Page 10 of Fortune Fae Academy

And yet, Axel and I weren’t going to make it easy for Amell. We would do as he asked, but we would give Gina a chance to protect herself. If the Shard was ripped out of her body like Amell’s vision had shown, she wouldn’t survive.

He’d cut the vision off before we had seen that outcome, but with Axel’s help, I had seen the truth for myself.

She wasn’t ready.

But we’dmakeher ready.

She hugged herself while she looked up at me, as if waiting for one of us to devour her.

I felt like a complete asshole. She looked terrified, but I would never do anything to harm her.

I’d rather break every bone in my body than have her look at me the way she was looking at me now. Perhaps it wasn’t me she feared, but the future her bright eyes saw within me.

The distinction didn’t matter.

It was as if for the first time, she had no idea what the future entailed. She was at its mercy and had no choice in which way the tapestry of the Web wove.

It was my job to give her the thread and needle.

A growl rumbled in my chest when she licked her lips again. Even though I didn’t want to, my Alpha instincts demanded that I respond to the sweet, delicious scent of need coming from the beautiful Omega.

I’d tried to escape into my Omega’s dreams during the week she’d been at the Academy, but clearly that had been a selfish move. While it had kept me sane, it had clearly impacted her.

She was delirious for a knot.

Her entire body thrummed with pulsing waves of Dust, brightening the room as the Dust settled on her erotic zones.

Glimmering on her lips.

Illuminating her nipples beneath her dress.

And drawing my eye to the sweet place between her thighs.

I thought I was strong enough to withstand the powerful rush of emotions and aggression that came with meeting my Omega after being deprived of her, drained of my Dust, and tortured to the point of near death.

Now, I wasn’t so sure if I was worthy of Gina’s blessing.

Every muscle in my body was locked under my control, but all it would take was one slip and I’d fall into the Rut.

Not just any Rut, but a powerful state of oblivion where I would be capable of anything.

I might even kill her.

I’d certainly kill Axel, which was probably exactly what Amell wanted.

Keep it together, Seif.

Gina and Axel need you to hold on a little bit longer. Rowan and Zeke, too.

My mates had already done so much for me.

Had I been an Alpha without Gina’s protection, I would have died by now. Amell had tortured me and tried to kill me, but when that hadn’t worked, he’d moved on to throwing Axel in my face.

Any other Alpha would have succumbed long ago to the Elder’s games.

But I was Gina’s Alpha. Her gift provided me with the boost of near immortality that rivaled even an Elder’s.

It was because ofherthat I was like this. Yes, there was my bloodline and my aptitude for survival, but without Gina, I was nothing.