Chapter 24
The Omega”s behavior was terrifying.
There wasn’t a lot that Akoro feared, but the Omega”s sudden disinterest in everything had at first bewildered and frustrated him, but now seriously worried him.
Something was wrong.
Those beautiful brown eyes didn”t focus on anything but the nnirae. Nothing interested her. She ate and drank on her own—never too much or too little. She enjoyed having her cunt eaten and clenching on his cock. If she used her mouth, it was to suck and lick him rather than speak. She seemed completely broken, but that didn’t make sense.
After finding out about the Alpha/Omega true mate bond, he sought out Prillu, who had mentioned it in her questioning. The only information she knew was that the Lox Empire had a larger Omega population, so she’d assumed the princess would have greater details about true mate bonds. Prillu admitted she’d been concerned that Naya had a bonded true mate, which would be good to know when they invaded Lox.
Akoro had almost barked at her at the thought of this Lonn, who had been in a small room alone with his Omega. He’d driven himself insane that night with thoughts of this strange Alpha “scenting” her. What the fuck did that even mean?
He had gone into the archives of the Tri-Dynasty period, where the Tsashokra region had thrived as a hub of culture and magic, a period in their history that would have recorded information about Omegas, if any. And he was right; however, nothing he found so far described why the Omega would suddenly become unresponsive. She had everything she needed—warmth, her nest, food, her Alpha…. It didn”t make sense.
He had been forced to ask Oppo to examine her, but it had negatively impacted his and his brother’s relationship. When she”d smiled at Oppo, Akoro had exploded. She had never smiled for him outside of her Haze, and while he had treated her badly as a prisoner, he hadn’t known she was his true mate. All of her smiles should be for him, regardless. How could she randomly smile for Oppo? What the fuck had he been doing with her?
They had almost come to blows that day, with the Omega just a few feet away curled up on the bed not even reacting to them. Oppo had stopped their fight, immediately recognizing her disturbing behavior. It wasn’t normal for an Omega to not be afraid when Alphas were in that state. It was the moment Akoro realized how much he didn’t know about his own mate.
When they had cooler heads, Oppo admitted he was concerned but he didn”t have enough information about other Omegas to understand what was happening. There were instances he’d read about where an Omega would withdraw due to various circumstantial or situational issues, but that wasn”t the case for the princess. She had just come out of an incredible heat—the most blissful days of Akoro”s life—unfortunately she was not with child, but that shouldn’t be a reason for this kind of behavior.
He”d been conflicted about Oppo’s decision to suppress her heat. For the purposes of the mission, it was a good thing his brother had done that; they needed her clear-minded, not enticing Alphas into a rut. However, if he hadn”t blocked the Omega”s heat, then Akoro would have immediately realized the princess was his. He couldn”t blame Oppo for being forward-thinking, but he could blame him for the missed opportunity with his Omega.
Akoro spent hours scouring the archives for any piece of information that would help his Omega. Oppo said the fact that she brightened with his nnirae meant that it wasn’t a full breakdown and Akoro just needed to find a way to get her to respond, but nothing worked.
His council were anxious about the delays to the mission. Prillu in particular was nervous about the time they had left, but it couldn’t be helped. The princess was a piece of the puzzle now—she couldn’t be skipped over or replaced; she was crucial to the success of the invasion. If something was wrong with her, it had to be dealt with first.
When the nightmares started again, Akoro almost went wild. Fury and frustration and fear coalesced into a blinding need to solve his Omega’s problem. She was suffering, and he couldn”t bear it. He”d hated it in the desert when he was watching from afar, and he certainly didn”t like it in his bed, in the nest that she built so fastidiously for them while in his arms.
Oppo was reluctant to provide any medications for her, but when he heard about the nightmares he changed his mind.
”Don”t use this more than a couple of nights,” Oppo warned, handing him a potion bottle. He examined his brother. ”You don”t look you look like you”ve been sleeping either.”
”How can I?” Akoro scowled. ”I am awake when she is awake.”
“Have you tried talking to her?” Oppo asked.
”Of course I have. It was the first thing I tried.”
”No, I mean, finding her finding a way to talk to her on her terms,” Oppo said. ”Omegas are very special, Akoro. Figure out what is important to her and talk to her about it.”
Akoro inhaled and shook his head. “I am invading her world, Oppo.”
Oppo nodded. “I know, I know. But does she know why?”
“She will never understand why. I’m taking her empire away from her and her father. Besides, she shouldn’t know too much.”
“Why not? Do you ever intend on sending her back to her father?”
Akoro couldn’t answer. He wasn’t intending on keeping the princess when he took her but now….
“She will hate you her whole life, anyway. You might as well try to explain.”
“I don’t care if she hates me,” Akoro said. “I just want her.”
“You may regret that eventually, brother.” Oppo’s eyes drifted down in thought. “Being with her is much better when she loves you back.”
Akoro watched Oppo for a long moment. “I didn’t realize,” he said quietly.
Oppo’s eyes widened, lifting back up to his brother. ”What?”
”All of what happened between with you and the Omega back then, I didn”t understand. I probably still don’t.”
Oppo pulled his lips in and closed his eyes.
”I don”t know how you did it,” Akoro continued. ”You are very strong, possibly the strongest Alpha I know.”
Oppo exhaled a heavy breath, long and slow. Tears sparkled in his eyes and he swallowed, hands trembling. ”I think about her all the time,” he whispered. ”It never goes away.” He lifted his eyes to meet Akoro”s. ”I know you haven”t told the council yet, but Prillu and Tshel will figure it out soon. This delay to the invasion is unprecedented for you, and the Omega is completely unavailable. It doesn”t take much to guess what might be happening between the two of you; an Alpha and Omega.”
”You need to tell them that it”s medical,” Akoro scowled. ”And it is. At least for now.”
Opera nodded. ”For now.”
The medication settled Naya for a couple of nights, but her sleep was still uneasy. After the fifth night of the Omega”s nightmares, Akoro discovered how to purr. He was talking to her, trying to soothe her, pressed on top of her the way she liked, and a rumble erupted in his chest, vibrating between them.
The Omega reacted immediately, sinking into the vibration and sighing in relief. Satisfaction beamed through him that he was helping her. But his purr didn”t stop her nightmares completely. He had to figure out what her trauma was.
So he had to make a plan.