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Kardos’ scowl deepened and he growled low. It was something he couldn’t explain or understand, but it bothered him deeply that her Haze ended without her securing his seed in her belly. He hadn’t realized it, but he’d been subconsciously waiting for the change in her scent signifying it.

Rozalia seemed to sense something in him; she dropped her shoulders and took a step back. “I’ll look into it, my shinno.”

Kardos let out a gruff exhale and headed out of the room and prepared to go to at his private temple where he sought the answer to all difficulties he faced.

All he needed now was to settle his mind and the answer would come. He would seek a way to secure the seat and deal with the Omega who had caused him to be so utterly disgraced.

CHAPTER TWO

SHAYA

“Take it slow,” Rozalia said gently.

Shaya gripped onto her arm as she lowered into the hot bath, wincing at all the different aches and pains bounding through her body. But once the hot water enveloped her, she sighed deeply as her muscles relaxed. Rozalia examined some of the bottles she’d brought with her, tipping them to release tiny, powerfully scented droplets of various healing oils into the bath before setting about scrubbing Shaya clean from the enormous amount of Kardos’ seed crusted around her neck.

Shaya remained quiet. She’d woken groggy and dazed, a deep, satisfying ache in her muscles, a dull pain between her legs, and little memory of how she had ended up in the guest bedroom. The last she remembered, she had been in Kardos’ bedroom, sinking her teeth into his neck in despair.

And it worked. The presence smoldering deep within her chest told her as much—she had bonded with him. The enormity of that idea, now that she was more clearheaded, stunned her. She had done it. She had acted against him, shown she wasn’t weak, proved she could retaliate… and yet the realization that it had happened manifested pure terror in her.

What would Kardos do to her now? Or… what had he done to her?

She wasn't sure what the immediate repercussions had been; she couldn't remember. The ache in her limbs and the pain between her legs didn’t seem like it was due to him being violent toward her, but it was impossible to know how the Alpha would have behaved about her outright defiance. Rozalia was also behaving strangely. The older woman hadn't spoken to her at all since she woke, simply ushering her here and there, getting her undressed and prepared for the bath.

However, Shaya wasn’t willing to engage Rozalia in conversation just yet. She suspected, from how lethargic she felt when she woke, that she may have been drugged again and she couldn’t ignore the fact that Rozalia, as Kardos’ potionist, would have been the one to create the potion that Kardos gave her on the ship. Shaya couldn’t deny her disappointment with that realization; she thought she’d found a new friend, but she hadn’t. What if Treska had been involved too? Had everyone known all along what Kardos planned for her?

The thoughts were too heavy for Shaya to contemplate while she still felt so frail. A weak apathy dominated her body and mind—she didn’t feel her usual self. It had to be because of the bond to the Alpha—it sat heavy in her chest, hard and sharp like a claw buried deep, combined with the pain in her body and the aftereffects of whatever potion she had been given all made her feel strange. So she simply kept quiet and allowed Rozalia to do as she wished, even allowing the woman to wash her hair. It was now a stiff puff that was in dire need of care, which indicated the loss of time she couldn’t account for.

After she was finally dressed and dried, she felt a little better. The pain in her body had lessened and Rozalia began working her creams and oils through her hair to soften it, massaging her scalp, which helped her to relax. The hard claw in her chest hadn't changed, but at least she knew other things could positively impact her mood.

As she sat there, a sudden image of Kardos's mouth between her legs seared into her mind and she quickly inhaled, surprised. His mouth buried into her, his tongue swirling around her nub while his pretty eyes locked onto her face. Her legs spread as wide as she could get them as her hips rolled up to feed him, and her fingers digging into his scalp.

A shudder trembled through her body at the memory, and she squeezed her legs tightly together, pressing her hand between them as the recollection of how incredible her body had felt returned.

As Rozalia treated her hair, indecent memories with Kardos came back to her one after the other, as well as the powerful emotions she’d had during each one. By the time Rozalia was wrapping her head, Shaya was trembling and breathing heavy, hardly able to believe everything that had transpired.

“You remember.” Rozalia watched Shaya carefully as closed the jars and bottles laid out on the bed.

“Yes,” Shaya muttered. “But….” She hesitated, unsure if she wanted to share her thoughts with Rozalia. This woman was clearly on Kardos' side, and based on the emotions blasting from the bond in her chest, Kardos was furious. She hoped she was misreading it, but she doubted it. He had gone into a fury soon as he realized what she'd done, and she wasn't sure why he hadn’t attacked her outright.

“The memories always take a while to return,” Rozalia said, her voice quiet as she packed away the creams.

“Why?” Shaya was unable to help herself asked.

Rozalia shrugged as she straightened the bed. “It is something to do with the way an Omegas body changes during her Haze.”

“Haze?” Shaya stared at her bewildered. “What is that?”

Rozalia froze. “You don't know what a Haze is?”

The astonishment on her face made Shaya a little self-conscious. She lifted her shoulders. “Should I?”

“Yes,” Rozalia spat out, her demeanor hardening. “I have no idea why you have been withheld information about being an Omega, Katashaya, but it is irresponsible that it has been kept from you.”

Shaya stiffened. Rozalia was indirectly talking about Kyus. “Any information that has been kept me was either for my own good or because I didn't need to know,” she said, somewhat defensively.

“Of course,” Rozalia shot back. “What is the point for an Omega to know anything about her Haze if she is constantly blocked?” She shook her head, muttering under her breath as she tidied the room.

“You are not an Omega,” Shaya said quietly. “I'm sure if you were your opinion would be different. I'm sure you would want to be able to choose who you mated with, who you bonded with, what your life was like, and how you live it.” Her voice rose as her annoyance heightened. “I'm sure you would not appreciate your existence being traded like a commodity or for you to be bred like cattle. I'm sure you would not want that for yourself or for Treska.”

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