Page 32

“Will Liora be free to choose her Alpha?”

Mireya’s expression faltered, and I pressed her. “You said Omegas could choose.”

“What happens to the women here is necessary to establish⁠—”

“They cannot even choose who enters their cells.”

Mireya looked away. “Medical progress has never been achieved without sacrifice,” she said quietly.

“Everyone’s but yours, of course.”

Her eyes returned to mine, but a knock against the wall drew both our attention. An enormous Alpha entered the room, and fear stole my breath. Is this it? Will this Alpha force himself on me?

He carried a pad in one hand, but nothing else about him told me anything useful. His clothing bore no rank I recognised, no military insignia and no name.

“My Lord.” Mireya rose from the edge of the bed.

“Doctor.”

Mireya tried to make polite conversation, but her words reached me as though spoken underwater. I could barely follow them. All I could think about was the Alpha and the threat his presence carried. I watched him cross to the small table and drag a chair over to the bed, setting it directly in front of me.

He settled back, one leg stretched comfortably before him, the pad resting against his thigh, as though he had nowhere else to be and nothing to concern him. I pulled the blanket closer around myself. Only then did he look at me.

“Lady Elowen.” A chill ran down my spine at his pleasantly conversational tone. “I need you to tell me everything you remember about the security arrangements at your family home. Guard rotations, entrances, restricted corridors and any emergency procedures your fathers established in the event of a home invasion.”

I looked to Mireya, though I had no idea what I expected from her. She gave me a reassuring nod, which I ignored, turning back to him. “I—I cannot do that.”

“You can.” He glanced down at his pad and moved something across the screen with his thumb. “You may choose not to, of course. Bear in mind that would mean killing every member of your family rather than quietly retrieving your counterpart.” He smiled. “Go ahead, little Omega. Choose.”

My pulse thudded painfully in my throat. I lowered my gaze, struggling to keep enough control to think, and noticed the thick ring on the hand resting casually on his thigh. It bore the crest of the second most powerful House in High Mountain.

House Tureen.

Chapter 10

Elowen

“How come you two always end up in here? You have your own beds, you know.”

I lay on the edge of my bed facing the closed door of my tiny box room, with Nora wedged against my back and Ivy tucked behind her against the wall.

“Your room’s smaller,” Nora said. “It stays warmer.”

“Exactly,” Ivy added. “We’re being energy efficient.”

“Three grown women in one bed?”

“Three bodies. Free heating.”

Nora shifted and shoved both freezing hands under my hoodie, straight onto my bare back. I nearly rolled off the bed. “Oh, my God! Get those off me!”

“But you’re always warm, and I’m cold.”

“So am I! And you don’t see me attacking people with my freezing hands.”

“Can you two stop moving?” Ivy complained. “Every time Nora moves, I lose another inch of mattress.”

“You’re the one against the wall. Where am I supposed to go?”