“You do not have to be civil to an Omega,” I said. More for his benefit than hers. Garrett was too soft sometimes. Too worried about doing things the right way. “Toss. Her. Out.”
I reached for the whiskey. Poured myself two fingers of the amber liquid. The bottle was crystal. Expensive. The whiskey was older than the entitled omega probably was. I took a sip and let it burn down my throat.
Garrett grabbed Fia’s arm. Tried to pull her toward the door.
She moved faster than I expected. Flipped his hand off her wrist with a twist of her body that looked practiced. Trained. She pressed herself against the opposite door and stared out the window.
I followed her gaze.
Private territory stretched in every direction. Miles and miles of land that belonged to Skollrend. Trees and hills and nothing else for as far as you could see. The road we were on cut through it like a scar. It would take hours to walk back to Silver Creek from here. Almost a day maybe, depending on how fast she moved. Though I doubt that should be a place on her mind. Given that she was practically banished.
And she was an Omega. She couldn’t shift. Couldn’t run faster than human speed. Couldn’t defend herself if something decided she looked like prey.
No one was allowed on this land except my pack members. No one would give her a ride. No one would help her. She’d be alone out there with nothing but her anger and her pride to keep her company.
I watched her face. Saw the moment she realized all of that. Saw the fear creep in around the edges of her rage. She looked cornered. Trapped. Like an animal that had finally run out of places to run.
I relished it.
CIAN
I picked up the tablet again. Held it out to her.
“Do you accept my terms?”
Her hands shook. Just slightly, but I noticed. The fear was winning now. Reality was setting in. She was stuck here with me whether she liked it or not, and the sooner she accepted that, the easier this would be.
For both of us.
She stared at the tablet. At the cracked screen. At the contract that would define the rest of her life.
Then she looked at the window again. At the miles of empty land waiting for her.
I could see her breaking. Could see the exact moment when her resolve started to crack. Her shoulders sagged. Her breathing got faster. Her eyes went glassy with tears she was too proud to shed.
She was going to sign it. I was sure of it.
“I will leave.”
The words came out quiet. Defeated.
She reached for the door handle.
I blinked. Stared at her. Waited for her to change her mind. To bend that knee. To grab the tablet and sign the damn thing so we could move on with our lives.
She opened the door.
Sunlight flooded into the limo. Hot and bright and unforgiving. The temperature outside had to be pushing ninety. The kind of heat that made the air shimmer above the road.
Fia stepped out.
She stood there on the side of the road in her wedding dress. That white gown that had been meant for her sister. It was already dirty at the hem from where she’d been kneeling at the altar. Her hair was falling out of whatever style it had been in. She looked small out there. Fragile.
Stubborn.
I stared at her through the open door. Tried to make sense of what was happening. This girl who had supposedly schemed and manipulated and done everything in her power to end up married to me was now choosing to walk away. To face certain danger and possible death rather than sign a contract that would give her some safety and security despite the fact that she deserved none of that.
It didn’t make sense.
For someone who put so much effort toward ensuring she ended up with me, she sure did protest a lot.
I’d been certain she would bend over backwards for me. That she’d submit the second I pushed back. That all this defiance was just an act she’d drop once she realized she was not losing what she had plotted for.
But she was standing outside my car. In the middle of nowhere. With nothing but the clothes on her back and her pride.
Garrett looked at me. His expression was uncertain. Waiting for orders.
I leaned back into my seat, let the leather cushions support my weight. Took another sip of whiskey.
This was a ploy. It had to be. She was playing some kind of game. Trying to make me feel guilty. Trying to manipulate me into treating her better by acting like she didn’t care.
Rather than act like the obsessed Omega she was, she was playing a different angle.
I smiled.
Fine. If she wanted to play games, we’d play games.
I could be patient. I could wait her out. She’d come crawling back within the hour, begging me to let her back in the car. Begging me to take her to Skollrend where she’d be safe and fed and protected.
And when she did, I’d make sure she understood exactly what her little stunt had cost her.
I took another drink. The whiskey was smooth. Perfect. I savored it while I watched Fia standing there in the sun.
“Lock the door and drive.”
Garrett’s head snapped around. “Alpha – “
“Did I stutter?”
“No, Alpha.”
He reached for the door. Started to pull it closed.
I saw the exact moment Fia realized what was happening. Her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened like she was going to say something. Probably to take it all back. To beg me to stop.
I smiled at her. Made sure she could see it. Made sure she understood that I knew exactly what game she was playing.
The door clicked shut.
Garrett hit the lock button. The sound echoed in the quiet of the limo.
“Drive.”
The driver put the car in gear. We started moving forward.
I watched Fia through the tinted window. Watched her take a step toward the car like she was going to chase us. Then stop. Like she’d remembered her pride.
She stood there in the middle of the road. Getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. Her white dress was bright against the dark pavement and the green trees.
Garrett turned around in his seat. His face was pale. Worried.
“Alpha, she’s an Omega. She cannot – “
“I know exactly what she is.”
My voice came out cold enough that Garrett flinched. He turned back around and didn’t say another word.
I finished my whiskey. Set the glass down in the cup holder. The ice clinked against the crystal.
In the distance, Fia was just a white speck now. Still standing there. Still too stubborn to run after us like she should have.
Part of me expected to feel something. Guilt maybe. Or concern. She was my chosen mate after all, even if I didn’t want her. The bond was supposed to make me protective. Supposed to make me care about her wellbeing.
But I felt nothing.
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