by P. Jameson
“Okay, then you may leave the ‘omega’ off, and call me Ashla from now on.”
I mostly did that anyway, but having her permission was cute. Ashla. It was a beautiful name. A little sweet, a little spitfire.
The sun was beginning to rise as I led her to the far reaches of my territory where my secret bunker was hidden. The cover of darkness would allow us just enough time to get inside and seal it up before the dust and heat settled over the flat land, erasing whatever scent trail Ashla might leave behind.
I glanced at her in the waning darkness. She wasn’t in heat yet, but I feared she was closer than either of us realized. As we walked, her shoulders sank with each labored step. She was tired, but she hadn’t murmured a single complaint.
“We’re almost there, my little spitfire.”
“We’re close?” she asked. “I don’t see anything.”
I smirked. “If you could see it, it wouldn’t be very well hidden, would it?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Twenty more steps and we were at the marker. A thin Joshua tree shaped like a perfect Y. Kneeling beside it, I brushed the sand away from the base, revealing a small keypad.
“The code is 1002 and my name spelled backwards,” I told her as I quickly unlocked the hatch and let it slide back.
“Whoa,” Ashla murmured as the outer arm of the hatch slid the sand away revealing the inner doors. “Let me guess. It replaces the sand when the door closes?”
I nodded and started down the sturdy ladder. I’d designed this hideout to be like the Badlands heat bunkers… but nicer and more secure. Much more secure.
Reaching up, I took her hand and helped her down the ladder before securing the hatch. I listened for the sand to fill back over the outer doors and only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
Turning, I watched her take in the place as the lights slowly came on. She turned in a full circle, her eyes going wide with surprise.
“This is where you come to shift?”
“I shift as little as possible. I don’t need to often. This is where I come to…” Finishing that sentence was uncomfortable, but I did it anyway. “… to be me.”
Ashla eyed me. “You. Solen, not the general.”
“Yes.”
She looked around again, her gaze slowly roving over the place like a caress. “I’ve never had a place like that. Somewhere to just be… me.”
The Badlands didn’t allow for that kind of freedom, and the truth was, neither did the castle. Both our roles required discipline and the putting aside of wants. War. Tattered society. Prejudice. We all wore masks, some more painful than others.
That was the world we lived in. But for now, we had this.
“You can be yourself here,” I said, and she turned to me with a wry smile.
“I doubt that’s true. I’m used to dirty bunkers and satin sheets. There was never any in between.” She strolled forward, examining the king size bed that took up most of one wall. “They may not be able to hunt me down here, but freedom of any kind is still so far away.”
I disagreed. The king wasn’t as weak as some omegas liked to think. His mating to Zelene wasn’t a move of weakness. It was one of strategy even though his heart chose her. The love they shared only strengthened his resolve.
Aside from that, I knew something no one except the other guards did.
Adalai was working on plans of his own. No doubt whatever he came up with would blow everyone’s expectations out of the fucking water.
Freedom was closer than anyone expected.
Ashla
Chapter Four
“It didn’t have to be this way.” An incredible wave of sadness washed over me as I took in this beautiful bunker. In a way, it was more comfortable than my room at the castle. It wasn’t for show. It was meant to be lived in. Anyone who came here could find comfort.
I wanted that.
It was more than just my heat making me react like this. The first thing an omega learned how to do was build a wall thicker than the one that had shielded Luxoria from the Badlands to protect ourselves from feelings. Always at a disadvantage, any weakness would be exploited.
In the armory, I worked with the strongest alphas that survived the front lines of battle. I’d studied them, and modeled my behavior after them.
I hated it. I was tired of being hard and afraid. A pretty dress and a room at the castle didn’t change that. And this bunker pissed me off. Solen could have fought for us. We all could’ve had this. But instead, he let us suffer.
I shook my head. “It didn’t have to be this way.” This time my voice came out stronger.
“It did, because that’s the way it was. It was a path set into motion long before you and me were in a position to do anything about it,” Solen said, taking a step closer to me like he meant to comfort me. No, not the mighty General Solen. Not Alpha Solen. My mate. We didn’t have to pretend he was something he wasn’t anymore.
“That’s easy for you to say, because look at what you had.” I swept my arm out, madder every time I looked at the room. “What did you have to hide from? We rode out our heats in a dark bunker huddled together on filthy mattresses. The whole time we were there, male omegas in their wolf form pried at the opening, trying to get to us. Sometimes they succeeded.”
A rumble emitted from Solen’s throat. I wanted more than that from him. I wanted him to be pissed off. He needed to know what it really felt like to be an omega.
“Why would you think something like that was supposed to happen?” My tone was as feral as his.
“We can’t change the past.” The man was as impenetrable as the steel that kept us safe. If I had any control over my shift, I’d go full wolf one more time and we could settle this in our animal forms. But he’d best me and once again I’d be expected to submit.
I reminded myself I had the advantage over him. I knew his secret.
“What did you do to get to have this? Do you have some special information about King Adalai that you used to bribe him into giving you status and safety?” This wasn’t just a side agreement. General Solen was in charge of the east. He was in charge of alphas and betas who technically outranked him.
“Say what you mean, Ashla. Did I bribe him for my status?”
“I don’t know. Did you?”
“No.” His adam’s apple bobbed heavily. “Adalai is my cousin. As you know, his mother was also an omega queen. When it came time to divide the territories, my parents pleaded with his father to spare me. They believed I was destined for more, and Adalai agreed. I was raised by castle trainers just like the other generals, and when Adalai became king, he allowed me to prove myself. I worked for my position.”
“But he didn't just give you protection. He made you a general. Gave you your own territory. And it wasn’t even the Badlands.”
“I couldn’t be that close to omegas.” His gaze raked over me like flames. “I couldn’t smell your heat and be able to lead. But that’s not the reason Adalai assigned me the eastern territory. My weaknesses are not his problem. He knew if he gave me such a great responsibility, I would have more than enough motivation to never share my secret.”
“You could've influenced Dagger to advocate for us.”
He shook his head. “Only you and the king know my secret. I couldn’t trust anyone else with that kind of knowledge.”
“You don’t see what you did was wrong.”
He cocked an eyebrow. It was maddening that he didn’t say anything. If we’d had to build a wall around our feelings as omegas, Solen had been forced to rip his emotions away from himself and watch them burn.
No, I would not feel bad for him right now.
“I served my king and protected my territory,” he finally said.
“But you abandoned the Badlands. Your people were suffering—”
“They’re not my people, Ashla.” He was so perfectly frustrating, and it would be much easier to hate him if I didn’t want to rip his uniform away from hi
s body and beg him to ravish me. My animal side was eager to undermine my human side. The calm, cool, and collected omega that everyone overlooked because she was quiet and polite.
They hadn’t given me a chance. But I couldn’t blame everyone else anymore. It was my time to stand up and make things right. I had nothing to lose, but if I made a wrong move, my friends could be driven out of the castle in the name of revolution. My mate’s reputation could be destroyed.
So I couldn’t be reckless.
“You could’ve done something about it.” I took a dangerous step closer to him.
“I am now.” The heat I felt wasn’t mine. It belonged to him. I could drown in his scent and die happy. There was no denying he was my mate. But it wouldn’t be so easy to get him to accept that. To accept what he was and embrace it as a strength and not a weakness. “I can’t change who I was in the past. But one thing I’ve never done is go back on my word. You know a thing or two about that. I said I’d keep you safe. Do you trust me, little spitfire?”
I couldn’t let the cute nickname sway me. If I said no, he might kick me out of the bunker to fend for myself in the desert. Not only was there a bounty on my head, but there were omegas who saw me like I saw Solen. As someone who’d betrayed their own kind when I was offered an opportunity to do better for myself. They’d turn me over to Solen’s army in exchange for whatever they could negotiate.
I knew what it felt like to sell myself short because getting anything was better than what I had. But I held Solen’s fate in my hands. I had to keep reminding myself.
“I’m not sure if I do or not. Why are you helping me now?”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
My heart sunk. I wanted him to embrace what the tension between us would no longer let us ignore. I was his mate. But I’d barely gotten him to admit he was an omega.
Baby steps.
“Do you have any idea who gave the betas the codes to the armory and the castle grounds?” There was a chance he was protecting them.
“I don’t.” A growl slipped out of him. “We have a traitor among us. Someone else knows my secret.”
“If there was any time for you to tell the truth, it’s now.” I waved my arms, hitting the massive wall of muscle that stood in front of me. Another wave of heat went through me. “The betas won’t like it, but if you do it right, you can help unify the city.”
He shook his head. “It won’t be that easy.”
I started pacing again. Nothing had ever been solved by staying still. “Let me get this straight. You think someone working with the king is willing to throw me under the bus to get you to admit your secret.”
“That’s exactly what I think.” He was still stoic, and I was losing my mind.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“I brought you here. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. Relax. Stop pacing.” He put his hands on my shoulders, sending a jolt of electricity shooting through me that practically ignited my core muscles. It was a miracle that his touch didn’t send me into a full blown heat. “Anything your heart desires is yours for the taking here.”
His scent surrounded me, and my mouth watered in anticipation of his promise. “Anything my heart desires?”
He nodded, trying to fight the smile, but he gave in and let one side of his mouth curl up. I was melting his defenses.
“Then what happens? We can’t stay here forever.” I didn’t expect him to have a complete plan. He’d rescued me in my wolf form from the middle of a street fight. But as a general, he was used to thinking of his feet when everything went to shit and lives were on the line. And he couldn’t tell me for a second that being an omega didn’t give him an advantage in that department.
“There are other places I can bring you. The king has a bunker.”
“So you’d rather spend the rest of your life running than let people know what you really are?” It was a slap in the face. “How do I know you won’t turn me in to keep your secret? Because if you do, I have no reason to keep quiet anymore.”
But would I be able to betray my mate, even if it was the only way to save myself?
Solen
Chapter Five
I sat in a thick leather chair across the room, watching Ashla as she slept, sprawled across my bed. She’d finally settled down enough to rest, and that fact gave me great relief. She didn’t think herself fragile right now, and maybe she wasn’t completely. She’d been fine enough to give me the real what-for when we arrived at my bunker. But I saw the way her eyes were swollen and red, the way her shoulders sagged and the slight limp from the blisters on her feet.
She was tired, and on the brink of a heat that could take us both by storm.
Resting was essential.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes. My mind ran wild with everything she’d said. She thought of me as a traitor, just like my inner beast did. She called the omegas my people, but how could they be my people when I’d grown up as an alpha? They weren’t. And it wasn’t because I thought of them as unworthy, though maybe some were. Just like there were unworthy betas and yes, even unworthy alphas.
The omegas weren’t my people because they couldn’t be. Not if I wanted to keep my position. Not if I wanted to serve my king and protect the pack. I’d cut those bonds long ago, and opening them up again would only bring pain to the people around me.
I stared at Ashla.
All the people around me. My army and territory weren’t the only ones who’d pay if my secret was ever discovered.
It was easy for the king and other alpha generals to mate with omega females, to commit to them for life. Because those men actually were alphas. I was a poser, and my fakery ran deep. All the way to my soul. It had to be that way for me to survive in a place I didn’t belong. There’d been no room for feeling attachment. It meant giving up my parents, my friends, life as I knew it.
I died that day.
The real me, the Solen who was born to a hardworking but highly respected omega family was gone and a new Solen rose in his place. One who didn’t love anyone. Didn’t need anyone. One who bled and fought and ruled… because that’s what alphas do.
Now the dead wanted to be resurrected. I was coming unraveled, and it was because of the little omega female sleeping in my bed.
I’d seen this coming the moment Adalai set his sights on Zelene. When he mated her and made her queen, I’d resisted as much as I could. And gods help me, but it was for this reason right here.
My past intersecting with my present. The dead me threatening to come alive again. Who would I be in this new reality Adalai was creating for our kingdom?
I couldn’t look away from my mate as she dozed. Ashla was beautiful. Especially here, in my domain. Her dark locks were messy and splayed across the white pillow. Long lashes rested on her cheeks. Full lips pouted slightly, letting me know she was completely relaxed. Her form was curvy in all the right places, and her smile, the way it gripped my heart in a vice—even though I couldn’t see it now—made me hard enough to rut.
I could fall so in love with her if I was the old me. The dead me. The omega me.
But opening myself to those feelings meant opening myself to all feelings. Including the ones that I shut away when I became an alpha. When I became a traitor.
I forced my gaze away from her and walked to the small office area that was cordoned off by nothing more than a long desk. The portable computer that sat there was a direct line to the king, and it was time for me to update him.
I sighed, lowering myself into the chair slowly as not to make any noise. I didn’t want to wake Ashla when she was finally sleeping. Giving her one last look to make sure she was sound, I began typing my message to Adalai.
My territory was compromised. Have taken the package to a safer location. Awaiting your instruction.
He’d know what I meant by safer location, though even he didn’t know exactly where this place was. No one did, and it would remain that way.
I stared at the screen, waiting for an answer but not expecting it to come so quickly.
The castle is secure, Adalai replied, and my heart sank. Would he ask me to bring Ashla back? It wasn’t safe yet. Not for me, and especially not for her. The mole needed to be uncovered first.
Quickly, another message came through. The resistance is contained, for now. Stay where you are until I send word. Updates daily.
I blew out a breath as relief hit me hard. Here, she was safe, like I’d promised she would be.
Understood, I wrote back.
Leaning back in the chair, I let my eyes drift closed. I was damn tired, and for the first time since leaving my outpost, I felt safe enough to rest. The castle was holding their ground. Ashla was hidden. The beta resistance was temporarily quiet. If sleep was going to come, it would be now or never. The leather chair was more comfortable than the desk chair but I couldn’t find the energy to switch.
I began to drift off, when I was jerked awake by a sound that shot straight to my cock. Ashla whimpered, demanding all my attention as I opened my eyes to find her still fast asleep in my bed. I stood from the desk, staring at her as if I could will that sound into existence again. But she remained silent.
I approached the bed, realizing it was a stupid idea when her sultry scent filled my nostrils. Her heat was growing stronger. It would be upon us soon and the idea of meeting her need made my chest tighten with pride. She was mine to care for, and I would see her through this.
But first, we would sleep. Sleep until we couldn’t anymore. Because when the heat came, there’d only be rutting and carnal need that would keep us up for three days straight. I licked my lips, already imagining what she tasted like.
Kicking off my boots, I shed my coat at the same time, leaving my uniform pants in place. I didn’t want her freaking out about nakedness when she found me so close. Peeling back the covers, I slid into the bed beside her, keeping some space between us. Not enough and too much at the same time. This way, I was near if she needed me. When she needed me.
Knowing I’d be cooling her heat in the most primal way, and that we could do so freely, safely, without interference was enough to lull me to sleep. Mate is safe, my wolf chuffed inside, more settled than it had ever been before.
