Page 72 of Ruled By The Alpha

"Grimm's men were seen riding off," Cooper said. "I heard from one of the decent farming outposts yesterday that he's short on fuel."

I cursed softly. We were scraping by on food, and while we now had enough antiviral to keep us going for a few months, none of this mattered if Grimm had war in mind. We were holding on by a thread, and the only thing we had in plentiful supply was gas because we'd scored a couple of tankers a while back.

"Rowan sent an envoy."

My eyes locked with Cooper's.

"The fuck he did," Aiden muttered behind me.

"The smoke plume was pretty fucking high," Cooper said. "He'd have seen it from his base. Yeah, the fucker is moving in and taking advantage of our problems. But he's one of Taylor's lieutenants now. What else do you expect?"

"What did he want?" I asked.

"You," Cooper said, holding my steady gaze. "Your community under Taylor's rule. In exchange, he'll bolster the protection of the community here. Said they have a way of stabilizing the virus, stopping betas from changing even if exposed."

I should focus on my community, but all I heard was that Rowan wanted me. My breath hissed through my teeth. "You think I should take his offer?"

"You're not taking the fucking offer. Asshole is just trying his luck," Aiden growled, pacing beside the SUV.

"He said he had other terms he would discuss with you in person," Cooper continued as Aiden muttered and cursed up a storm. "But he was real clear. You were non-negotiable."

"Fuck him!" Aiden said. "Should have shot the bastards who turned up with that bullshit proposal. How can you be so fucking calm?"

"You think I should take the offer," I said again, only quieter, and this time it wasn't a question.

"I think you should talk to Rowan," Cooper said, "in person. Taylor wants your land. He's a power hungry psycho, but he won't care about the details of a single omega's ownership. That's down to Rowan. Maybe you can negotiate."

I shuddered, only it wasn't all from distaste, and I didn't believe I could negotiate on that point.

"He's had a hardon for her since they crossed paths." Aiden continued to pace. "You were there, Cooper. You said the bastard couldn't take his eyes off her. He'll have his fucking brand on her temple before the ink dries on the fucking deal."

Ownership. Taylor had an archaic rule that said all women were owned, whether they were omega or beta. A brand etched into your forehead stating who you belonged to and their status. His wasn’t the only community to adhere to the principles of ownership—but we didn't here.

Yes, the omega side of me felt intrigued by the compelling alpha who did Taylor's bidding. But the woman and leader in me recoiled at the prospect of being owned, of having a permanent stamp etched into my face.

"You're seriously considering this," Aiden said, halting his pace.

"Yeah." Because I was one person, and there were many within my community, including children. While no one was badly hurt today, they could have been. "I am."

*

I spent some time doing the rounds of the community, trying to focus on the positive news in our cache of antivirals while also talking plainly about the challenges ahead.

A few people asked me what would happen next, and I had to be honest with them and say I was considering an offer and that there would be a community meeting in the morning to discuss it.

By the time the three of us returned to my quarters, dawn was breaking. Cooper wasn't even mad about me leaving on the med run, although he gave me an exaggerated sniff and ordered me to take a shower.

Our shower was anything but luxurious, but the water pelting me was temperate and felt good. As I watched the water circle the drain, I accepted what I needed to do to protect the thousands of betas who called the Rivervale penitentiary home. I was going to trade. I could already picture Rowan's face when I told him I was ready to accept a deal.

Rowan wanted my land and my people.

He also wanted me.

Our community wouldn't survive without him. I'd seen things slide in other communities, how it turned toward anarchy when food—or worse, antiviral stocks—dwindled. If Rowan had a way of protecting betas permanently, how could we refuse? We had fewer women than men here, but all were in relationships. If he honored that and allowed them to belong to their current partners, that would be something, at least.

Not that we had any real choice. A firefight with Grimm would result in losses on both sides. Sure, we might scrape through and live to fight another day, but to what end? This wasn't a forever solution. It was only now, as I stared down at the inevitability, that I wondered why I'd been fighting for independence so hard and for so long. There was safety in numbers, always had been.

Today reminded me that Taylor wasn't the worst out there.

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