Page 51 of Unsubmissive Omega
“Close it,” I told him, swinging around, thighs backed up against the desk. But I didn’t sit, there was no time for that. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Arnius' hand was trembling as he closed the door, and when he turned to face me, his face was pale. His jaw wobbled as he worried at his lower lip. A flash of white teeth peeked out from time to time. He was shaking.
“What’s wrong, Arnius,” I asked, more gently.
“Alpha…” His eyes flickered all around the room, betraying his nerves. My heart thudded in my chest. I had the most desperate need to find my mate, the urgency zinging like electricitythrough my veins. Still, I forced myself to wait. Arnius was like a cornered animal, I didn’t think it would take much for him to give up on whatever had brought him here and flee, but it must have been important to come here in the first place.
With a deep sigh, Arnius pulled himself together. His chin came up. His eyes met mine. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Alpha, um, someone is spreading rumors around the pack.”
My eyes narrowed. This was not what I wanted right now while I was dealing with Xander’s disappearance, but Zendiushadwarned me it might happen. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I knew about this and that Zendius was dealing with it, but I decided to let him speak. He’d thought it significant enough to come tell me.
“What are the rumors, Arnius?”
He looked at his feet, squirming, a red stain running up his pale neck. “That… Xander ran away.” He hesitated.
“These aren’t my words,” he mumbled, sounding decidedly uncomfortable, “but it’s been said if you can’t keep your mate happy, you shouldn’t be our leader.”
A low angry rumble reverberated deep in my chest and Arnius jumped back a step. His eyes, already wide, exposed more of their whites. He cowered, suddenly looking a lot smaller. He hurriedly tilted his head away, exposing the long pink-stained line of his neck again.
“Who is it, Arnius? Who’s spreading the rumors?”
Arnius' breathe caught. Everything seemed to go still, even time itself. A high-pitched sibilant hissing in my ears was the only indication the world went on.
“Arnius?”
He swallowed, nervously shuffling his feet, the soles of his shoes squeaking on the floorboards. It was obvious he didn’t want to answer. He chewed on his lip, sighed, then resolutely lifted his chin, looking me square in the eye.
“It’s Zendius.”
???
My first reaction was anger. How dare Arnius make this sort of accusation against a senior alpha! What did he hope to gain? Zendius was not only my trusted friend, but he’d been a cornerstone of the pack even before I’d joined it. This was a poor way to repay his dedication to the pack. Having failed at challenging me, was Arnius trying this as an alternative means of elevating his position in the pack?
Arnius looked terrified, as though he was certain I was going to take out my anger on him and he didn’t know which way to run.
I sucked in a long breath, counting to ten in my head as I struggled for control. Fuck! This was too much. As if it wasn’t enough I was dealing with Xander’s disappearance - and the panic that entailed – but now I also had to deal with Arnius making accusations about Zendius.
Why though? And why did Arnius look so frightened? He’d been scared even before he’d started speaking to me. Did he think I wouldn’t believe him? And if he thought that, why did he come and tell me anyway?
The answer, as I released my breath slowly, my anger evaporating or at least redirecting, seemed obvious. He hadn’t wanted to tell me this, because he was sure I wouldn’t believehim and I’d be angry with him. Everyone knew how close I was to Zendius. There was nothing to gain from bringing this to me. He’d brought it to me because he believed I needed to know.
I considered carefully, trying to keep an open mind, as a few things fell into place. The things that had gone wrong with my first encounters with Xander – the photos and information he never received, the dates he was never offered, hell, maybe even the mixup with meeting times. How every time Xander and I had a misunderstanding, Zendius had been there to pick up the slack with Xander. Co-incidence, or intentional?
Had Zendius been undermining me all along?
If so, it had nearly worked. Xander and I had gotten off to a rocky start, and every time I turned around, there had been Zendius handing off a problem to me and taking Xander under his wing. They’d spent a lot of time together, and now that I thought about it, it had often correlated with Xander’s mood swings. Only now I wondered if the change of mood had comeafterthe time alone with Zendius, not before.
“I presume there are others who could corroborate your story?” I tried to use as mild a tone as I was capable, given the circumstances. If what Arnie said was true, then I owed him my gratitude for bringing this to me. It hadn’t been easy for him, but I wanted to rage atsomeone.
Arnius' face looked thirty shades of relieved, now he realized I wasn’t about to singe the hide off him.
“Yes, Alpha. A few of my friends heard it too, but they were too scared to come and tell you.”
“But you weren’t, eh?”
“I… I owed it to you, Alpha. After the challenge… I know you could have killed me – you had a right to – but you didn’t. Another Alpha would have.” He lifted his chin up. “I learnt a lot that day, Alpha. I’m not going to forget it.”
