Page 44 of The Omega Trials: Part One

The rut still courses through my body, making me want to tear her apart and put her back together all the same.

A male servant comes running out from the tunnel they took the injured through. Two omegas see him then look at each other, grief-stricken. They reach for each other’s hands as he whispers to the Elder serving as the announcer.

After saying his piece, the servant hurries back to the tunnel and the arena falls deathly quiet. Everyone seems to hold a collective breath except Titus and me. I look at him and he gives a subtle shake of his head. He doesn’t know what’s going on either.

The Elder must be mic’d because when he speaks, it’s loud enough for even people in the back row to hear.

“I’ve received unfortunate news from the infirmary.” My heart stutters as I finally understand everyone’s trepidation. “Miles Cobalt has succumbed to his injuries.”

A piercing wail cuts through the air as one of the omegas holding hands collapses to her knees.

My heart starts beating again when I hear it’s not Bishop. Titus’s exhale is audible as he squeezes my shoulder.Unconsciously, my eyes find Sinclair and I see her clutch her stomach in relief.

I’m weirdly comforted seeing that she’s relieved.

But not nearly enough to alleviate my burn for retribution.

There’s an odd juxtaposition as we take a moment of silence for the fallen alpha, all the while servants haphazardly lugging dead prisoners away, stacking their limp bodies in wheelbarrows.

The Echelon’s view on whose lives hold value and whose don’t couldn’t be more blatant.

After the moment of silence, the Elder announces the final “score.”

“Beryll alphas, Griffin, Noah, and Maverick: ten slain.” To applause, the three alphas step up to the balcony. Their omega leans over the banister as, one by one, they reach up to meet her with a celebratory kiss.

Titus groans beside me. “Fuck this.”

And so it goes, each family’s score announced then followed by the pack receiving their omega’s kiss. When I hear our name, my chest pounds, not only anxious to hear how we stacked up against the others but to get closer to Sinclair.

“Cerulean alphas, Titus, Bishop, and Ecker: twelve slain.”

She moves to the edge of the balcony, and as Titus and I trudge over obligatorily, I genuinely think I might strangle her.

I focus on Bishop’s unjust absence as her scent grows stronger so I don’t forget what’s important. Her sweet, citrusy scent makes my cock thicken and it’s harder and harder to remember why my fingers itch to wrap around her throat—to fuck her? To hurt her?

My mind is cloudy and lust-hazed as she bends over to meet Titus. A spike of jealousy flares in my chest as their mouths inch closer. I blink, trying to clear the feeling. Only succeeding when Titus’s harsh whisper pulls me back to reality. His lips flutterso close, no one in the crowd would know they aren’t actually touching.

“I’d slit my own throat before I’d ever kiss you, Omega.”

Titus cracks his neck and puffs his chest. He hums with aggression as we move through the tunnels, following the bear emblems. His hulking shadow from the torchlight looks like a prowling monster.

“You’ll stop me from going too far, yeah?” he asks flatly, but I can hear the rare hint of fear in his voice.

“What’s too far?”

He stops one turn away from the cove. “Don’t let me kill her.” His nostrils flare and his jaw ticks, golden eyes staring straight ahead. I nod—though if he gets that far gone, I don’t know if even I would be able to stop him.1

Sinclair is standing in the center of the room, her white hair glowing like flames from the candles behind her. Her hands at her sides twitch when we walk in like, she wants to clasp them together but stops herself.

“I’m surprised you didn’t try to run,” I say, tilting my head as Titus stalks around her to the other side of the stone altar. She tracks him in her periphery with a stiff spine.

“You’d catch me,” she says with a stoic matter-of-factness.

Something about it angers me. Maybe it’s just the rut. Or maybe it’s her acceptance that chafes my sense of justice.

Bishop almostdiedtonight. We only learned he’ll pull through after all the results were announced. She doesn’t get to face the consequences with a brave face.

I want her fear, her tears. I want her topay.

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