Chapter 12
Balcony, Devil Estate
Lark grips my hand, while hugging me to his chest, as we follow Kai out onto the vast balcony beyond the kitchen.
Kai is dressed in an elegant brown suit, crisp white shirt, and smart tie that’s embroidered with noble stags.
Seeing him from behind like this, actually makes him appear taller and more broad shouldered.
I didn’t think that was possible.
The balcony is built over a winding creek, which roars far below. Thick forest overhangs the building. Birds swoop between the branches, chirping and calling to each other in the dappled sunshine.
Despite my nervous anxiety, I take a deep breath of the fresh, pine scented air.
Fuck, I’ve missed this.
I haven’t been truly outside like this for years.
My lungs expand, and I turn my face up, desperate to see the sky.
I squint up at the blue. The sky’s bright and beautiful.
My eyes burn with tears.
Everything’s so large.
I take a desperate breath. I’m not inside. I’m not trapped.
It’s overwhelming.
Lark shoots me a concerned look, squeezing my hand.
He understands.
We’re no longer caged in the dark.
Something that’s been trembling inside me unfurls its wings and takes flight.
Hope.
In the middle of the balcony stands a rough oak table with cozy looking green couches surrounding it. Behind it on the wall hangs a huge television, and below that, hums an electric heater.
A tall stack of papers and books are piled by the side of the table, which have a haphazard look, as if someone has recently been sorting through them.
Somebody who’s as much of a disorganized, hot mess as I am naturally, when I’m not hemmed in by an Alpha’s rules.
Are they Kai’s? Is he a writer?
Suddenly, I’m desperate to flick through these books.
It’s been so long since I’ve been allowed to read.
I miss it, deep in my heart.
Perhaps, Kai is a hermit horror writer, one of those Alphas like Stephen King.
I perk up.
Antonio strolls behind us, although I notice that he appears to be dragging his feet.
Is he worried about the fact that he was caught in bed with us by his Alpha?
Didn’t he have permission after all?
He is a bad boy, in lots of ways.
“Antonio,” Kai says without looking around but with an edge of warning in his tone that puts me on the alert, “why did you break our agreement not to play your punk music before breakfast?”
Shit, I knew that he was in trouble.
Antonio stumbles but quickly catches himself. “Everybody needs mood music when they’re making sweet love to a woman, right? I heard that somewhere. Surely, that’s an equally important rule.”
Lark looks like he wants to either slap himself or Antonio.
Kai reaches the table and turns around with a frown. “Lad, come here.”
Lark turns to Antonio, before he can move toward Kai.
Antonio looks shocked, when Lark pushes him back with a firm hand on his chest. “Stay here, pup. I’ll take the blame.”
Antonio shakes his head. “That’s adorable, but you don’t need…”
My heart is in my mouth, when Lark wrenches away from me and then storms toward Kai.
I rush after him.
I’ve never met anyone with as protective a streak in them as Lark has.
On the other hand, I understand why.
He’s needed to in order to keep Millie safe.
I’m going to show him that he’s not by himself any longer. I’ll be standing at his shoulder in everything.
Or kneeling.
Although it looks like it’s killing something inside him to do it, Lark drops to his knees in front of Kai.
I follow his example.
This is familiar.
It’s what Fletcher would have expected the moment that he came into a room anyway.
I drop my gaze, as my heart speeds up.
What’s Kai going to do to us?
My hands clutch into the fabric of the shirt on my lap. Strangely, its heather scent still makes me feel safe.
There’s a long moment, as my heart hammers in my chest.
I listen hard.
I can hear the birds calling to each other, Lark’s fast breathing next to me, then the heavy sound of Kai’s footfalls as he walks toward me.
I flinch, when Kai’s large hand settles around my arm.
To my shock, he gently lifts me to my feet. Next to me, he’s doing the same to Lark.
“You never have to kneel for me,” Kai says, low and heartfelt. “I wish that I could rip out the throats of every Alpha who’s ever made you think that you had to.”
Instantly, my gaze shoots to Kai’s face.
His blue eyes are gorgeous. I’d been too scared to truly notice before.
Kai slips his hands behind his back. Standing like this in front of me, he looks regal and calmly in control.
It flusters me.
Lark, however, still launches into his defense of Antonio, who appears frozen to the spot. “I played the music. I incited the sex too, if you must know, Alpha. I commanded the Beta in everything that he did. I’m sorry, but it’s my fault. So, please, punish me. But I’d appreciate it, if we could go to another room; Mercy should not have to witness it. You should take into consideration that I didn’t know the house rules, however, so is it truly fair to punish me at all?”
Now I want to slap Lark.
Except, Kai’s eyes dance with amusement, before he crosses his arms. “You’re right. Smart and manipulative, but also, right. So, sit down and eat.”
Lark gapes at him. “Ehm, what? That’s all?”
Kia pushes his brunette hair back from his eyes. “Unless you want to grovel some more because I enjoyed that part.”
Antonio hurries toward Lark, snatching him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him toward the couches. “Learn to quit while you’re behind. It’s an essential skill.”
I tilt my head, forcing myself to hold Kai’s gaze.
I haven’t done that with an Alpha apart from Thomas and Gabriel.
Kai returns my look, steady and calm.
“My ma always said that the best way to an Omega’s heart was through their stomach, so I cooked a hearty breakfast.” Kai still doesn’t break eye contact. I feel mesmerized. “I made a bit of everything, beloved. You just eat what you like best. You look like you could do with some pampering.”
“He’ll be asking if he can hand-feed you next,” Antonio yells over, as he pulls Lark down next to his side on the couch.
Kai clenches his jaw but he doesn’t deny it. “Antonio, no more early morning rock parties or—”
“You’ll turn into a grumpy bear…?” Antonio starts passing out the plates onto the table.
I can’t help it. I giggle.
Kai’s lips quirk. “Funny is it, lass?”
I remember Prince Artio.
I giggle again.
Now, Kai quirks his brow. “Aye, gang up against the poor Alpha. It’s better than shaking in fear. How did you sleep?”
I smile.
I didn’t think that an Alpha would make it easy for me to smile at them, after my broken bond. But he’s speaking to me in the same way that Thomas would do.
It’s a shock.
“Better than I have in a long time,” I admit. “Thanks for the nest. I hope that it was okay that we slept in the bed. I wasn’t sure. There were so many snuggly pillows on it, which I adored. But I know that may have been a mistake.”
Kai’s brow scrunches in confusion. “Why wouldn’t it be okay…?” Then his hand balls into a fist. “Antonio told me about you two, while he was working his mission. And if I ever see that ex-Alpha of yours, you’ll see more than a grumpy bear.” He takes a deep breath to steady himself. “You have permission to sleep in beds, use anything you like to make a nest, and ask me for what you need. If you don’t have something that’ll help, then I’ll order it. You can eat the food in the kitchen whenever you’re hungry and rest when you like. None of this kneeling nonsense. No one touches you without permission and everything happens with your consent.”
He appears to be checking things off that go directly against the Institute’s conditioning.
Lark exchanges a wide eyed glance with me.
My chest is tight.
Does Kai mean it? Is this a trick?
It feels like a dream to be part of a pack like this.
In fact, what he’s offering is everything that I dreamed about when I was a kid.
“You’ve short circuited their Traditional minds now,” Antonio scolds.
Kai looks chastened. “I’m doing my best, lad. I want to make them understand that I’ll meet their needs. They’re the center of my world now. But it’s not like I expected to suddenly have the two most beautiful Omegas I’ve ever seen or scented suddenly in my pack.”
I flush both at the most beautiful and in my pack.
He said it so easily, and I’m not sure he realizes either that he did or how obsessed he already sounds.
He’s all in, and having that level of intensity focused on me, is as overwhelming as stepping out under the open sky.
“Come on, sit down before it gets cold,” Antonio calls. “Kai is an amazing cook.”
Kai offers me his arm like a true gentleman and walks me to the table.
I take a deep breath of the delicious scents, both sweet and savory, which are wafting from the spread.
My eyes widen.
What have we done to deserve this reward?
Fletcher would only allow me treats like this sparingly. Yet this type of lavish breakfast is simply being gifted to Lark and me.
The food is overflowing on exquisite porcelain plates that are decorated with stags like the ones on Kai’s tie.
Bacon, eggs, sausages, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, along with buttery toast and a couple of strange but delicious smelling meats that I don’t recognize.
Next to them are trays of muffins, pancakes, and scones.
Antonio breaks off a buttered piece of crusty roll and holds it up to Lark’s mouth, hopefully.
Lark narrows his eyes. “Try it, and I’ll bite.”
Antonio holds his hand to his chest. “My feral Omega. Be still my beating heart.”
He’s not even joking.
Lark casts me a helpless glance.
I shrug with a smile.
Kai leads me to the couch on the opposite side of the low table, pulling me to sit down next to him.
To my relief, he doesn’t try to hand-feed me but he does nudge a steaming coffee mug toward me.
My mouth waters, as the scent of rich coffee hits me. When I cup my hands around it, the mug is reassuringly warm in my hand.
I take a sip and can’t hold back the moan. “Morning coffee is the best. It should be illegal for anyone to have to start their day without it.”
“Do you think that I could become elected President with that pledge?” Antonio asks.
“Aren’t you a criminal?” Lark points out.
“There’s nothing in the constitution that says the President can’t be a criminal.” Antonio breezily stuffs the roll into his mouth, before grabbing one of the coffees and shoving it into Lark’s hands. “If you ask me, our President already is the criminal with how he allows Omegas to be treated. You know, if we’re going to be all serious and political about it.”
“Not this early in the morning we’re not.” Kai picks up a plate. “What would you like, beloved?”
I bite my lip. “Can I try a bit of everything?”
It’s the right answer because Kai’s pale cheeks tint, and he looks pleased. He begins to fill up my plate.
Antonio sucks in a breath. “Brave choice. I didn’t know that you liked black pudding.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
Antonio slouches in his seat like a cat sunning himself, and his grin is equally mischievous. “Blood, mainly.”
Horrified, I stare at Kai.
He’s pale and gorgeous enough to be a vampire Alpha.
There are enough romance novels about immortal Alphas stealing unsuspecting Omegas away to their hidden castles, before sinking their fangs and knots into them.
Kai gives Antonio a stern stare. “It’s part of the iconic Scottish breakfast. It’s delicious. So is haggis.”
Antonio hides his grin behind his coffee. “Go for it. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat sheep’s heart, lungs, and liver all stuffed inside the sheep’s stomach alongside their syrup pancake? Yum.”
Lark swipes at Antonio, but he dodges with a laugh.
Suddenly, I don’t feel quite so hungry, until I see the way that Kai’s wavering, unsure.
He’s masking his hurt, but I can see it.
He thinks that I’m going to reject his special breakfast. With a jolt, I realize that he truly did cook this breakfast as an offering for us.
As a way to show his service.
Is it only a welcome? Or a courting gift?
But it means a lot to him.
I lay my hand over Kai’s, where he’s holding the plate. “I’m looking forward to trying it. Thanks for cooking this. It looks delicious.”
It’s a lie.
But it’s worth saying for the way that Kai finishes sliding an egg and slice of black pudding onto my plate, before edging it onto the table in front of me.
“An Alpha should provide for their Omega. I have a duty to cherish you with gifts and food,” he replies. “It brings me pleasure.”
It shoots through me then with sudden awareness: He’s Scottish.
Whatever views I have of the roles of Alphas and Omegas, he must have entirely different ones.
He comes from an Omegacracy.
Why would he want to leave there to travel here?
For the first time, I turn to study him with open curiosity.
Alphas are warriors in Scotland who worship and defend their Omega leaders.
He certainly looks like a warrior.
But I can’t understand him properly because he was raised in an entirely different culture to me. But I want to.
Kai tilts his head. “May I touch your forehead?”
Confused, I nod.
Kai gently reaches out his strong hand and lays the back of it against my forehead.
Then his expression becomes troubled. “You’re hot, lass. Perhaps, you always are after the type of sexy fun that you had this morning in your nest. But do you think your heat could be getting close?”
I bite my lip, anxiously crossing my legs.
No Alpha has paid this close type of attention to me, especially about my heats.
Is he going to start keeping cycle charts and counting down the days between heats?
“I don’t know. The Broken Bond Syndrome gave both Lark and me fevers,” I reply.
“It nearly killed her.” Lark deliberately doesn’t look up from his coffee.
Kai’s expression tightens. “I see.”
“Broken Bond Syndrome wrecks your nervous system. It can cause serious damage,” I explain. “I don’t feel touch or sensations like I did before. I can’t tell if this is my heat creeping up on me or the effects of the broken bond.”
Kai straightens his shoulders. “Then I’ll have to prepare the Omega Chamber for you, beloved, just in case. It’s a priority. What would you like me to buy for your most sacred time?”
I stare at him in shock.
Sacred?
Plus, did he ask me what I want?
He’s staring at me, expectantly.
“Are you going to prepare an actual Omega Chamber?” I say in a small voice. I’ve never had an entire room dedicated to my heat before. It would be a dream come true. “And do I get to choose what goes in it?”
Kai clasps my hand tenderly between his. “Aye, beloved. If you’ll let me, I’m going to make it so that you never need to ask questions like that again.”
My throat feels thick with tears.
To my shock, Lark slams down his coffee, and the dark liquid sloshes over the side of the mug. “Would you have us pliant underneath your knot then, Alpha? Mindless in your nest? Sweet holes to rut? That way, we won’t want to leave. Of course, we won’t be able to, once you’ve bred us.”
Panicked, I try to hush him, but Lark ignores me.
Instead, Lark’s blazing gaze is locked with Kai’s, when it’s not darting to glare at the way that Kai’s hand is clasping mine.
“Do you want to leave?” Kai asks.
“So, that’s our choice, is it?” Lark demands.
Antonio straightens, vibrating with tension, before waving his hands in alarm. “Hey, hang on. You’re on the run, remember? I only broke you out yesterday. I know that you’re like almost middle aged…” Lark growls. “…But you can’t have forgotten that already. You have no money, bond bite, or documents. The cops would pick you up within hours and then—”
“Of course they can leave.” Kai’s heavy gaze never leaves Lark’s. I understand Lark’s fear of being trapped by his dynamic just like he was by the birth of his daughter in the Blades pack. But this new pack is different because from the start, they’ve told us that everything that happens is our choice. Fuck, does Lark want to leave? Please say no. “I would never keep an Omega prisoner. They’re guests.”
This appears to send Antonio into a worse panic. “But they know—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Kai adjusts his tie. “I’m not the sort of Alpha who would do anything to take away an Omega’s right to choose. My brother would kick my behind, and rightly so, if I did. But I am offering my home as a refuge.”
Lark still doesn’t drop his gaze. “You’re outlaws.”
“So are you.”
I have to admit that this battle of wills is thrilling.
I can’t work out who’s strongest mentally between these men.
Finally, Lark huffs. “So, we’re free, and you’re pampering us with nests, Omega Chambers, and treats like this breakfast out of what, the kindness of your Alpha heart…?”
He says it like he doesn’t believe that’s possible from any Alpha.
I wince at the same time as Kai does.
Yet I understand.
I have the example of good Alphas, before my last year with Fletcher. But Lark was raised by cruel Alphas and then matched to one.
This isn’t an easy concept for him. At least this pack consists of all men. It was female Alphas who traumatized Lark.
Kai appears to realize it too because his expression gentles. “You’re a real fighter, aren’t you? I respect that, lad. Don’t worry, I’d feel just as protective of my lovers. Here’s the thing, I’ve wanted to help you from the moment that the foolish Beta who I love began to send me reports back about you both. I could see how much life you were bringing to my sunshine Beta. Then as he began to fall for you, and I knew that it’d break his heart, if you didn’t decide to join our pack. But still, I made it clear to him that it has to be your decision. Now that I’ve met you too, smelled your delicious scents mingled, and seen you wearing my clothes, I understand how he feels. Like you’re already pack.”
Lark looks as winded by that as I feel.
“If we’re pack,” I say, quietly, “tell us why Antonio was pretending to be a guard in the first place.”
Lark shoots me an approving look.
Kai pushes a strand of hair back from my face. “So, I have two smart beloveds. I’m surrounded.”
Pleasure at his praise makes me glow. “Guess that makes you our prisoner. So, you’d better talk.”
Kai reaches across me to tap at the stack of papers. “I’m an investigative journalist. I’ve been desperate to find ways to uncover the oppressions against Omegas for years. When this viral video surfaced, which showed a brutal, public breaking of a bond, it brought into focus my next project. Antonio (in one of this typical, risky schemes), came up with the idea of mixing his genuine documents that were always kept clean by his family and fake ones in order to get himself employed at the Institute to find out what was happening to the Brok. He was only meant to be observing. Then I’d expose the truth as an anonymous journalist. We didn’t know what he’d discover hidden away in that basement.”
“I also didn’t know that I’d be unable to walk away.” Antonio looks uncomfortable. “I’ll have to hand in my bad guy card.”
All of a sudden, a siren blares out, loudly enough to make me startle.
“Fuck,” I gasp.
What the hell is that?
A warning?
Have the cops found us?
Lark leaps up, looking around for danger.
Antonio springs up as well but he appears more excited than panicked. “It’s the security alarm that’s triggered by the arrival of our Second Alpha. He’s finally home. I’m going to give him the kissing of his life. I’ve fucking missed him. Lucifer is here.”