Page 40 of The King's Omega
I sniffled, thinking of Mischief. Would she even be a kitten when I saw her next, if the king ever let me see her?
“Crying, Peaches?” I wiped my face with the back of my hand and peered through the dusty, sun-splashed stable to find Tarn. He was wearing his usual fancy clothes, dark trousers and a royal blue shirt that matched his eyes with glossy mother-of-pearl buttons. Tarn was a bit of a peacock, I supposed, but it suited him.
“Oh. Hi, Tarn.” I settled back on my haunches, watching the pups.
He sat on the packed earth next to me, paying no heed to the wreck he made of his trousers, and began pulling straw out of my hair. “Goddess’s tits, you’re a mess, aren’t you, Peaches? Did you roll in the hay with someone?”
“No,” I grumped. “If I had rolled with anyone, it would be your brother. Or Axe.”
He tugged at a curl. “Or Vilkurn.”
“Well, yes,” I admitted, feeling a blush creep up my neck. “It’s the strangest thing, Tarn. I never once looked at a man like… well, withdesire, before. But the day I met Axe, it was like something deep inside me started to open. And then Vil, and Lorn…”
“I’m sorry I missed that day.” Tarn’s voice was rough. “Could we have one like it?”
I eyed him askance. “No, I’m done kissing and petting until I have Mischief back. The king stole her, you know!”
“I heard a rumor about that. Seems a terrible thing to do. My brother told me about his ridiculous ultimatum.” A ray of sunlight landed on his hair, making a crown of his golden curls. Why couldn’t someone like Tarn or Lorn be the king? I sighed, staring, and felt another tear trickle down my face. I’d never see Mischief again.
“You know, I’m fairly well known in the castle for a certain skill set, Peaches.” Tarn’s powerful hand stroked my hair and slid down to my shoulder. I shivered, trying not to show just how much it affected me.
I couldn’t kiss Tarn, after all. I wouldn’t want Lorn to think he was interchangeable with his brother. “W-what skills are those?”
Some part of me wanted him to say something wicked. And that part was the one right between my legs. I mentally shushed it.
“Stealing.” He rose, reaching down to help me up. My head only came to his chest when I stood, and I fought back another shiver. What was it about these tall, strong Alphas? I smiled. Apparently, it was my nature to want them. Well, if I really was some legendary unicorn-ish Omega, the book got that part right.Except for stupid Rigol.I cleared my throat. “What do you plan to steal?”
“I plan to teach you, Peaches. The same way I taught my brother and Vilkurn, and even that idiot Rigol, when we were younger. Well, I attempted to teach Rigol, whenever he could slip away from his tutors in the castle to hang around with us ruffians. He was never great at sleight of hand.” He chuckled. “I dared him to steal the jewels out of his father’s crown once. He got caught, of course.”
“You grew up together?” It seemed odd to think of them as children. How had the king turned out so differently from the others?
“Once we were old enough to slip away from our parents and schoolmasters. In fact, we spent quite a lot of time in these stables, making nuisances of ourselves until the stable master would send us to Sorcha. She told us a thousand old stories, many of them about magical creatures like you.” He tapped the end of my nose.
That sounded lovely, and so unlike my own childhood that tears stung my eyes.
Tarn shook his head at me in mock disappointment. “No more sadness, Peaches. Let’s go steal your kitten back, shall we?”
My heart leaped, but there was no way we could succeed. “He’ll kill me,” I said bluntly. “The king said—”
“I didn’t say we’d let him discover our crime. What the king doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I’ll make sure you don’t get caught.”
Not twenty minutes later, we crouched in the tunnels outside the king’s bedroom. Mischief was meowing inside, and I wanted to burst in and snatch her from that beastly man.
“Wait,” Tarn whispered. “Successful theft relies on patience, distraction, and swift execution.” He tilted his head, listening. “And here comes our distraction.”
A low voice muttered, and boots clicked on stone, then a door banged shut. “Now,” Tarn instructed. I sucked in a breath and slipped through the narrow passage and around the heavy tapestry that smelled of the king before he’d met Selene, all pine and musk.
In seconds, Mischief was in my arms, and we raced back to the hidden tunnel. Tarn beamed at me. “Well done, Peaches. Let’s take her somewhere safe.”
“But… he’ll look for her. And if he finds her with me, you might get in trouble.”
“You’re worried about me?” His eyes softened. “Of course, you are.” He reached out to touch my face but pulled back as if I might burn him.
“W-why did you do that?”
Tarn tapped his nose. “I’d almost forgotten, you’re off limits, Peaches. Rigol has forbidden any of us from touching you.”
There was a pounding in my ears. “He what? He can’t do that!”
