Page 57
Story: Feral Creed
It’s chilly and I realize that winter will be coming sooner than I think. That might be fine, but I don’t think I want to weather it here, in this place, this punishment house.
No, we can do better.
I want a proper nest. I’ve waited long enough.
I touch my bite marks as I walk, feeling each of them as they reach inside me with long fingers to brush my deepest core. With all the bites, I am whole in a way I have never been. I have come into my power, and I am now a force, a storm, an omega. It is time for a reckoning.
I don’t knock when I get to the main house. I just go in. I climb up the steps, following the scent of where I know the Vasilissa is.
It surprises me she hasn’t scented me, hasn’t come to me. But if she were to try to stand up to me, she’d be in for a surprise. She should have come and submitted, offered her entire pack to me, at my disposal.
I burst in on her, opening the door to her nest.
She is there, asleep, her mates curled around her.
They get up, coming to me but I only have to give them each a look before they bow their heads or fall to their knees.
Good.
Penelope wraps herself in quilts and sits up in the midst of the nest. She does not get to her feet.
Smart woman.
I fold my arms over my chest.
She tries to hold my gaze, shudders, and breaks. She bows her head. “What happened?”
“When will Selene be here?” I say.
“That… you heard about that.” She lets out a noisy breath, and then she speaks quickly, pleading with me. “Listen, that was a foolish idea, and I see that now. I can scent—we can all scent—what you are. We would never think to challenge you, and you must accept my sincere apologies for even attempting to—”
“When will she be here?” I interrupt.
“You cannot actually think to go head-to-head with Selene like this. You will crush her.”
I laugh. “Does Selene deserve better?”
Penelope’s lips part. “Please. You have no quarrel with her. I am the one responsible for that even being suggested. It is my error. You would kill that poor girl.”
“Would I.” I survey her. “It is your error, however, Penelope. It’s good you recognize that.”
“You… what happened to you?” Her voice cracks.
“You might wish to make it up to me?” I say.
She nods. “Of course. What could we do?”
“Well, who knows,” I say with a shrug. “After all, I grew up in the secular world, and I don’t really understand insults amongst omegas, do I?” I throw her words back at her. “Although, it does seem to me you should be addressing me with respect, shouldn’t you?”
She cringes. “Yes, kyra. Apologies, kyra.”
“Better,” I say. “Now, how will you make amends for the way you have insulted me?”
“You must not stay in the punishment house anymore,” she says.
“No, I don’t think I must,” I say. I smile at her. “I’ll stay here.”
“But—”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57 (Reading here)
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107