Page 48 of Feral Creed

“Taking?” I say. “What do you mean? You said she has ten mates already.”

“She’d be happy to have fourteen,” he says with a shrug.

My lips part. “We would never…”

“You’re still not claimed,” he says.

“But some of us are,” I say. “We’re working on it. It’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated, boy,” he says, chuckling. “You just bite.”

“Okay, regardless,” I say, holding up both of my hands. “This Selene person, she can’t force me to bite her, anyway—”

“Sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“They find ways,” he says, letting out a breath and looking off into the distance. “It’s not always about the threat of physical pain. They find people you care about. They threaten them. They find things you want and they dangle them in front of you. They find ways to make you do things.”

That sounds like hell to me. “I take it back. It’s better out there,” I say firmly. “You should get the fuck out of this place, Theodorus.”

He shakes his head. “I love my omega. I live for my omega.”

“Well, I live formyomega,” I say. “Which is why I would never bite another one.”

He shrugs again. “Maybe not. Maybe so.”

“Calix has already bitten her,” I say. “So this Selene person couldn’t have him.”

“Not unless your omega was dead,” he says.

I draw back, confusion rippling through me. “They’re going to kill Lotus?”

“Selene will challenge her, most likely,” says Theodorus. “It’s an ancient ritual that is almost never practiced anymore. The omegas face off in a series of tournaments to prove physical prowess and skill. It’s ridiculous because most omegas these days aren’t what you’d call skilled or even physically in shape. But I think it’s fair to say that Selene might have a bit of an edge on your omega. I understand she’s slight and weak and very submissive, like a beta woman.”

“No,” I say, very defensive.

He laughs again.

“But you just said she would be killed,” I say. “So, what? This tournament is to the death?”

“Not necessarily,” says Theodorus. “But if she’s gotten bites, it will need to be. If she loses, her bonds will be severed, and death is the only way to sever a life bond. It will be deemed that she is not worthy of alphas, that she is not omega enough to deserve all of you.”

“Fuck,” I whisper.

“Yes,” he says. “I thought you should know.”

“Thank you,” I say.

He reaches out and touches my arm, giving my wrist a little squeeze. “Goddess protect you, boy, and your pack.”

calix

I GET UPwhen my alarm goes off, and I notice Knight isn’t in the nest.

I find him in the kitchen, sitting at the table, gazing glumly into a coffee cup. He looks up when I come into the room. “Morning. I was wondering if you were going to work or not.”

I cross the room to see if there’s coffee in the pot, already made. There is, enough for at least one cup. I pour it out into a mug for myself and start another pot brewing. I like a lot of coffee in the morning. “I don’t even know if I am,” I say.

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