Page 39 of Of Daggers and Deceit

“Citizens of the Haven.” Our Supreme’s voice drowned out my thoughts and pulled my attention back to the screen. “Today, we rejoice, as our one Goddess, Omni, has delivered us an Ace.”

The crowd seemed to barely breathe as the oxygen was sucked from our room.

“Whilst many of us hunkered down in the safety of our homes, a champion arose in our ranks, charging into the battle of her own choosing and leading the few failing Alpha shifters to victory for the first time since the birth of our great city.” A practiced smile illuminated his delicately sharp features. My stomach clenched at the sight of him. How could they not see the darkness inside of him?

“Raya Ward, our saviour, leapt into battle and prevented the theft of an Omega child from our borders.” I chose to focus on the careful blankness of Riley’s expression, attempting to gain control of the raging inferno of emotions inside me.

“When the news was delivered to me this morning, I dedicated time to spend in isolation to commune directly with Omni. She decreed that she had empowered Raya Ward, her Ace, to finally take a stand against the Dominants who have warred against us for so many years.” He smiled and ran his tongue along the bottom of his top teeth, scanning the crowd, clearly pleased with their response. “In memory of all those we have lost, we blessedly thank Omni for the ace in our fight to liberate our future and exterminate the evil that plagues us, once and for all.”

This Omega was insane. Exterminate? We barely survived on that field.

I dared a glance across at Tia, who sat frozen solid, her eyes narrowed on the screen, her mug dipping slightly from her hands.

He still wasn’t finished. My hands wrapped around my knees and squeezed.

“Dearest Raya, we look forward to your next triumph.” With a final, warm smile, he reached over and took Riley’s hand in his own, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. I couldn’t stand the look of reverence on her face.

The broadcast cut out, and a loud knock struck the front door. Raya got up and hurried over to open it, leaving Tia and I to sit and stare, trying to understand everything that was happening. I felt a complete and utter loss of fucking control.

Guards flooded the house, and I immediately stood prepared, as did Tia. But my mouth fell ajar when boxes of food were brought in, guns of various sizes placed on our small coffee table, overwhelming it.

Tia’s mouth open and closed. “Raya… Wha-what?”

The guards filed out, and one saluted Raya. “Thank you for your service, Ace.”

Raya stood with wide eyes before her face erupted into a satisfied smile.

I could only stare at her in shock. She was like a hurricane. She had swept into my life with such ferocity, I couldn’t help but be caught by her. But the same things I liked about Raya, her wildness, her determination, her grit were the exact things that worried me living in a city that demanded discipline. There was no place for the wild and untamed.

Raya walked across and lifted a gun up off the table before looking over to Tia and me triumphantly. “I think our future is looking a whole lot brighter.”

RILEY

Inarrowed my eyes on my cupid’s bow, which I was carefully outlining with a light pink liner for today’s appearance at the Family Planning Centre. I’d only very recently begun to be involved in more public events with Zander, a step up from sitting around in his apartment all day. A step closer to achieving what I needed to achieve. This day in particular was, in his opinion, so very important for Omega kind.

My eyes lifted to inspect the rest of my face as I stared at my reflection, my shoulders drawn back and proud.

Today was mostly an advertisement for Zander’s updated formula for Omega trait control. The advancements of the injectable were an incredible feat for our kind in an Alpha and Dominant-deprived world, even if heats were becoming incredibly more infrequent these days. It meant we no longer truly needed them.

Zander had so graciously enabled me to be the first test subject and had me reciting all the benefits of the new drug in case Omegas asked me about it.

I practised a smile in the mirror, inspecting every inch of my skin to ensure I met my usual standards. The entire Inner Ring would be present and watching me. Today was my opportunity to shine.

“This formula advances our kind by enabling us to receive a shot every five years as opposed to its annual predecessor. It promises empowerment through the almost complete suppression of our pheromones to keep us in control during our infrequent heats, granting us favour with Omni, and marks a near-complete severance from our deadly history of servitude.”

My lips lifted higher. That’s what I’d be telling everyone. Personally, I was entirely unbothered by its introduction and considered it a waste of resources, given we already had something effective. The money invested into this project could have been pushed towards supporting our most vulnerable.

Which is why I considered my appearance today absolutely critical: to play the part required of me now so I had bolder input further along when I could steer Zander towards new and more unified leadership.

I raised the lip gloss, the final touch, up to my lips and slicked on a quick coat, smacking and rubbing my lips together a few times to spread it around evenly. Smoothing my black hair down into place, I nodded, finally pleased with my reflection.

I grabbed my bag and stepped out into the hallway to see Sly standing stationary between the two elevators. He had been assigned as my personal guard, something I didn’t intend to complain about. Better to have company than the quiet when Zander left so regularly.

Especially when, three nights prior, he surprisingly didn’t betray me after he had shown me through that hole in the hedge. Even now, I still remained cautious and slightly frazzled.

I pinched my eyebrows together and looked around, poking my head back down the short hall to Zander’s bedroom, straining my ears for sound, only to hear none.

This was different. On important event days such as this, Zander always escorted me.

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