Chapter 8 Oros
CHAPTER EIGHT
OROS
“Did you or did you not instruct me to question Alpha Keegan?” my brother asks as he steps into my office.
I don’t look up from the screen I was reading when he entered and simply reply, “I changed my mind.”
“Clearly,” he drawls. “Just like you changed your mind about the Omega’s accommodations?”
Now that grabs my attention and forces me to focus on my brother.
Which leads me to narrowing my gaze. “I’m not sure I like the judgment in your expression right now, Onyx.”
“Well, I’m not sure I like the judgment—or lack thereof—you’re using where that Omega is concerned, brother.”
My jaw ticks. “Why are you riding my tail?”
“Because you seem to have handed the reins to your knot,” he tosses back.
“Oh, fuck off, Onyx,” I mutter, returning my attention to the screen before me.
He chuckles in response. “My, but that pretty little Omega has your beast in a twist, and you just met.”
I ignore him, instead focusing on the message I’d started drafting before he interrupted me. It doesn’t matter that I originally came up here in hopes of finding him. He can wait until I’m ready to speak now.
It seems your pet spy is in my sector, I type.
His meeting with the court occurred right before your call with my brother, too.
And you know how I feel about coincidences, Rio.
If you feel this strongly about trade routes, perhaps we should arrange a flight so we can discuss things properly? Dragon to dragon.
I read over my message as my brother collapses onto the couch positioned across from my desk. He’s thankfully remained quiet since his little quip about my beast.
Satisfied with my missive, I hit Send and let the words fly across the Mediterranean Sea to former-day Majorca.
Riordan may own all the islands south of Spain, but I own the Greek Isles.
Obsidian Sector is the one in between, taking over Sicily and Malta.
Not that any of those past names still apply.
But we’re all old enough to remember them anyway.
“By the way,” my brother drawls. “Your Omega thinks I’m the Gold Sector Prince.”
That seizes my attention. “You went to see her?” I ask, closing my screen.
“I went to see you and found her instead,” he replies.
Shit. “Did you correct her?”
“No.”
I frown. “Why not?”
“She’s yours,” he says simply as he sets his ankle over his opposite knee. “I may not agree with that decision, but I still respect it. So that makes it not my place to correct her, but yours.”
I study him for a moment, considering my options. I’ve purposely not told her who I am, mostly as a means to keep her calm. I want her to confide in me. To trust me.
And that’ll be hard to do if she knows my title.
Being Prince of Gold Sector isn’t who I am, though. I’m still just Oros.
“I’ll think about how to handle that situation,” I tell my brother. “Thank you for not correcting her.”
His chin angles downward in acknowledgment. “There’s something I don’t understand, though.”
“Only one thing?” I ask.
He grunts. “Okay, several things. But at the top of my list is how her father could bring her here and not give her your name.”
I consider that for a long moment. “I’m not sure. However, he knew me when I went to visit.”
“Of course he did. So why not share your identity with his daughter?”
I shake my head. “Not a fucking clue. Maybe you should go ask him.”
“You know, I would, but the last time you gave me a task, you went and did it yourself. So I think I’ll leave this one for you to do.”
I roll my eyes. “I went to him to figure out why his daughter thought I was going to rape her.”
His eyebrow arches. “And?”
“He basically told me her upbringing in Obsidian Sector preprogrammed her to believe certain things about Alphas.” Rather than wait for my brother’s comments on that topic, I proceed to tell him everything else Keegan said, including the details about Riordan.
“You walked in as I was sending Rio an email. I assume he didn’t mention anything to you during your call with him? ”
My brother grunts. “Our call ended shortly after he realized you weren’t coming.”
I sigh. “Who ended it?”
Onyx smiles. “I did.”
“Of course you did.”
“He said, and I quote, ‘I have no interest in meeting with Gold Sector’s second-in-command.’ ” He shrugs again. “I’m not one to beg for an audience, so I told him to have a good day, then, and hung up.”
“Have a good day?” I parrot.
“Well, it may not have been that polite. But the point was the same.” He unhooks his ankle from his knee to set his silver-coated boot on the ground and leans forward with his forearms on his thighs. “Do you believe Keegan? About why he’s here?”
“Yes and no,” I murmur. “I’m waiting for Taylor’s evaluation file to confirm the facts.”
“I doubt he lied about her being a wolf.”
“It would be a poor decision on his part,” I say, agreeing with my brother’s assessment. “Same with the information on the suppressants.”
He nods, then gives me a thoughtful look. “You gave her a token of favor.”
“I did.”
His light-colored eyebrow arches upward. “Before or after you learned about her wolf?”
“Before.”
“And now?” he presses.
“And now…” I repeat, drawing out the answer. “And now, I don’t know. Not because of her wolf, but because of her scent.” I already told him what Keegan said about Taliana’s mother and how she laid a trap for him. “It could be a trap.”
“Indeed,” he agrees, his lips curling down. “But she doesn’t smell unique to me at all.”
“Then you’re not the one being ensnared.”
“You said Keegan claimed it only works on compatible mates, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then…” He waves a hand.
“Then what?” I ask, not following his train of thought.
“You’re compatible.” He utters the words like that should be obvious.
It is, but why he’s pointing it out is less clear.
“And?” I prompt him.
“And nothing. You’re compatible. Full stop.
” He lifts a shoulder in another of his trademark shrugs.
“Unless she’s been programmed to also ensnare you, I don’t see the issue.
If anything, the scent thing just makes it easier to identify an ideal mate.
That takes some of the guesswork out of the equation. Doesn’t seem so bad to me.”
I frown at him. “Unless it’s all founded on a lie.”
“But it’s not. Keegan said it was designed to attract compatible mates. Nothing wrong with that unless you intend to abuse the outcome. So I guess the real question is, what are her intentions? Are they good or bad?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, of course not. You just met. Yet she’s exploring your suite because you gave her free rein to your personal space. Perhaps you should go check on that.”
I wince. “There’s not much she can do up there.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I found her by your bed when I entered.”
My eyebrows shoot upward. “You did? Doing what?”
“Looked like she was considering the potential for a nest,” he tells me, making me jump up with a curse.
“Why didn’t you say something when you first arrived?” I demand.
He gives me one of his famous smiles—the one that he’s used for centuries when finding enjoyment at my expense. “Maybe I wanted to give her time to finish.”
My fingers curl, the urge to deck him hitting me square in the chest.
But as I take a step around my desk toward him, I realize it’s not the notion of Taliana nesting that bothers me. It’s the knowledge that my brother was near her and her potential nest.
In my room.
Ice pours over me, freezing me mid-step.
Fuck.
This is bad.
I shouldn’t want the Omega to nest in my room. But I… I do. And I want to be there when she does it.
“I need to go,” I tell him, heading for the door. I’m almost through the threshold when the dinging of an elevator announces Taylor’s arrival.
She steps out, a look of surprise crossing her features upon seeing me leaving my office.
“Is she a wolf?” I ask as I head straight for her.
Taylor doesn’t ask me who I mean. “Yes.”
“And she was on suppressants?” I add.
“Yes,” she confirms. “She’s never had a heat. I give her a week at most before her estrus hits, and it’s going to be painful.”
I nod and move around her to catch the elevator doors before they close. “Thank you, Tay.” I don’t have any other questions. She’s told me enough to confirm Keegan’s comments about Taliana.
The rest, I’ll need to deduce for myself.
Either this is all a trap—one orchestrated by Rio or the asshole in charge of Obsidian Sector…
Or this is fate.
There’s only one person who can show me the truth, and that’s the Omega waiting in my suite.
All right, little diamond, I think, keying in the code for my floor. Let’s see who you really are and what this scent enchantment truly means…