Page 104 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

“Things with Seth are new, but yeah, I think so.”

The elevator came to a stop and Yelena looked at me curiously. “Youthinkso? Why on earth are you bonded to Sethbut not Caden if you’ve been with him far longer and he’s your alpha?”

We stepped off together into a basement with smooth concrete floors and overhead lighting that hurt my eyes.

“It’s complicated. Before we found out I was an omega witch, Caden was afraid that a bonding bite might kill me, so he always held off, and he just kind of came around to the idea of Seth being involved in the last few days. We haven’t had a lot of time to settle everything and talk about boundaries and whatnot. Little more preoccupied with not dying.”

Yelena hummed as we walked into the bowels of the nest.

We were alone as far as I could tell and it was chilly down here. She stopped us in front of a plain white door and punched a code into the panel next to it. It opened into another room, dimly lit by selenite lamps around the space. The floor was soil in here and the scent invaded my nose. A labyrinth pattern of stones wove through the dirt and in the center sat five items. I couldn’t discern any rhyme or reason to them—an intricately carved wooden mandala, an abstract painting with hues that looked suspiciously like blood had been used, a twisted gold torque with stag heads at each end, a bronze dodecahedron, and what looked like a small curved dagger tucked into an ornate sheath of gold and bright blue stones.

“They’re beautiful. What are they?” I asked.

“Artifacts that each of the Protectors contributed. They power the wards and give us our status.”

I blinked, examining the items gathered. “How do they affect your status?”

“Items like these aren’t common,” said Yelena. “Without them our shifter populations are vulnerable and none of us are particularly interested in letting witches come in to provide for our needs in this regard. No offense to you, precious.”

“Oh, none taken. I get wanting to keep it a shifter matter.”

“If we weren’t under direct attack I wouldn’t ask, but…”

The idea that the safety of so many people was relying on me was humbling, and terrifying. “Which one of them is yours?”

“The dagger.”

Yelena took my hand and pulled me closer, reaching our joined hands toward the sheathed blade. The air rippled and a tingling warmth bathed my skin.

“The space around the artifacts is enchanted so only one of the Protectors can touch what’s inside, and each of us can only touch the one bound to us. You’ll have to get acquainted with all of the others as well to make sure theirs have enough power, but we’ll start with mine and see what kind of toll it takes on you.”

Nerves twisted in my belly. If I fucked up on this, would the wards fail entirely? If that creature got inside, so many people could die.

Yelena’s fingers gently squeezed mine. “I’m right here. You’re going to do just fine. I haven’t got a lot of witch blood in me, but I have enough to help you. Deep breath for me, precious.”

I obeyed the order and rolled my shoulders, trying to make myself relax. We put our joined fingertips to the dagger and it hummed under my touch. Towering mountains, wild steppes, and endless forests flickered in my mind’s eye and had goosebumps dancing over my skin.

“Holy shit, that feelsold.”

Yelena smiled next to me and tucked herself closer. “Over a millennium. Visualize your power moving into it. It can likely hold much more than you can give, so be sure to pull back before you pass out, okay?”

I nodded absently and closed my eyes, leaning into her as I imagined my power like a river. It flowed, hot and potent, from my chest and down into my arm.

Yelena let out a whisperedoh, fuckwhen it brushed against her skin. “Your power packs a bit of spice, precious.”

She didn’t pull away as I let it swell and bathe the dagger. It sank into the stone and metal, the artifact drinking it up greedily as if it were pulling it out of me instead of me surrendering the energy to it.

My body swayed and Yelena held me tighter, pressing her forehead to my temple. “Ease up, precious.”

I struggled to dampen the flow and Yelena must have been able to tell because she detached my fingertips one by one from the dagger, despite the pained hisses she made as my magic sizzled. I sagged against her as she finally took hold of my hand and tucked it against my chest.

“There’s a good girl. You’ve done so well.” Her arms cradled me, supporting the majority of my weight. It was a good thing we were almost on the floor because her easy praise would’ve taken my knees right out from under me. “Let’s rest a moment.”

She pulled me close, tucking my head beneath her chin, one arm wrapped around my shoulders while the other continued to hold my hand. My vision was blurry and my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I leaned heavily into Yelena. Sitting this close to her with nothing to distract me, I noticed the faint scent of spices clinging to her—cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and nutmeg. I inhaled deeply and savored it.

“Do you want me to call your panther to help you recharge?” Yelena asked after a while.

I shook my head. “Just need a minute.”

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