Page 26 of Omega and the Beast
The cursewasbroken.
“No more Beast?” Was it his imagination, or did Callista’s tone sound a little disappointed?
Mate,growled a familiar inner voice, rough and hungry… but not monstrous.
The growling voice in his head certainly still sounded like the Beast.
Yet it was dark night, and he wasn’t the Beast — unless he wanted to be. If that was as broken as the curse could get, he would take it. Deep down, he’d resigned himself to living as the Beast for the rest of his days… this was better.
“Adonis?”
“I can still feel him, in here.” He thumped his hand against his chest and grinned down at her. “But it’s not controlling me anymore. I think I could shift if I wanted to, but Callista! If that’s broken, maybe the barrier around the territory is, too!”
He didn’t have to say anything to make her understand — her eyes lit up as bright as the moon.
“Your parents!”
“My parents.” After so long, he was almost afraid to hope. If the curse was only partly broken, maybe he would still be trapped in here while they were out there… or maybe not. Maybe at long last, he would be able to do more than gaze at them through an invisible wall.
It had been years…
He swallowed hard, looking down at the monstrous corpse of Father Conal.
All around him and Callista, the others were talking. Some with their families or friends, many of them being introduced to each other for the first time. More than one curious look was being sent his and Callista’s way, along with expressions of shame. Confusion. Several Betas were rubbing their heads.
“Do you remember me?” he asked and everyone else immediately quieted. “Do you remember my parents and the truth about Alphas and Omegas?”
“We do.” Diona’s father stepped forward, his arm aroundhis daughter. She clung to him tearfully, but there was a huge smile on her face. “I’m so sorry. I… I don’t know how…”
“It was the curse,” Adonis said. “It was not your fault that you did not remember the truth. I know many of you, especially those whose children ended up here, still fought against the depredations of Father Conal and his ilk.”
As he said the words, he wondered what had happened to the other villages. That was going to be one of the first things they needed to take care of.
Fortunately, there were more than enough volunteers willing to jump in and ride through the night. Not necessarily to bring news to the other villages, but to find out what had happened to their leaders when the curse rebounded.
It made for a long night, but report after report came in — the village leaders who had aided Father Conal in casting his curse had also succumbed to it, transforming into Beasts who were then slain by those formerly under their power. Everyone’s memories had returned. Miraculously, although there had been many injuries, no one had been killed, apart from the corrupted leaders, among them, Lachlan, whose transformation to a Beast betrayed his true nature. He had not truly been sympathetic to the plight of Omegas and Alphas, but profiting off them as he peddled suppressants that wouldn’t be necessary if not for the curse he had helped to cast. Although there were some who mourned him, even Broderick agreed he’d gotten what he’d deserved in the end.
With every report back in, Adonis’ heart got a little lighter.
Perhaps it was wrong to be glad the curse had rebounded, but he couldn’t help feeling grateful that fate, and the other villagers, had taken care of them, especially asthe burden of judgment would have fallen to him had they lived.
Adonis didn’t mind killing Father Conal, the ringleader, but he would rather not start out this next period of his life with executions.
The only thing he didn’t do was test the barrier at the edge of the territory. He wanted to, but it wasn’t as though he could go searching for his parents tonight. It was enough for now just to know what was happening in the other villages.
That night he went to sleep not long after midnight, wrapped around Callista, still in his human form. He could feel the tug of the shift, but could resist it. And, for the first time in a long time, he slept completely peacefully, knowing justice had been served.
16
Callista
Adonis’parents met them on the main road to the castle, rushing along it mid-morning, just as she and Adonis had been rushing to the edge of the territory to find them. She hung back as Adonis ran forward, his arms outstretched, and the three met in the middle of the road in a massive hug.
Callista felt her chest constrict at their pure joy. She could hear the two Alphas, Adonis and his father, purring — though it was a very different purr from the one Adonis directed at her. This one brought nothing but platonic happiness bubbling up inside her. She didn’t want to intrude on the happy reunion, though she was glad she’d been there to pay witness to it.
As Adonis and his parents pulled back, their arms still around each other, she could hear their soft speech. Although she couldn’t make out their words, she had anidea what he was telling them when his parents both suddenly looked at her.
Being the focus of their gazes was more than a little intimidating.
