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Florian held onto me tightly, giving me a kiss on the top of my head. “You tell him, darling.”

River and Briar stood up, blocking Ezra’s view from where I lay. “We’re sorry, Ezra, but Marlowe doesn’t want to speak with you right now. Perhaps you should come back later?”

I loved these omegas. They might actually be effective opponents against my “alpha of alpha” brother, because despite his newfound powers, he’d always been a gentle giant. He’d never be able to raise a hand against this group, even if they attacked him en masse, like a pack of rabid squirrels.

The image made me chuckle.

I could hear the irritation in his sigh, and even turning away, knew exactly what annoyed expression his face would be wearing. “Marlowe, come on, stop acting like a child.”

“A child?” I asked, finally sitting up. “I’m sorry, so you faked your death, knocked me out, dragged me away from my pack to a fantasy land to hand me over to a psychopathic king with an omega fetish, and the fact that that makes me a little upset to the point where I need some space meansI’macting like a child?”

His eyes narrowed and he growled, the sound scaring the other omegas as they shrunk into their shoulders.

“Knock it off!” I yelled.

He tensed slightly and then chuckled. “Nice try, bitch, but you’ll never command me with that weak-ass omega bark.”

My new companions winced behind me, and I got even angrier. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You think you’re better than us just because you’re an alpha?”

My fingers began to tingle, rage building inside me. Had he really drunk all this “alpha male” Kool-Aid in the past few years?

“It’s just biology, sorry that makes you mad. Alphas are stronger and better at leading, and omegas are only good for fu…”

Magic surged into my palms and exploded out in front of me,barreling towards his chest. He put up some kind of shield around himself at the last second, absorbing the impact, and then grinned like a madman. “There you go! Do you want to learn how toactuallykill me? Because I came here to take you down to the training gym so we could practice your magic.”

My chest heaved as he looked behind me towards the other omegas, their faces still full of fear and shame. “You know I didn’t mean what I said. I was just trying to get Marlowe angry.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Iris said, her voice low and crestfallen. “But it’s nothing we haven’t heard before.”

Ezra’s smile vanished. “I’m sorry, you’re right. That kind of taunting is beneath me. You know you have my utmost respect, right?”

She rolled her eyes and took my spot with Florian, waving her hand dismissively in our direction. “You might as well go with him, Marlowe. It would be nice to know an omega who could put an alpha in their place.”

I couldn’t really argue there. Physically, I’d never be able to defend myself against the king or an alpha shifter. Or anybody, really. I’d met twelve-year-olds bigger than me.

But with magic I might stand a chance. And I supposed it was worth spending time with my backstabbing brother to do it. “Fine, I’ll train with you. But those pants stay on, got it?”

His eyebrows lifted as he smirked, then he gestured towards my dress. “You might need a pair yourself.”

Briar hopped up and dug around in the wardrobe. “Florian, you have something she could probably borrow, right?”

Ten minutes later I had on some drawstring linen pants and an oversized tunic. “They don’t have sports bras here?” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest as we walked down the hall barefoot. “Or shoes?”

Guards watched me carefully as we passed, but it seemed I was as safe with Ezra as I had been with the king, and beyond a few sniffs of the air no one made any attempts to move towards me.

Ezra chuckled. “I’m sure we can get you a proper wardrobe soon.”

“A ‘properwardrobe?’” I repeated in a posh British accent. “God, you sound like such an idiot.”

“What am I supposed to sound like?” He intoned an annoying vocal fry and spoke again. “Like, Marlowe, I love you, but for real, you can’t girlboss when your vibes are lowkey cringe.”

Cringewas right.

“Honestly? Maybe you should just shut up entirely. Because now that I’m thinking about it, you’ve always sounded like an idiot.”

He messed up my hair and then hip-checked me into a wall. A nearby guard rushed to help me, but Ezra ordered him to stand down and he slunk back to his position.

“Why does everyone listen to you?” I asked, preparing to trip him when he wasn’t paying attention. “Are you like a general or something?”