Page 33 of Own to Obey

“Will you be at the announcement?” he asked.

“No, the bondmaids will be taking the final sequences of their potions around midday,” she said. “But I know it will go well. The tribe loves you too much for you to lose favor simply for one misguided night. I believe that if anyone can explain their actions, and apologize without actually apologizing, it is you,” she added dryly.

“Are you saying that I did not apologize to you?” he demanded.

“I am saying you won’t apologize to the tribe,” she pointed out. “I know you won’t.”

“I said I will explain my actions,” he said.

Rozalia sighed, turning to her potion-mixing desk. “Exactly. I'm sure the tribe won't even realize it, you do it so well.”

Kardos knew she was mocking him, but since she was still prickly about his behavior, he let it slide. Rozalia had been with his tribe since before he was born. She had seen a lot and was knowledgeable about everything—she was the only person who truly understood him sometimes, and because of that she got away with a lot. And in this case, it was he who had made the mistake.

“If she did not go to her Haze fully,” he began, “does that mean she will not get pregnant from knotting?”

“You knotted!” Rozalia exclaimed, spinning round to him, her face full of surprise. “You knotted her?”

Kardos frowned, confused by her surprise. “Of course. She was in her Haze, no matter how mild, and I was in a rut. I knotted her. Multiple times.”

“Oh,” she said, her surprise fading quickly. When she noticed the strange look Kardos was giving her, she lifted her shoulders. “Knotting is so rare, I forgot that it would be something that was bound to happen between the two of you.”

Kardos nodded in agreement. He hadn't even factored it in until it happened. Usually, Alphas did not give their seed to a woman unless he intended to breed her, and knotting did not happen with a Beta unless she was on a Haze recreator. Even then, only some Alphas knotted. No one knew the reason for the difference between Alphas who knotted and the ones who didn’t. Some said it was because of the potions used, some said it was the purity of the Alpha’s blood, while others claimed it was the woman. Regardless, Kardos had never knotted anyone before, and to feel Shaya around him so tightly, so securely, it had been a thrill and satisfaction that had no comparison. Shaya squeezed around not just his knot, but her muscles clenched along his cock relentlessly, encouraging him to give her every last fucking drop and he thoroughly enjoyed being locked to her gorgeous body for as long as possible. It made his orgasm last longer and more than once he found himself passionately hoping his seed would be successful in her womb. But he wasn’t saying that to Rozalia.

“You should have avoided it,” Rozalia was saying. “You know that we have strict rules around prevention of pregnancy.”

“I was in a rut, Roza,” Kardos pointed out. “It was almost impossible to stop myself from doing it. I never even realized it was coming.”

“But that is irresponsible, my shinno,” she shot back. “You knew that you wanted to interfere with her blocks, you should have prepared for the eventuality that you would be affected by that.”

“Maybe so,” Kardos said tightly. “But nothing can be done about that now.

Rozalia sighed. “True. It is lucky that I included contraception in the potion.”

Kardos blinked in surprise. “You did?”

“I am not just a pretty face,” she said solemnly. “Though it is a big part of my skills.”

Kardos exhaled, partly in relief and partly from disappointment. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “These are the reasons why you are the best in the Southern Isles “

“No, it's not,” she retorted. “I just told you, it’s my pretty face.” She lifted a brow. “I used to have Alphas tearing down ships for me too, you know. They’d make you look as though you weren’t even trying.”

Kardos shot her a disapproving look and tried not to chuckle as he left the room, shaking his head as the cabin filled with her laughter.

***

“I know some of you are wondering about my behavior last night,” Kardos called out into the main hall. He stood in the center, his tribe standing all around him, filling out the hall to the brim with every member who was on board the ship. Although most looked at him with utter trust and devotion, some of the gazes were questioning, and he did not like that look.

“I ask you to bear with me while I explain,” he said, turning so his words could reach those in all sides of the hall. “When we were in the Western Lands, we accepted King Malloron into our tribe. We had a ceremony for him and accepted him as a brother.”

Many of the heads around him nodded in recollection

“I made a negotiation with him to give me an Omega.”

It seemed as though the entire hall took a collective breath in. The tribesmen and women glanced at each other, disbelief and excitement on their faces.

“How did you know he could give you an Omega?” a tribesman asked.

“Because he had one,” Kardos said. “It was one of the many reasons that he was unable to tend to us during our visit. Furthermore, the rumor of Omegas returning to the Eastern Lands seems to have some truth to it.”

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