Lust really made people blind.
One of the alphas got too close, grew cocky, and lunged for Shiloh. The blade slashed across his throat, a gush of hot crimson spurting out to coat Shiloh’s face.
He hardly felt the spray, already turning his back on the gurgling, dying man, twisting to avoid another attacker. His dagger drove through the fleshy areas of this new fool’s side, tearing through organs when he twisted before pulling it free.
Both bodies crumpled, joining the seven others who’d already fallen.
Scowling in disgust, Shiloh tossed his weapon to the ground.
“Is this the best the Eumia has to offer?” Pathetic. Weak. It was a wonder they hadn’t been overridden by some rival mafia by now if that were the case.
“They were being exiled from the family for a reason, Prince,” Diogenes, an older, high standing member, replied in a cool tone. He stood by the entranceway to the basement training room, standing guard to prevent anyone else from walking in on something they shouldn’t.
Shiloh’s true nature was a decently kept secret known only amongst the older ranks.
A secret created for one man, and one man only.
The one whose naivety had sent Shiloh all the way here, to the planet Synastry.
“Would you like for me to give it a try?” Diogenes asked, but Shiloh immediately shook his head, causing the alpha to chuckle. “Worried you’ll kill me in the heat of the moment?”
“Kian’s people are insufferable,” Shiloh drawled. “You’re one of the few remaining Eumia I can stand. There’s no way I’d risk losing you to bloodlust.” It wasn’t even a question of whether or not he could do it.
If the Prince of the Eumia wanted someone dead, they would die.
Better if it could be done at his own hand.
He tilted his palms, blood dripping from his fingers. It’d been a long time since he’d allowed himself to purge these pent-up needs. Perhaps too long, if the mangled bodies were any indicator.
“Are you going to tell me what brought you here this time?” Dio changed the subject, pausing before saying a bit more somberly, “I heard about what happened to the baby. I’m sorry.”
Shiloh snorted derisively. “I would have made a terrible parent.”
“True.”
That was the reason he liked Dio. The alpha didn’t look down on him. Didn’t minimize what he was capable of. As an omega, Shiloh’s presentation should have defined himas subservient to the more domineering second sex known as alpha.
But he bowed for no one, and he had the skills to keep it that way.
Holding out a hand, he waited for Diogenes to bring him a rag, then slowly cleaned the blood from his hands and arms. The clothing he was wearing would have to be burned, but that was no big deal.
He stepped to the side and stripped out of them, unabashed by his nakedness in front of the alpha, though he pulled on a clean set of cloths quickly.
“The baby didn’t matter,” he found himself saying a second later, a rare show of honesty, most likely brought on by the relaxation he was feeling now that he’d purged himself from those gripping dark urges that plagued him. “It was a tool, like everything else. Expendable.”
“That’s harsh, even from you.” Dio took the bloodied garments when they were held out to him, but despite his words, his lips were curved ever so slightly upward. “You don’t care about losing it, even a little?”
“Not even a little.” Another secret. The baby they all thought he’d been carrying had never been real. Only Sloane knew that truth, and Shiloh wasn’t about to share it with this alpha. “A child was never part of my plans. It happened, so I adjusted accordingly. Now that it’s gone, I’ll simply do the same.”
“Bet your precious alpha doesn’t share your icy sentiment.” Diogenes’ brow shot up when Shiloh’s glower returned tenfold. “Is that why you’re here? You aren’t being coddled as much as you hoped?”
“Shut up.” Shiloh crossed his arms, sneering when the alpha at his side laughed.
If he’d been anyone else, the knife would already be back in his hand, but Shiloh hadn’t been lying. Diogenes and he had practically grown up together, both legacy members of the mafia, brought in by their parents before they could even talk. In many ways, he viewed the alpha more like a brother than he did Kian, which was why he was able to get away with so much, and why Shiloh confided in him.
“Did it ever occur to you, that maybe your alpha thinks the same as you about it?” Dio shrugged when Shiloh sent him a questioning look. “You would make a terrible parent, Prince.”
“Impossible,” he said. “I’ve been nothing but perfect in front of him. Too perfect. He thinks I’m delicate. Breakable.”
