Page 142 of Unhinged Omega

I close the door behind us and move to sit behind my desk, trying to project an air of casual authority despite the way my pulse picks up when those feral blue eyes fix on me. "Please, have a seat."

"I'll stand," Cosima says coldly.

The alpha rumbles in agreement, positioning himself slightly in front of her. Protective. Possessive, even.

Interesting.

"Suit yourself," I say with a shrug, leaning back in my chair. "I'll get straight to the point then. Someone very important to me has been looking for you."

Her spine straightens, hope flickering in her eyes. "Who?"

"His name is Raven. Pretty alpha, long blond hair, dramatic as fuck?" I watch her face carefully. "Ring any bells?"

The hope in her eyes dims immediately. Whoever she was expecting, it wasn't him. "The one you tackled at the airfield?"she asks sarcastically, and I notice her accent gets stronger when she's annoyed.

"That's the one."

She studies me for a moment, head tilted slightly. "Is he your mate?"

The question catches me completely off guard. Takes me a moment to realize she's dead serious. "What? No, he's not my fucking mate. What the hell are you talking about?"

She just shrugs, but I can tell she doesn't believe me.

"Look," I growl, trying to get this conversation back on track even though I'm plenty annoyed myself now. "The point is, I can't let you leave."

The mutant alpha's own growl fills the room instantly, making the pens on my desk rattle. There's fresh blood on his metal claws. Probably from the half-dead merchant my men found stuffed in a dumpster earlier. A particularly important merchant, too.

Today's just full of fucking headaches.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "If your pet mutant tries anything, my men won't let either of you leave alive. They'll shoot first and ask questions later. I'd rather not have to explain to Raven why I had to put down his omega, but I will if I have to."

"I am nothisomega," Cosima snarls, her accent thick with rage. "And if you think your men's bullets will do anything against the Knight, you're delusional."

The Knight? Is that what she calls him?

"Maybe not," I concede. "But they might slow him down long enough for the gas to kick in. The vents in here aren't just for show."

Her eyes narrow dangerously. "You havenoidea who you're dealing with."

I stare at the omega across my desk, unmoved by her attempts at intimidation. She's got fire, I'll give her that. Mostomegas would be cowering by now. But she just glares at me with that fierce gaze, chin raised defiantly.

"My father will have your head for this," she hisses. "He'll burn this entire shitty market of yours to the ground."

I can't help but laugh. "Arthur Maybrecht? Please. That snake doesn't give a shit about anything but his own ass. Why do you think he had the Ghosts snatch you in the first place?"

Of course Raven had to go and imprint like a fucking baby bird on the daughter of one of the most important—and infamous—alphas in Reinmich. He can never do anything halfway.

Her eyes widen slightly before narrowing again. "How do you know about that?"

"I make it my business to know things," I say with a shrug, leaning back in my chair. Especially when those things intersect with the one person I still give a shit about, despite my best attempts. "Information is power out here in the Outer Reaches. And right now, the most valuable piece of information I have is that you're exactly where you need to be."

Cosima's lip curls in disgust. "And where is that? Your little dungeon? Are you going to keep me as a pet for your pretty boyfriend?"

"Raven isnotmy fucking boyfriend," I growl, my patience wearing thin. "And this isn't a dungeon. Think of it more as... protective custody."

The Knight shifts beside her. The contrast between the serene features of his noble mask and the burning rage in the scarred blue eyes behind it is nothing short of disturbing, even by my standards. His metal claws flex as he growls, gouging the shit out of my concrete wall with an ominous screech that sets my teeth on edge.

Great. Another repair bill.

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