Page 24 of The King's Omega
I closed my eyes, trying to remember how much I loved my brother. I had been more than willing to step in front of a blade for him years ago, to lose my life so he could live. He was the best friend I had ever had. He’d endured a childhood devoid of affection from anyone except the men in this room and, after his father’s death, fought back political and courtly intrigue to keep Rimholt safe and prosperous.
He’d given up more than anyone knew for his people, and I would still die in battle to keep him on the throne. So why did the thought of giving up one more thing, sacrificing Vali to his bed, fill me with rage and despair?
“So, it was true,” Rigol said. “If I had mated her instead…”
“You could still,” Tarn said carefully. “It’s custom to have one mate, but in the old days, there were more. We could find Selene, lock her away, and you could bond the little one as well. Of course, then you would all three be bound to each other’s lives… and deaths.”
If he hadn’t sounded disgusted by his own words, I would have torn his head from his shoulders.
“She’d have to accept him,” Vilkurn commented. I stared. Vilkurn never spoke without careful consideration. “She doesn’t much like the king. I wonder if she’ll accept him at all.
Rigol sneered. “She’ll take me. I’m her king, I can command her. She’ll have no choice.”
A red haze filled my vision, and my jaw ached from clenching it so tightly. “No. You will not rape her.”
“Can’t,” Tarn said, his voice sharper now. “Omegas literally cannot be forced. Their wombs won’t open.”
That was… surprising. For a moment, I wondered if I could convince her to open, to give herself to me. I pictured her sparkling eyes in my mind, her devilish smile, her naughty, wandering hands.
“She will open if I beat her hard enough,” Rigol snarled.
Every other male in the room stilled. My eyes flew to Vilkurn’s, then Tarn’s and Lorn’s. We all wore matching expressions of disgust, anger, and confusion. This wasn’t the brother, the friend, the king we all knew. Something had changed him, darkened his nature.
Rigol stared out the window, oblivious to the peril he was in. “Can’t believe I have to fuck that hellion.”
As one, we began growling deeply, moving as if to attack. Only our vows of fealty and the bonds of brotherhood kept us from violence against our king.
“What in the Goddess’s name are you all doing?” Rigol demanded. “Have you gone mad?”
Vilkurn was the first able to speak coherently, and his voice was a blade of ice. “You think it’s a decision to make? A conscious process? I imagine the Goddess has protected Her miracles a bit more thoroughly than that.”
“Do you even hear yourself, Rigol? Who are you? You would force a young woman to lie with you?” I no longer recognized him. His obsession with having an Omega was destroying him.
Rigol began pacing. “Are you sure she’s even an Omega? She could be something else, a hybrid, warped by the plagues. Look at her—she’s built like a boy. Who would knot for that? I’m not sure I could mate her even if I tried.”
We were speechless. Had he never truly looked at the girl, never spent enough time with her to see the treasure hidden beneath the hideous clothing?
No. The traitorous Selene’s whorish wiles had distracted him.
I couldn’t stop myself. Laughter erupted, near-silent wheezing bouts of laughter. Rigol shot me a look of shock and disdain, but I continued, only the wall keeping me upright.
Then, all the other generals joined me in laughing at our friend, our brother, our king.
Rigol’s jaw dropped as he stared at us. “I’m going into the city to find my treacherous mate and return her to prison,” he spat out at last. “I should feel her somewhat through the mate bond. Axe, come with me. Vilkurn, send out spies to discover if any other plots exist beneath our noses that you have been unaware of.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Vilkurn’s eyes hardened, and he returned to reading. Rigol stomped out of the room.
Before following, I turned to Tarn and Lorn, tamping down my despair. My highest duty was to my king and my country.
“She is an Omega. He’ll see the treasure before him soon enough, and she will accept him. The king will have the King’s Omega.”I glared at Tarn. “Do not steal his future mate.”
“Steal?” Tarn’s eyes twinkled. “But that’s what I do best, Asher.”
“Do not touch her!”
“Someone will have to,” Vilkurn said, looking up from the book again, an odd fire in his usually cold eyes. “She’s not a mature Omega, Axe. She’s immature.”
What did that mean? That she could not mate yet? We only had weeks, if not days, before the war would begin. Skirmishes were already erupting on our western borders. None of us had time to spend in the castle wooing a girl. “How long does it take for an Omega to mature?”
