Chapter 3 #2
Nico nearly lost his son. Being able to feel useful in some way has always made him feel better. Nico is kept out of most pack business. It must be an impossible position. He raised Mars, and despite his own tough situation, he’s never lost his kindness.
Having Nico’s example of an Omega may have ruined Mars.
Strength, endurance, and kindness.
In our world, how lucky would we be to find those traits in our bondeds?
“Dad…” Mars flushes with shame. “It’s my fault. The Omega didn’t want me. She hated my scent. She said that I was weak. She rejected me.”
“Then she’s an idiot.” Nico’s voice is sharper than I’ve heard before.
“Let me tell you this, my God of War, you’re the best Alpha in this pack.
I haven’t raised you to doubt yourself just because someone speaks badly about you.
Did you treat her with respect like we talked about?
Make sure that she knew she would be treated well? ”
Mars nods.
“Then it’s not your fault.” Nico drops the spoon. “From what I’ve heard being whispered between the Betas, this was a setup. It wouldn’t have mattered what you did, the Billionaires would have acted the same way. They wanted this war.”
Mars and I share an uneasy glance.
I adjust the sleeves of my jacket, as sweat drips down my neck. “Where’s the Chief Alpha now?”
Nico’s gaze cuts to me. “Last I heard, preparing for that war. Rogue, what were you thinking revealing your power?”
“I was thinking,” I say through clenched teeth, “that I should do my job as Mars’ bodyguard and get him out of that meeting alive.”
Nico’s face falls.
He crawls across the bed toward me. “Thank you for bringing my son back to me. But you’re my daughter too, and I’m scared for you. You don’t know what I’ve suffered ever since you were born to keep you alive.”
I freeze.
I don’t.
I stare at Nico in shock.
He’s clenching his hands like he’s desperately holding himself back from taking my hand. “I know that you’re not meant to call me Dad, but could you just this once?”
My blood chills.
Nico knows that I’m going to be executed.
This is his last request.
Numb, I nod. “Dad.”
Nico’s face crumples. “May I hug you?”
He never has.
He hasn’t been allowed to.
I nod again.
I’m shaking.
Nico throws himself at me, hugging me with his much smaller frame.
He’s thinner than I’m expecting, frighteningly thin.
Is Fiorella starving him?
He clings to me, however, with surprising strength.
I stare at Mars over Nico’s shoulder, who looks as shocked as I feel.
This hug is everything that I have always wanted. Except, I can’t enjoy it because this feels like a goodbye.
Finally, when Nico doesn’t appear to have any intention of letting go of me, I pat him awkwardly on the shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Nico shakes his head. “I should have found a way to do this earlier. Also, told you just how proud I am of you. Nothing should have stopped me. Your mom thought that calling you Rogue was a sick joke. But it was also hiding in plain sight, you know? No one would guess what you were if it was your literal name. It was a way of keeping us safe from the authorities. She plays mind games like that. But I always imagined in my head that it just meant you did things your own way, and you do. I’ve always supported and loved you just the way you are.
Whatever happens, you protected your pack.
You saved Mars. Those books on Rogues must have it wrong.
I’ve lived for decades around monsters, and you’re not one of them. ”
My throat is suddenly tight.
I wrap my arms firmly around Nico — Dad — and return his hug more firmly.
Now, I’m the one who doesn’t want to ever let him go.
“Dad…” I whisper.
“How touching. You coddle them, while I am in meetings trying to save our entire pack from being executed.” Fiorella stalks into the bedroom.
Fiorella’s bitter black coffee scent makes me gag.
Her scent is powerful enough in her fury to make Nico whimper. Both Mars and I wash soothing pheromones over him to comfort him.
Fiorella is dressed in an elegant scarlet suit, but it is creased and her makeup is smeared.
Bad sign.
I stiffen. My adrenaline jumps.
I stand, holding my hands smartly behind my back. I shutter my expression.
Fiorella marches straight to me.
She signals her movements fast enough that I know what she’s going to do.
I don’t attempt to dodge.
She slaps me across the face with a crack that echoes around the room.
Fiorella’s nails rake across the skin.
Blood trickles down my cheek to my chin. I lick the coppery blood off my lips, and it stains my teeth.
I remain standing as still as a statue.
This is it.
Please don’t let her shoot me in front of Mars and Nico.
Will Fiorella take me down to the basement to tear out my throat?
I grit my teeth in frustration, when Mars gasps in pain, struggling to sit up.
He must have pulled out his stitches.
He pushes the broth aside but can’t escape his covers.
Nico throws himself off the bed. “Alpha, please…”
“Silence, Omega,” Fiorella barks out the low rumble of an Alpha Command. “Kneel.”
Nico collapses to his knees, instantly snapping shut his mouth.
Shit.
Alpha Commands are cruel. They are biologically impossible to resist for an Omega. They were intended to only be used for an Omega’s protection.
In Traditional packs, however, they’re the perfect means of control.
I will never use one on an Omega.
The auctions are run on Alpha Commands. They turn Omegas into puppets. Although, not as effectively as my Rogue Powers do.
Like sparking electricity underneath my skin, I feel my rising power. It is desperate to reach out and strike down my Chief Alpha, forcing her to obey for once.
I could force Fiorella onto her knees.
I could transform her into the same puppet that she turns the Reject Omegas…my own Dad into…because they’re just business to her.
Property.
If I give into that side of myself, however, wouldn’t that mean I’m simply as bad as her?
Why can’t I suffer with the same resilience and dignity as Nico does?
Fuck that.
I want revenge.
“Shit,” Mars hisses. “Take the command back. You’re hurting him.”
Nico clutches his throat, clawing at the floor.
Fiorella doesn’t even glance at her Omega.
Instead, she grips my chin, forcing eye contact. “I ordered you to keep my heir out of trouble. Instead, he’s lying bloody in that bed like a pincushion. You’re the one who wanted to be his bodyguard, but the doctor told me that on your watch, Mars came within an inch of being gutted.”
I wince. “He did.”
“I warned you that I was holding you responsible for both his safety and the success of the mission. You knew what would happen if you failed.”
My pulse is loud in my ears. My mouth is dry.
Can I make it to the window in time? I could survive the fall if I jumped.
But would Fiorella take my escape out on my brother?
“I did.”
Fiorella tilts her head. “You aren’t going to beg for mercy…?”
“It wouldn’t work.”
“You always were an emotionless, strange one. An ice queen born without a heart. You’re right.
You revealed your power to our enemies. It’s out of my hands.
Damio has been on the phone with me, and I’ve never heard him so enraged.
He’s not offering a bond match anymore. Now, he wants us to hand over Mars as a Rut Alpha… ”
I twist my chin out of her grip. “No.”
I glance at my brother, who looks like he’s going to be sick.
A Rut Alpha has the lowest status in a pack. They are much like Nico, the Breeder Omega.
Mars would have been shamed before, but as a Rut Alpha, his life would be hell.
“If I don’t hand him over,” Fiorella says, “then Damio has threatened to tell the authorities that we are harboring you. The entire pack will be executed.”
Now, I feel like I will be sick.