by Zoey Ellis
She began to climb out of the nest more to spend time sitting at the wall-wide window, behind the curtain. The city beyond the forest had changed from the time she first looked out at it. Broken buildings had been knocked down or mended, the general cream coloring of the buildings had been decorated with patterns of red or black, marking it as Lox Empire. Cailyn stared out at it, wondering how long she had actually been in the room.
One day, Drocco lifted the curtain and sat next to her with a small plate, watching the city as he passed her fruit. They had remained in silence for most of the time since he had tried to strangle her, and she hadn’t forced any kind of conversation for fear of breaking the contentment she so desperately needed at the time. But now that there were questions on her tongue, she didn’t know how to phrase what she wanted to say.
“You have been very thoughtful lately,” Drocco said, his eyes on the city.
Cailyn glanced at him. “How long have I been here?” she asked tentatively, taking an orange segment.
“Does it matter?”
Cailyn shrugged. Maybe it didn’t. “I’m wondering what your plans are for me.”
Drocco held out an apple chunk. “It’s not important. I’m looking after you, that’s all you need to know.”
Cailyn took the fruit. “Looking after me by keeping me captive?”
Drocco turned to look at her. “Is there anything you are lacking?”
“My freedom.”
Drocco placed the plate down next to him and pulled her onto his lap, keeping her facing the city. “You think you want that, but you don’t.”
Cailyn tensed. “You can’t tell me what I want.”
Drocco’s hand slipped between her thighs. “I can.”
Cailyn huffed, squeezing her thighs together but failing to trap his hand as his fingers climbed higher.
“You are easier to read than you think,” he murmured into her ear, his fingers brushing gently against her pussy. “I can detect your moods, I can tell what you need and when you need it. I know what you like… what you dislike… your preferences.”
“I preferred it when you were silent,” she snapped. “As soon as you open your mouth, you spoil things.”
He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, lowering to press his nose against her neck. “I know you don’t want it to be true, but that is the benefit of being in close proximity to your Alpha.”
“Just because you can tell when my body is aroused doesn’t mean you know what I want,” Cailyn replied, evenly. “And it doesn’t mean you’re my Alpha.”
His mouth moved up her neck. “Did you know you purr in your sleep?”
Cailyn jolted in surprise. She twisted in his grip to look at him. “W-what?”
Drocco relaxed his hold on her, staring back into her eyes, a slight smirk on his face. “You would not purr if you wanted to leave. You would not purr for an Alpha that isn’t yours. You would not nest with me if you weren’t preparing for a life with me, Cailyn. You are content here.”
Cailyn stared at him in shock. Omegas at the Compound never purred. It was something they only did with or for their chosen Alphas. “No,” she whispered.
A flash of irritation crossed Drocco’s face. He lifted his head to look at the city, but his jaw was hard. “No what, Cailyn?”
Cailyn swallowed. She turned back to look at the city too, her thoughts racing. She remembered now. Generally, nesting Omegas were preparing a place for their pregnancy, but it could also be a place they created to simply feel safe. Yes. That’s what she had done. He had tortured her after all. As for her purring… “I don’t know if that’s true, Drocco.”
“You don’t have to know.” His fingers played with her lazily and she tried not to be distracted by her body’s response. “You just have to listen to your body. When you do, you will feel the instinct to purr. Just like I felt when to do it for you.”
Cailyn was speechless. There it was. She was being primed into letting her body’s natural instincts take over her natural thoughts, something he knew she didn’t want, and she had been allowing it to happen, distracted by the comfort of his purr and the pleasure he wrecked on her. A small part of her wondered if it really was a terrible thing. She had been content over these past… however long it was, hadn’t she?
No. It hadn’t been real. She had been distressed to the point of suicide and had suffered through his attempt to murder her. His purr would, of course, force her to cling to him and he had manipulated her with that knowledge. Furthermore, he was an Emperor. How could he be spending day after day with her without needing to leave and tend to his Empire? He had a plan to bring her to heel. He was manipulating her—even now, with his hand between her legs as he discussed this.
“Cailyn,” he murmured, kissing her ear as his fingers zeroed in on her clit. “I know you don’t like being called kitten, but you should know, your purr is very… cute.”
Cailyn gritted her teeth against the tingling sensations building in her. “It’s not real.”
Drocco’s fingers froze. “What?”
“It’s not real. You are the first and only man I’ve been with—the only Alpha. My Omega impulses are all over the place. They can’t be trusted.”
Drocco was silent for a long while. “You don’t want to trust them,” he growled accusingly. “You have never wanted to trust them.”
“I’m just trying to point out that you cannot keep assuming you are my Alpha. You are most likely mistaken.”
Drocco’s whole body tensed. “You still deny it?”
“Yes.”
Drocco pushed Cailyn off of his lap and stood abruptly. She watched him stalk to the other side of the bedroom and pull clothes out of the closet to dress.
“Where are you going?” she asked, alarmed. If he was getting dressed, that meant he was leaving.
“I’m tired of all this denial,” he hollered, yanking on his shirt. “I’m going to find a Beta female to fuck. One who will submit willingly and beg me to bond with her.”
Cailyn narrowed her eyes and slowly got up, a sudden heat flaring all over her body. “If you leave, you will not come back in my nest.”
“I will fuck you whenever I want,” Drocco shot back. “And you will want me because that’s how your body always responds, even though it supposedly can’t be trusted.” He pulled on his boots. “If you don’t want to claim me, you will not mind sharing.”
Cailyn trembled with a rage so intense, her mind had only one focus. She stepped toward him, slowly crossing the room, her fists clenched. “If you fuck another female, I will kill you.”
Drocco stilled, his gaze intensifying as he took her in. His nostrils flared and something changed in his eyes. He turned and strode to the door.
Cailyn ran toward him, determined to rip his fucking face off, but the door slammed behind him before she got there. A hot, white fury seared through her and she shrieked a string of curses as she pounded the door with all her might. Then she turned on the room and destroyed everything she could reach, screaming and yelling obscenities in her anguish.
By the time she calmed, the room was an absolute wreck. Water and food were splattered everywhere, the bed was a mess, the table and chairs were overturned and even part of the curtain limped from its rail.
Cailyn sat in the middle of the room, tormented by the idea of Drocco with another woman. She sobbed and rocked, trying to reason with herself that it didn’t matter, but it did. He would come back to her smothered with another woman’s scent, and she would still open her legs for him. He knew it. And she couldn’t deny that her extreme reaction aligned with his theories. She had become emotionally attached to him somehow. She wanted him for herself, everything about him. Not just his tongue, his cock, his husky purr, or those liquid jet-black eyes, she also wanted his laugh, his dominance, his thundering demands… she wanted him. The monster she had always despised—that she still despised. When had it come to this?
She crawled to the strewn blankets of her nest and fou
nd the one most saturated with his scent before curling up on it, her tears still spilling down her cheeks.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DROCCO
Drocco stood on the other side of his bedroom door listening to his Omega’s jealous rage. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever heard, and he desperately wanted to storm back in and fuck her senseless.
He knew for certain now that he did not want a submissive Omega. When Cailyn had threatened him, her voice low and possessive, her eyes flashing, her body ready to pounce, he almost came in his pants. She was tiny and yet had outright threatened him if he lay with another. A submissive woman wouldn’t have dared; they might have cried, or become emotionally distressed, but none would have threatened him like a warrior, as Cailyn had, nor charged at him like they could actually do damage. It turned him on more than anything she had done so far—and that was a feat in itself since her every action, and every sound, made him hard.
As she quietened, he forced himself to move away from the door and head to Torin’s office. His plan was working, and now he had to be careful not to spoil it with his own eagerness.
He navigated down the corridor, feeling slightly strange to suddenly be out of the four walls he had been in for so long. His time spent in the room with Cailyn had been more satisfying than anything he had ever experienced. He hadn’t missed anything outside of the bedroom; she gave him everything he needed. He could understand everything his grandfather had said, and even what the head keeper had told him. Cailyn drew out every part of him that made him an Alpha—parts of him he had never accessed before. There were things he instinctively knew and did for her that he had never done before, like purr. He hadn’t cared, tried, or known how to even attempt to do it before, but Cailyn’s distress and subsequent desire for it had made it a natural occurrence.
Their sexual connection had been restored and had flourished. When she gave in to her desires, she teased and enticed him deliciously, yet submitted to him more wonderfully than he could have hoped. She touched him more, melted into his kiss, and urged him on when he was rough. She loved having him in her mouth, and her eagerness made her inexperience inconsequential. She came hardest when he pinned her down securely, against the bed, the floor, the table, the wall—any surface—and took her like a fucking animal. He had never been able to be so wild, so free, with any other. It both settled and strengthened him in a way he couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
She was made for him, which he already knew. She hadn’t smiled for him properly yet, but that would come. Soon she would have to admit her emotional attachment to him and declare him hers. Her sleepy, sexy, trill of a purr proved it. However, even if she still continued to deny it, it didn’t matter. He could tell her Haze was close. He had scented the sweet hint of it in her anger before he left. Hopefully, if he left her seething, she would be primed to go into her Haze not long after he returned. In her Haze, she would tell him everything he wanted to know and he would be able to breed her. The Haze was the perfect solution to everything and was what he had been waiting for.
When he arrived at Torin’s office, a servant redirected him to the main meeting room.
“Drocco,” Torin said surprised, as Drocco entered. “This is a pleasant surprise.” Torin stood by the back wall with a couple of Talent-crafters. He had grown a light dusting of stubble on his face, making him look older and somewhat fiercer.
“How long has it been?” Drocco asked, sitting at the large table in the middle of the room.
“Nearly three months,” Torin said. He sniffed and then smirked. “It seems like things are going well.”
Drocco grinned. “Indeed. Anything I should know?”
Torin sobered. “Malloron.”
Drocco clenched his jaw. “What about him?”
“He has been persistent—sending letters and insisting meetings with you.”
“What happened to his threat to withdraw his offer?”
“I don’t know. Every time we speak he refuses to discuss anything unless you are present.”
Drocco took note of Torin’s position in the room and the Talent-crafters against the back wall. “You’re meeting with him now?”
Torin nodded. “In the next few minutes.”
“You are still allowing portals to come into the Palace?” Drocco asked, harshly.
“Lox crafters are controlling it, Drocco,” Torin insisted. “They are the ones creating the portal now. Malloron has no control.”
Drocco glanced at the Talent-crafters. Torin had always been the cautious and careful one—it was doubtful he would do something that would put them in danger.
Drocco stood up. “I will speak with him.”
Torin hesitated. “I don’t think that is wise.”
“I am the Emperor, and it is me he has requested. I’ll find out what he wants.”
“You have just come from your Omega’s nest, Drocco,” Torin pointed out. “I don’t think it’s wise for you to speak to him immediately after seeing her. He isn’t that important.”
Drocco narrowed his eyes. “How many times do I need to repeat myself with you, Torin?”
Torin sighed and looked him over. “All right. Just remember that he is likely to be frustrated that you have not been available for the last few meetings.”
Drocco nodded. “Understood.”
“We’re ready, Commander,” the nearest Talent-crafter called.
Torin told Drocco where to stand and how to signal to the Talent-crafters when he wanted to end the meeting.
“Ready?” Torin asked.
Drocco nodded.
The Talent-crafters closed their eyes, their hands clasped, and a thin sheet of glistening magic appeared in the air before him and slowly morphed, many brilliant colors jumping within it until the center cleared to reveal Malloron in his rich clothing.
Malloron’s eyes widened in surprise. It seemed he hadn’t expected to see Drocco either.
“Greetings, King Malloron,” Drocco began. “May Eiros thrive and be weal—”
“Is it true you have an Omega?” Malloron demanded, leaning forward.
Drocco nodded. “Yes.”
Malloron stared him for a moment, his dark eyes wild, before leaning back in his chair and composing himself. “Congratulations, Emperor. I take back all insinuations I made that you would not be able to do it.”
Drocco simply dipped his head. “I appreciate it. Is that the only reason for the urgency for us to talk? I assume you realize by now that I will not be agreeing to your terms.”
Malloron lifted his head in a slow nod. “Yes, I realize.” He was silent for a moment. “I believe I can offer something else.”
“Like what?”
“Your Omega’s obedience.”
Drocco tensed, a snarl forming on his face. “Speak again, King Malloron. And I advise you to be careful which words you choose to repeat.”
“It’s no secret that you have had trouble with your Omega, Emperor,” Malloron said, shrugging. “I can help you.”
Drocco could barely contain his anger. Malloron couldn’t know unless someone from inside the Palace had been watching Drocco and sending Malloron updates. There were still spies within the Palace. He glared at Malloron, wishing the man was really in front of him. He would love to drive his axe through the man’s brain and be rid of him.
“It’s no secret, Emperor,” Malloron repeated, a gleam in his dark eyes. “You don’t need to look at me so murderously. The entire Eastern Lands is discussing it. They say you have stormed out of your room numerous times, left her alone for days, and failed to breed her in her Haze. I’m sure they have most of the details wrong, but whatever the reason is that you have not breeded her yet, I can help you.”
“I will not discuss my Omega with you,” Drocco growled. “If you dare bring her up again—”
“You cannot be selfish,” Malloron said, his voice harsh. “Your Omega represents much for all of us. Your warriors might be too afraid to say it, but I’m not. It
has been four or five months since you’ve had her. You have neither breeded her nor discovered where the other Omegas are. Those two things are your only responsibilities, and you are failing them.”
Drocco roared, a vicious rage charging through him as he stepped closer to the portal. Torin tried to call his attention, but he barely saw the movement in the corner of his eye. “You have no right to comment on my Omega or my responsibilities, you fuck! You’re not even within my Empire. I owe you nothing. The only Alphas that can demand anything from me are my warriors and you are not among them! You are never to request another meet—”
“I apologize,” Malloron said, holding up his palms. “I apologize, Emperor. Please forgive me.”
Drocco breathed heavy, his fingers itching for his axe, but his anger quickly quietened when he noticed that Malloron remained calm and collected. A horrible feeling came over him as he stared at the other Alpha.
Malloron had been trying to goad him into saying something revealing. Clearly, he hadn’t gotten what he wanted otherwise he wouldn’t have apologized so quickly, but Drocco’s reaction must have told him something. Drocco glanced at Torin, whose expression was grim.
“I have a proposition for you, Emperor Drocco,” Malloron said, quickly. “Hear me out and then I’ll never contact you or request anything from you again.” He continued speaking, not giving Drocco the chance to respond. “I will give you, or your Talent-crafters, the ability to get your Omega to reveal the location of the other Omegas, in a painless, easy way. She won’t even remember having told you.”
