Page 16 of Bonds of Hate

Right?

Cillian holds a door open for me. I brush close enough to hear the murmur meant only for my ears.

“Hopefully, there won’t be enough credits left in the treasury to fund a full investigation into Ander’s death once the king is done stockpiling Omegas.”

I certainly hope so, considering I’m the one who killed him.

Chapter Two

MAYA

The hired car will only drop me off at the gates, almost a mile from the actual entrance to the lesser palace. Alpha guards wave me inside with polite nods, though their gazes follow me as I slip past them onto the palace grounds.

I take in the grand expanse of gardens. Neat rows of hedges line the pathways which are dotted with clusters of blooming flowers.I notice the beauty of it as an afterthought.

The walk will be long enough to convince myself that I actually want to go through with this.

No, forget that. I know I don’t want to do this. The question is whether any other choices will present themselves in the next few minutes. Considering the hell I’ve been through recently, the universe clearly has no intention of letting me treat the future like a buffet of choices.

You’ve picked your poison, girl. Now it’s time to swallow it down.

The sound of an iron gate slamming shut behind memakes me turn back to find both of them watching me from the other side of the high fence. Despite their regal beauty, the wrought iron posts feel much more like the bars of a prison.

A prison, and I just willingly locked myself inside.

I’m also not the only one. A sleek town-car pulls in behind the public taxi that dropped me off, blocking it in. The guards rush to open the doors and three girls in frilly dresses emerge in a cloud of tulle and satin.

One glance is enough to know that they are all Omegas. The fine bones and short stature give them up from a mile away. One has ocean-blue hair, a much brighter hue than my deep purple, like a mermaid from fairy tales. The color shimmers in the light in a way no dye ever could. The girl next to her laughs and the sound carries too easily on the wind, tinkling like church bells.

But it’s the last one who holds my attention for the longest. She might just be the most beautiful girl that I’ve ever seen. A waterfall of deep auburn hair cascades over her body in ringlets and curls, so much of it that the mass might outweigh the rest of her body. Green eyes, so large and round that they’re practically doll-like, briefly meet mine before passing over like I’m just another ornament in the garden. A haughty expression settles over her face as she gestures for the other girls to follow her, head held high.

This one already knows that sheisthe competition.

The guards close the SUV’s doors behind the girls, clearly displaying the livery emblazoned on the side of the vehicle.

Property of the Omega Enclave.

Enclave Omegas are so well-trained that they guaranteeAlpha satisfaction. Their graduates don’t resist Alpha control or deny their own dynamic. These particular girls are almost certainly the best in their class. I wonder how many contracts in progress were cancelled, so these Omegas could attend these palace interviews instead. With the Enclave’s backing, they aren’t showing up in a second-hand dress and smelling like synthetic drugstore soap because they can’t afford the specially made scentless kind.

A thrill of tension tightens my spine. I knew there would be competition. How could there not be? A family might hesitate to sell their daughter to the Enclave when the ultimate outcome for her is uncertain, but for a crown?

People have killed for less.

The king’s edict had been delivered with a shotgun approach. You couldn’t miss the announcement if you tried. Every video device, from personal holovids and public comm units to dusty bar televisions supposedly not even hooked up to the extranet, had broadcast his address live for the entire country to see. A message in blood letters perpetually trawled at the bottom of every screen for days:

All unbonded Omegas of fertile age are expected to report to the palace for evaluation by the royal princes. Those deemed worthy will be offered a mating contract and ample compensation to their families. Failure to comply without due reason may be considered a crime against the crown.

Omegas would come from all corners of the kingdom to present themselves. A guaranteed audience with a prince is too great of a lure. The king’s implied threat would only sweeten the pot for families with an unwilling daughter on their hands.

A tall, older woman accompanies the newly arrivedOmegas to the gate, but the guards stop her. Clearly, only the Omegas presenting themselves are being allowed on the palace grounds. It makes sense. This place would likely be a madhouse otherwise.

Not to mention a security risk. This many unbounded Omegas gathered in one place is dangerous. We’re practically bait for unscrupulous Alphas to steal in and whisk one of us away. It would be days before anyone noticed that one or two out of a dozen Omegas had gone missing.

I suppress a shiver despite the mild summer heat. The garden ahead of me, full of milling Alpha guards with hedges tall enough to hide even the largest of them, suddenly feels ominous.

Omegas don’t need to hide in Melilla. That’s the insistent claim of the king and parliament, at least. We have a right to choose our partners and forcing a bond has been a criminal act for years.

But the law is only a protection when people follow it.

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