Chapter 6 #2
I settle into the chair, but Ares doesn’t step away. His large hands rest on my shoulders, heavy and warm through the thin fabric of my dress. I feel his thumbs trace small circles at the base of my neck, a touch that’s simultaneously casual and deliberately intimate.
Logan’s jaw tightens. His golden eyes track every movement of Ares’s fingers, nostrils flaring slightly as he scents the air. The bond between us pulses with his growing irritation, a hot, prickly sensation that feels foreign inside my chest.
“Comfortable, little Omega?” Ares murmurs above me, his voice pitched low enough that only I can hear clearly.
I don’t miss how Logan’s knuckles whiten where he grips his fork hard enough to snap it into pieces. He wants to order Ares away from me. I can sense the urge building inside him like pressure in a sealed container. Yet he remains silent, his mouth a hard line.
Interesting. Even Logan recognizes that demanding his packmate not touch me is an unreasonable request, maybe even a sign of weakness. After all, I’m supposedly part of this pack now.
The hesitation to express his frustration reveals something important.
On some level, he has to recognize that this bond is inherently unstable. His claim on me isn’t nearly as strong as he wants it to seem, and they’ll figure it out if they look closely enough.
We always hold hardest to the thing we feel slipping from our grasp.
Ares leans closer, looming over where I’m seated on the chair until his body practically cradles mine. His whisper fans across the delicate shell of my ear. “If you need anything to make you more comfortable, just say the word.”
I don’t need the bond to sense Logan’s anger building.
“For fuck’s sake,” Poe interrupts, slapping his napkin onto the table. “Watching you two fight over her like dogs with a bone is killing my appetite. If one of you needs to put her over the table, then get it over with.”
The tension breaks. Ares chuckles and finally releases my shoulders, sauntering back to his seat with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Just welcoming our newest pack member properly,” Ares says, winking at me across the table.
Logan’s eyes haven’t left me. Through our bond, I feel his emotions churning. Anger, possessiveness, and underneath it all, a sliver of uncertainty that he desperately tries to hide.
For a moment, I think Logan is going to say something that he can’t take back.
A prickle of cold awareness tickles up my spine just before the door of the apartment bangs open. Cillian strides in with a single-minded purpose, tablet tucked under his arm and seemingly unconcerned with the cloud of tension.
Those eyes find mine for the briefest moment, a glance so quick anyone else would miss it. Despite his deliberately neutral expression, I wonder if he simply can’t help himself.
The bond calls to us both, desperate for assurances.
He doesn’t acknowledge anyone else as he stops at Logan’s side, gaze trained on the tablet screen.
“Your Highness, I’ve finalized your schedule for today,” Cillian says, his voice clipped and professional.
“The Docanian ambassador requested a meeting this morning. I’ve pushed it to eleven to allow time for your scheduled inspection with the captain of the palace guard.
The budgetary review committee meeting is at two, followed by?—“
“Someone’s in a mood this morning,” Ares interrupts, leaning back in his chair with a lazy grin. The hint of jealousy in his tone brings an edge to his amusement. “Not even a hello? What’s got you so wound up, Cillian?”
Dark lashes flicker once with a blink, but Cillian keeps his attention trained on the tablet screen. “Everything is fine, Ares. I would be happy to exchange social niceties with you once the schedule allows.”
“Cmon, I’m trying to live vicariously here.” Ares shakes his head with a dark chuckle. “Did you see something absolutely depraved during our little Omega’s heat cycle? Is that what has you acting all bound up and traumatized?”
I hold my breath as I watch Cillian carefully, noting the nearly imperceptible tightening around his mouth, the way his fingers flex around the rounded edges of his tablet.
“Must have been quite the show,” Ares continues, oblivious to the dangerous ground he’s stomping over. “Logan marking his territory. Did you have to stand guard outside the door while they went at it? Poor Cillian, always watching, but never gets to participate until it’s sloppy seconds.”
If only he knew. I drop my eyes to the untouched plate in front of me, unable to look at either Logan or Cillian.
The irony of it all makes my head hurt. Ares has obviously been made aware of my bond with Cillian, even if he can’t possibly know all the details.
He clearly shares Poe’s opinion that they should have been included to my heat.
His jealousy might be useful at some point, but right now it’s just going to lead to a fight.
I hope Logan will intervene even though I’m nearly certain he won’t. Poe looks between them both with a troubled frown, but remains silent.
Typical Alphas.
Cillian maintains a placid exterior, but even without the bond I’d be able to sense the growing storm of his emotions.
“I’d be happy to share any details you’d like, Ares.
But if you’ll indulge me, I have a slightly more pressing matter that requires attention.
” Cillian tosses his tablet onto the table.
It skids across the smooth surface, only coming to a stop when it clatters against Logan’s breakfast plate.
“The Inquisitor has put in an official request to interview Prince Logan and his pack in relation to the investigation into Ander’s death.
A day is the longest I could put him off. ”
The atmosphere in the room shifts instantly.
The tension that floods the air is palpable, like someone sucked all the oxygen out and replaced it with a heavier molecule that settles like a weight in my chest. Logan’s fork clatters against his plate.
Poe goes completely still. Even Ares’s perpetual smile slips.
Logan’s voice has lost its usual arrogance. “Why weren’t we informed sooner?”
“The message arrived this morning,” Cillian replies. “The Inquisitor apparently prefers the element of surprise.”
I watch their reactions carefully. The Inquisitor. Sionis Thane. I might know him as the evil doctor who held me hostage to conduct painful experiments on me for months. To them, he is clearly someone else. Someone who might be even more dangerous to them than he was to me.
If I suspected them of hiding something about Ander’s death before, now I’m certain of it.
A dangerous idea forms from the dark thoughts now constantly swirling in my head.
I won’t ever be able to hurt Logan and his pack in the way I’ve been hurt. I can’t rob Logan of his freedom, like he took mine, but maybe I can do the next best thing. I can cost him the only other thing that he seems to value.
His crown.
“Bring me with you to the Inquisitor’s meeting.”
All eyes turn to me, surprised that I’ve broken my silence.
“Why would we do that?” Logan asks, suspicion coloring his tone.
I let my shoulders drop slightly, adopting the demure posture that takes every technique in emotional suppression I ever learned at the Enclave.
“I’m your mate now, right? The Inquisitor will have to allow me there as an official member of your pack.
” I deliberately touch the metal pendant at my neck, mildly surprised it doesn’t burn like a religious relic at my blasphemy.
“More importantly, this man is a beta, government functionary with no Omega of his own. My presence might serve as something of a distraction. Enough to help you maintain more control over your interactions with him.”
Logan studies me, weighing my offer against his instinctive distrust. He knows he should be questioning my sudden interest in helping him, but my argument is a good one.
“Maya makes a decent point. No one is better at navigating political bullshit than she is,” Poe says unexpectedly, surprising me somewhat. “Having Maya there could work in our favor.”
Ares’s gaze lingers over me. “Might as well put her to use.”
“I’m glad to see you’re finally coming around to your proper place.
” Logan’s eyes narrow in contemplation as he studies me, appreciation drowning out any suspicion at my sudden compliance.
He must think he has the bond to thank for it.
“I certainly can’t argue her exceptional skills.
” His smile twists with lascivious intent. “Both at court and in the bedroom.”
I lower my eyes in apparent submission while imagining both hands wrapped around his thick neck. “I’m happy to help however I can.”
The craziest part is that he actually seems to believe me.