Page 4 of Bonds of Hate

Poe’s voice, cultured and pitiless, cuts through the air. “I suggest you use that pretty mouth to speak, little bird. Before we find another use for it.”

This meeting has been sanctioned by the Enclave, arranged through all the proper channels. I haven’t done anything wrong. Why are they speaking to me this way?

My voice is rough from anxiety and disuse. “I…I’m not…there is no game.”

The prince’s eyes have gone cold, calculating. “Three previous meetings, with this being the fourth, and not once have you broken this perfect and innocent little act of yours. You’re either an amazing actress or completely empty-headed. I can take a guess, but I want you to tell me which one it is.”

My heart doesn’t leap up my throat, but makes a slowclimb that makes me feel like I’m choking on each beat. Every muscle in my body screams with tension. What did I do to screw this up so completely?

A mantra kicks up in my head. Run. Run. Run.

And if I give into the urge, make a break for it, they will do the only thing Alphas always do when an Omega runs from them.

Chase me down.

I think through my alternatives, knowing there are none. Charlotte has already said that I won’t be returning home with her after I graduate from the Enclave in a few weeks. Her new Alpha husband had been lured with the implied promise that if his beta wife can give birth to a valuable Omega daughter once, then she can do it again. But he can’t be trusted with said Omega stepdaughter actually living under the same roof with him.

If asked, she would convincingly insist that everything she does has only ever been for my own good.

Everyone benefits, Maya.

I’ve heard the words in her voice often enough that they might as well be inscribed on the inside of my skull.

Prince Logan represents everything I’m supposed to want for myself. A high-ranking Alpha, only steps removed from the throne, who is naturally predisposed to care for and coddle their Omega mate in the lap of luxury.

Apparently, Logan had reviewed every file of the Omegas at the Enclave before choosing me. Specifically.Our earlier meetings had been nothing like this, cordial but supervised by a cabal of instructors from the Enclave.

But every other Omega at the Enclave looked like they wanted to rip my eyes out when the request for thisfinal interview with the prince came from the palace. A royal messenger — beta, but dripping in finery — had delivered the note personally.

It had felt like winning the lottery, even more so when the private car with my mother already in the back seat arrived to whisk us off to the palace. While Charlotte had gushed over the leather seats and bottles of chilled champagne, I was too focused on the mix of terror and excitement churning in my gut to notice anything else.

All the nagging from my mother, the endless boredom of gray walls and grayer staff at the Enclave, the girlish fantasies whispered to each other like secrets in the night. It had all led to this moment right now.

The moment in which I find myself staring into the serrated eyes of the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.

Forcing myself back to the present, I raise my chin by a fraction of an inch. The movement is so small that only someone staring straight at me would catch it. The slightest flare of his nostrils is the only sign that I have the prince’s undivided attention.

“Prince Logan.” My voice is a low murmur, but I’m proud that it doesn’t shake. “Tell me what you want from me and I’ll give it to you.”

A moment of silence, like the room itself is holding its breath. Waiting for his reaction.

Logan’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I want you to get down on your knees.”

The wall of Alpha energy fills with expectation as the prince continues to stare down at me with an inscrutable gaze.I am very aware of how close they are. How easy itwould be for any of those pairs of overly large hands to snatch and grip.

This feels like a test, but I won’t know if I’m passing or failing until it’s far too late.

“Get on your knees, Omega, or get out.” Logan growls his next words. “Move, now.”

I am already halfway to the floor before my brain reconnects to my body. My knees hit the tile hard enough to bruise. I just catch myself with my hands before my face follows right after them.

I’ve only ever been told about Alpha commands, a vocal register some of them are capable of that compels other designations to mindlessly obey.

Logan always speaks with the force of someone who expects to be obeyed.But his Alpha voice is something different. I wouldn’t be able to refuse even if I wanted the chance to try.

“Don’t do that!” I snap, before I can stop myself.

He chuckles darkly, and the sound reverberates down my spine. “But I don’t understand? I thought you wanted me to tell you what to do.”

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