His eyes dug into me. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Dagger crawled onto the bed and laid on his side, head propped up on his hand, watching. His other hand was on that gloriously hard cock. My inner muscles pulsed every time I caught sight of it.
Giving the blankets one final push, I snuggled beside him. “It’s perfect now.”
“I want this to feel like your home, Tavia. You’re safe here.”
“I don’t know about that.” I kissed him, and reached between him so I could put my hand over his on his shaft. His moan vibrated against my naked body. “But I feel safe with you.”
He pushed me onto my back and his head fell to my chest. His hair tickled my skin and he sucked long and hard on one nipple and then the other. My legs curled around his hips, pulling him down to me which made us both laugh.
It felt so good. I wanted to share this feeling with all my omegas. Not Dagger, because my mate belonged to me, but this happiness. They didn’t have to go to the human keep to get it. They could stay in Luxoria and live the life they wanted.
I said a quick prayer that tomorrow’s announcement would be well received. But all thoughts of anything outside this room evaporated as Dagger pushed his cock inside me. Rocking his hips, he thrust urgently, and I loved the way he felt as he moved against my inner muscles, and the swell of his shaft as he knotted me.
“Someday you’ll be swollen with my baby,” he said as I pulsed around his knot, milking his seed from him. He groaned. “And you’ll teach her to be as fierce as her mama.”
I had a smart reply, but my orgasm overtook everything, crashing into me like a tidal wave. My body curled off the bed and I gripped the blankets of our nest.
We lay together panting, recovering from our climax, and the only place to go was down. But maybe, just maybe, there was another way.
***
“Why aren’t you wearing a gown? You don’t have to dress like that anymore.” Zelene frowned at my leather outfit.
“It makes me feel powerful.” I stood out like a sore thumb among my friends. If it weren’t for the crutches, Zelene would look like someone painted her. Her dress was navy silk that faded to sky blue at the bottom of the full skirt. The jewel on her neck was worth more than what every omega in the Badlands owned combined, but I knew she wasn’t wearing it to flaunt her newfound wealth. It was her way of letting people know that anything was possible. For all of us.
Which was why I chose the military uniform for the announcement.
“Where’s Charolet?” I asked. I realized I hadn’t seen her since we returned to Luxoria.
“She said she wasn’t coming.” Rielle tugged at her emerald green dress. “Said she needs to prepare for the backlash of the king’s speech.”
“We probably should’ve invited some omegas to stand with us, so it doesn’t look so much like us against them.” Ashla eyed the gathering crowd with trepidation. “What would we have thought about this during The Division?”
“That whatever the king said would be total bullshit and no matter what, we were on our own.” I sighed, wondering how much had changed. Dagger wasn’t confident about this speech either. But this time, I knew he was on our side. It wouldn’t comfort the girls, but it comforted me. In time, he’d prove himself to them.
The king’s guard walked out in perfect formation. Three in front of him, and Cassian and Dagger walking behind. No matter what, Adalai was safe. Once they took their places on the balcony, Zelene nodded for us to join them.
I was proud of her. She was showing the king what it meant to compromise.
Adalai stepped to the podium. “Citizens of Luxoria, The Badlands, and the lands of the north, east, and western borders, I welcome you. Today we are all one.”
I eyed Zelene as groans rose from the crowd. “Do you know what he’ll say?” I whispered.
She nodded. “He wasn’t setting foot on this balcony until I approved the speech.”
Good girl. Which meant if he went off script, he’d betray us all.
Adalai cleared his throat. “Recently, we’ve experienced omegas disappearing from their home territory of the Badlands. We had reason to believe these omegas were in danger, and we sent our best men and women—alpha and omega—to bring them home. We were prepared to fight for them.” The crowd seemed to hold their breath. “But we discovered the omegas who reside in the human keep are not in danger. Therefore we’ve allowed them to remain there.” That was a creative take on the truth, but the important thing was that he admitted he was wrong. Alphas—kings—didn’t do that.
Outrage swelled among the people. Zelene’s eyes grew wide, and Rielle grasped Ashla’s arm. Why did I have a feeling Charolet was down there, leading the charge?
Adalai waved his hands, signaling for the gathering to quiet, but they didn’t listen. “Luxoria continues to recognize the Badlands as equal,” he ground out, his frustration showing. “If you choose to align with us, you have our protection.”
With that, he walked away from the podium.
“Wait a minute,” I said as he passed by my stunned sister, his queen, and her court. “What does that mean for the omegas who choose not to follow him?”
Chapter Nineteen
Dagger
I followed the king off the balcony, avoiding Tavia’s stare when we passed by. The sound of unhappy omegas below told me this was going sideways fast.
Adalai stooped over his desk, fists clenched in frustration.
“That didn’t go over well,” Evander said.
“Yes, I’m aware,” the king snapped.
The queen and her court filed in silently while the chants below demanded change. Zelene went to Adalai, letting her hand fall on his tense shoulder, and I watched as he deflated. I knew the power of the mating bond now. How it could soothe every rough edge, strengthen any weak spots.
“You have to do better than this,” I said, speaking out of turn for the first time in too long.
Adalai looked at me, his expression no longer that of a king staring down from lofty places. This time, he was one of us. Just a Weren trying to figure out how to survive in this reality, trying to know the right thing to do.
“Do you want them to stay?” I continued. “Do you want a unified pack, like you said? That’s what this boils down to.”
“Of course I do.”
“Breaking The Division isn’t enough. Telling them they’re no longer servants isn’t enough. Promising things will change… isn’t enough.”
The king straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared at me, gaze calculating, before he ordered, “Everyone leave us.”
There was mumbled shock, but they obeyed, slowly filing out of the room. My gaze snagged on Tavia’s concerned expression. I let my eyes take her in, every detail, in case it was my last time to see her. Then I nodded for her to go.
My gut told me this was a defining moment in our pack. Whatever happened now, decided everything. Because the kingdom wouldn’t survive another half-assed attempt at satisfying the bruised and battered. And if the king meant to have my head as a symbol of his power… if he couldn’t see the value in change… then so be it. I wasn’t afraid to fight for a cause. Or die for it.
The king was at crossroads, but I’d already made my choice. There were two roads, two possibilities.
One…
The omegas would rise up.
The humans, however temporary, would be their allies.
And the Kingdom of Luxoria would fall.
Or two…
He could be the man who loved an omega. The one who would change for the greater good. Keep his word and put muscle behind it. He could be the greatest king our pack had ever seen.
“Are you prepared to commit treason, Dagger?”
I eyed my friend, my king. “If that’s what has to be done, yes.”
Adalai sighed, looking wistfully toward the balcony. “You gave me such shit over Zelene, and now look at you.”
“I gave you shit beca
use you broke rules I’d been wanting to break for too long.” This brought his gaze back to me. “I never liked seeing them suffer. A few wrong moves and I could have been on the other side of that gate.”
“I know. Why do you think I gave you the Badlands post?”
I frowned. “Because no one else wanted it.”
He nodded. “But also because you were the most equipped to handle them.”
The most equipped. “Because of my raising?”
“Yes.” He sighed, once more looking to the balcony where the chants for justice grew louder. “I don’t understand them. Don’t know how to see things from their point of view. I try. Fuck knows, I try. And not only for Zelene’s sake.” The queen was pregnant with a royal heir. I knew Adalai didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of his father. “But it proves impossible.”
“It isn’t easy to understand what you haven’t experienced. And no one in this city has been where the omegas have. As low as the omegas have.”
“No,” the king agreed, “but the humans understand them. They knew what to do, what to say, to appease them. They knew how to procure their loyalty. Tell me, friend, how can a human understand our people better than their own king?”
I thought about that, but the answer wasn’t an easy one. “Pride doesn’t hold them back. They have nothing to prove.”
Adalai nodded, eyes narrowed, thinking. “You’re right, Dagger. Giving omegas their freedom wasn’t enough. The humans offered them something that meant more than just breaking chains.”
My chest burned with the answer I’d known since the very day we faced Renaldo in the human keep.
“Power,” I whispered. “They made them strong.”
The king stared at me, and I could see the cogs turning in his mind. “The omegas need their power back.”
I swallowed the emotion in my throat, feeling like a proud brother watching him learn a hard lesson instead of a disgraced general who might be ending his career.
“Come with me,” he said, stalking to the balcony and leaving me no choice but to obey.
Stepping out onto the landing, he headed straight for the microphone without even an ounce of the usual fanfare. Shit, this was dangerous, with only myself to act as guard. I scanned the crowd looking for any threat, but their attention was on the king.
“I hear your complaints today. Your frustration is warranted. But I’m not done. I have more to say.” The crowd quieted at the unusual announcement. “It’s true that the humans have turned omegas into mutant soldiers for their cause. What none of us knew until now, is that those omegas went willingly.”
A tumultuous roar rose from the people. No doubt they thought this was just more excuses. Behind us, the office doors flew open and I could hear Evander curse. “What the fuck is he doing?”
Adalai ignored it all.
“They went to the humans willingly, out of desperation. Because your cries for help were falling on my deaf fucking ears.” This time, the sounds from below were filled with shocked gasps. “But no more. I’ve promised to bring your missing home. I can’t do that, but there is something I will do.”
Adalai paused, turning to me.
“I decree there will no longer be a general over the Badlands. Instead, Dagger and his omega mate, Tavia, will become your representatives. They will speak to your needs, represent the Badlands on the King’s Council. Never again will your grievances go unheard.”
The hum of surprise flickered over the crowd and I blinked as Adalai’s words finally hit home. I looked around for Tavia. She stared at the king wide-eyed before tearing her gaze away to find me.
But the king wasn’t done.
“The first order of business will be rebuilding the Badlands. No more shacks. Our people will be safe. All of our people. Sturdy homes that are comfortable. A boundary for protection from outsiders. Food and gardens aplenty.”
“Lies!” someone shouted from below. A single voice. One I recognized. Charolet. “Empty promises, as always.”
Several onlookers nodded, but the rest of the crowd was quiet.
“King’s Oath,” Adalai boomed. “These things will begin tomorrow, under the direction of your new representatives. As I said before, stay or go. Your choice. But I intend to make the Badlands…” he leaned forward, forgetting the microphone, fists clenched on the iron rail, “… a force to be reckoned with!”
Roars of approval blazed into the dimming sky.
“Powerful.” He raised his fist to the air and the crowd grew louder. “Invincible. You’ve more than earned your place among our kingdom. Long live the omegas!”
I stared at my mate across the space of the balcony. The glow in her eyes was unmistakable. Pride and excitement and love. For her people, but also for me.
Turning, I found King Adalai staring at me. “You were meant for this,” he said. “This is your place. In between the untouchable royals and the untamable omegas. Your pride in the kingdom and your pride in them, your dual loyalties will serve you well. Serve us all well.”
For once, the in between didn’t seem like a failure. It didn’t feel like wasted time or hopelessness. It felt right. It felt necessary.
I’d found my place.
Bowing my head to the king, I accepted my new position before reaching for Tavia’s hand. I pulled her to my side and faced the crowd below. “Long live the omegas,” she whispered under her breath.
But I took her words as my own.
I kissed her hand before lifting it high in the air. “Long live the omegas!” I roared.
“Long live the omegas!”
Epilogue
Charolet
I’d never get used to seeing Tavia in the uniform of the Royal Army. The leather felt like a second skin to me, and I ripped it off the first chance I got. The ridiculously ornate dresses that Zelene wore to match her crown didn’t suit me, either.
I was omega to the bone. Give me burlap and linen.
Not feeling welcome in the castle, I chose to listen to the king’s announcement on the streets, with my people.
A piece of me missed what used to be. The five of us living together in that horrible shack. I missed my friends, and the unity we shared in fighting the same battle. What were we now? Who were we now?
I was omega, and they were something else. I wouldn’t ever belong here.
That was why I was leaving.
After the announcement that Tavia and Dagger had been appointed to represent the Badlands, she’d come to join her people in the crowd. I waited my turn to hug her.
Only weeks ago, this declaration would’ve been unimaginable. Dagger, the one we blamed for all our troubles. The king seemed removed, like he didn’t even know the omegas existed. Much less gave a shit about us. But Dagger had listened to our problems and ignored them. He’d had so many chances to prove himself already.
Tavia would argue he was misunderstood. She’d dreamed of revolution too. But now she was his mate, willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Let him atone for his sins.
Not all of us were so forgiving.
I shifted from foot to foot, feeling anxious. Rielle and Ashla were hogging my girl’s attention.
“How are you, Char?” Zelene hobbled over to me on her crutches. She’d suffered a broken leg the night she was crowned queen, fighting the mutant wolves that were now apparently no big deal. I’d seen the happy omegas in the human keep with my own eyes, but it didn’t answer the questions of the wolves we knew were taken against their will, and experimented on and sent back to fight against their own people. Jacoby said it was the price of war, but I had trouble believing the people I called friends could so quickly turn on their homeland.
Perhaps the humans weren’t our enemy after all. Or maybe it was an enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend situation. But something wasn’t adding up on either end, and the problem was the omegas were stuck in the middle.
When shit hit the fan, it would be omegas that paid the cost.
“I’m proud of my best frien
d,” I finally answered Zelene.
“That’s not what I asked. How are you?” She took another hop closer to me, smiling tentatively. “This is what we dreamed about for so long, laying in the desert and looking up at the sky. Wishing on falling stars.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so romantic now that you found a mate.”
“It will happen for you too.” Tavia wiggled in between her sister and me and swallowed me in a hug, rocking me back and forth. “I saw the way Cassian was looking at you in the desert.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. Cassian, who smirked when I wore my frustration on my sleeve. Cassian, who fought the scent of Tavia’s heat to prove he wasn’t a letch. Cassian, who looked really damn fine in leather pants.
Cassian, Cassian, Cassian…
No, I couldn’t be swayed. I’d made my decision. I could find a mate anywhere…
But you only have one fated mate. Oh, shut up, wolf. My mind was made up.
“You were high on your heat,” I said, brushing off the implication. Mine was approaching too. I couldn’t bear the thought of another heat in that horrible bunker, praying I beat the omega wolves to safety. “You thought everyone looked good.”
Tavia pulled back, but she didn’t let me go. “I’ve got big plans, Char. All the stuff we’ve been talking about for so long. Now it can be real. We can rebuild the Badlands. Anyone who’s interested in staying, we can make sure they have a good job with real pay. We’ll open food stands with fresh food. Not scraps from the castle. And no more gruel.” She made a gagging face and then eyed me suspiciously. “Why aren’t you excited about this.”
“I want to go back to the human keep.” I’d rehearsed saying those words so many times in my head. Like, pretty much the whole time I followed her and Dagger back to the Badlands.
“But Char, you’ll be my right-hand woman. No one will fight harder for the Badlands than us.”
“That’s exactly it. I’m tired of fighting.” Tears stung my eyes. No, I couldn’t cry. It would start a chain reaction and I wouldn’t put Tavia at a disadvantage by looking weak in front of the skeptical people she’d promised to lead. “I can’t stop thinking about Jacoby. How happy he was. How he didn’t want to come back. And I can’t lie, if you didn’t start your heat in the human keep, I might’ve stayed there.”
His Defiant Omega (The Royal Omegas Book 2) Page 10
