Page 9 of The Blind Hordesman

The corner of his mouth quirks some more. “Have a sip, Omega.”

As if in a trance, I grab the glass and sniff. Oh boy. That’ll wake me right up. I pinch my nose with one hand and sip with the other. I swallow. Liquid burns down my throat. I hack like a cat hacks up a hairball and slam the glass on the table, eyes watering. “Good stuff. Should kill you right where you sit.”

The Alpha laughs, and I smile. People rarely laugh at my terrible jokes. It’s kind of nice he finds me funny.

He reaches for the glass.

But his big fingers are clumsy, and he bumps it. The glass tips, wobbles.

The Alpha snatches me and topples the bucket just as the glass shatters all over the floor.

This male is fast. He’s massive and fast. Bulky Alphas I’ve seen aren’t this fast. I don’t know if he grabbed me first or if the glass dropped. I stare at him, confused and amazed at the same time. He rattles off terrible sounds, his upper lip lifting. I place a hand on his chest, and the vibrations from it send a buzz of heat through my body. “I’ll clean it up.”

The Hordesman carries me away from the accident. He puts me down and glares. “I asked for dinner, Omega. A tray with a plate of food, and a fork and knife if you’re feeling fancy, though I’ll eat with my hands. Nothing else. When I want water or alcohol, I’ll tell you. Understood?” He storms out, tent flap closing behind him.

I run out after him because I’ve got a mess to clean. Maybe I’ll beat him over the head with a broom. Or maybe I could ride away on a broom. This is the worst day of my life.

Chapter 5

Seer

Poison in food is easier to smell than if she mixed it with the bourbon. That’s why I had her taste it. In general, I listen and feel for objects around me, and also in general, I’m quite great at “seeing” where shit is. I rarely have accidents. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I became disoriented. Distracted by the scent of her pussy, I missed the location of the glass and shattered the damn thing everywhere. This pisses me off.

I trudge through the camp, trip over something, and nearly fall flat on my face. At the last second, I straighten up and snarl, roaring, “What the fuck?” Silence falls over the camp, and I continue walking.

Distractions, distractions, my uncle Tayseer’s voice drifts into my head. He said, “Take a unit of Collectors before you leave the Stronghold.”

“I got this shit, Uncle,” I told him. As if an Omega pussy would distract me from my mission. Pft. Besides, he’s always babied me, probably more than his own son, and likely because he felt bad for me. I’m the only blind male that’s ever grown into an Alpha. Blindness in an Alpha is a weakness, not tolerated or endured. They snuff out babies like me. It took them a while to figure out I couldn’t see, mainly because I got around fine without sight, and hell, I didn’t even know I was supposed to have sight. They made these weird references to colors and shit, but I just painted pictures in my head and went along with it, thinking that was what everyone did.

When my dad first figured out I couldn’t see, I remember he wouldn’t speak for spans, and I didn’t see much of him for a while. I kept thinking he was mad at me. But then he returned with my uncle Tayseer and a former Warlord Alpha who trained me and after, let me create a new Warlord army I would take to conquer the Earth. My uncle is a fan of conquering, and he figured if I had one flawed sense, my other senses would become stronger. And he was right.

When I battle males, my gums hurt and my teeth fill with venom, but my canines don’t have holes to eject it. “In time, it will come,” my uncle assured me. “You will be the most feared. I know it.”

And look at me now. Out in the middle of nowhere Canada, on a mission for months with no end in sight and nothing to show for it but burned homes and a few thousand dead Swarm males. Fucking most disappointing, not most feared.

“Second,” I call out.

Noslov whistles so I can hear his ass down on the other side of the camp. Like everything else, the campground is always set up the same so I can find my way around it easily. Serpent help any motherfucker who nails something in the wrong place. I’m not in a forgiving mood.

In Noslov’s part of the camp, Alphas gather around food, fire, and pussy. Two Betas I can smell by their scents. Noslov brushes my hand, and I follow him. “Have a seat, Alpha.” He puts out the chair behind me.

Though commanding respect comes easily, one never knows when news of a blind Hordesman might reach my enemies. While it could play in my favor, because they could think I can’t function as well as they can, I also can’t have it broadcast across the lands. I’m too proud for mass communication of my disability, and, frankly, it’s nobody’s business.

I sit and groan, the scent of pussy reminding me of Kiki. I shouldn’t have yelled at her. “Let’s hear it,” I say in Rahkan. “How many Omegas total?”

“One.”

“How many girls total?”

“Just the twelve you found.”

I nod. “How far out are the Collectors?”

“No idea.” He sits next to me, again brushing my hand, quickly and as if nonchalantly. I know he’s holding something out. I extend my hand, and he puts something light in my palm. I bring it to my nose and sniff. “Betaren.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“You can’t smell it?”

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