Page 12 of The Queen

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed, little omega. You aren’t supposed to be here,” he said, pinning me in place with his stare.

“Shadow, please take me away from here. I don’t want to talk to him. I can’t be here right now. Anywhere else.” I dashed the tears from my cheeks and tried to move past him, but his arm wrapped around my shoulders and steered me from the doorway I’d just fled.

The offending door swung open, and Ghost appeared, grasping the towel around his waist. “Saphyra! Wait!”

My body tensed and a whimper slipped between my lips, but Shadow’s hold never wavered.

He looked over his shoulder at his friend. “Not now, Axion. Go back to your room.” And that was all he said before ushering me away.

Tucked against the warmth of his side, surrounded by his scent, I felt like nothing else could touch me. Not the high-handed, overly controlling attitude of Lex, or Ghost’s betrayal.

As we made our way down the passage, I saw the alpha that smelled like old boot leather nod to Shadow. I guess I hadn’t been as subtle as I’d thought.

“Who’s that?” I gestured toward the grumpy faced alpha.

“That’s Lanxer, one of the senior officers.”

I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or grateful to the older alpha. He’d likely been the one to report my presence to Shadow, or at least the one who told him where I was headed, but that was turning out to be more of a blessing than a curse.

It was a short walk down the hallway to another nondescript door where my escort punched a code into the number pad on the wall. It all looked very similar to the scene I’d just run from. Except when this door opened, the interior was dim, and I was immediately enveloped in Shadow’s scent and something else. The combination of warm oak trees and wood smoke flooded my senses as he guided me through the entrance.

I stiffened with panic, bracing for the impact of another jarring punch to my confidence, but none came. I was relieved to see that the cabin was empty and quiet.

This room had no banks of screens or servers like the other. There were weapons of every sort hanging from pegs or resting on shelves above a long workbench that took up an entire wall instead. Opposite that were bookcases packed full of leather-bound books and a polished wooden desk and chair.

An almost uncontrollable urge to explore tugged at me despite my distress over the scene I’d run from in Ghost’s room. I wanted to immerse my mind in something other than the betrayal that festered like an open wound. Books were filled with other ideas. Places that could whisk me away from the terrible memories. The tomes on these shelves were thick and worn with age. I wondered what so many real paper books were doing in a place like this.

The weapons made sense and were equally intriguing, but I wouldn’t have guessed Shadow would hoard books.

As I stepped into the room, strong fingers wrapped around my wrist like a vise, stopping me short. I sucked in a breath at the sting from Shadow’s grip and turned a questioning eye on him.

“Tsk, tsk, little omega. You owe me some explanations.” He nudged the door closed and led me to the one thing this room and Ghost’s had in common: a large bed draped in furs.

He towed me along in his wake, and when he tugged me down into his lap, I went willingly. There was serenity wrapped in his darkness, and I would bury myself in it as long as he’d let me, happily hiding from everything, and basking in his strength forever. If only he’d allow it.

My instincts pushed me toward him, and I found my face buried in the crook of his neck, filling my senses with his pheromones. My blood sang to his and my teeth ached to bite, claiming him as my own for all to see. The longer I tried to deny these urges, the stronger the bond drew me toward them.

I groaned and struggled to pull myself together. What was wrong with me? His scent was so distracting.

His fingers slid up my back and threaded through my hair, pulling my head away from his throat so he could look at me. “Are you going to tell me why you were in tears running from Axion’s room?”

I shuddered thinking about the series of events that led me here, sneaking through the halls and breaking into people’s rooms. All things I shouldn’t have been doing, but also, I shouldn’t have had to do them in the first place. Why was this the only way I could get answers? Why wouldn’t they just tell me the truth?

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. He waited patiently as all these thoughts no doubt flashed across my face. I squirmed on his lap, but it was clear he wasn’t going to release his hold until I explained.

“Let me go.” I tried to stand, but he kept me firmly anchored in place.

“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

I sniffled, but knew I had no choice. “You shelter me like a fragile thing, but expect me to lead. You hide things from me that I need to know. Ghost spends his free time with other women. You spend your time hiding with the rest of the soldiers. How am I supposed to do anything when I’m locked up in my room alone? Was I always meant to be Lex’s puppet and nothing else? Was any of this ever real?” The volume of my voice rose until, by the end, I was yelling.

Shadow’s hold on me eased, and once I stopped shouting, I was able to stumble away, my arms wrapped protectively around myself.

As if sensing my spiraling thoughts, he walked to me and engulfed me in his embrace. “We’re trying to protect you.”

“Fat lot of good that’s doing,” I grumbled against his chest. “Your rules may be protecting my body, but what about everything else? There’s more to me than just physical safety. Your distance only makes things worse in every way.”

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