Page 69 of Fortune Fae Academy
The dungeon connected to my personal room in the UnderWeb was a place that should have given me the upper hand. This was my territory, yet Seifiek held himself as if he owned the place.
I’m not a Beta anymore,I thought.
You might as well be if you continue to have a tantrum like one,he quickly replied in my mind.
I frowned because I had not intended to send my thoughts to him. Seifiek circled me in my own dungeon while invading my mind, threatening to consume me whole.
Changing tactics, I relaxed my fighting stance and retreated to an iron table and bench. It was cold and uncomfortable, but it had good memories. Such as chaining up Zeke while he watched me fuck Rowan.
I ran my fingers over the raised loops used to secure the cuffs while I watched Seifiek relax.
I’d spent months breaking my Betas. They’d never been Seifiek’s, and that was precisely the problem I was trying to drive home.
He’d never found them worthy enough for his bite, but they were strong. They’d lasted against me and it had damn near cost them their lives in order for me to win. Their strength was a testament to Gina’s power and their worthiness to be a part of this mate-circle.
ButIhad broken them, not Seifiek. Something I intended to remind him of.
Seif walked into the flickering light of a rarely used fireplace. I’d never minded the cold, and there was enough Dust to naturally light the space.
But tonight there was a chill I couldn’t chase from the air. Even with the warmth of the fire, an icy pit inside my stomach only seemed to grow.
I knew a part of it was because I had to give Roderik his due tonight, or else there’d be hell to pay. I didn’t enjoy the idea of giving that monster the ability to mate another Omega. And every time I checked the future for a way out, I only found a multitude of strands with Roderik in control.
Except for one dead end that should have led nowhere but continued to intrigue me. A faint, possible future that hadn’t been woven together yet.
My mate-circle at work,I decided.
I was eager to see what the future would hold, but for now,myfuture was right in front of me not listening to a word I said.
Seifiek took the opposite bench and leaned forward on the table. He didn’t have a drop of fear in him. Meaning he was either stupid or so confident in his chosen future that I just couldn’t see it yet.
“I’m not going to give you what you want, Axel. Not this time,” he said as if he were talking to a fucking child.
Baring my teeth, I displayed my fangs that came with my Alpha biology. Everything about me screamed that I was his equal, but clearly, when it came to disagreements, he was going to throw my past in my face.
That didn’t sit well with me.
“We want the same thing,” I said, the rumble in my chest a sound a Beta could never make. “But we seem to disagree on how to get there.”
Seifiek nodded. At least we could agree on that much. “If that’s all it is, then yes. That is true.”
I tilted my head and flared my nostrils. The only scent I picked up was Seifiek’s aroma of sage and leather. It had subtly changed over the recent months, the latter element having previously smelled more like lavender.
But after mating me, his scent was slightly more masculine. I liked to imagine I’d had an impact on that. Sage, an herb to keep away evil spirits like Etu. And leather, an Alpha’s favorite material of choice to bind their Omega and fill her with his seed.
Or perhaps he’d dress Gina up in it, then have her dance for us.
The corners of Seifiek’s lips twitched as if he could see the images flickering behind my eyes. With the level of invasion he had in my head, he probably could.
That only irritated me more and brought me back to the present.
“What else could it be?” I asked. I’d been trying toreasonwith him this whole time. When that hadn’t worked, I’d try to force him to understand with my fists.
That hadn’t gone well, either.
Seif leaned back and watched me with a predatory stare. His silver eyes were dilated, leaving them eerily shaped with his stretched pupils overtaking his irises. “Your pride.”
My vision turned red, but I fisted my fingers and ground my skin into the iron of the table. The cuff indents creaked against the pressure. “It isyourpride that seems to stand in the way, Seif. Rowan’s powers are shorting out. He’s unable to draw in Dust like a Beta should. And Zeke has abandoned us out of fear. If you had claimed them like you should have, then none of this would be happening.”
