Page 67 of Bonds of Pain
“Fine.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Where do you want to go? The city gardens? The market district? Somewhere you can show off that fancy dress?”
I stop walking and face him directly. “I want to go as far as you can take me.”
The palace guards give Ares some serious side-eye when he requests an armored vehicle, but no one stops us from leaving. I slide into the front passenger seat, running my fingers over the leather interior and examining the dashboard with its array of blinking lights and screens.
“This is incredible,” I say, watching Ares start the engine with a keycard rather than a traditional key. “I’ve never been in anything this high-tech before.”
Ares grins, clearly pleased by my interest. “Wait till you see what she can do.” He taps a series of buttons on the center console. “Full security system with thermal imaging, bulletproof glass that can withstand a sniper round, autonomous piloting in both combat and navigation modes, reinforced panels...” His fingers dance across a screen showing the vehicle’s exterior. “This beauty can take a direct rocket hit and keep rolling.”
“A rocket?” I laugh nervously. “Why would we need that much protection for a simple outing?”
Ares glances at me, his expression softening. “Because you’re precious cargo, little Omega.”
The words are obviously meant to be teasing, but they strike a raw nerve. Maybe it’s a morning already spent faking social niceties, but I can’t hold my tongue.
“Precious how?”
He glances at me before returning his gaze to the road. “What?”
“How am I precious?” I repeat slowly. “You’ve made it pretty clear from the beginning that any Omega is as good as another. We’re all interchangeable.”
His hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. His scent alters, the normal warmth of bourbon and chocolate souring. But I don’t sense any anger in him. If anything, he just seems pained.
“That’s not true,” he says, voice uncharacteristically quiet.
“Please. You’ve spent most of your time making crude jokes about my body and talking about me like I’m a toy to be passed around the pack.”
Ares comes to a stop at an intersection and turns to face me. “You’re wrong. You’re absolutely unique, Maya. Irreplaceable.”
“You only feel that way now because being Logan’s mate means I’m your only option unless you leave his pack,” I say, crossing my arms. “Let’s not pretend this is about me as a person.”
His green eyes flash with genuine offense. “Is that what you think of me? That I’m just some animal who can’t tell the difference between one Omega and another?”
I hold his gaze, refusing to back down even as something twists uncomfortably in my chest.
“I don’t know,” I say finally.
Another vehicle sounds its horn behind us, loud enough to drown out whatever Ares might have said in return. He returns his attention to the road, mouth set in a thin line.
I watch the scenery change through the window as we drive farther from the city. Concrete and steel gradually give way to scattered houses, then open fields. The silence between us stretches uncomfortably.
An uneasy feeling gnaws at me. Ares actually seemed genuinely offended at my accusation. I don’t know how to square that with everything else I thought I understood about him.
I open my mouth several times, but can’t decide what to say.
The landscape grows increasingly wild. Trees cluster together in dense patches, and the road narrows until it’s barely two lanes. I’ve never been this far from the city center before. This untamed terrain feels entirely alien.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask, unable to bear the silence any longer.
Ares doesn’t answer. His jaw remains tight, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
A massive checkpoint looms in the distance, complete with guard towers, barbed wire, and a gate that spans the entire roadway. Armed soldiers patrol the perimeter. My heart rate quickens.
“Is that the border?”
He still doesn’t respond, but slows our vehicle as we approach the gate. A guard steps out from the checkpoint booth, hand resting casually on his holstered weapon, seeming surprised when he recognizes the royal insignia on our vehicle.
The guard leans down to the peer into the window. His eyes bug slightly when he catches sight of me, but immediately straightens when Ares lets out a low growl of warning.
