Chapter Fourteen #2
"For the moment," Seamus said, grinning and helping himself to one of the seats, conveniently located next to a decanter of wine and a plate of meats and cheeses and fruit. "Why did you rise to Worthington's bait about your omega?"
I sighed and rolled my shoulders, ignoring Seamus's presence as I arched forward and bent down, doing a routine of movement I'd learned from my mother.
"Because I flew here at night. Because I'm nearly in rut.
Because I realized that my omega likely would've preferred I'd not claimed her but left her in peace in the wilderness. "
Seamus grunted. "Women."
Considering the man had been Alpha of the Craven Sea for a century at least and had never taken an omega, I wasn't sure what he could know about the subject.
"She hates you then?" Seamus asked.
I straightened too quickly and then forced myself to take a slower, deeper breath, raising my arms high above my head. "No, she doesn't hate me."
"You don't please her in bed?"
I rolled my eyes and ignored his goading. "We do very well together in bed."
"I like Cadogan's little omega," Seamus mused, filling his mouth with too many grapes.
"You've made that very apparent," I said, raising my eyebrows.
He grinned and waved his hand. "Don't warn me, Feargus. I've no intention of making trouble with Bleake Isle. I just haven't ever met an alpha's omega who struck me as…the sort of omega I might be tempted to take. They're usually…you know…"
"Omega Worthington?" I said, thinking of the pinched and prim woman from Skybern.
Seamus grimaced and nodded. "But she suits him."
I sighed, shifting my legs apart, spreading my arms ahead and behind me, my wings to match. "She does. I should've noticed sooner."
I'd thought Damian was my ally, but after his needling and nagging today, I realized I was simply a more available ear to Damian than my father had been. If I wasn't going to cooperate with his plans, he certainly wouldn't stand by me against a challenge.
"And your omega? Does she suit you?"
I didn't hesitate. "She does. In fact, I think she has the spirit of an alpha. She's proud. Stubborn. Smart. She cares about the people around her."
Seamus watched me. "She sounds very serious. Does she make you very serious too?"
I stared into the distance. I thought of my choices since I'd risen as alpha and of my time with Brigid, the things I would do or say to make her smile.
"No, actually."
Seamus clapped his hands on the arms of the chair. "Well, that's a relief. You get unbearably maudlin when you're taking yourself seriously. Like now."
I laughed at that, and the way it rushed through my chest lightened my limbs.
Seamus shrugged. "If she likes you well enough, enjoys you in bed, surely you can sort out the rest of the issue."
The rest of the issue was that I had started to fall for my omega, without waiting for her to join me in the descent.
But Seamus was right. Brigid's words at the feast had hurt me, but they hadn't been designed to do so.
I wasn't sure why she'd balked at the idea of coming to the Flight, but in the middle of the keep, surrounded by dragonkin, I hadn't taken the time to coax a real answer out of her.
I'd just…left. I grimaced at myself, trying and failing to hide the expression from Seamus.
"It's your first alpha rut," Seamus said calmly, taking on that deep stillness he sometimes had that I'd found so calming when I'd joined him on the sea. "It's normal to have uneven moods. I imagine it grows more complicated when you have an omega at hand."
"Why haven't you ever taken an omega?" I asked.
Seamus grinned. "Oh, I've considered it. Every time I set foot on land, enjoy an evening with a welcoming lady, I think it might be time. But I'll never give up my life on the sea. Not until some brave upstart can take it from me. And it doesn't seem to suit the gentler sex."
I hummed at that. To my mind, omegas hadn't been given much choice in the matter. Most were kept strictly in their homes, in their territories. A rare few managed to escape, and even less of that number was recovered.
"Have you ever come across a fleeing omega on the sea?" I asked, thinking of the many women who'd gone missing from the Hills over the decades.
Seamus shifted forward, elbows resting on spread knees, eyes shifting to the barely parted curtain of my tent and glaring farther out into the setting sun.
"No, in spite of what the others might think.
And I've searched. Not for the alphas' sakes, but for the omegas'.
It's not the easiest mode of traveling."
"I recall," I said drily, thinking of some of the storms where I'd been sure we wouldn't survive the struggle.
"Either those women have a shepherd who knows the waters better than I, or…"
Or perhaps they'd been lost in the effort. Given what I'd experienced with Seamus in our travels, I thought it likely the latter. We shared a moment of pained quiet.
"I expect you and Cadogan will do your bit to lose fewer women from your territories," Seamus murmured.
My lips twitched. "As a matter of fact, you might like to hear what I pulled off in Grave Hills yesterday."
I would return to Brigid soon, make up for my sullen exit, and in time, I thought I might win her over properly. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but she'd already proven she'd be worth the effort. I just needed to be patient.