Page 46 of Shadowlands Omega

“Injured how?” The tension in the room is palpable. Her family has stopped everything they’re doing.

I sweep my gaze around at them, wondering… “She was pelted with rocks and animal feces, strangled, slapped and nearly raped.”

“Raped?” Cyprus chokes. He rears back from the counter where he’d been working and the knife tumbles from his hand, clattering to the ground. “By who?”

“One of my Riders.”

Cyprus’s chest swells with unspent aggression. The Alpha within him cannot transform, but Alphas all have a predilection towards beastliness and physiologically appear more swollen when enraged. He appears slightly larger than he did and he was not a small male to begin with. He could be molded, shaped, and honed to a weapon. Hm…

“You let a Crimson Rider attack Kiandah?”

“Do not test me,” I snarl. “Kiandah left the keep and was attacked, first by villagers — yourfriends— in retribution for crimesyoucommitted and then was attacked on the road by one of mine. Him, I take responsibility for and he has been dealt with. But what I want to know is why she left the keep at all. Kiandah is a good girl, isn’t she? She would not have left for no reason… She would not have even thought of it.”

Cyprus looks down. Owenna is looking down. Her father is looking at the fire. Zelie and Mercy, however, both have gazes that stray. I turn to approach Audet, whose eyes remain fixed to the floor until I stand within arm’s reach of her. She’s got her fingers clasped. Behind me, her brother attempts to speak in her defense, “She didn’t…”

I hold up my hand — he quiets immediately — and I wait. It takes her a long time to look up at my face. Long enough for my irritation to bubble to the surface. “Do not keep me, child. Mywifeis waiting.”

Audet winces, then offers softly, “She wanted to go.”

I hold my right wrist in my left hand behind my back. I flex my right hand several times before curling it into a tight fist. Restraint. Restraint…“I am…certain she did.” I have to take a breath between each word, struggling as I am not to inflict pain. So much pain. I try to keep my words clear and pointed as I speak. This female may be younger than her sisters but she is no child. She is fully grown andknewwhat she asked of Kiandah. She knew the risks and she simply tossed her sister to the fire.

“Your sister would fall on her sword for you. And you used her love against her, for your own gain. I can guess that this is not the first time you have done this, and if allowed, I’m certain it will not be the last.” I lower my face until I’m looking at Audet at eye level, bending near in half to do so. “But it will be the last.”

Audet shivers. My nostrils flare. “You see, I have Kiandah’s respect, but I do not yet have her love, as you do. This means that, for the time being, you hold great power over me. I cannot bring harm to you as I would were you any other creature in my city, in Gatamora, for having coerced Kiandah into leaving the safety of the keep…”

And then the female has the audacity. She interrupts me, stuttering, color in her cheeks high, “I didn’t threaten her, if that’s what you mean, my Lord. She left on her own…”

“And her life means more to me than yours,” I snarl. I snatch her chin and squeeze it hard. “Correction. Your life means absolutely nothing to me while her life means…everything. If she did not exist, you would be rotting in the lowest cells of my dungeons. If she had died on the road, I would have ripped out your insides, and if I am ever forced to make the choice between your life and Kiandah’s safety, I will not hesitate, little girl. Do you understand me?”

She nods, the insolent welp.

“I want to hear it.”

“I understand, my Lord.” She’s crying, tears tracking down her cheeks. She is a pretty woman, yes, that’s clear, and I would gut her gladly if she ever crossed me.

I tilt my head very slightly to the side. “She was yours before today, but now she is mine. Tell me you understand.”

“I understand, my Lord,” she sputters out, blinking quickly to try to stem her tears.

I drop my pitch so that only she can hear, leaning in to whisper directly against her hair. “And if you pose a risk to Kiandah’s life again, ask her for something that she has no ability to give, or everdaretry to separate her from me, I will have you killed savagely and make it look like an accident. Kiandah will never know it was me. And as your corpse is lowered into the ground and your soul joins those of your ancestors, she will use my shoulder to dry her tears and I will comfort her and tell her things like, ‘Audet, such a pretty little girl, such a senseless tragedy.’”

Audet’s tears burst forth and she nods feverishly. I take that response as sufficient, for now, but I’m not certain just how much Audet has heard me. Taking advantage of Kiandah has been ingrained in the spoiled princess since birth. I’m not sure a few threats will simply undo it. I need more robust assurances and so, when I stand, I turn to Cyprus.

“She would have been raped bloody and left for dead on the Orias highway line had I not been informed quickly by members of my staff that she had departed and had I not immediately set off to follow her.”

The anger that barrels out of Cyprus is tangible to my beast and claws extend through my nailbeds. I drag them along the countertop as I reach Zelie, who is adding the final touches to Kiandah’s tray of food, fingers fumbling desperately.

She freezes as I drum my claws across the board. “My Riders cannot be trusted when it comes to her. They are Alphas, or they are savages, or they are angry, or they are all of the above. I need eyes on her when mine cannot be spared.” My fingers still and I turn away from Zelie to face her brother who is busy glaring at my back. “Would you wear a red cloak, Cyprus? Would you consider moving from the kitchens?”

Mercy gasps and claps a hand over her mouth. The older woman with too many laugh lines has desires for her children. And I am sorry it has taken so much of her lifetime to see them realized. A chance to don a red cloak, at this late age, is rare. My Riders are typically selected between six and sixteen. Alphas ascend in their earlier years and, by then, Betas’ and Alphas’ aptitudes for combat, battle strategy and border security will have made themselves known. To invite him to join their ranks now will cause a stir. Fortunately, I answer to no one.

Cyprus is giving me a peculiar look. He wants to hate me, but he cannot hide the desire in his eyes, which glitter at the possibilities. “You’d make me a Crimson Rider? Just like that?”

“Yes. You would of course go through an accelerated training regimen. If you survive it, then you’ll receive your colors. If you don’t, I’m no worse off for having rid the world of a suspected killer.”

“You know I’m not.”

I narrow my gaze at his insolent tone, but still I say, “No, you are not. But could you be?”

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