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Unable to summon a denial of the obvious, he stood there, pinned by the consequences of his actions. He couldn't deny it, and he didn't want to. He wasn't ashamed that Zorah marked him. She'd done nothing wrong. He faulted only his cowardice and unworthiness.
He raised his eyes to Colt's stunned and gaping face. "What it looks like."
"But — wh —who?" Colt's stammering almost made him smile.
Colt had come closer than anyone to discovering them that night under the dock, yet he remained completely unaware of the depth of their involvement. A testament to his sly little Omega's sneaking skills.
"Zorah." Her name took flight from his tongue, the first time he'd uttered it aloud in the month she'd been gone. The bond in his chest, dull and emaciated by the weeks of neglect, gave a lifeless twitch in watery recognition.
Colt tripped backward. Literally stumbled under the surprise of the revelation and bumped his shoulder into the packhorse at his side.
"You're lying," he said with more wary precaution than suspicion.
"Why would I lie?" Jake asked with no emotion.
Colt stared for a long minute, regarding him with neutral curiosity. Jake felt no shame returning the gaze, watching Colt wrap his head around the fact that, of all the Alphas in Morris Hill, Zorah chosehim. A strange kind of relief laced through his petrification. There was no more hiding; it was all out now.
"Just so you know" — he brushed his fingertips over the mark — "this was all her doing. She marked me before I had a chance to stop her, because I would've. I would've stopped her. And, for the record, I didn't return the bite."
Befuddlement deepening, Colt's brows wrinkled. "Then it's not a real bond."
Jake's temper snapped like a dog at the end of a too-short chain, surprising him with his vehemence. "It's fucking real."
Colt, lips compressed in a tight line, slung the reins over a low tree branch and closed the distance between them. "You were there that night in the mess hall, weren't you? You know her parents arranged to mate her to that piece of shit they brought with them."
"Yeah." Jake pushed his fingers through his hair, catching on the snarls of his unwashed and uncombed curls with cruel, savage satisfaction.
Colt lifted his chin in challenge. "I don't know any mated Alpha who would let their Omega walk out of their village without a fight, let alone give her up to another Alpha. Why didn't you say something?"
Jake's shoulders slumped in shame at the unsubtle criticism in Colt's question. "You heard what she said to Riddick. He asked if that's what she wanted and she said the decision had already been made."
"Yeah." Colt thrust an angry index finger at Jake's chest. "By her.Thatwas her decision."
The decision has already been made.
Oh fuck.Jake felt his universe shift on its axis. Had he misunderstood this entire time? Had she been referring tohim? His head spun so fast he grew dizzy and lowered himself to the tree trunk, right where she'd gazed up at him and sucked his cock with pure, undilutedpossession. They'd agreed, right on this stump, that he would talk to Hunter and that she'd give him time to do so. Had she... had she been honoring their agreement by not fighting her family and the stupid betrothal? Had she expected him to come to her rescue, and he just... didn't? He'd abandoned her to her controlling family and that greasy shit.
Nightmare scenarios painted themselves in his mind: the cousin's hands on her, his mouth on her, his cock in her. And not because she wanted it but becausehe'dmade some bullshit, martyrish, pseudo-self-sacrificing, realpolitik executive decision about her future? Doubting his worthiness, he'd undermined her choice. He was no better than her parents. Jake lifted his chin to the sky, watching the tips of the pine trees sway in the frigid breeze, like judging witnesses to his cowardice and idiocy.
"The decision has already been made."Yeah, it had, byher,and if the tiniest part of him deserved to be her Alpha, he needed to honor it. Closing his eyes, Jake steeled himself for a fight he should've had weeks ago. It was well past time for him to stop wallowing in self-pity and do something.
Jake got to his feet, grabbing his shirt and throwing it on his body. "I need to go. I need to go now."
An upswell of restlessness scraped under his skin. Near frantic, he cast his eyes about his worksite, cataloging things he'd need. How far was River Bend? A week? A week riding or a week walking? Either way, a trip like that required gear, supplies, food...God dammit, he didn't have a week!
His eyes fell on the horse idling behind Colt. "Which horse is that? Can I take it? Can you tell me how to get to River Bend?"
Colt backed up a few steps, placing himself between Jake and the animal. "Woah, slow down. You can't just tear out of here."
"I need to go," Jake said, his chest tight with urgency. "I need to get to her before they —" The thought of what he'd left Zorah to face made him ill.
Jake clenched his fist hard, his lip lifting in a sneer. No one gave his Omega away to some sniveling, unworthy Alpha. Even if they did, he would get her back, no question. But she would be harmed in the interim, and he'd never forgive himself.
No. He needed to go.Now.
With a frustrated growl, Jake turned his back and stormed into the cabin, grabbing his knapsack and stuffing it with a change of clothes. He swept his sleeping bag off his bed, inhaling a remnant gust of Zorah's scent in the process, letting it fuel him as he charged back outside and down the steps.
"Jake! You can't just take off like this. You don't know the way," Colt protested, putting himself in Jake's path. Without slowing, Jake side-stepped the obstruction, but Colt stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder. "What are you going to do, go in there alone? And what about Hunter? What about the Pack?"
