Chapter 60 #2
There were others who were guilty, like Luke’s mother, but they were a misogynistic culture, and it was hard to get her in the room with us.
That was okay, though. The High Priest was the lead of a three-alpha pack, and his death would destroy the pack bonds entirely.
Upon looking into the tradition of how the Ascendants treated widowed omegas, we’d determined there was no need to push for punishment.
Luke shifted in his chair, looking at me.
I noticed neither of them wanted to linger on Sin. Either because they believed he was a male omega—a title that seemed to make them uncomfortable—or perhaps it was the colour of his eyes.
“I donated my time to the Convent,” Luke said. “The girls there—they’re broken sinners with golden eyes. If they wish to go to service, they need an escort. I always thought it was sad that their curse meant they would miss the word.”
“My son volunteered,” High Priest Anderson said. “He led her to the service. Had he not, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go. He has a big heart, and it got him in trouble.”
“In trouble?” I asked.
“They’re touch starved. You know the effect a gold pack can have on alphas. But I was leading one of them to the service when she… well, she touched me ungloved.”
One stumble.
One misstep.
“I… didn’t mean to touch him.” Crescent’s voice shook. “But I couldn’t see.”
“It was deliberate,” Luke said. “I believe she intended to lead me to sin—perhaps she thought she could secure an alpha of high status.”
My heart rate spiked.
Intended?
They tortured those omegas, depriving them of touch, making them suffer their heats in full with no alphas or drugs. Then they forced them into blindfolds, only to blame them when they tripped.
I could feel Sin in the bond, his energy shifting, fury burning through our connection, swelling like a great monster.
I glanced at him, but he was absolutely still, watching Luke Anderson with frightening control. It was almost reptilian. I didn’t think he could move if he wanted to. Not without leaping at the alpha across from us.
“She… touched you?” I asked. “That’s all?”
“She drove me mad. Lured me back to her room—”
“I didn’t know what he wanted,” Crescent whispered. “He told me to get on my knees to pray, and then…” She’d trailed off then, unable to finish.
“And next thing I knew, we were caught. My reputation—my whole life ruined—all for wanting to give a gift to a serpent. A gold-pack devil—”
The words halted as I felt Sin snap in the bond, and Luke Anderson cut off as the massive aura blew into the space around us.
The hairs on my arms stood on end, feeling its power. Now fully realized and healthy, Sin had much more control over his aura. Summoning it on demand was harder for him, but for this? Sigmas were creatures of balance, and reactive to injustice. It made this experience more harrowing for it.
He’d felt it was needed.
It was a new experience, sitting back as pack lead, to watch my sigma enact retribution. From everything I’d learned—even as an experiment—this should be my job alone. But in our pack, we shared this role.
It was oddly… thrilling.
And not at all unnatural. I was here, I could take over, but I didn’t need to.
I could enjoy every moment of horror in the expressions of these two monsters.
“I thought…” The High Priest sounded shaky. “I thought you were an omega…?”
“Where is she now?” Sin asked, eyes fixed on Luke.
“W-what?”
“Where is she?”
High Priest Anderson was pale, his eyes bulging as he stared at Sin. “I… I had her dealt with.”
Dealt with?
“And when you threw my mate into Anarchy, did you enjoy the idea of her death?” he asked.
If the silence had been heavy before, it was nothing compared to what it was now.
“Your… mate?” The High Priest’s voice was weak.
“How did you imagine it would end—in your head? Surely you didn’t plan on her dying immediately—you injected her with a heat drug, after all. That goes a little beyond punishment. Perhaps you enjoyed dreaming of what might have happened.”
“You… did what?” Luke’s eyes snagged on his father. “I thought she was sent to the Sisterhood in the countryside—”
“Shut. Up.” Sin got to his feet, eyes pinning Luke in place. “All the food drives and the charity work, all those poor souls in need of your generosity. Was it the golden eyes—I suppose she didn’t qualify?”
His fury was poison seeping into the air around us.
Not one alpha had loosed their aura, even if I could feel their tension.
If they believed it was because one echo of a threat would leave them with a snapped neck, they were dead on.
Amidst the haze of Sin’s energy, I could see flickers of the night she’d told us. Crescent had curled up in his arms for hours after, trembling with the memory.
“I tried.” The words haunted me. “I tried to be what they wanted. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Well. We thought bringing too many people to the meeting might have been overkill. Karma had been instantly out, as none of us—him included—believed he’d be able to hold himself together long enough to get the answers we needed while their guard was still down.
Turns out Sin had a shorter fuse than I’d imagined, too.
“You attacked her,” Sin hissed, stepping around the desk.
“I didn’t—that’s not what happened—” He cut off, making a dive around the desk toward his father, who was getting to his feet too, eyes wide. My gaze flickered to him, half calculating what I’d need to do to stop him from escaping, half hungry to watch Sin in action.
In a flash, Sin had Luke by the neck, slamming him against the wall.
“Th-this is a place of worship,” he rasped as Sin pinned him there.
Sin leaned close, lips drawn in a snarl. “Then your God will thank us for cleansing it.”