Page 11 of Dragon’s Revenge (Irresistible Dragons #7)

Chapter Ten

S ivney thought he’d mentally prepared himself for the arrival of the new omegas. After all, Erwan had shared every detail he could remember about the Dragon Council, the stories he’d heard about each clan, and how horribly the omegas had been abused. And of course, Sivney had seen the Murphy omegas when they’d shown up under Fallon’s leadership, half starved to death, bruised, and beaten.

He’d expected more of the same. But the reality was a thousand times worse than he’d imagined.

Blair had sounded the alarm early that morning when a group of dragons suddenly appeared. Before his reinforcements had even arrived, more groups had followed until the meadow was filled with dragons, though all in human form. As many as thirty-five, Erwan had said, but a quick count showed not even thirty.

Sivney had come running, screeching to a full stop when he saw them. His mouth dropped open before he caught himself. Gods, what had these men survived? Some were emaciated, some sported visible bruises, and three had an arm in a cast or a sling. Their faces were hollow, their hair thin and dull, and they looked like one good storm would knock them over.

But their eyes… Those hit him the hardest. Few of them seemed even alive, their eyes devoid of any sparkle. They’d lost hope a long time ago, and even though they’d come here, they didn’t show any signs they were expecting an improvement in their circumstances.

“Fergal!” Erwan, who’d been on Sivney’s heels, ran toward a guy with raven-black hair tied in a messy bun and hugged him tightly. “It’s so good to see you.”

He then hugged the man next to Fergal, an imposing silver fox. “It’s good to see you, King Erwan,” the guy said.

“You too, Gregor, but please, just Erwan is fine.”

Sivney stepped forward, extending his hand to Fergal, who he knew from Erwan’s stories. “Sivney Howell, second-in-command of the Hightower pack. It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you, King Fergal.”

Fergal’s handshake was firm. “Likewise, and please, Fergal will do. This is my… This is Gregor, the Commander of the Fitzgeralds.”

Sivney shook his hand, then jumped to the most pressing question. “How many omegas did you bring?”

“Twenty-nine. Thirteen from the O’Connor clan, twelve from mine, and four from the Murphys.” Fergal looked around. “No offense, but where’s Rhene?”

A silence descended. They didn’t know then. Sivney looked at Erwan, whose face had tightened. “We don’t know. He hasn’t come home.”

Fergal’s eyes widened. “He didn’t make it back from the Council?”

Erwan shook his head. “We felt the connection with him sever. His last location was in Jokkmokk.”

“You haven’t heard from any of the other clans about this? No ransom demand?” Gregor asked.

“No. He’s simply…vanished. He’s alive because I can feel that connection with him, but nothing else.”

Fergal put his hand on Erwan’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

Sivney cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be rude, but…”

Erwan nodded. “We need to get these omegas taken care of. I know.” He turned to Gregor. “I’ll catch up with you as soon as we have them settled.”

“You can talk to him now,” Sivney said. “We have it covered here if Fergal is willing to help me.”

He knew it was ballsy, putting a king to work, but they needed everyone to pitch in. Besides, just because the guy was born with a title didn’t mean he was exempt from work, right? He had two hands he could use, like everyone else.

Fergal grinned. “I like you.” He waved his hand at Gregor. “Go talk to Erwan. We’ve got this.”

Then he turned to Sivney. “Let me introduce you to the unofficial leader of the group. His name is Zacharias.”

Sivney had no trouble recognizing that name. “The omega from the red tent. Erwan told us.”

Fergal nodded as he gestured to a young blond omega. “Zacharias, this is Sivney, the second-in-command of the Hightower pack.”

Zacharias’s eyes lit up. “Rhene told me about you.”

Sivney’s insides warmed. “He did?”

“He said he’d introduce us and that we would be best friends.”

Sivney couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. “I like the sound of that. Do I call you Zacharias? Or Zack? Or anything else?”

Zacharias’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, that’s… Zack, I like Zack.”

“Good. Zack it is. Fergal said you’re the leader?”

Zack bit his lip as he nodded. “They needed someone to take charge. Someone they could trust. Fergal”—he shot an apologetic look at the young king—“may be kind and all, but he’s still an alpha.”

“I completely understand. What are the most pressing concerns right now?”

Zack lowered his voice. “We have two omegas that need immediate medical care and several that are severely malnourished. They were too weak to fly, so we had to teleport them one by one.”

If everyone had done their job—and Sivney had no reason to assume otherwise—Enar and his team had already been alerted and would be on their way. They’d expected medical issues, and the clinic was ready for them.

Sivney walked up to the group of omegas, who had barely moved a muscle. “My name is Sivney, and for now, I’m in charge of the Hightower pack. On behalf of our pack and the Doyle clan, we want to welcome you.”

He caught some curious glances and quite a few confused looks. Was it because he was an omega? Or because they’d expected to join a clan and were now welcomed by a pack? “The Doyle clan and our pack are fully integrated and share the same land and housing. Rhene, our pack alpha, is King Erwan’s mate.”

“Where is Rhene?” Zack asked. He must not have overheard the earlier conversation with Fergal and Gregor.

“Unfortunately, he’s missing. He never made it home after the Council.”

Zack paled. “Missing? It’s the Murphys, isn’t it? They must’ve taken their revenge. They kept saying he stole all their omegas.”

“He didn’t steal us.” Fallon stepped forward. “We came willingly.” He waved at a group of four omegas in the back. “Glad to see you.”

“You were with the Murphy clan?” Zack asked.

“Yeah. We heard rumors about the Hightower pack and about Erwan and how he and his brothers treated omegas. I contacted them and it turned out it was all true. We made a plan, and we escaped.”

“You’re that omega from the video.” Zack practically bounced on his feet. “King Erwan showed it at the Dragon Council. You’re the omega who defeated those Murphy alphas when they tried to abduct King Erwan.”

Fallon’s grin couldn’t have been bigger, even if his cheeks had turned red from the sudden attention on him. “Yeah, that was me.”

“Dude, that was so badass. I had goosebumps when I heard your voice on that video.”

“Thank you. I didn’t do it alone. I had the power of my clan and my pack behind me.”

“Pack?” Zack frowned. “I’m a little confused about the role of the pack. Is the pack in charge of the clan?”

“No, but neither is the clan in charge of the pack. We’re both at the same time, if that makes sense, united in our allegiance to Rhene and Erwan and, ultimately, to the True Alpha.”

For the first time, the group of omegas reacted audibly as a loud gasp traveled through them.

“He’s here?” Zack asked in a trembling voice.

“No, but his pack and land are right next to ours, and we share resources and men. He’ll be by later this week to introduce himself, but we didn’t want to scare you all. He’s a powerful alpha, and we thought it might be too intimidating.”

Fallon had stretched his neck, studying the group. “You didn’t bring any more Murphy omegas? I only see four. I would’ve thought they would want to come now.”

“The Murphys wouldn’t let them.” Fergal’s mouth had set in a hard line. “Even though their clan no longer exists, they refuse to let their omegas go. We didn’t have the power to force them. These four were already at the Dragon Council, so the Murphys couldn’t stop them.”

Fuck. It didn’t surprise Sivney, considering what he knew about the Murphys, but it did pose a challenge. He turned to Blair. “We’ll need to come up with a rescue plan because we’re not abandoning them. Talk to Sean, and you may wanna include Jermon, Nadiv, and Emma. See if you can figure out a way to free them without casualties on either side.” Then he reconsidered. “Well, I’m not too concerned about the Murphy alphas, to be honest, as long as the omegas stay safe.”

Fergal snorted. “True that.”

“You’re gonna get them?” Zach’s voice was so soft that Sivney had to lean in.

“Yes. No one should be held against their will, least of all defenseless omegas. We’ll figure out a way to liberate them.”

“You’re serious.”

“Dead serious.”

Zack launched himself at Sivney, who was barely in time to catch and hold him as the dragon omega hugged him tightly. “I love you already,” Zack mumbled, his face buried against Sivney’s neck.

Sivney hugged him back, and if it was a little awkward, it was because he wasn’t one to display such affection publicly. But he could hardly refuse such a genuine gesture. “All we want is for you all to be healthy and happy,” Sivney said when Zack finally let go of him, his eyes suspiciously misty.

As if on cue, a truck pulled up with Enar and his team. Enar, Maz, and Lucan jumped out, all dressed in scrubs and carrying bags with medical supplies. They waited for Sivney to introduce him, and he was so grateful and proud of them for that.

“This is Dr. Enar Magnusson, the beta in charge of our medical clinic. He’s an OB-GYN, and so is Dr. Maz Ahari. Lucan Whitefield is one of Maz’s mates and a medical assistant.”

He hoped that stressing Enar’s status as a beta would prevent questions, but it seemed Zack’s curiosity was too big. “A beta?” He looked at Enar directly. “But you look like an?—”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Fergal said sharply, and for the first time, Sivney heard that royal authority in his voice, the kind that left no room for debate. “If Sivney says Enar is a beta, he’s a beta.”

Enar took a step forward. “It’s okay,” he said softly, then addressed Zack directly. “I was born an alpha, but I am a beta inside. Does that make sense?”

“I didn’t mean any offense,” Zack said.

“None taken. I don’t mind explaining.”

Sivney would never stop being amazed at how sensitive Enar was and how easily he could adapt his voice and body language to ensure those around him felt safe.

Zack cocked his head, looking pensive. “So you’re saying that if, hypothetically, I feel more like an alpha than an omega, you’d treat me as an alpha?”

Was he asking for himself? It wouldn’t surprise Sivney.

“Absolutely,” Enar said. “All you need to do is be honest with us and we’ll respect your preferred status, pronouns, name, whatever you ask.”

“I’ll be damned,” Zack said with a sigh. “I’ve died and gone to fucking heaven, though it looks nothing like I expected it to.”

As much as Sivney wanted to take the time to ask questions, he’d caught a few of the omegas wavering, so they needed to move. “Now that’s settled, Enar and his team are available for anyone who needs medical care. You can request privacy, or if you feel more comfortable or safe with someone else present, that’s fine too. And for everyone else, we have your cabins ready for you, where you’ll find a warm bed, a hot shower, and food at your request. Tell us what you need, and we’ll make it happen.”

He didn’t miss the utter shock on the faces of the omegas, who looked like they’d seen a ghost.

“Let me show you the two urgent omegas,” Zack said softly to Enar. “I hope they’ll accept your help, but I may have to stay with them.”

Sivney followed at a bit of a distance, noting with gratitude that Lucan was helping Maz convince omegas to trust him, which was a little easier for him as a beta than it was for an alpha like Maz, even if he wasn’t that big and imposing.

“…internal injuries,” Sivney heard Zack say. “He used the leg of a chair, and I think some wood splinters got stuck.”

Sivney’s stomach upturned, and he dry heaved, quickly stepping away so no one would see it. What the fuck was wrong with people?

“It’s bad,” Fergal said softly. Sivney hadn’t even noticed him next to him. “Both severe cases were from the red tent, both Murphy omegas, and both raped and abused by their own alphas. It makes me sick and ashamed to be an alpha.”

Sivney waited until he was certain he had himself under control again. “Erwan told us you haven’t been king long.”

“Coming up on three months now.”

“None of this is on you.”

“Technically not, but that doesn’t make it any easier. And Gregor blames himself for not doing more.”

Sivney sighed. “There’s a lot of that going around. He should talk to Erwan and his brothers. They know a thing or two about guilt.” Then he winced. “Though maybe not right now, not while Rhene is still missing.”

“You have no idea what’s going on?”

Sivney looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. “Our current theory is that the dragon slayers are behind it.”

“The dragon slayers? You mean Duff Bás?”

Sivney did a sharp intake of breath. “You know him?”

“I know about him, and so does Gregor. He’s the last one standing, the last remaining dragon slayer. All the others have been killed. And he’ll do anything to go down in a blaze of glory and take as many dragons with him as possible.”