7. Chapter 7
Chapter seven
~Kitari~
T he huge, white dome of the Ende-mar was swarming with Aldar by the time I arrived. A horde of betas and lower alphas had congregated around the entrance, talking excitedly.
I threaded my way through the crowd, only half paying attention. My heart was still pumping, my head spinning.
Another human omega. Here. What were the chances?
Had he seen me? I was furious for letting my guard down and acting so foolishly, but the shock of finding him had thrown me off. Yet, I was buzzing with energy.
What should I do with this information? The dutiful thing, the correct thing, would be to inform Jursin straight away of these human invaders, but that would mean admitting I had disobeyed direct orders. While I was hiding, it seemed a grand idea to win favor with my information, but faced with it now, it was daunting. With the human omega’s scent still lingering, I wasn’t ready to share yet. Perhaps it was the pheromones, but I felt oddly protective of him, wanting to keep his existence to myself for as long as possible.
The truth of the human invaders would be discovered soon enough without my input.
As I drew closer to the inner chamber where the high alphas held council, I saw that the guard at the door was Tarro.
“Tarro!” I said. “You’re back.”
He bowed his head. “Arani.”
I scoffed. The formal title for a superior alpha was not often directed at me. “Since when have you started calling me that?”
He just bowed his head again, giving me an awkward smile.
I still did not know what had happened to him, and no amount of prodding would make him crack. Not that I wanted to prod him too hard. He was back to his full physical strength, but he still held a fragility about him, one that I saw in the other Aldar who had been sequestered for treatment. His spirit seemed different now.
Whatever Ulgar had done, he deserved to be where he was now; locked away with no hope of freedom.
“It is good to see you back on your feet,” I said.
He smiled tightly, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and nodded. “Thank you. I am glad to be useful again.”
Was I the only alpha who did not hold ‘being useful’ as a top priority?
“We must go hunting again soon,” I said, adding in the privacy of my own head, Though not while this new human omega is wandering around the jungle.
I liked Tarro, but I did not want to share this knowledge with anyone. It would be my own personal secret. For now.
I slipped inside, only opening the large door enough to fit through. I was not on the high alpha council, but I was allowed into the room with them. Even if my friend had not been on duty, all the guards knew me on sight, along with almost every other Aldar in Amalya .
I slunk to the back, not wanting to draw attention to my late entry. Jursin was at his place at the head of the room, speaking to the assembled council.
“We do not know who these outsiders are or what they want. Until we can be sure, everyone is to stay inside the settlement.”
At the head of the room, Arcay spotted me instantly and gave me a disapproving look, but thankfully he could not say anything with the meeting already in full swing. I half-smiled at him and shrugged. He pursed his lips.
At the side of the hall, the beta attendees hovered. Among them, Arcay’s betas, Lendel and Kesk. Lendel was watching with attentive concentration, taking everything in. Kesk was carefully concentrating on attaching something to the back of Lendel’s clothes.
“I will send scouts to locate and observe them from afar.”
Jursin’s eyes landed on me and narrowed. Damn, so my late attendance had not gone unnoticed. I averted my eyes and he carried on without missing a beat.
“Do not approach or engage with them. They might be here for innocent reasons, and it is not logical to provoke an attack when one is not forthcoming.”
The assembly murmured and Silvun, risen to Third in Ulgar’s place, spoke up, his deep voice carrying around the room effortlessly.
“I do not see why we should allow them to trespass like this. Just their presence here is an intrusion.” He said it without malice, as though it was a simple fact and he was confused why Jursin did not agree. “We can just kill them all, it would not be difficult for us.”
I smiled to myself. Silvun had always been one of my favorite high alphas. He was straightforward, unshakable, and liked to deal with facts. He was sharply intelligent in his own way, but the relationships of others seemed to elude him, and he saw no reason not to state the truths he saw before him in a blunt manner.
“You cannot just kill people because you do not like them being near you,” said Arcay.
Silvun frowned. “I do not see why not.”
“No killing. At least not yet. We will observe them. We will not approach them.” He said it in his ‘ this is final’ voice, and everyone bowed their heads, dipping them low in a sign of respect and obedience. I dipped mine even lower in anticipation of what might come next, and hoped he saw.
The council dispersed in groups of twos and threes, talking quietly, the beta attendees shadowing their respective alphas. At the front, Arcay and Silvun were standing in conversation. It appeared Jursin was mediating an argument between them.
Now would be a good time for me to leave. I had been seen, and it was time to avoid repercussions. I wanted to get back out into the jungle and find the omega again, weapon or not. It felt like his presence was pulling at me.
I cut between the bodies towards the wide open doors and stopped when someone stepped into my path.
Koum glared at me. He was the same age as me, but technically my superior. I regarded him wearily and attempted to move past, but he blocked my path again.
“Koum,” I said, with the minimum amount of respect necessary.
“You missed yesterday’s drills, Kitari,” he said with his usual scowl.
“Yes, I am aware of that.” I glanced over my shoulder at the high alphas. Jursin was distracted for the moment, talking to Silvun and Arcay, but he would not be for much longer.
“Why?” Koum demanded.
“If you will just get out of my way—”
Behind me, a deep voice called, “Kitari!”
I flinched, and we both looked over at Jursin, who motioned me to him.
I tightened my jaw. “Koum, your ceaseless dedication never fails.”
“Perhaps you could learn some for yourself,” he said. “Make sure you are at today’s drills.”
“Kitari!” Jursin called again.
I gave Koum one last glare before turning to Jursin with a placating smile.
“Yes, Father.”
Jursin stalked towards me. “Where have you been, Pikimo ?” he asked, a deep look of disapproval on his face.
I bristled at the name. It meant both ‘loved one’ and ‘underling’—suitable for a child. It was meant affectionately, as it had been my whole life, but in recent years it had started to grate. I was not a child, even if he still addressed me as one.
“I was hunting with Arcay, as you know. We saw the spacecraft and Arcay came back first as he is faster. I…followed after him.”
No doubt Arcay would have already told him what happened, so there was no point in trying to lie. Jursin gave me an unimpressed look.
“You are not that slow,” he said. “You may think that I am ancient, but I was your age once, I know every trick in your book.”
I doubted that profusely, but I was not about to challenge him. He continued to watch me, his eyes drilling into me, down to the truth that was attempting to erupt from me. He did not even blink. I shifted until the mounting pressure was too much.
I took a deep breath and relented. “I tracked the ship.”
His expression did not change one bit. Of course he already knew I’d tracked it without having to be told, he knew me too well.
I took another deep breath. “They are humans.”
Now he did frown. “Humans? Did they see you?”
I held his gaze. “No.”
I neglected to tell him about how close I came to being hit by the human’s weapon, or the fact that one of them was an omega.
Jursin sighed and closed his eyes, and I sagged under the release of pressure.
“Arcay should not have left you alone. I will have to have words with him. You should have told me straight away, now I have to recall the council.”
“I did not want to interrupt you,” I said.
“That has never stopped you before.”
I smiled innocently and he sighed again. “Why must you act this way?” He shook his head. “Have you carried out your drills yet? I did not see you this morning. How are you progressing?”
“Fine,” I said, waving a hand, dismissing that line of conversation. What was the point in allowing me to train in advanced combat skills if he would never allow me to put them to use. His reasoning of ‘nurturing discipline’ was pointless, whereas this new threat provided a route I could take advantage of. “As I know where the spacecraft has landed, it would be logical for me to lead the first group of scouts—”
“No. We have plenty of skilled hunters and trackers who can do that. You have your duties. You will stay within the city where it is safe until we know what these humans want.”
“But it will be good for me to gain more experience—”
“You clearly have too much as it is.” He motioned with his head. “Now go and see Tallin. They have not seen you for days since you moved out of our dwellings. They miss you.”
I felt bad. Jursin would know exactly how Tallin was feeling, receiving their emotions in a constant stream through their bond.
“Yes, Father.”
“And do not think you have escaped punishment for this. I will deal with you once I have dealt with these urgent matters.”
He dismissed me, and I escaped the chamber before I could let anything else slip.
I understood the reasoning behind him insisting on my dull position, despite what I said to Arcay. Jursin was overprotective of me for good reason. Alphas could not naturally reproduce, so we had developed a process in which essence was taken from both alpha and the few remaining omega partners and combined to create offspring.
The complicated science behind it was hard to understand, but it was a difficult process, and it rarely worked successfully. Nevertheless, the prospect of a child was enough to make it worth the stress for most, when they had the chance.
To add to the stress, alphas were only allowed the opportunity when selected in a draw once a cycle, with the winner allowed to attempt the process with their mate. This was to prevent overpopulation, as betas produced more than enough offspring.
My parents had been granted the luxury due to Jursin being First, and I was the result.
Many may think that being a child of the First would be good, and I could not consciously complain; I had many advantages and privileges. I was aware of the irony, that my life was a blessed one, but enjoying my life on my own terms was not one of those privileges. Even after moving away from the family home into my own dwelling, I was still not in charge of my own life. My appointed duty pulled me down one path, while my heart pulled me down another.
I wove my way through the Aldar still crowding around the entrance. I passed Arcay hurriedly, not wanting to face his ire, too, just as Lendel discovered the spiked seed pod attached to his back that Kesk had stuck to him. Kesk laughed as Arcay pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
I moved in the direction of the dwelling my parents lived in at the rear of the Melandar, until I was out of sight of the main building in case Jursin was watching me. Then I scaled the side of the building, using the familiar worn handholds, and hoisted myself onto the roof, trotted across, and dropped down the other side. Cutting back through the city, I set off back in the direction of the jungle.