Page 27 of Bonds of Hate

I shake myself out of these thoughts with an effort. My pack is right. Choosing Maya would be a terrible decision. She provides too much of a distraction at a very dangerous time. My distrust of her is only eclipsed by just how much Iwant to throw her down on the nearest soft surface and keep her there until I’ve worked that purple-haired pussy out of my system for good.

Ares and Poe have descended into an argument over the relative merits of virgin Omegas. The sound of their voices only adds to the cacophony in my head. All I want is some silence.

“Enough,” I snap, putting enough of an Alpha tone into my voice that they have to hear it, even if I can’t compel them to listen.

They both fall silent to stare at me, despite the twin expressions of annoyance on their faces.

As opposed to Omegas, it’s the nature of Alphas to resist the compulsion of another Alpha’s voice.

Their obedience was something I had to earn. This is a reminder that they are making the choice to obey me.

I let the silence continue for almost a minute before continuing in a normal tone of voice. “You each have one minute to give me the pros and cons. Go.”

As expected, Poe jumps in first. “Con. You can’t trust any Omega, but Maya would be the worst possible choice. Just because you got her to strip naked doesn’t mean she won’t be defiant until the day she dies.”

“Pro. Forcing submission just makes it more fun,” Ares points out. “We already know how good she looks on her knees.”

“Con. She rejected Logan once. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. She will reject him again, only this time he’ll be humiliated in front of the entire country. The loss of standing might cost him the throne entirely.”

Ares smirks. “Pro. Prince Logan will be the one whoconquered the unconquered. Just imagine how it will look, parading the Omega who rejected him in front of all those whispering courtiers. Making her submit to him in front of the entire court will make for the best revenge imaginable. All that will be missing is a leash and a collar around her neck.”

I shift in the chair to relieve the growing bulge in my pants. The image of Maya cowed and desperate for my attention, where everyone can see it, absolutely hits me below the belt. Unfortunately, my dick has never agreed with the rest of me where she is concerned.

Sensing his advantage, Ares leans over the back of my chair so his words are a seductive rumble at my back. “Think of how pretty she’ll look at state dinners with a collar of bruises in the shape of your hands around her neck and so much of your come leaking out of her it soaks into her seat.”

“Or you could stop thinking with your dick for five seconds.” Poe slams his hand on the desk hard enough to set it rattling. “The girl is hiding something. At the very least, you need to find out what it is before you let her anywhere near the palace again.”

“Women scheme. It’s in their nature,” Ares argues. “Fuck her as long as it’s fun and give her a baby when you’re done to keep her occupied. She only has as much power as we allow her to have.”

“This is court. Secrets are power. You want to grant this girl closer access to our prince than anyone has ever had? About a thousand things could go wrong. What if she becomes a spy for one of his enemies or fuck…” Poe looks around the room as if conspirators might appear out of the woodwork, obviously working himself up into apoplexy. “What if she already is one? That explains why an Omega who rejected you a year ago would show up here with no explanation.”

Ares chuckles. “That sounds crazy, even for you. The girl isn’t damn a super spy.”

“We need to know what brought her back here,” Poe insists. “It will end up our problem, eventually.”

Expression turned musing, Ares actually seems to consider before coming up with a counterpoint. “Then we get to use that desperation against her. If she really needs to be here that badly, then she’ll do anything to stay. Sounds like a win to me.”

Poe glares at him. “Until Logan bonds her and we’re stuck with her forever.”

Ares waves away that concern with a flick of his hand, as if an eternal bond is a simple thing to overcome. “The king never said that a bonding has to happen right away. We’ll play with her for a while, give her enough freedom to show her true colors. Then bury her six feet under if she makes even a single move against us. Easy.”

“Easy,” Poe repeats with a guffaw. “You think giving the little bitch enough time to worm her way in with the prince is the easy way? It’s too much of a risk. He only got a taste of her last time and it fucked him up for a month?—”

“Watch it.” I finally interrupt them then, holding up a single hand in warning and not hiding the danger in my expression. “A bond isn’t happening with anyone right now. I’ll find a way to keep my father pacified about it.”

Suitably cowed but still insistent, Poe comes around the desk to face me directly. His expression borders on desperate. “Choose anyone else. One Omega is no different from another one.”

Ares leans closer until they’re both invading my space. “All the others are pale comparisons and you know it. Choose Maya so you can put her in her place. Underneath and wrapped around you until you’re ready to throw her away when you’re done with her.”

And just like that, my cock is hard enough that keeping it confined is painful.

The men in this room are closer to than my own brothers. My trust in them is absolute.

But none of them get to make this decision.

My gaze flicks to Cillian, still standing at attention next to the door. His face is blank, as if he hasn’t heard a word of the discussion. His apparent lack of interest bothers me for reasons I find hard to verbalize.

“Don’t have anything to add?” I ask, a note of taunting in my voice.

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