Page 8 of King

“Take her to my tent,” Bock orders Mannus, but he’s staring at me with a thunderous look in his eye. “Don’t touch her yet. You’ll have plenty of opportunities later.”

Bock seemed like a good leader except for that one glaring flaw. But now, the darkness that fueled his cruel way of thinking is laid bare for the entire pack to see. Everything I’ve just spewed at him is true. Those in the pack who’ve had their heads buried can’t ignore it any longer.

They can continue to look away, to stay quiet, but the words have been spoken. Bock can’t hide behind the silence anymore. This stain on his name can never be washed out or covered up.

Mannus grabs me by the arm, fully aware of what kind of touch Bock was referring to. His fingers dig deep into my skin, but I don’t acknowledge him. He may be physically stronger than me, but nothing compares to my heartache or the hatred I have for the Alphas in this pack.

He drags me across the camp to Bock’s tent and shoves me inside. He’s still bare after his shift. It’s impossible to miss his dirty cock rising as he rakes his eyes over my swollen breasts.

“I’m going to do so many things when that pup is out of you,” he says, taking slow, predatory steps toward me.

I back away until my legs hit the edge of Bock’s bed. It takesa moment to remind myself that I’m safe. Mannus will obey his Prime and not take me. His defiance would cost him his life. He’d never give up endless opportunities to torment me, no matter how impatient he is.

His attempts at intimidating me now seem so pathetic. He thinks he’s done some honorable deed by bringing me back. He’s too stupid to remember that he was the reason I got away in the first place. Bock isn’t finished with him. He’s just using Mannus to intimidate me.

He’ll get nothing from me, though. Only a mask of indifference while I wait for him to become bored with me. I hold my ground as he scents my neck, refusing to flinch, even when his tongue slides along my shoulder.

He scoffs. “You won’t be so quiet when my knot is ripping you wide open. It’ll hurt, but what will really piss you off is how much you love it.”

The day he tries, I’ll slice his cock off, knot and all. I fear no one. Let them tie me up like a prisoner for attacking him. They can continue using my bound body as they please. But at least Mannus will be left harmless and humiliated. Alphas can heal from a lot, but they can’t regenerate appendages. I’ll be ready for him, and I look forward to seeing him cry.

When he finally gets that I’m not going to react, he lets out a frustrated grunt and storms out of the tent. Now that I’m alone, what he claimed about Durin is able to sink in. My legs give way beneath me, and I crumble onto the rug by the bed.

Mannus has been searching for me for months. He’s been around the fae, hearing things I haven’t. I don’t think he’s lying. It adds up–specifically, Durin’s prolonged absences and his reluctance to mate with me again. The queen has always come first.

I can’t help but wonder how long they’ve been… how long he’s been with her. Is this something new? Have they been intimatefor some time, and she only now decided to make his position official?

I imagine Durin and the queen making memories like the ones stolen from me. Visions of them smiling and caressing each other come at me from all directions.

But my Omega rises up and deflects them, one by one, until I can close that dark part of my mind and focus on what’s real.

He said he hated her. He cannot lie.

A faint warmth passes through my chest. She’s right. He does hate the queen. He’s been plotting her death. Everything was real–his stories about helping the other high fae, the way he poured himself into his kisses, the pride he took in naming our pup. None of it was a trick.

Yes. Stop being self-centered.

If he hates the queen, he can’t want to share her bed… I doubt she asks for anything. She wouldn’tinvitehim to be intimate with her. She’d command it and expect his obedience. It takes me a moment for the realization to hit me, but when it does, it hits hard.

He’s being forced, just like I will be.

I managed to delay mine, but who knows how long he’s been suffering. He only rejected me because he’d been with the queen and felt guilty for it. He was ashamed to tell me. And he was afraid that I would rejecthim.

My heart breaks again but for a whole new reason. My Omega knew, but I couldn’t see it. Knowing of his misery hurts far more than thinking he loved her instead of me. And what’s worse, he’ll come to visit me and find that I’m gone. He’ll think Mother and I took our things and fled from him.

He’ll continue to be burdened by his mission and violated by the queen. Only now, he’ll believe that I stole his pup and abandoned him to endure his misery alone.

He’s too honorable to pursue someone who wants to be rid ofhim. There’s no hope for him rescuing me. I’m back to where I began, helplessly bound to my bullshit fate.

It’s late when Bock finally enters the tent. I’m still on the ground, aching for Durin. I don’t care that he sees it. I don’t resist when he lifts me from the floor and tucks me beneath his blankets. I don’t even pull away when he wraps his body around mine.

Fighting would be useless. There’s just no point. Durin has been facing far worse. I can survive a night in the arms of someone I hate. At least I know Bock won’t try to mount me… yet. Once the pup is born and my body is healed, he won’t hesitate.

I’m surprised, though, that he doesn’t threaten me or launch into some lecture about what I did. He says nothing, only cuddling up to me like we’re in love. It’s like he’s forgotten what I said about him in front of everyone. But I know that can’t be the case. He doesn’t smell like wine, so I don’t think he drank the anger away. He must be trying to fuck with my head.

I manage to sleep, telling myself it will be an escape. But as I lie awake in the morning where his former Luna used to lie, a sickening feeling keeps me from drifting off again. Any drive I had to find a way out of this is gone. Bock is content to take an Omega who doesn’t want him. He’d choose pride over a mate who’s eager to serve him. It’s despicable. He really is no better than the wicked fae he condemns.

“What’s wrong with her?” Bock’s rumbling voice crawls into my ears as I lie lifelessly on his bed.

---