Page 107 of Bonds of Hate

I don’t notice that Poe has remained behind with me until I hear his murmured voice.

“Omegas can rampage, too.”

My eyebrows go up at that. “Yeah?”

“Usually it’s over protecting their young or defending a nest while in heat.” Poe’s gaze is distant, as if he’s recalling a memory. “They almost never survive it, but an Omega in a frenzy might take an Alpha or two with her under the right circumstances.”

“You speaking from personal experience?”

“I might just be,” he acknowledges. “It’s not the kind of thing you forget.”

As much respect as I have for the average Omega, it’s hard to imagine any of them as an actual threat. They’re the ones who need to be protected from the world, not the other way around. “And somehow you survived.”

“I did. Can’t say the same for everyone who was there.”

I just shake my head at that. “I still think I’d take my chances.”

He smirks. “That’s because you’re an idiot.”

“Oh, fuck off. Next, you’ll be telling me to watch my back around newborn babies.”

Poe dodges my attempt to kick his chair out from under him with a laugh. “I would pay to see you go toe-to-toe with a swarm of babies.”

Asshole.

But the tension has broken somewhat. Imagining Poe getting his ass kicked by a rampaging Omega is enough to lighten my mood.

It also helps that the crowd has thinned enough that I can actually imagine us making it out of here if something crazy goes down. I already see Logan heading back toward us with a frustrated expression, which hopefully means we’re about to leave. Thank fuck.

I allow myself to finally release the metaphorical breath I’ve been holding for the last hour.

That’s whenan explosion strong enough to shake the walls blows out my eardrums.

Chapter Twenty-Four

MAYA

The further away I get from the ballroom, the more my panic subsides. By the time the noise has faded to a dull roar, it actually feels like I might not suffocate on my own heartbeat.

The doctor is here.

Sionis Thane.

Knowing the devil’s name doesn’t make eternal damnation any easier.

He is here at the palace, compromising the only place of safety I have left.

I never should have come here.

My vision remains blurred with unshed tears, but I refuse to let any more of them fall. Despite a few brief flashes of humanity, Logan has made no secret of who he is. Tonight is no exception.

He won’t ever truly be my mate. Fine.

He doesn’t respect me. Fine.

But if he can’t, or won’t, protect me…then what the hell am I still doing here?

I catch myself with one hand on the textured wallpaper and take a gasping breath. Dread yawns inside of me, a black hole of despair that will swallow me up.

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