Chapter 21
The clay was pliant between his hands as Sky worked it.
The hum of the turntable before him, hovering over the powered panel between his feet, giving off a slight warmth, helped to drown out the noises from other students.
Most were already packing up to leave, class having ended a few minutes ago.
Even the professor was collecting her things.
Sky remained fixated on the lump of light brown, picturing what it would look like finished, easing it into shape.
There’d been an empty spot on the small table between the two reading chairs at the other end of the loft space in Kian’s home.
Despite all his attempts to resist the urge to create something specifically for that place, Sky had eventually given in to temptation.
He'd always been like that. The second an idea got stuck in his head, it was there to stay until he’d seen it through. Whether that took an immense amount of effort and concentration, or it took days, if not weeks, to complete, he’d be pulled to it like a moth to a flame.
Anticipating he’d need more hours this period, he’d extended his studio time on campus by signing up for use of the room.
He wasn’t the only one. Two other students lingered as well, keeping to themselves in their own workstations.
He was a bit surprised there weren’t more, considering the days were ticking down before they would no longer have access to this space.
At least he had his own studio he could work in.
Typically, that was where he’d be, opting for the solitude and quiet of his own personal rooms, but a part of him had worried Kian would interrupt him if he tried.
It’d been two days since they’d last seen each other, and though the alpha kept his word and kept in contact through texts and the occasional call, there hadn’t been any sightings.
Their conversations had also, for the most part, been rather bland.
Even when Sky had taken the risk and asked what had happened at the impromptu family meeting Elm had rushed off to, Kian had merely replied he’d been catching them up on things.
One of those things had been Sky.
He’d casually mentioned he’d informed them he was mated now, and before Sky could say anything to that, had told him he needed to go and hung up. A habit of his, and no doubt something he used to his advantage to get in the last word.
Sky was annoyed about it, but not enough to bother calling him back. That had been yesterday morning, and though he’d heard nothing so far today, he wasn’t too concerned. Tomorrow was Fright Night, which meant Sky was close to winning their agreement.
He hadn’t touched himself at all these past couple of days—wanting to didn’t count.
He’d resisted, and that was all that mattered.
It’d earn him more time, if nothing else.
Time to wrap his head around all of this and decide what it was he really wanted out of this mating.
He couldn’t avoid the life Kian was planning for him forever, he knew that, but there had to be things he wanted that he’d refuse to accede to, right?
He'd already informed the alpha of his intentions to run the studio and continue with his art. Aside from that…He kept coming up blank.
Was there really nothing else he wanted?
Could he seriously be content living as the Possessio of a crime king?
Gods, what would that even look like?
He would never admit it, but he’d spent the better part of his free time these past few days looking into the mafia and the syndicate.
They were both terms that had originated from some far-off planet thousands of years ago and had taken on new definitions since, making it more difficult for him to get a definitive grasp on them.
The most popular ones nearest him were the Eumia, the Titan, the Corbett, and the Brumal.
Most were stationed on Synastry, but that last one was from Vitality, a planet close to the border separating the Fued and the Duel galaxies.
Sky’s parents were vacationing there right now, though he’d never been.
Up until nine months ago, the Eumia had notoriously been led by Whimsy Sobu, a female alpha whose daytime persona included being the CEO of Goldstone Industries. According to the obituary Sky had read, she’d also held massive shares in the company, which she’d passed on to her three children.
The Eumia had always operated in the shadow of legitimate businesses. Kian’s club was no doubt used, if only in part, for that same purpose.
“That looks nice,” a female voice snapped Sky out of it, and when he lifted his head, he found a girl with inky black hair in a messy bun and intense blue eyes standing in front of him.
She wasn’t dressed in their school uniform, had on all black, including a leather jacket with chains decorating the shoulders.
She was gorgeous, a little edgy, the type of girl Sky would have envied when he’d been younger and unable to gather enough courage to talk to or befriend any of his peers. The fact that she was also an omega didn’t help loosen the tension springing back to his shoulders, stiffening his spine.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she added when Sky merely continued to stare at her. “I’m—”
“Kian’s sister.” It was obvious. They shared similar features and held the same intensity, though the alpha’s was stronger, given his size and cold demeanor. Instead of the stony expression he usually wore, she had on a charming smile.
“Sloane Sobu,” she held out her hand to him, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Sky shut the pottery wheel off, held her gaze steadily, and took her hand. Clay smeared over her palm and smushed between her fingers, but he didn’t maintain contact for long when she didn’t seem to mind.
“Understood,” she said as soon as he’d released her, and that caught his attention.
“What?” he couldn’t help but fall for it and asked.
“You’re miffed at Shiloh,” she said. “Don’t hold it against him for too long. It’s not like you weren’t aware that there’s no escaping the Dominus, no matter how much help you get from his siblings. We’re all in the same boat here.”
Admittedly, as soon as Kian had revealed that Shiloh’s escape plan had been part of some test to irritate his brother, yeah, he’d become a bit annoyed.
“Which is?”
“Under his thumb.” She sighed, but the smile was back in a blink. “You’re incredibly attractive. Big for a male omega. I bet you’re mistaken for a beta often.”
“Are you flattering me?”
“It’s not in my genetic makeup,” she disagreed, and Sky looked at her a little more closely.
Ah. It wasn’t just the air of intimidation or the cool vibe they shared.
“On a scale of one to ten,” Sky drawled, “how psychotic are you?”
“Those aren’t the same, actually. Psychosis is when a person loses touch with reality. I am very present, always. Without fail. I was trained that way. But, to answer your question,” she held up eight fingers, “this much?”
He snorted to hide his laugh. “Kian is a ten.”
“That’s why Kian wears the crown.” She didn’t seem upset about that.
“I was in line first, did you know? Spent most of my life preparing to take over once our mother passed the baton or ate a bullet. Fortunately for me, Kian was discovered before either of those things could happen, and now he’s saddled with all the responsibility, and I’m free to do as I please. ”
Sky motioned toward the manila envelope tucked under her left arm. The school’s crest was stamped on the end. “And that’s this?”
“I never got to be a regular student before,” she explained. “Mom was too paranoid since Loh and I are both omegas. We attended university, don’t get me wrong, but we had private classrooms and a dozen guards with us at all times. Not even Altair had to deal with that level of extremes.”
“You know Altair?”
“There’s been a tentative peace between us and the Imperial Heir since Kian stepped in. You could call it a merger of sorts.”
“You might be an omega, but you’re an omega who’s been trained since birth, I presume.
” Even though he was a yellow pin in one form of martial arts, he doubted that or the fact he towered over her by a good foot or so would make any difference if the two were to fight.
“Something tells me you can take care of yourself.”
She leaned in closer, dropping her voice conspiratorially. “Tell that to the men my brother insisted shadow me all the way here.”
He frowned and glanced toward the entrance to the room, catching sight of two burly guards standing out in the hallway. “At least it isn’t a dozen.”
“Did you notice the five he has shadowing you?” she asked, clearly curious.
“Yeah,” he said. “Honestly, I thought being big bad mafia members would mean they’d have more tact but…”
“Subtly isn’t really their thing.” She shrugged. “At least, not the guys Kian sent to protect you. He probably wanted you to be aware of them.”
She used the word probably, but they both knew it was a definite.
Sky couldn’t help but find her immensely interesting. “You’re twins, but you aren’t the same.”
“Shiloh is the most normal of us all,” she agreed, then pursed her lips. “Well, if we don’t count Elm Erskine, of course. You’re best friends, correct? Kian won’t let us meet him, but I’ve always been curious. Could you tell me about him sometime?”
“That depends, are you planning on hurting him or involving him in this mess in any way?”
“Of course not. It’s just…We always knew Kian existed.
Our mother spoke of him ad nauseam. I would be lying if I claimed we weren’t total brats to him when he was finally found and brought home to the family.
As you can tell, however,” she held out her arms, “he fit right in. It was hard not to acknowledge him eventually.”