Page 38 of Bonds of Hate

“Maybe I shouldn’t be letting you know this before thenegotiation is done, but I’ve already been told that you’re to be housed here with the harem betas indefinitely.” She gives me a look of more than idle curiosity. I get the immediate impression that she isn’t the type to accept things that make no sense to her. “All the other princes seem excited to have their Omegas in their own apartments, as close to them as possible. It’s interesting to see Prince Logan deviating from the norm.”

She probably knows Logan better than I do, working here and all. I don’t have to ask if it’s normal for him to buck tradition.

“Logan has never cared much about what is normal, I assume.”

“Right in one.” Her hand comes to rest on the doorknob, but she doesn’t turn it. The look she casts me is considering. “It surprised me you interviewed with only one prince. Logan wouldn’t have been my first choice for you.”

If she doesn’t know the history already, I won’t be the one to share it with her. Or maybe this is a test, and she wants to see just how much I’ll disclose when asked directly.

I decide to play the middle.

“I had good reason to think he’d choose me,” I admit, my tone neutral. “The same couldn’t be said for any of the other princes.”

“The betas here tell stories about Logan, of course. Though you’ll not hear me repeating idle chatter.”

I cough to hide my laugh. That means Perkins is probably the biggest purveyor of gossip in the entire palace. I’ll have to remember that.

“I’m sure I’ve heard at least a bit,” I assure her.

“It’s too late to give you the advice I’d give my own daughter. She wouldn’t be standing here right now if I had even one thing to say about it, I’ll tell you that.” Perkins levels me with a look of deadly seriousness. She reaches out with one hand as if to touch my shoulder, but then lets it drop before making contact. “I’ll do my best to see you’re treated fairly with the contract, but only so much can be done. Hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into with Prince Logan.”

I nod in understanding, ignoring the cramping pit of unease in my stomach. “Don’t worry. I’m stronger than I look.”

She rolls her eyes, but a small smile returns to her face. “Don’t think it’s possible for you to be weaker, my dear, so I suppose we’ll leave it at that.”

Perkins pushes open the door, revealing an office similar to the one where I’d had my interview the day before.

A large oak desk dominates the space with two small chairs placed in front of it.

But this time, it isn’t Logan I see when the desk chair swivels to face me.

A gaze the color and warmth of icicles rises to meet mine. The blue-eyed beta looks completely unsurprised to see me and equally uninterested.He doesn’t even bother to rise from the desk.

“Have a seat. Let’s get this over with.”

The beta regards me with no expression on his face. His pale blue eyes aren’t much different from the surface of a frozen lake. That layer of ice presents an illusion of safety. Take one step too far out and that ice cracks beneath your feet, sucking you down to your death in the frigid water below.

I know what the others want from me. Logan craves payback for the humiliation he suffered a year ago. Ares sees another conquest to notch his bedpost. Poe wants to hurt me as much as he likely does every Omega he encounters.

But Cillian is a mystery. Present for practically every moment, but somehow removed at the same time. It isn’t uncommon for betas to become cruel where Omegas are concerned, compensating for the inevitable inferiority complex they develop in the face of Alpha posturing.

Except Cillian didn’t seem to enjoy his front-row seat to Logan’s antics, though he made no effort to stop it.

I haven’t missed how that dead gaze follows me. Maybe he just considers me another potential threat to the prince.

Or maybe there is something else. Some variable I missed when concocting a wild plan to ensure my safety by aligning myself with the most dangerous men in the palace.

The beta pointedly clears his throat. My cheeks burn as I realize I’ve been staring at him for a solid minute, lost in my own thoughts.

Shit, I’m getting sloppy.

His secrets, whatever they might be, are a distraction that I can’t afford.

I look down at the tablet as he slides a tablet across the counter. The words on the screen are tiny enough that Isquint to read them.As they coalesce, sentences carve themselves into my brain with knifepoint pressure.

The Omega will serve Prince Logan’s unless or until he sees fit to end this agreement.

The Omega will allow Prince Logan, or his representatives, to make all decisions concerning her wardrobe and personal grooming, including services that are painful or permanent.

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