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That was when the room exploded, both with words and with Alpha rage. Now Pastoris seemed to drop his mask, revealing a face that had lost its color as he studied Lucius.
“What?” Pastoris asked, his voice barely audible with feeling. “Are you certain of this?”
Lucius nodded. “I witnessed it myself. In fact, I caught them in the act. Two Servants were killed, one left as prisoner, who shared quite a bit of information under interrogation.”
“When was this?” Lox asked.
“Two months ago. They took my mate, an omega,” Lucius growled, letting his true feelings seep through.
A few sympathetic glances were given, and Chantis, his old friend, said, “Unforgivable. I take it she is safe now?”
Lucius let out a breath. “She is.”
“Thank Ongar. And congratulations, you old goat.” Chantis winked at him, and Lucius chuckled, bowing his head.
“Thank you.” He folded his hands onto the table and leaned forward. “Lox summed it up precisely.” He nodded at the long-haired warrior. “The Owl have been complicit, have declared war on our people. And now they have a weapon, a weapon that is by far the most destructive thing I could ever conjure up in my imagination.”
“What does House Trajan say about all of this? And why are they not here?” one of the Ongahri leaders asked.
“Oh, they know,” Lucius said, leaning back again. “They were present when the Owl tried to take my wife. And yet, as far as my intelligence has learned, they have done nothing. They have an army at their disposal, for Ongar’s sake, and the Basilica is right at the foot of their territory.” He shrugged. “What they are thinking, I do not know. And like you said, Jargo, we here do not deal with the Owl, unlike House Trajan, who have an iron-clad agreement with them. Ever wondered why that was?”
Pastoris fidgeted in his seat, and Lucius hid the smile at the traitor’s discomfort. Had Pastoris bit off more than he could chew? Such a weak man, Lucius thought.
“I hope you’re not insinuating,” Pastoris said, “that the alpha queen has a hand in this.”
Lucius leaned back in his seat. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“What do you propose, Lucius?” Jargo tapped the table, getting them back on point. “I admit, this information changes things.”
Smart man. Lucius admired anyone who had the courage to change their minds at the cost of looking foolish.
“War,” he answered. One word that encompassed so much. A word that the Ongahri were built for, born for, died for. “The question is, are you willing to sacrifice your present for your future? And if so, who will join me?”
It didn’t take more than a minute for all hands, Pastoris being last, of course, to raise in the air.
Lucius smiled. It would be in Lucius Dega’s name that the Ongarhi would be saved, not Trajan’s. Finally, he would become a true force to be reckoned with.
Chapter Eleven
Sierra
Ander and I ate breakfast downstairs on the veranda but quickly took our coffee inside once the snow had started up. Lucius had already left for his meeting, and Ander had woken up a bit later than he’d liked, but I was dressed and ready to go, so I waited in the parlor, looking out the window at the city streets.
Seemed that the weather was the talk all around Titus these past few weeks, and here especially. According to the house servant, Willow, Ghypsom City rarely got anything in the wintertime but rain which sometimes froze overnight, but overall was pretty mild. But this winter had so far been like no other, he’d said.
So when the snow had shown up this morning, it was all the servants talked about. Willow had tried to shoo them away from the back door when I’d come downstairs, but I told him it was fine. I didn’t want to be treated like a pampered princess, even though I had spent six hours two days ago doing exactly that: being pampered.
Even now, the feel of smooth skin between my legs and under my arms had me hyper aware of my body, something I hadn’t felt since I’d come out of my first heat so many moons ago. Every swish of my skirts, every twist in my seat, brought that awareness to the surface, causing me to blush, especially when I thought of that evening coming back to the villa after we’d left the theraspa and Lucius’ reaction to finding my naked sex.
“Ready?” Ander said, coming into the room dressed in a fine white linen tunic with a royal blue vest and matching breeches.
I cleared my throat and schooled my features, wiping off any traces of lust. “I am. Where to first?”
He smiled. “To the silk factory, of course.”
We left the villa and climbed into the carriage Willow had called for earlier. I was glad I had brought a cloak, because the inside was breath-stealingly cold. Ander sat beside me and rubbed my hands with his large warm ones.
“Ongar, it’s cold today,” he said as the carriage driver started up the horses. “Unfortunately, the drive is a bit out of the way, but at least it’s warm inside the factory. Last time I was there it was sweltering.”
