Page 226 of Unhinged Omega

I snort, appreciating the candor. Most people don't talk to me unless they want something or they're scared shitless. Sometimes both. She's been around long enough to realize she doesn't fall into either category.

"Have a seat," I offer, gesturing to the empty chair beside me. "Where's your escort? Taking the night off to go oil his hinges?"

She settles into the chair, smoothing the dress beneath her. It's a strangely prim gesture for someone who just downed my vodka like it was water.

"I told Knight to stay inside," she replies. "Just needed a minute to think."

"You taught him 'stay,' that's cute." I tap ash from my cigar. "Maybe you can house-train Nikolai next."

She rolls her eyes, but I catch the ghost of a smile tugging at those plump pink lips.

Her gaze drifts to my eye patch, curiosity evident. "Speaking of Nikolai—is it a coincidence you're both missing the same eye?"

The question hits like a punch to the gut, but I keep my expression neutral. Trust her to go straight for the fucking jugular. Subtle as a sledgehammer, this one.

"You're a smart girl, Cosima," I say, my voice rougher than I intended. "Too smart to believe in coincidences."

She doesn't flinch, just meets my stare with those unnerving violet eyes. "Why do you hate each other? Is it because of Raven?"

"What else?" I pour another two fingers of vodka into my glass, not offering her any this time. Raven'll bitch if I send her back tipsy. The liquor burns down my throat, but it's a familiar pain, almost comforting.

She's quiet for a moment, taking that in. I can practically see her filing away the information, piecing together the sordid little drama that's been playing out for years.

Good fucking luck. I'm knee deep in the shit and I still don't know half of it.

"You're coming up on forty-eight hours," I say, changing the subject. "Still chomping at the bit to get out of here if Raven doesn't have your intel in time?"

God knows he's working hard enough. Heard him traipsing back and forth last night, barking orders at the little minions he's dispatched across the Outer Reaches. Ifhecan't find this bastard, he doesn't want to be found.

The question is, what kind of a useless alpha ditches an omega he claims to give a shit about? Could just be a case of wide-eyed naiveté, and a spoiled little rich girl thinking she's in love with a guy who doesn't give a damn about her, but I doubt it. She's not the type.

Her fingers toy with the hem of her dress, a nervous tell she probably isn't aware of. "That depends. Are you still chomping at the bit for us to leave?"

I smirk, leaning back in my chair. "Doesn't matter one way or another to me."

It's a lie, and we both know it. Ishouldwant her gone. Want my life back to normal. Want Raven to stop falling ever deeper into a pit that's going to swallow him whole all over again, just like it did with Nikolai. But I don't say any of that.

"Besides," I add, "I'll save on incense with an omega in the tunnels. Good for business."

She makes a derisive sound, but her posture relaxes slightly.

"If I were you, though," I continue, choosing my words carefully, "I wouldn't be in any hurry to get out there." I gesture toward the wasteland with my cigar. "And if this Azzhole is worth a damn as an alpha and a man, he'd want you to stay put until he finds you."

Her back straightens, eyes flashing. “He is. You have no clue what he’s done to protect me, so don’t talk about shit you don’t understand. And it'sAzarel."

“That’s what I said.” I shrug, taking another drag.

For a moment, she looks like she might argue, but instead she just shakes her head and stands up, smoothing down her dress again.

"Thanks for the drink," she says in that soft accent with a sharp edge. Like a knife covered in filigree.

As she turns to leave, something tugs at me. Maybe it's the vodka. Or maybe I'm just getting soft.

"Wait," I hear myself say. She pauses, glancing back at me warily. "I want to ask you for a favor."

Immediately, her posture shifts. Shoulders tense, chin lifting, eyes hardening. It's the look of someone who's heard that line before from too many alphas and learned to expect the worst. Ihate that I recognize it so easily. Mainly, I hate that she's right—most of us are assholes.

Me included.

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