Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 68699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
"Please listen to me," Corday grew urgent, afraid to scare her off should he say the wrong thing. "Let's talk this through. The best thing you can do right now is grow stronger. "
"I intend to." She nodded, knowing he misunderstood. "Shepherd once told me there is no good in the people of Thólos. He was wrong. This occupation has stripped away our pretenses; it has made us naked to our nature. Don't you see? Integrity, kindness—it exists here…" Claire closed her eyes, nestled nearer once again. "You, Corday, are a good man."
He didn't hesitate to pull her flush. "And you're a good woman."
Resting her cheek on his shoulder, she sighed. She might have been a good woman once, but the truth was, she was not a person anymore. She was a shadow.
"I want you to know that while you were gone, we uncovered the distributors of the counterfeit heat-suppressants. Omegas were rescued. They are recovering and protected. The drugs were destroyed; every last man paid for his crimes."
There was a flutter in Claire's chest, a moment of feeling she tore to pieces before it might infect her. "Thank you, Corday."
"You are a part of that, you know?" Boyish eagerness, a desire to see Claire pleased, infected his grin. "Your determination—you fought for them. They have you to thank for their freedom."
"I didn't do anything but get raped and cry about it."
"You're wrong." Corday took her cheek, made her meet his eye. "You stood up to the biggest monster of them all. You have escaped him twice now. You are strong, Claire."
But she wasn't. "No… you don't understand. The pair-bond, the pregnancy… I started to care for him, to need him." Saying it out loud made her mouth taste of vomit. "I was weak."
Corday knew none of that was her fault. "Given the circumstances, what happened was only natural."
"I don't know what it was… but it was. I stopped seeing a monster and wanted the attention of the man. And once he'd persuaded my affection, he made it the world's sickest joke. I should be grateful, I guess. Listening to him with her… it ripped the pair-bond out. He can't control me now."
The total lack of emotion in Claire's voice disturbed Corday. Whatever Shepherd had done had damaged the Omega, and a part of him wondered if every expression she was making was only because she was supposed to remember things like breathing and blinking.
Oblivious to the apprehension in her friend, Claire continued. "I get it now. This breach was not about gaining power. We're his puppets, falling rabid at the snap of his fingers. We dance on his stage. Shepherd, his Followers, they're punishing us all for…" she scoffed under her breath, "for blind ignorance. For allowing what was done to them."
"You are free of him, of his lies, and his evil, Claire. Remember that."
"The Dome is cracked. It's snowing outside. Not frost, real snow. We are not free of him, not when we let that happen. We let this all happen."
"We can take back Thólos."
Claire's breath hitched. "Not so long as he is alive."
"Your Omega escaped through a broken drainage gate. Blood on the scene shows the direction in which she fled and that her bearing was not affected by broken legs. The trail was lost when she slid below mid-level and moved out over accumulating sludge."
"How much blood?" Shepherd demanded, skimming the report in his hand for anything relevant.
"Considering the distance she fell, minimal. Internal bleeding may be an issue."
His unforgiving gunmetal glare caught the light. Impatient, Shepherd growled, "She has not eaten in almost a week. She will not have been able to manage a great distance malnourished, shoeless, and bleeding."
"Was she suffering from morning sickness?"
Shepherd turned toward his desk, his attention going back to the report. "Hunger strike."
Jules, unsurprised by such a statement, remained blank. "When she is returned, what are your expectations of Miss O'Donnell?"
Exceedingly irate, Shepherd hissed, "For her to resume her duty as my mate."
Only psychological damage would lead a pregnant, pair-bonded Omega to hunger strike and jump off a building in madness. Jules grew blunt. "And if that's not possible? Whom do you intend to serve as surrogate Alpha to see to her until she delivers your heir?"
Muscles straining, Shepherd warned, "You presume much, Jules. She will be returned and her behavior corrected."
Jules was second-in-command for a good reason—he was shrewd and willing to act. Employing candor, he stated, "Without physical contact the Omega will willingly accept, she may miscarry."
Shepherd was not to be gainsaid by man or woman. His final order was issued. "You are dismissed."
Grasping that the situation was beyond his original assessment, Jules saluted and removed himself from the room.
Shepherd took to his desk, alone. Memorizing the reports flashing on his COMscreen, every so often he habitually glanced behind him, expecting to see Claire pacing. But she was not there. She was gone… He knew in his bones that his mate had sought out the noble man who had offered help. The Beta would take her in, tend her, comfort her, touch her. The very idea another might hold her… act as a surrogate… infuriated him.