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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

~Arcay~

I SCRAMBLED UP from the bed and stood in front of Clay as he rose to his knees, blocking him from Jursin with my body. It did not matter that Jursin was my superior and already bound. No alpha was coming near my omega.

Jursin drew himself up and glared at me with fire in his eyes. “What is going on here? You have not yet claimed the human omega. Several alphas have scented his pheromones, and Ulgar himself told me.”

“That is not true,” I said quickly. A foolish lie.

His eyes darkened further and his lip curled back, the light catching on his fangs. “Do not insult me. I can smell him from here. This place stinks with his scent,” Jursin growled. “Not only have you disobeyed me, you have put others at risk by allowing the omega to go unclaimed.”

Even though he spoke the undeniable truth, I shook my head. I could win him around, convince him to give me more time. I just needed to find the correct words, to make him see what I had come to understand.

“ Arani , I apologize for disobeying you, it was not my intention, but Clay is different to Aldar omegas. Our ways do not work with him. I need to allow him time.” I clenched my jaw, what I was saying was against every tradition but Jursin needed to hear the truth. Surely, he would understand. “I do not wish to claim him by force. He is already making progress, I just require a little more time—”

“That is not good enough,” Jursin snapped. “He must be claimed immediately.”

I froze. Although he was stern, Jursin had always been like a father to me, guiding me and giving me the support I required to be the best I could for our people. It was well known that as his Second, I was the most favored except for his own mate. Surely he would not force me to act against my will.

The bed shifted behind me as Clay moved. “ What’s going on ?” he asked in Panlin.

I wanted to reassure him, but I could not turn away from Jursin.

“Arani ,” I said, “I give you my word that when the time is right I will—”

“No. If you do not claim him now, you will give him up.”

All the air was sucked from the room, and my chest constricted. Jursin was the First, his word was law. But he could not take Clay away from me, he was mine .

“No,” I said.

Shock registered on Jursin’s face for a split second at my direct disobedience, then it blackened to a rage so powerful my body leaned away from it.

“You are not yourself, Arcay. And that is the only reason I have given you this chance. Do not force my hand,” he snarled.

“Arcay?” Clay said.

I widened my stance, preparing myself. I could not win in a fight against Jursin and we both knew it. It went against everything inside me; my head and body were screaming to obey him. But I would not give up my omega without a fight. I would keep him, or die trying—there was no alternative for me.

“No,” I repeated.

Jursin tensed and I readied myself, but instead of attacking he sighed and took a step backward. Relief flooded through me. Was he relenting? I dropped my hands.

“Jursin—”

The door flew open and a flurry of bodies burst into the room. Clay made a startled noise and I fell back into my defensive stance as Jursin shook his head.

“This is your own doing, Arcay. You have caused this to happen.”

There were six guards, all armored in thick plating from shin to wrist, carrying their golden, sickle-shaped blades at their waists. They came around Jursin and fanned out in front of me.

“ Holy fuck, Arcay. What the fuck is happening ?” Clay shouted. He was still behind me on the bed, crouching naked in the tossed sheets as if ready to run. But there was nowhere for him to go. I hunched, fangs displayed, claws out, and my eyes flicked over to where my spear was sitting on its wall mount. If I ran and lunged for it I might be able to get it in time, but that would mean leaving Clay unprotected. One of the guards followed my gaze to my spear and went to draw his weapon, but Jursin raised his hand.

“Do not fight us, Arcay,” He said. “This is your last chance to take the correct action.”

I growled in response.

“This human omega has affected your mind, his pheromones are too strong.”

“The only way he has affected me is by making me see the error of our ways. I will not force my bond on Clay, and I will not allow anyone else to either.”

“Then there is no other way. He cannot be allowed to remain unclaimed on the ship.” Jursin nodded and the guards advanced.

They kept their blades sheathed, and I struck out at the nearest one, sending him flying before engaging the next coming fast at my side. Before I could dispatch him, the rest surrounded me, and the first was back on his feet, leaping back into the fray.

I fought them with everything I had. If there were less of them, or if I was not already injured, I might have been able to stop them. But weakened as I was and outnumbered, I rapidly grew tired and two of the guards slipped around me, heading for Clay. I went after them, spitting in my fury, but the four remaining guards took their chance to pounce on my unprotected back and I collapsed under their combined weight. Pinned down on the floor with them on top of me, no matter how I thrashed and struggled, I could not get free.

Clay had retreated to the far side of the room, eyes wide with fear and confusion. As they approached he attempted to flee, shooting off to one side on his long legs with a sudden burst of speed. They lunged for him, one of them catching him by the arm, their claws digging into his flesh as he jerked in an attempt to free himself, until the other took hold of him as well.

“Arcay.”

The four guards struggled to hold me down as I roared. “No. Let go of him.”

I flung my head back and managed to head-butt one of them in the face with a sharp crack , and he fell backwards to the ground, freeing my arm. I clawed at the Aldar on my other arm until one of the guards holding Clay let go and rushed over to take the fallen ones place.

But even one guard was too much for Clay to contend with. He struggled, his face sharpened with fear and his wide eyes locked on me. Pleading for help.

“He is mine,” I bellowed. “You cannot take him.”

The guard holding him snapped a wide band of metal around Clay’s neck that fastened tight. Clay panicked and grasped at it with his free hand, trying to pull it off, but the collar sat snug against his throat, marking him as available to all. They were taking him to Tournament.

“Arcay,” he gasped.

The sight of him in the collar and the distress in his voice turned my shouts into wordless howls of fury.

“Get him out of here, now,” Jursin barked.

The Aldar holding Clay’s arm dragged him to the door, handling him roughly as he tried to fight back. The corners of my vision whited out, blinding me with untethered rage.

But no amount of fighting, cursing, or snarling could stop him. And by the time I could see properly again, Clay was gone.