Page 30 of Own to Obtain

“And this is why you need sanctuary?”

Both Kyus and Shaya nodded. “He is searching for her,” Kyus added.

The empress was silent for a long moment as she looked them over. Slowly she got up, and walked toward them, watching them both as she circled them. “I can tell by your scent that you’re bonded,” she said to Shaya, finally facing them.

Kyus shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “She is. She is bonded to the Alpha who took her.”

The empress leaned forward, her curly hair falling in abundance to the side of her head as she kept her eyes on Shaya. “And was that forced?”

Shaya’s mouth was suddenly dry. “No,” she managed, holding the empress’ gaze.

The empress’ eyes dropped from hers and she slowly turned and walked back to her chair.

“I think you are mistaken about the kind of sanctuary I offer here, Kyus,” she said as she tucked herself back into her seat. “I do not provide a home for runaways or people who are looking to escape the choice they made. I provide somewhere that can be a home for Omegas as they seek to learn about the world and find a mate.” She gestured to Shaya. “You are already bonded by choice.”

“Just because she is bonded to an Alpha does not mean that he treats her fairly,” Kyus said evenly, her shoulders stiff. “We do not all have the luxury of being carefully chosen to be bonded with well-behaved Alphas, Cailyn. She has suffered long and hard and she needs your help. Either you are here to help all Omegas who suffer or you are of no use to us and your claim to help Omegas is false.”

“I never said that this was a sanctuary,” the empress said sharply. “I have only said I would help the Omegas from the Compound. Somehow it has spread across the White Ocean that this is some kind of Omega haven, where we frolic around carefree and ripe for the taking or that this is a place to hide from Alphas unnecessarily. It is not. The Omegas that come here, come here by choice, to learn about the world outside the compound and to learn about how to be an Omega with her Alpha. Something that was never offered by the Mothers. If I’m not the right one to help you, then I’m simply not right. It doesn’t mean we are useless for all Omegas.”

The silence in the room was almost deafening. Both Kyus and the empress glared at each other, their eyes never leaving, and an odd feeling embraced Shaya. There was something she wasn’t aware of—something that did not make sense.

“What is the compound?” she asked, tentatively, looking between them both.

The empress’ confused gaze flicked from to her and back to Kyus. “You haven’t told her about the Omega Compound?”

Kyus shook her head, but a surge of anger suddenly flared in Shaya. Why was she always the last to learn about everything?

“There are plenty of things she hasn’t told me,” Shaya said hotly. “I cannot understand why.”

Kyus turned to Shaya, a strange look creeping into her eyes as she gazed at her. “I didn’t tell you things to protect you,” she said slowly. “There is no use in you worrying about things that you cannot do anything about, and I know you would.” She took a breath. “When you were growing up, I didn’t want anything to spoil your happiness. The most important thing to you was your gardens and your potions. I wanted to keep that as your main priority for as long as possible.”

“And you kept me a child as long as possible, Kyus,” Shaya said, her voice softening. “I haven’t been a child for a long time, but I was happy to live in the bubble you created, thinking that nothing was amiss, nothing was wrong, but not knowing it left me at a disadvantage, in so many ways.”

Kyus’ eyes lowered and she nodded, her fierce expression melting to a somber one. “I know.” Her lips pressed together before she released them slowly. “When you left, I knew that you were ill-prepared for what was going to come. I hoped and prayed that the Alpha would be kind to you, that he would treat you well, and that there would be someone who could explain things to you, but I doubted it, and I felt terrible.”

“I am tired of finding out how much I don’t know when everyone else does,” Shaya explained, her voice softer as she stepped close to her. “You don’t need to keep trying to protect me. There is no way I could go back to being who I was.”

There was a short moment of silence.

“Tell her,” the empress said, her eyes hard on Kyus.

Kyus took a breath, nodding in her agreement. “The Omega Compound is a hidden place where all the Omegas in the known Lands live. It is our home, our community, where we grow up, learn everything about what we are and how the known Lands view us.” She exhaled slowly, her eyes lifting to meet Shaya’s. “It is where I learned to be a spy, where I get my missions from.”

Shaya was silent as she digested this information. An entire city of Omegas…. How could that be? That sounded impossible. Omegas were supposed to be rare, weren’t they?

“I thought that Omegas were not abundant in the known Lands?” she said, her eyebrows knit. “So you lied to me about that?”

“Our numbers do not yet match the number of Alphas or Betas there are in the known Lands,” Kyus assured. “However, before the Omega Compound existed, we were almost extinct. Everything I told you about Omegas is true, from the perspective of Betas and Alphas who are abundant in the known Lands, but the secret is that we are alive and well, living out of sight.”

“Then why did you never take me to this compound?” Shaya asked confused. “Why didn’t you let me go there instead of keeping me with you while you are on your missions? It would have saved you a lot of stress and worry, and you would never have had to do anything or change your life as a result of having me with you.”

Kyus reached forward and grabbed Shaya’s hands. “I never regretted having to do anything because if you, Shaya,” she said sternly. “Every moment I have been with you since you were born has been a joy, and I would never want to be separated from you.”

“Is that why you didn’t take me to the place where all the other Omegas were?” Shaya asked. “Girls and women like me who understand what a Haze is?”

“Partly,” Kyus said guardedly. “And partly because…” Her voice faltered as her eyes glazed over, drawing on the memories. “The last time I saw our mother was when you were born,” she said finally. “She was deeply upset our father was not with her for the birth, as he had been for mine, but she feared he was dead. She was somewhat hysterical in labor and by the time you were born I had to ensure her sedation to make sure made it through.”

She released Shaya’s hand and walked away, clearly agitated by what she was about to say, but Shaya did not interrupt her, watching her closely, as did the empress.

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