Page 22

I wanted to roll my eyes. I’d been drilling the Omegas on fighting techniques like I had the kids, though I had them hold very small sticks since it was far more likely they’d need to kill in close quarters, and with a sharp rock or knife.

Serak stepped out of the shadow of the jungle behind him. “I told you she was playing games with them.” His dark hair shone in the morning sun, and he’d changed into a clean robe, but he was limping. I had to force myself not to look for his injury.

Sandyl spat on the ground. “Well, the Omegas aren’t children. They don’t need games. Get back inside.”

“We’re doing strengthening exercises,” I replied calmly. “They’re weak, and malnourished. If they don’t get more exercise, sunlight, and food, their bones will grow brittle.” I gave a grin that most likely looked like a snarl. “They definitely won’t go into their heat cycles, and neither will I. For a group of males who’s supposed to take care of Omegas, you don’t seem to know much about us.”

“Bitch, I’ll beat that sass out of you.” Sandyl was ready to open the gate, but Serak stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“You can’t touch her. You know that.”

Sandyl’s almost panicked glance toward the torch he held would have been comical, if he hadn’t followed it up with, “I can and will punish the other Omegas for any misbehavior.” He raised his voice. “Put down the sticks, or your water rations will be cut in half.”

It was apparent that his threat wasn’t an empty one, judging by how quickly every Omega dropped her stick, like it had suddenly become a venomous snake. Only Adiah held onto hers for a moment longer, her eyes full of tears when she glared at me.

“Fine. May we do stretching without sticks, then?” I made my voice sickly sweet, not that the Beta noticed. He stared at me for as long as he could before his eyes dropped. I might be an Omega, but we both knew I was the more dominant and dangerous of us both.

He didn’t answer, but the torch in his hand flared up, and I felt invisible whips of fire on my neck where Edan had burned me. Smirking, Sandyl called for Tally to take the food into the children’s longhouse.

Serak cleared his throat, standing at the open gate. “Come here, Omega,” he ordered roughly, though his eyes shone with an unspoken apology. He held out a hand, and I took it, the odd sensation of being watched still giving me chills. When I gazed up at Serak, though, the deep blue of his eyes was reassuring. Edan was in the flame, not in my mate’s…

Wait. I swallowed hard.

When had I begun to call Serak my mate in my thoughts? My own words echoed in my mind. For a group of males who’s supposed to take care of Omegas, you don’t seem to know much about us.

Serak knew plenty about us, about me. And he’d been doing the exact kind of things that could bring on a heat. Making me feel cared for.

The presents weren’t bribes. They were courting gifts. But who were they from?

I inhaled, and the only scent I could detect was his clean, masculine aroma, without even a hint of a burned edge.

“Do you need herbs?” he asked softly, reaching for my chin, but hesitating before he touched me. I nodded my consent for him to examine the wound there, and he lifted my chin up and to one side. “It’s healing. But herbs would help, yes?”

I wasn’t sure what he was trying to say, but I nodded. “Yes. I could use a few things to heal faster. For the others, too.”

“Come with me, and I’ll let you pick them,” he said smoothly. “I wouldn’t know which herbs were the right ones.”

“That’s very kind of you.” I chewed at the inside of my cheek, so as not to laugh at his lie. “I’d need a basket, and a knife.”

“No knives,” Sandyl snapped, following close behind.

“Not a problem,” I simpered. “You can cut them for me.” We stopped at the front of the guards’ barracks for a basket, and I faked a fall, letting out a loud, “Oh no!”

There had already been two weedy men out front by the doorway, but the entire barracks and the surrounding forest emptied at my scream. Forty or more Betas appeared to investigate, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

The Alphas—Frol, Vallen, and Karl—came running about the time the Betas all went back inside. The feral ones snarled and left when the torch in Sandyl’s hand blazed brightly at their approach, but Frol stayed for a moment longer, his light blue eyes shining.

“Moon,” he said in Pictish.

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I agreed. “Moon.”

He touched his forehead, then pointed to the sky in a gesture I knew well. I returned it, and he grinned. The other Alphas didn’t react to the sign of the Goddess, which I found interesting. “Frol,” he supplied cheerfully.

“Rada.” I nodded and stood. Sweetness radiated from him. I knew I might have to kill him anyway, so I didn’t return his smile. After a moment, he dropped his gaze and jogged around the barracks.

“We’ll go to the northeastern quadrant,” Serak announced. Sandyl grunted, shoving the basket at me. We circled north, following a path no wider than a deer would make through the increasingly verdant jungle. After a while, we waded through a stream which was not as cool as it should be, and I saw the first herb I wanted.

When I bent to pick it, though, Sandyl hissed. “Stop. What is it?”