Page 47 of Feral Omega

I don't respond, just watch him warily as he approaches. He stops a few feet away, close enough that I can make out the faint lines creasing the corners of his eyes, the flecks of amber in his irises.

The silence stretches between us, thick and heavy as Thane's gaze rakes over me. I refuse to squirm under his scrutiny, keeping my expression carefully blank even as my insides churn with unease. After what feels like an eternity, he finally breaks the silence.

"Sorry about that," he rumbles, the words emerging low and rough. "Whiskey's drunk again and he tried to grab Wraith's mask. The key word here is 'tried.'"

An involuntary shudder ripples through me at the mention of Wraith's name. The feral alpha's snarls still echo in my mind, raw and guttural, the sounds of a rabid beast pacing its cage.

It's funny. Out of all of them, even though I've never spoken to Wraith—I'm not sure he can speak at all—I sense a strange kinship there. We were both forged from fire.

But that doesn't make him safe.

It's the opposite.

I know better than anyone what a caged animal is capable of, what my instincts tell me to do to protect myself. The only reason I haven't acted on those instincts is because I'm not completely reckless.

I have no idea if Wraith even thinks.

Slowly, I lift my eyes to meet Thane's inscrutable stare. He doesn't seem remotely phased by whatever just went on out there. As though drunken brawls and mindless violence are just another mundane occurrence around here.

My lips curl in a silent sneer at the thought. Of course it's all just business as usual for them. Monsters don't feel shame or guilt over being monstrous. It's simply their nature.

The silence stretches again, taut as a tripwire, but I refuse to be the one to break it this time. Let him squirm under the weight of my defiant glare, my blatant refusal to play his little game. I'm not some simpering omega to be cowed by his alpha bluster.

Thane seems to sense the challenge in my stony silence. A muscle ticks in his jaw, the first crack in his unruffled facade.

"You're being moved to new quarters today," he says at last, his deep voice a low rumble. "Figured you'd want a space of your own instead of staying cooped up in here. Your nesting materials came in this morning."

It's not a question. It's an undisguised attempt to draw me into conversation. A lure dangled before me like bait on a hook. I eye it warily, fighting the instinctive urge to recoil and spit at him.

New quarters. Another cell to replace this one, with all the same locks and barriers keeping me trapped. Creature comforts tossed in to make the bars seem less confining. A gilded cage.

I know the game they're playing, can see the manipulation as clear as day. Give the feral little omega a taste of freedom, a glimpse of something better, all in the hopes that she'll be so dazzled by the scraps they dangle that she'll roll over and show her belly.

Play nice and be a good little pet.

If he wants obedience, wants me to play the part of the pliant, submissive omega... he has another thing coming.

At last, I hear him exhale a slow breath, the sound eerily controlled. "I know things have been... difficult since you arrived. But I want you to know that we're not trying to keep you caged up like some animal. We're trying to keep you safe. To protect you."

A harsh laugh escapes me before I can stop it. I've survived on my own in the wild since I was a child. I can handle myself just fine without their "protection."

A ghost of a smile tugs at the corner of Thane's lips, softening the hard planes of his face. "I don't doubt your capability," he says as if he can read my damn mind. "But these mountains are different from wherever you came from. These forests are filled with dangers you couldn't even imagine."

Like you? I wonder. They're the biggest threat of all.

But I refuse to speak.

A low chuckle rumbles up from his broad chest, the rich sound sending an unexpected ripple of heat curling through my belly.

I squash it down ruthlessly, tightening my arms around my knees. I won't be swayed by an alpha's cheap tricks, no matter how deep and rumbly his laugh.

"You don't cave, I'll give you that," Thane concedes, shaking his head.

His gaze holds mine, dark and steady, and for a heartbeat I find myself pinned in place, transfixed. There's something in those fathomless depths that calls to me, and I hate it.

Then the moment shatters as he tears his eyes away, clearing his throat. "Anyway, your new room is ready whenever you'd like to move in. Plague had blankets, pillows, and other things delivered. Proper blankets, not these thin, bleached scraps you have now."

I blink at him, momentarily thrown.

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