Page 20 of The King's Omega
I had my Omega caught on my knot. If I didn’t take her, Verdan would. I knew what I had to do, and it was no real sacrifice. I set my teeth to the juncture between her shoulder and neck and bit down, letting the bitter flavor of her blood fill my mouth.
“It is done, mate,” I announced, as she wept beneath me. Had I hurt her too badly? My own shoulder merely felt scraped.
I lifted my head to see the mating bite she had given me. Damn. She hadn’t bitten deeply enough, possibly afraid to scar her king, or overcome in her passion.
It didn’t matter; she would return the bite the next time we fucked, and I would help her to mark me well. For now, it was done. The visceral tie of the mating bond formed between us, a binding that extended beyond the physical.
We would be mates until her death, or mine.
I had done my duty. But Axe’s eyes on me made me feel as if I had shamed myself. Why? This was what I had to do to save Rimholt.
I swallowed hard, wishing I had more whiskey to wash the harsh iron tang of her blood from my tongue.
My knot deflated quickly as my gut twisted. Her blood was bitter.
Fuck. She was no Omega.
Tarn
Rigol was a fucking idiot. For all that he was a fair and just king, and a marvel at planning strategy, he could make some of the stupidest decisions in history.
Like the one he had made the previous night. Now he sat before me, his head cradled in his hands, stinking of sex, rage, and regret. “I told you.” I slammed the book I’d stolen from the scholar on top of the desk, drawing his exhausted glare. “I told you I had information you needed. I warned you not to mark her.”
“You ordered me,” he spat back. “And left me with her. If you knew—”
“Rigol,” my twin spoke up from the leather chair by the fire, “we all had concerns. And we all tried to delay your decision.”
“Your job is to advise me. You suspected that bitch wasn’t an Omega, and you let me rut her? Axewatchedme mark her.”
Axe stared coldly at him; hands clenched in angry fists. I sighed. “You didn’t stop him, Asher? You knew something was wrong.” That was beyond unusual; Axe was the king’s truest friend, his most ardent supporter. He protected Rigol even from himself, at times.
Guilt ate at my conscience. I should have protected Rigol that way, should have dragged him off the whore if I had to.
“He ordered me to be silent and watch. I follow the commands of my king.” If fingers could sneer, Axe’s did so.
Vilkurn stepped out of the shadows by the far wall. “I questioned the false Omega thoroughly, Sire. Don’t worry, I was careful not to kill her, as that would also end your life.” Vilkurn’s tone betrayed that he also thought our king had acted the fool. “She broke rather easily, very low pain tolerance.”
“Unlike a true fucking Omega,” I muttered, turning to the page in the book that talked about how mature Omegas could take rough sex, unlike Betas. How they craved it and needed to rut multiple times a day just to stay physically healthy. How, when they came into heat each year, they sometimes needed multiple Alphas to satisfy them.
Now,therewas a thought.
The book had other information that the scholar hadn’t revealed, too. It told of an Omega’s gifts—there wasn’t just one—but there were no details about what theydid. Useless book, and useless scholar who’d brought the damned thing here.
“What did she say?” Rigol demanded. “Why was Selene hiding her identity?”
Vilkurn hesitated, brow furrowed. I could tell this was going to be bad. “She came from Verdan, but says the brothel madam captured her. She insists she isn’t a spy, but admitted to knowing she wasn’t the Omega you sought. She took the opportunity you gave her.”
“You believe her?”
“I never believe anyone, Sire. She could be an unwitting spy. Perhaps Verdan planned to turn the populace of Rimholt against you, revealing that your queen was a former whore. How she lured you makes me think there is more to be learned. But I’m not sure torture will make her spill more secrets, and it might kill her.”
“What about the seer?” Lorn asked.
“I fear she is also a spy, sent to entice you to mate with Selene. She’s in the dungeon as well, but her mind… it’s difficult to tell if it’s broken, or if she’s seeing visions.”
“Don’t torture her too severely,” Rigol muttered. “She’s a servant of the Goddess.”
I couldn’t hold my tongue. “A servant of Verdan, more like! You risked your life, your entire kingdom, on a crazed woman’s ramblings. Goddess, Rigol, you mated an enemy! A Beta whore. How did you even knot her?” I’d never been able to muster a knot for any of the women I’d fucked. I’d wondered if I was truly an Alpha—not that anyone knew what that even meant anymore, besides being larger and more dangerous in battle—until I’d scented the girl, Vali. Then I’d felt so much blood rush south so quickly I was dizzy for a moment, and that first knot had taken hours to subside.
