Page 6 of Dark Company

Langston steps in between Annora and me, blocking her from view for a moment, before turning and handing me her datacom. The prettiest hazel eyes stare up at me from the screen. Her hair is like the sun itself touched it and imparted its glow.

Karis.

The name floats about me as Langston speaks it out loud, but it sounds muffled in my ears, as if I'm hearing it through a haze. It’s the name of a goddess, an untouchable being. It’s a name I would love to have dripping from my lips in fervent worship as I skim them over her body.

But then I see her face. Her chin juts out at a haughty angle. Her eyes are no longer pretty—they’re sharp and lethal, looking for flaws, both real and imagined. Her lips are not pulled down into a pretty submissive pout. Instead, they’re almost twisted into a sneer. A sense of superiority emanates from the screen, slamming me in the chest.

That I compared her to a goddess is laughable. No goddess I’ve learned of would dare stand like that, staring at the screen in a manner that makes me want to throttle them. She’s more like a spoiled princess that begs for a trip over a knee instead of supplication.

And she’s a beta. The insignia flashes up at me from the side, mirroring the truth in her eyes. She’s scrawny for a beta, but a beta, nonetheless. It doesn’t matter how goddess-like she is. Only an omega could ever tempt me to at least try to find a mate. If anyone had the chance to survive me, it would have to be an omega. A beta would just split in two, no matter how prepared they were.

“Please. Try to find her. Caulder said she was burnt up in an outlier gathering, but I need to know for sure. I need to put her to rest. I feel it in my heart that she’s still alive. If she is, I need someone to bring her back.”

My fingers graze the screen as I stare down at the image. Despite my feelings, my cock twitches once more. If she is alive, I will return her to her rightful throne as a princess and nothing more. This beta can try to tempt me with her luscious lips and seductive eyes, but she will never entice me enough to give up my vows.

“I will find her Queen omega Annora. I will need to take some men with me. Please allow me to bring Leon along. I trust him like I do my own family.”

Jaxxon runs his free hand over his mouth and chin before looking over at Langston. “Can we spare him?”

My heart strains in the thoughtful silence. Though I trust all the men I’ve encountered from the resistance, Leon is like my right arm. He acts before my thoughts are even fully formed. He guards me like he does his own life, as I do for him. If we are to go outside these walls, I need him with me where he can monitor me.

Underneath everything, he’s the one that will pull me back from the edge if needed. He’s the only one strong enough. I don’t see myself causing harm to these small villages that refuse to live under the protection of Stanlion, but I never know. I cannot ever tell what my mind and body will do.

I have enough memories of sloughing off a haze, only to find my hands and uniform marred by a bright vermillion. Without the protection of the High Echelon, I need someone to keep a vigilant eye on me.

“We have enough Alphas guarding the city, both Guardian Alphas and resistance Alphas. Leon and Altris are specialized enough in their training that they would be the best options to find Karis if she’s still alive.”

Jaxxon turns back to me and spears me with a glare. “You two may go. Take a handful of Alphas you trust, but also bring along some betas. I dislike the idea of my mate’s sister in the hands of just you brutes. Hell, I might just send a few Alpha women with you, if we can spare some, just so you have some accountability.”

Bowing low, I hand the datacom back to Langston and exit the tent. I understand his need for care, and to help on my end, I’ll be inspecting everyone before they leave. They must have no less than ten respirators, that way they can change them out if the others go bad in the hard deserts. If anyone so much as dares to lay a hand on a female, I will cut it off myself.

Chapter 3

Karis

The suns beat down, baking the earth below. All around me, men and women dart about in various stages of undress, their sacred anatomies waving about, as if to slap the goddess Ilaria with their flesh. Reaching up, I gather the tattered bits of my shirt and pull them closer together, unwilling to allow others to see what is not allowed.

I don’t understand how they can just expose themselves with no care. Granted, the High Echelon seems to have no power in this small, nomadic city. Perhaps that’s why they don’t care if others see their divine parts, but I will not join in.

Glancing about, I take in the frivolity and revelry. If this were in Stanlion, and everyone was fully clothed, I would have taken part, but as it is, what they’re doing is far too dangerous. I turn back to the small watering hole that’s fed from an underground spring, forcing my mind back to the job at hand.

It’s my turn to tend to the clothes while these heathens take it as an opportunity to run about unclothed. It’s the only reason I’m working as hard as I am to clean them. I don’t want the gods or goddesses to somehow blame me for their state of undress. It’s the fear of repercussions that keeps my fingers moving, despite the ache that starts up in my joints.

Unfortunately, without my contacts, I’m unable to go as fast as I would like. The rays of the suns glint off of the water with an unbearable light. If just walking about Stanlion without them could cause retinal damage, then having all three glaring at me at once, converged into one light source by the rippling pool, is sure to be even worse.

Closing my eyes, I work the clothes by feel, only looking back down when the familiar grime no longer coats my fingers. Then, I move onto the next spot and start it all over again. By doing this, I’m also able to keep my eyes averted from the dissenters dancing about me. It works until someone jostles me, and I’m forced once more to see what I’m not allowed to look upon.

Sweat rolls down the back of my neck to saturate the tattered shirt. It sticks to me, clinging to my form in a way that is just begging for others to stare. This commune is so foreign, so different from Stanlion, that I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. They worship the same gods as we do, yet their interpretations are far different from ours. In Stanlion, to be unclothed before an unmated woman was unthinkable. Both parties would be punished—the one who exposed themselves and the one that gazed upon the nakedness.

Though, out here, who would know? Shame burns through my body, heating my already blazing cheeks. I would know. If I somehow ever made it back, everyone would be able to tell that I was no longer innocent. Would they separate me from the others? Force me to live my life in solitude? The things I have seen are forever burned in my mind with no way of expelling them.

I have looked upon so many males that are not my mate. I have seen the divine of so many women that are not family. Could the High Echelon purge those things from my head so that I could look upon my mate with fresh, untainted eyes? Probably not. Granted, the work I’m having to do here should count towards punishment served.

Looking down at my hands, I stare at my fingers. They’re so rough and untended. My nails are jagged and worn, so different from how they were before I fled Stanlion. How long ago was it? Without looking at the makeshift calendar in my small tent, I have no clue. It feels like a week or two, maybe more.

Time has a way of slipping out here. Without the glow of the city lights or the hum of the transports as it takes people to their work and school, it’s hard to judge when things occur. There are no classes to attend, no one to preen for or show off in front of. I don’t miss the endless lessons, though; they meant nothing to me.

I was never cut out for the life they were training me for. My test scores alone should show that I would never make it in research or any such drudgery. It was far too boring. If Annora didn’t insist I go, then I would have tried my hand at working the brothels ages ago.