brighten, the pupils slitting, before he jerks away from me, shoulders twitching and shuddering.
"Are you okay?" I reach for him, and he scrambles backward, holding his hand up.
"Give me a moment."
My dragon is pissed. I can feel her forcing her way to the forefront, and I know the only thing keeping me in this form is that I'd destroy the chapel if I shifted now. "What's wrong?"
"It's my…" I watch as the unnatural light of his beast leaves his eyes and his pupils return to their natural round shape. "My beast. He wants to meet yours."
"Mine wants to meet yours as well, but I can't shift here. We'd need to go to the forest."
Sadness ages his boyishly handsome face. "I can't shift at all." Before I can question why, he pulls off his sweater, and I get distracted by my second glance at his trim waist and slim chest.
My eyes travel up his body and lock on the thick collar around his neck. He was wearing this in the woods as well, but I assumed it was part of his costume. It's heavy under my touch, unnatural. I trace it with my fingers and find no clasp.
"What is this?"
"This is why I can't shift."
My chest rumbles with a growl that is not my own, but my dragon and I are in agreement. "What does it do?"
"It stops my shifts."
I'm trying not to get frustrated at his evasive answers. "How, Cameron?"
His smile is weak as he covers my hand with his own. "When my beast tries to make an appearance, it shocks me until he recedes."