Chapter 6 #2
Offspring was the whole purpose of illegal breeding dens.
With birthrates so low, evil people had found ways to take advantage and earn a buck off of other people’s desperation.
Alphas and omegas were taken off the streets, given inducers, and made to have sex in the hopes of a rare pregnancy occurring.
The baby would then be taken and sold to the highest bidder, rich people desperate to continue their line or show off to their friends.
Disgusting.
Shiloh might be a monster, but even he wouldn’t harm children. When Kian had announced his plan for the Eumia to go to war with illegal dens and put a stop to them, Shiloh had wholeheartedly agreed.
“Are you all right?” Sloane was kneeling in front of him, hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
She’d noticed the changes in him over the years. Any true empathy had been beaten out of them at a young age by their mother and her cohorts, but he’d shown signs of it now and again, in a passing comment, or a lingering glance.
They’d both figured out these changes had started after he’d met Sarang, though there wasn’t any reasonable explanation for it.
Shiloh didn’t believe in that fairytale nonsense about how a crush could better someone.
Attraction didn’t magically rewrite the brain.
The more likely answer was being around an alpha as considerate as Sarang was rubbing off on him.
He still wouldn’t pull any punches, or give up on something he wanted. Would play as rough and dirty as it took to achieve his goals.
But things like suddenly wanting to be understood?
Wanting more than simply Sarang’s attention?
These were new developments.
“The organization was dismantled,” Sloane reminded. “Kian took them down.”
The illegal breeding dens, basically a glorified flesh trade, had been destroyed by the Eumia under Kian’s rule.
He’d killed most of the underlings involved, as well as some leaders.
The rest, the few that had survived the massacre, had only done so because Altair, the prince of Synastry, needed people to stand trial.
He’d escaped from that cold, dark place mentally unscathed because he’d been trained all his life to endure.
The only reason sleeping with the Leviathan bothered him at all was because it meant he’d spent his heat with someone other than Sarang.
Being drugged and made to participate didn’t upset him, since he’d always known their species were ruled by their base instincts.
Those instincts instructed them to breed, so of course when in the middle of a rut or heat, they would.
Even though it’d been forced, it was still nature. Why would Shiloh feel guilty or disgusted with himself from doing what his primal urges were created for?
But Elm wasn’t like him.
Elm had grown up here, with laws, and a more civilized upbringing. Glyphians loved to separate themselves from their urges. Loved to consider themselves above all of it.
Reminded of all of this, Shiloh finally felt a prickle of unease where Elm was concerned.
Kian and Sloane would care if something bad happened to him.
If he returned…broken. There was little doubt that their brother would find him, that Elm would be rescued from whatever horror he’d fallen into, but…
He stood with a flourish, almost knocking Sloane onto her ass in the process. “I’ll look into it.”
“Brother.” She stood and followed him toward the door, but he wasn’t really listening anymore, mind already circling the names of potential contacts who could help him in his search.
“You’re right,” he said. “If someone took Elm, an artist who has nothing to do with the mafia and no fighting skills whatsoever, he’s in serious danger. We need to find him before something terrible happens.”
“He’s a beta,” now she was the one reminding him. “No one would force him into a den like they did you. Calm down, before you do something—”
Shiloh yanked the door open, but only managed a single step before he came up against a solid wall. With a low growl, he lifted his head, intent on telling whoever was blocking his path to get the fuck out of his way, but faltered the second his eyes met golden-green ones. “Rang.”
“Where are you going?” The underboss placed a hand on either side of Shiloh and backed him into the room, effectively settling in the doorway.
“Has Elm been found?” Sloane came to his aid and asked.
Sarang’s expression was grim. “The people who took him are unknown to us. We’re trying to track them down now, but it’s proving difficult. No one saw it happen, which makes it harder. But we were able to deduce he was taken off planet.”
“What?!” Sloane’s eyes widened.
If his kidnappers got Elm on a spaceship, he could literally be anywhere by now.
“Where’s Kian?” Shiloh knew his brother. He wouldn’t stand for this.
“On his way to Synastry,” Sarang replied. “There hasn’t been word yet, but it’s likely that’s where Elm was taken.”
If they operated under the assumption he was taken because of the Eumia, sure. But what if he wasn’t? There was no shortage of awful people in this universe.
“And Sky?”
“He refused to stay behind. The Dominus took his Possessio with him.”
That was surprising, but then, Sky wasn’t a weak omega, and he’d been training in combat since getting with Kian.
He could hold his own in a fight, at least long enough for a member of the Eumia to get to him, and Shiloh doubted he’d be left on his own ever.
They’d be staying at the compound, the Eumia homebase, which was heavily guarded at all times.
Sky would be safe there. Maybe even safer than he’d be here, considering Elm was stolen off these very streets.
“I’ve been left in charge in his stead,” Sarang told them. As the underboss, that was to be expected.
But as the prince, Shiloh wasn’t too keen on taking orders from anyone, not even his alpha.
Usually, he’d at least pretend, but he was too riled, either because of Elm or because he felt things between him and Sarang slipping out of control.
Didn’t really matter. He was feeling some type of way, and whenever that happened, he needed to lash out before emotion got the better of him and turned him into the embodiment of a living nightmare.
“Until we know more about the circumstances, the two of you—”
“No,” Shiloh interrupted before he could finish. Over his shoulder, Sloane snorted.
“This isn’t up for debate,” Sarang said stiffly.
“I’m not skipping school. It’s only been two months since we started.” He wasn’t particularly fond of Firethorn University, but he refused to be a prisoner in his own home, and it was obvious that’s where the alpha had been going with things.
“You’re staying here, where it’s safe.”
“School is safe.”
“Prince.”
“Let it go, brother.” Sloane stepped up to his side. “I’m sure it’ll only be a couple of days before Kian has answers and we can go back to our lives. It’ll give you time to study for that exam anyway.”
“We didn’t agree to put Kian on the throne just so he could turn around and treat us exactly like she did,” he reminded sharply. “Our mother trapped us in the name of keeping us safe. Look how we turned out. I won’t go back to that.”
“Kian isn’t the one making this call,” Sarang said before Sloane could respond. “I am.”
“No.”
“Loh. I need you somewhere safe. Somewhere I can always find you. I’ll be worried otherwise.”
“Ah, so this is a selfish decision.” Shiloh still didn’t like it, but at least he could understand where Sarang was coming from then. If their rolls were reversed, and he was worried something might happen to make him lose the alpha, Shiloh would want to lock him up too.
It actually wasn’t a bad idea.
Was this another sign the alpha liked him?
His mother’s selfishness had been different. She’d kept them safe to secure an heir. Carrying on her legacy had been all that mattered to her.
“I’ll agree,” Shiloh decided, “but only if we can still hold the birthday party I set up for you. I spent a lot of time planning it.”
“The venue is on the other side of the city,” Sarang reminded.
“Take it or leave it.” If he really wanted to, Shiloh could sneak out of here. While he’d done his best to play the innocent act, that was one thing he hadn’t been able to prevent himself from doing, so the underboss was painfully accustomed to him vanishing on a whim.
Sarang clearly wanted to put his foot down, but his multi-slate chimed then, and whoever it was, it was important enough for him to step away and give a single curt nod. “Fine. But until then, you follow my orders and remain in Caelum.”
“Of course, alpha.” He grinned when the underboss hesitated.
“Weird reaction,” Sloane said once Sarang had left, watching his back disappear down the hall. “You’ve teased him like that a million times before. Why did he blush this time?”
Because this time Sarang was most likely thinking about fucking an omega at the Wardrobe. He didn’t know it’d really been Shiloh, but he was clearly embarrassed over what he believed was a fantasy.
Terms like alpha and omega were often used respectfully and as endearments between couples. Was there a chance Sarang also envisioned the two of them dating?
If so, he was in for a real treat.
Shiloh wasn’t holding back anymore.
Soon, they’d be together for real.
Then they’d see who would be taking whose orders.