Page 9 of Branded By Shadow
Elara walked up beside me, her gaze fixed on Cora’s image. “She’s different. Very stubborn. Prouder than anyone I’ve met.”
“She’s more than that,” I heard myself say, the words more instinct than thought. “She’s powerful. Intelligent. That makes her important.”
“Is that the reason you want her for yourself?” Elara turned away from the screens and narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ve never been interested in claiming an Omega for yourself.”
It wasn’t an accusation, but it landed like one. The challenge grated on my already frayed nerves. “Things change,” I snapped at my cousin. “And she’s too valuable to be wasted on House Zeus.”
The truth was, I’d never felt the need for an Omega. Our old ways brought unavoidable complications, and I’d always preferred to avoid the political mess. But Cora… She was worth the risk.
In the suite, Cora moved, tugging at the collar of her nightgown. The heat was starting to hit her in earnest. A raw, primal wave of territorial possession surged through me as she ripped the silk from her body.
The screens darkened slightly, shadows gathering in the corners of the displays. My control had slipped, just for a moment. Just enough.
Elara couldn’t have missed my reaction, but she knew better than to question me further. “How long until full heat?” she asked instead.
“Hours,” I answered. The Alpha inside me could already read the timeline on Cora’s strained face. “Maybe less. Her suppressant formula was remarkably effective. It’s fighting a losing battle, but it’s fighting hard.”
Elara shot me another warning glance. “Just remember, Alexander won’t give up.”
She turned to the second bank of monitors, each displaying security footage from the conference center. Alexander’s figure dominated several screens, his perfect golden hair catching the light as he spoke with the staff. I grimaced, irritated but unsurprised. “Turn up the volume.”
“...deeply concerned for Dr. Ellis’s wellbeing,” Alexander’s smooth voice filled the room. “She’s a brilliant researcher whose work could benefit countless Omegas...”
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The shadows grew, stretching across the ceiling like living things, leaving pockets of frigid air behind. “He’s good,” I growled. “Playing the concerned investor rather than the thwarted Alpha.”
“That’s not what worries me,” Elara mused, ignoring the creeping chill with practiced ease. “Historically, House Zeus is known to use all kinds of methods in their manipulations. Non-Olympian authorities. The police. The media. But that hasn’t happened right now.”
The implication settled in my gut like a stone. “He wants to keep this an Olympian matter.” The common justice system was irrelevant in our disputes. We handled our own affairs. For him to take this approach could only mean one thing. “He knows she’s House Demeter.”
“He may have already known, before you stumbled into them,” Elara said glumly. “He wants her. Badly.”
My Alpha snarled inside me, the simple reminder of the threat enough to trigger my temper. I forced myself to calm down, but the room was getting darker and colder. “He was dragging her away from the conference when I intervened. Another few minutes and she’d have been claimed by House Zeus. He wants her formula and her bloodline.”
Elara nodded. “That’s certainly a possibility. Demeter Omegas are valuable even when they’re not brilliant scientists.” She pursed her lips, flecks of hesitant darkness flashing in her eyes.“Damon, this is serious, and it’s only going to get worse. You need to maintain control. I haven’t seen your power this reactive since...”
She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to. The unspoken name of my father hung in the air between us, a ghost more solid than the abyss he now inhabited.
“I’m fine,” I insisted anyway.
“You’re not.” She studied my face, her gaze uncomfortably perceptive. “The Council will notice, just like I did. Maybe not right away, but they will.”
She was right. My control rarely slipped, especially not over an unclaimed Omega. But everything about her clawed at the edges of my restraint. Even hours after our conversation, her scent still clung to me. My body remembered the feel of her desperate struggles, the delicious heat of her skin, the frantic quickening of her pulse. And I was a House Hades Alpha. Now that I’d sensed her, I’d never forget.
“The claiming isn’t complete,” I said, half for my own sake, half for Elara’s. “Once the bond forms, this will stabilize.”
“And if she fights it?” Elara asked, her jaw tight. “You’ve seen it yourself, Damon. Her Demeter blood is strong.”
“Then I’ll be stronger.” I wrestled my power back, pulling it back into myself. “House Hades has never failed to complete a claiming.”
Elara pursed her lips, unconvinced. “Yes, Damon. But you have to remember what we belong to. If you don’t…”
Against my heart, a yawning void pulsed, as if responding to her skepticism. “I’ll speak to him,” I promised, each word tasting like ash in my mouth. “And I’ll be careful.”
Elara only turned away from me, knowing better than to believe me. It was just as well. I didn’t believe my own words. Not after everything we’d lost. Not after everything we’d lived.
The Shadow Chamber’s silence swallowed me as I descended the hidden staircase beneath my estate. There was no electricity here, only the natural obscurity that members of House Hades craved. Every single inlaid brick rippled with echoes of lost secrets, the boundary between our world and the Shadow Realm thin enough to touch.
This was where I came when my control fractured. Where I practiced abilities other Houses feared. The walls absorbed every sound, trapping every breath and whisper of movement. It was a tomb, a home, and a training grounds, and I needed it as much as I hated it.
