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“Nothing has changed,” I continue. “What Lady Larsen did during my father’s funeral does concern me, but there must be an explanation. And she’s the only mother I’ve ever known. Why wouldn’t I want to return? What else do I have?”
“Sofia.” He looks at me like I should be careful, because I’m on the verge of disappointing him greatly. “You don’t need me to tell you, right? You are not so naive as to not realize that whatever is mine is yours.”
I cannot breathe. I think I know what he’s saying, but I may not be grasping the full implications of his words. After all, this is an Alpha who fills his bed—or whatever surface he favors—with Omegas. How long until he grows bored of me? And he exploited an antiquated custom to take me by force, didn’t he? I’m here only because he hates the Larsens, and as much as I agree with his opinion on the noble class, can I trust anything he says? Can I refuse to return home because he smells like the best thing I’ve ever known? Can I really be so selfish as to exacerbate the conflict between the general of the military and a Great House? It could throw the stronghold into chaos. Not to mention Gabriel hasn’t even said thathewants me to stay. And here I am, still tempted to agree to his requests.
I just can’t. “I have to go back,” I say, firm but soft. “Lennart is my mate. I have to go back to him. I owe him as much.”
Gabriel is angry. Furious. A brief moment of internal war explodes to his face, then fades into blank, bitter nothing. “Then, Sofia…I’d tell you that I’m sorry, but it would be a lie.”
“Sorry for what?”
He stands, dwarfing me with his size, looking down at me with a mix of menace and longing. “If I return you tomorrow, you can’t smell like you spent the last two days untouched.”
I cock my head, wait for the panic to rise at the realization that this is finally happening. The fear, though, never comes. Instead, a pleasant new warmth spills right below my stomach.
Ever since I presented, my body has always been a known quantity—dependable, predictable, not subject to sudden changes. And yet, without warning, I cannot breathe. “Iamuntouched, though.”
“That’s a problem I can easily solve.” He steps closer.
Something that feels too much like anticipation travels down my spine. “So, you… Are you going to have sex with me?”
He shakes his head. His large body, so close to mine, feels like a mountain of heat and delicious scent. “I’m not going to fuck you until you come back to stay.”
Until. Notif. “Then what?—”
“Close your eyes,” he orders.
I blink. “You’re not going to have sex with me. You’ll just…make it look as though you have?” His silence tells me everything I need to know. “Even if you make me smell like we…I would still be a virgin.”
A twitch in his jaw. “You think they’ll check? You think theycare? For them it’s not about an Omega’s well-being. It’s just abouttheirhonor and about maintaining ownership of their possessions.”
He’s right. I picture Lord and Lady Larsen. Lara. Every member of the House, including the guards who’ll escort me, servants, other healers—they will all smell the sex and think the general ruined me. And there is nothing I could say that would change their minds.
I should be thankful to Gabriel for wanting to spare me some of it. It definitely makes no sense for me to ask, “If you’re going to ruin me in their eyes, why not take me and get it over with?”
“Is that whatyouwant?”
I don’t reply. My mouth is too dry.
“Oh, Sofia.” He sounds amused and unkind. “That’s not what tonight’s about.”
I scowl. “Then what?—”
“Lift the shirt. I want to see your belly.”
I do, confused but not quite able to help myself.
“Lie back on your elbows. And close your fucking eyes.”
“Why?”
“Because right now I am your Alpha, and Ijust told you to.”
He’s angry. This time not just at the people in my life but atme. I should be scampering to a corner, apologizing and begging him to be gentle with me. I should do exactly as he says.
Instead, I keep my eyes open.
He exhales a single bitter laugh. “You are stubborn and reckless.” But there is satisfaction in his tone. A hint of admiration as his hands reach for his belt and unfasten it.
