Chapter 34 #2
My vision tunnels. Maybe there’s an explanation.
Right? Right? Well, fuck. Even if there is, he’s sure as hell not fighting for it!
Shit, I don’t even care what the reason is.
This is humiliating! He bit my neck, made me look into his eyes while his knot was in me, forced me to share my nest with him, and now he’s letting another omega sit on his lap with Judge’s Property on her back?
In front of everyone? What if… What if the suppressant balm wasn’t for my scent but was to cover her up…
“When did this happen?” I ask quietly.
The cellar feels too small. My throat tightens, my chest aches, and for the first time since the bite, I can’t feel the bond. It’s like it’s gone silent, buried under the noise of the crowd.
“This whole thing is literally just to announce Roxy as his property,” she gives a wild laugh. “I mean, there’s no way I could leave without sharing this with you. You come with us, and you can get rid of being an omega, and we can both disappear.”
I can’t even nod. I just keep staring, waiting for him to look up. Waiting for anything. My fingers dig into the frigid stone.
He doesn’t acknowledge me at all.
“I can get you out of here, Diana,” Rebecca says, touching my shoulder. “I can get us both out of here. It has to happen literally now.”
It’s not like I can run out there and make him look like the villain. What will that do? Make everyone look at me with pity as they shrug their shoulders? Judge is their leader. They won’t give a shit about me. Rebecca tugs on my shoulder, and I know that it’s now or never.
Then, Judge looks around like he smells something he shouldn’t. Can he sense that our tether is fucked up because of him? “Do it,” I say.
I don’t even care what his excuses are. I’m in a house of mirrors where I don’t trust a single reflection, and I want out of this chaos! If he wants to say anything to me, he can do it when he can’t manipulate what reflects back.
Judge has expertly controlled my experience ever since we met, which means he is not safe.
There’s no way I can fucking trust him. No way.
With as much impulse as I can harness, I take off with Rebecca.
I know it’s what I need to do. I will never get a chance like this again; Judge will make sure of that.
“Get me out of here,” I tell her.
My body knows what I’m doing before my mind does—it panics. It hurts.
But staying would hurt worse.
“Stay close.”
We move through small, skinny corridors. There’s a rage, and even fear, bubbling in my chest that doesn’t feel like it belongs to me. “I think he knows, and he’s pissed,” I say.
Rebecca doesn’t reply as we come across a door. She slowly opens it, peeks out, then motions for me to follow. She holds her hand out. “Shit, take this.” She reaches into her pouch. “In case you need it.” They’re needles.
“Perfect. I know what to do.”
I slide one into my palm so it’s easier to hide, tucking the other in a pocket as we round a corner and—fuck.
It’s the asshole himself, his chest rising and falling as he makes eye contact with me.
“Run, hide. I’ll handle him,” I say quietly.
Rebecca darts off without having to be told twice, Judge watching her with malice. “I knew this was all a lie,” I say through tears that form way too fast for my dignity.
“Diana, I can explain it all.” His eyes are hardened again, and all I can feel in the tether is anger.
“I don’t give a shit what you have to say. I saw your property sitting in your lap. You were also going to send the scraps to Titan! They don’t deserve that!”
His eyes widen, then look furious. Shock worms its way through our tether. “Diana, if you run, I can’t protect you.”
I laugh. “I’m not interested in your protection. I bet you’re one of those alphas who takes multiple omegas. You mated me as a joke to stuff in an attic, or another city? Hmm? Because of the stupid scent match that clearly means nothing!”
He looks absolutely enraged, holding his hand out as he continues to take cautious steps forward. “Come to me, Diana. This will all be explained.”
“Where is everyone?” I ask, looking around for the reinforcements. “Why are you alone?”
“It’s just us. I left quietly. You don’t have to worry about anyone else touching you.”
“It’s you that shouldn’t be touched!”
When I think I hear something over my shoulder, I steal the quickest glance, but that’s enough for me to sense Judge is right on me.
I whip my arm around and stab the needle right into his side, without even thinking about where.
I depress the needle as it hits him, and based on how he stiffens, I probably hit something more than muscle.
I take it out in horror, because I don’t want to hurt him.
Wait, why not? Fuck him.
I step back as he bends over, holding his side.
He looks afraid as he lifts his attention to me, his forehead crinkling as he looks at me through his lashes. “Diana don’t…” His breathing labors. “Don’t you fucking leave.”
“I can’t do this, Judge. I can’t risk that I’m being used. I simply can’t risk it,” I say, shaking my head, tears welling in my eyes again.
I take off running as he falls to a knee, shouting, “DIANA!”
I don’t look back. Rebecca grabs me as I run past a hallway, and I nearly screech, only to realize who she is, and I take off running with her.
We burst through a wooden door, greeted by the open air in an overhang that indeed looks like a drop-off point. And a whole ass jeep waits for us. I ignore the fear rippling in our tether. “This is real?” I ask.
The window to the back seat rolls down. “Hell yeah, it’s real,” Selene says, her short hair tucked behind her ears.
I nearly break down with tears right then and there, feeling as if I had been drowning in a sludge that I’ve finally been yanked out of. I run faster and jump into the backseat as she opens the door, and we embrace as Rebecca shuts it behind us. “You stink like him,” she says, petting my hair.
“Yeah, well, it is what it is,” I say, my heart breaking somewhere in there, but I know this is what I need to do. How could I possibly stay?
We don’t drive very fast as we leave the gates, the woman in front nodding and being let through. Selene chucks a few cantrips into the road once we’re far enough out, all the while I try to control myself and prevent hyperventilation.
As I see the Iron Castle behind us, I’m both regretful and relieved. Images of Roxy in Judge’s lap, as his property, sear my heart. No one who respects his mate does that. There’s no fucking need for what he did.
“Where are we going?” I ask quietly.
Rebecca laughs in the front with the woman who must be her sister, crying out in victory.
Selene grins. “Well, we always talked about the Black Mirage, so I figured, why not aim for there?” She looks at me, concerned. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. Please.” There’s no way this is happening. I try to wonder how it could be a dream, but none of my tricks to wake up are working. The pain in my heart is far too real. “They’ll follow us, you know. This is dangerous.”
A mate is for life. Judge can’t let me just wander the wastes forever. He will come for me as long as I’m attached to him.
“They can try. We’re heading to the train. As long as we hit it just in time, we have transportation ready on the other end of this.”
Rebecca hands me a black long-sleeve shirt from the front.
“This was in the laundry. It’s one of Judge’s.
You’ll want it until we get to the Witch Doctor.
It will hurt to be far from our alphas when the tether is broken, but it won’t be for long, alright?
Just don’t get rid of it because you’re mad at him.
Trust me. It will make it very hard to function. ”
Smelling his scent in my lap hurts, and I shove it to the floor. My hands can’t seem to settle, at least, not until Selene reaches over and grabs one. “Hey, I’m right here, okay? Let’s just focus on getting to the train.”
I nod feverishly. A horrible, ferocious sensation rips through my sternum. “He’s so pissed,” I say, almost afraid of him now.
Selene squeezes my hand. “As he should be. He needs to feel what it’s like to not win for once.”
More than anything, I want him to chase me. To make me believe he’s worried and sorry. To beg for my forgiveness and promise me he will make it right.
But that’s hope talking, and we all know that hope is one deceiving bitch.