Of Daggers and Deceit (Shifters of Asrar #1)

1. Raya

RAYA

M y eyes flew open to the sounds of screams, fear surging like a flood inside me. My foot kicked off my blanket as I lurched forward to my bedroom window, pushing it open to peer down at the tall, impenetrable rose hedge that divided the Outer Ring from the more privileged city centre. Yelling rang out across the space as families left houses, their curiosity and fear driving them towards the central gate within that same hedge that circled the Inner Ring of the Haven—the ring that housed the Omegas.

I whirled towards my wardrobe to quickly change into something more acceptable before sprinting down the stairs and sliding on some sneakers. Events like this were common in our ring, but it was a matter of seeing which one of us was set to be punished.

I charged out the door, down the orange-stained pathway, out through our gate, and into the chaotic fray of Alphas.

Dust kicked up with every step I took, the sun already blazing despite the early morning as the wails of children crying filled the air around me. I pushed past my lumbering neighbours and dodged and pivoted around larger Alphas with an urgency driven by my adrenaline.

Please don’t be family.

“Move back!” Guards barked orders to the watching crowd as I reached the edge of the throng and began to shove my way forward towards a better view.

“He needed food!” an Outer Ringer roared as I finally pushed myself to the front to see an Alpha between two guards, his cheek and arms already blooming with soft colour.

“A week in the cage should do you some good,” a guard hissed, and together, they dragged him towards the bars of the cage that stood threateningly near the gateway between the hedge. Every day, I passed that cage; sometimes it was filled, most times not. The threat of it was usually enough of a deterrence.

The Alpha they were dragging didn’t struggle or fight in their arms. He simply followed with his head hanging as the two guards tugged him towards his true punishment in front of all citizens of the Outer Ring.

The intention for punishment like this was shame, but when I flicked through the crowd of people gathered in a semi-circle around the spectacle, the only thing I truly saw in their expression was empathy and rage. Though I wasn’t one of them. I felt it just as deeply.

A guard unlocked the cage door with a key and threw the door open with a bang as together, they shoved the Alpha into his prison, kicking the back of his knees so he fell. My mouth opened to yell, the sight of his pain provoking me, but others beat me to it, their voices rising in protest as guards surged from the Inner Ring through the brass gate. My panic heightened, their weapons drawn in warning to the protesting crowd. More and more guards in their deep green tactical suits with that tiny red rose embroidered on the front pocket began to dominate the space. Our Supreme’s Omega Guard.

They formed a semi-circle around the cage and moved forward, threatening us with the electrical currents that pulsed from their weapons with every swing. Fear spiked inside me as I stumbled back to avoid electrocution, narrowly missing the singe of the closest guard’s weapon. The shouts died down after that, appeasing the guards who now stood just before us, the crackle of their weapons prompting us to stay on alert.

I noticed a petite Alpha beside me whom I’d seen on a few occasions but had never spoken to. She tended to keep to herself, just as much as I did, and still, she had ventured out to bear witness. We all did, as a sign of respect and comradery.

I leaned down towards her. “Excuse me—what was his crime?”

She looked up at me with a forlorn expression. “Broke into the Inner Ring to steal bread from the bin near the bakery. His Benefactor did not pay him this week. Apparently, this Alpha delivered a few less than perfect goods to his business. He tried to steal so his children didn’t starve.”

I frowned, fury simmering beneath my skin. This was exactly why I needed to do more to ensure the safety and survival of my family. Us residents in the Outer Ring were crushed between the rules of this city and the risk that it posed to us every year at the thinning of our shield, the only time our borders were breached.

“Why didn’t he ask one of us? We could share. I would have shared,” I asked, exasperated. My mum would have given everything she possibly could to keep his family going.

“Guilt, child. Shame and guilt. Why take from those who are already poor, when those who are rich have too much?”

I licked my drying lips, moistening them as I caught sight of my mum on the opposite side of the crowd doing the one thing I’d told her so many times to stop doing when we had an audience like this. Shit.

“ I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.” I ended the conversation abruptly, pushing around the circle towards my mother, fear spiking inside me as I saw the guards’ heads swing towards her.

I understood why she did things like this, helping. But I desperately wished she wouldn’t do things like this in the light of day, and definitely not when there were a ridiculous number of guards present.

I huffed, shoving an Alpha more forcefully as he failed to move out of my way quickly enough. The two girls she was tending to continued to scream and try and reach for their dad, whose wrists were now being chained to the posts situated within his cage.

Anger and sadness warred within me. I didn’t consider myself to be a terrible person, but I was protective. Selfishly, I did not want her to draw unwanted attention to our family for assisting an Alpha who was viewed as a criminal. It was better to blend into a crowd than become the main point of attraction.

I smiled triumphantly as, finally, I got near enough to wrap my fingers around her wrist, pulling her towards me. Her startled eyes flicked up to my furious ones.

“Stop what you are doing right now,” I urged as her jaw hardened.

“Raya, they will run to him. I cannot.” I wouldn’t waste time arguing with her here. We were bound to draw attention.

I huffed out a breath as I looked at the two children who appeared to be no older than eight and quickly took each of their hands, dragging them back through the crowd, citizens parting to help us through. Thankfully, my action had shocked the two children enough to stop screaming as they blinked up at me, tears glistening on their cheeks. I bent low, lining myself up with their faces, my hands gripping tightly to theirs. The bigger of the two began to quietly sob again, her face contorting with her distress.

“Shh, it will be okay,” I reassured as I pulled her in closer towards me, my arm now wrapping around her back protectively.

The smaller child blinked up at me, water glistening on her lashes.

“Is Daddy going to die?” she asked with a hiccup.

I shook my head. “Your daddy is strong, so he won’t die. We are Alphas. We are all very tough.”

That was a lie. I wasn’t an Alpha, but everyone else in the Outer Ring was—save for my mother, the only Omega, but her circumstances were partially my fault. I was born a Gifted, with a dangerous power I could scarcely control, too dangerous to mingle with the Omegas of the Inner Ring. But I didn’t dare tell these girls; they hadn’t yet developed the fear others had, and it was nice to speak with those who held no assumptions of me.

The oldest sniffled again, her sibling watching her, clearly not entirely understanding everything that was happening. “It’s okay, Friya. I will protect us while Daddy’s gone.”

My heart clenched, and for a single moment, it felt as if I was staring at a younger version of Riley and me, back when my mother was deeply depressed, lost in her grief as she tried her best to care for two growing children, still waiting for her bonded, my father, to return as he’d promised.

Except we’d been waiting my entire life.

The girl mumbled something inaudible, swiping her hand up her nose just as a shadow fell over us. The girls looked up curiously, and I stood immediately in response, pushing the girls behind me.

“Ray,” he greeted before I looked at him, and my shoulders sagged in relief.

“Oh, Bodhi, did you ask around about who the girls could live with for this week?” My mum was straight into problem solving already as she looked towards him. With her long, dark hair styled intricately and her skin perfectly unmarred, she had never looked like she belonged in this ring, but somehow, she still assimilated just fine.

“Filly will take the girls in for the duration of their father’s sentence.” He looked over at the two girls and gave them a charming smile. They returned it easily, as everyone did with Bodhi, and continued to inspect him. My lips quirked up as I watched the younger girl step to the side to try and see more of his hair colour. Though it was shaved, his light pink hair was unnatural for an Alpha and made him even more intriguing, especially when combined with his olive skin, towering height, and autumnal eyes.

“Thank you,” I said as he gifted me the same smile he had given them before grabbing their hands and walking off towards their new home for the week. At least everyone in this ring knew that the only people we could rely on were ourselves and each other. There was something warm and comforting about that.

A baton struck metal in the background, causing us all to flinch as guards yelled for everyone to move out and get to work for the day. I turned towards my mum to watch her, as I always did after events like this.

She stood motionless, watching the cage, her eyes locked on the Alpha’s hung head, his long hair covering his face and his body already dirty from the sandy floor.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it,” I whispered, her jaw clenching briefly before relaxing again.

“I can’t stand watching this and doing nothing,” she murmured, and my fists tightened.

“Nobody can stand to watch this, but we must. We must. Otherwise, we will end up there ourselves.”

She turned back towards me, her lips stained deeply red, like she’d bitten them over and over these last few minutes.

“But if we possess the capacity to act, we should,” she pushed. My eyes shuttered of their own volition. We couldn’t afford to risk attention, not at this time of year.

“The worst month of the year is upon us. You cannot afford to risk a week, let alone two weeks in there for doing something reckless.”

I flicked back to watch the limp Alpha kneeling in his cage, a place he would stay for another week with no food, no water, and no bathroom breaks.

“An Alpha will survive that.” I jerked my head towards him then looked her straight in the eye.

“Perhaps,” she said, her expression thoughtful. She knew what was implicit in my words. An Omega like you will not.

She turned her back on me and began to walk back home as I hurried my steps to follow her, realizing I’d be late for work.

My mum was short and small, but goddess, she was mighty, and though we didn’t look alike, I knew we at least shared stubbornness.

Everyone around us moved on with their day. We had no other choice, but nobody ever forgot moments like this morning. They had a way of burrowing into your mind and staying there.

It was my mum’s next words that cemented that reality as I hurried along beside her, eager to commence my day. “An Alpha may physically survive that, Raya, but it’s his will and spirit that will forever be broken. That is most difficult to replace.”