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Rue

I put up a good fight. Fate dealt me a raw deal–the weakest designation, a Prime happy to pass me around like cheap wine, and a lifetime of misery.

But I escaped it for a while. I enjoyed a brief taste of freedom and love with a breathtaking fae. Those memories are mine. No one can take them from me, especially when I’m returning with a tangible reminder.

Vaegon, my pup. A precious piece of Durin, the mate I was never truly meant to have.

Mannus, the bitter bastard Mother and I slipped past during our escape, may be here to drag me back to my fate, but no one will ever take Vaegon from me. I wouldn’t be blessed with this perfect pup only to have him snatched right back. Even fate couldn’t be that cruel.

I try to draw comfort from that as we make our way to camp, but I find myself unsure. Fate has been anything but kind to me so far.

We walk in silence, other than the frosty ground crunching beneath our feet and a growl from Mannus any time we slow our pace. The journey to the hut seemed so long. Now that I’m being forced back to our camp, the time slips through my grasp as if I’m sleeping.

The forest feels safe. Durin could appear any moment out here in the open. But once we pass into our pack’s territory, the atmosphere seems to shift. What I once called home has become so threatening.

One of the pack’s Alpha wolves notices us while on his rounds and approaches. He paces back and forth a few times, checking us over. Mannus just nods to him and continues toward our camp. The wolf races ahead, probably to tell Bock we’ve returned.

As soon as we see the first tent, he’s there, blocking our path. His power pulses around us like a barrier, as if we’d be foolish enough to run.

But his eyes surprise me. They’re full of worry instead of the anger I’d expected.

“Are you hurt, mate?” he asks, reaching for me.

I shake my head no and bare my throat, remaining where I stand. The term “mate” makes me sick. And there’s no way I’m running into his outstretched arms like this is some kind of sweet reunion. I don’t want to provoke him in case he takes it out on my mother, but I won’t let him think I’m happy to see him.

The pack has begun to gather around us, silently emerging from the shadows and stepping out from behind tents. It’s unsettling, like being in the eye of a brewing storm. But I’m surprised to find that I don’t care who’s here for this. I left them all behind when I fled. Whether they agreed with him or not, they accepted Bock’s plans for me. They’re nothing to me now.

Bock’s expression turns from concern to shock, then to fury, as his eyes settle on my stomach. All traces of worry and tenderness vanish, replaced by a barely-contained rage swirling in his eyes. He keeps them locked on mine as a primal roar erupts from his lungs, turning to steam in the chilly air.

“What have you done?” he demands.

His Alpha bark presses down on my chest, ensuring I speak the truth. He probably assumed we’d been caught and killed. Now, he finds us both unharmed, bringing with us another life we hadn’t left with.

“I was afraid,” I blurt.

My body urges me to continue under the weight of his bark. To unleash my disgust for him and his twisted sense of what’s acceptable. I’d love to be honest with him, but I don’t want my mother to be punished.

Mercifully, she steps forward to prevent the unforgivable disrespect that was ready to fly out of my mouth.

“After we finished at the market, an innot spooked Rue, and she went into heat. She needed somewhere to hide for the duration.”

While all of that is true, it leaves much unsaid. Bock shifts his attention to her, noting that she’s speaking freely. He quickly corrects that.

“And why did you not send for me?” he barks.

His veins bulge beneath his skin in his fury. The tips of his long fangs brush against the thick hair of his beard. He’s imposing like this. Aggressive. But I think most of his anger is stemming from embarrassment. He lost track of his future mate, missed out on her first heat, and now, she returns carrying another male’s pup.

Good. Fuck him.

I want to stab him in the balls for speaking to my mother the way he did, but I’m relieved to be released from his bark’s influence. Mother is more calculating than me. She’s picked up some things from the fae at the market over the years. She’ll be able to handle Bock and his bark much better than I could.

“I was afraid to leave her,” she says carefully, implying she didn’t want me to be vulnerable while she ran for help. “She found a deep cave where she could ride out her heat.”

Both statements are true, though they aren’t directly connected. Bock has no idea that she wasn’t with me in the cave.

“Why didn’t you return immediately after her heat?” he demands.

Neither of us speak because he didn’t bark this time, plus, it’s unclear who he was speaking to. He looks at me, but instead of asking again, he says, “Come closer.”

I drag my feet forward and bare my throat to him. I remind myself that this is not a true submission. I’m doing this for my mother.

He bends down and sniffs my neck. My skin crawls everywhere his breath touches. I want to claw at my flesh until the feeling is gone. But I have to keep my composure for the inevitable question that’s sure to come next.

“Who is the father?” he asks. His tone is calm, but each word is dripping with his Alpha bark.

“A fae,” I reply, fighting against the force of his power. “He found me during my heat and lay with me.”

I feel like a traitor, knowing they’ll all assume it was a selfish, heartless fae, just like any other. I once thought that of Durin, too, but I was wrong. They’re wrong as well, but they’d never believe me if I told them otherwise.

I fight desperately not to give more information than I have to. I don’t want them to know anything that might lead them to him.

Gasps and growls ripple across the camp, just as I’d expected. Some of their faces twist in disgust. Some show pity, like I’m a victim. The Prime and his Alphas, however, including my father, put on a show with their pretentious rage.

“I will gut him for taking advantage of a helpless Omega,” Bock declares to the pack. “ My Omega!”

The Alphas gather around him, growling, fangs and fists out, prepared for a fight.

What a joke. They were all willing and eager to take advantage of the very same helpless Omega.

But luckily, Bock is no longer angry with me. He thought I’d run off and found another Alpha. Now that he knows it was a fae, his ego isn’t as hurt. My mother will hopefully be spared any punishment for her involvement.

“You were ashamed to be with his child,” my father speaks up, stepping out from the back of the group. “That’s why you remained hidden.”

He’s not actually talking to me, more like giving the Prime an excuse for my behavior. And he’s not sticking up for me like it might sound. He’s just worried about his own ego.

I’ll take the out, though. I didn’t realize I was pregnant until months later. I was completely oblivious. But they don’t know that. Anyone else would have considered the possibility after a heat. Mother would have known right away if I’d told her the truth. My father’s excuse for me is believable.

“Don’t worry, mate,” Bock says, using that horrid word again. “There’s no shame in something you had no control over. After the pup is born, you will be fit for your role as Luna. We can find a pack to take it, or you may raise it here.”

I’m immediately thankful that Bock is reasonable about most things. He won’t feel the same protective instinct over my pup as he would if it were his own. But I know he won’t be unkind to it.

He also knows what happens to Omegas who lose their pups. They can fall into a deep depression, to the point of physical illness and debilitating pain. Some never recover, eventually succumbing to their despair and refusing to ever eat again. At least he doesn’t wish that on me.

“You’ll be taken to my tent and remain there until the pup is born. When your body recovers, I will claim you as my mate. Your mother may tend to you and help you deliver. Otherwise, she is to remain in her tent in seclusion under your father’s watch.”

Dammit. He’s still angry with her. She should have brought me back, even if I was ashamed. She also should never have taken me to the market without an Alpha in the first place. Hopefully, his anger will subside quickly, and she can return to her normal duties. I feel horrible that she’s in this position because of me, even though it could have been much worse.

“Who is this fae that will soon face a gruesome death for his actions?” Bock asks, his gaze sweeping proudly over his Alphas.

The thought of them hunting Durin down sends a shudder through me. I can’t help but shrink back as I stare helplessly at Bock.

“I don’t know,” I lie, since there was no bark. “I was in heat. I barely remember anything from it.”

Bock turns to my mother, believing she was there for my heat, and remembers to bark this time. “What does he look like?”

The words tumble out of her mouth. “Tall, blue, noble.”

“Did he give you a name?” Bock demands.

Mother looks at me apologetically, devastated, as his name is ripped from her lips. “Durin.”

A shadow falls over Bock’s face, his demeanor shifting from one of authority to one of disbelief. “Durin?” he asks. “The guardian fae?”

Guardian fae?

Mother and I have been isolated for months. I don’t know what he’s talking about. It does seem to point to Durin, though. He told me about helping other species as he plots the queen’s downfall. I can see why word may have spread of him as a protector. Even if he’s not this guardian Bock is speaking of, I’ll use it. I can’t let them go after him.

“He killed Mitah, and he hates the queen,” I say, failing to hide the tears as they spill down my cheeks. “Ask around,” I insist when Bock remains silent. “He’s helped many shifters. And he was only trying to help me. I was in so much pain. Please, don’t hurt him. He’s going to change the realm for us all.”

I realize too late that my attempt to protect Durin has exposed my deceitful answers. It also gives away my feelings for him. Bock may be distracted from the reason Mother and I went to the market alone, but I’m sure he’s now convinced that I fell for the fae who took advantage of me.

I wince, waiting for him to lash out. But he looks at me with pity instead. The poor, ignorant Omega, falling for her abuser. I bet he uses it to make himself the hero.

A sudden shriek from the crowd pulls everyone’s attention away from me. When I find the source, I’m shocked to see Jevive wrench free from her mother’s grasp and storm toward us.

“What about me? ” she whines at Bock. “I presented as Omega. I’m in my three-moon period. You told me I would become Luna. Now that Rue returns, I’m just cast aside?”

Bock seizes her by the back of the neck and growls softly in her face. “Watch your tone with your Prime. You were not given permission to speak.”

She whimpers and averts her eyes from him.

“I thought Rue had been killed. Have you no sympathy for what she endured? She has the right to reclaim her title. And I deserve the Luna who was meant to be mine. Now, off with you.”

If only we could have hidden it longer. Why did Cirro have to find me that night? In just a few months, Jevive would have presented and become the new Luna, just as Mother had hoped. I could have remained here safely and “presented” later.

But Durin and our pup... They would never have become a part of my life. One of them wouldn’t exist at all. Maybe it was all worth it to keep a piece of Durin with me. He isn’t perfect, but he’s mine. In a way. Maybe he is actually strong enough to defeat this many Alphas. Perhaps he’ll risk it and rescue us from this life.

But if he doesn’t, this is my only chance at being spared the life I ran from.

“She’s right, Prime,” I say quickly. “I was gone. And I’m no longer untouched. It’s only fair that she’s allowed to fill the role that she was promised.”

I pray silently that he is grateful to take the out. That he prefers a pure mate, one who hasn’t shamed him as I have. But he’s already made up his mind. He shoves Jevive toward her mother and gives her his back as he glares at me.

“You’d give up your right so easily, Omega?” he asks, his eyes glowing with anger again. “After I so graciously allowed you to keep it?”

“It sounds like someone enjoyed her heat a little too much,” Mannus says, peering around Bock’s large frame so I can see his ugly face. “You weren’t ashamed to return to your Prime. You were hoping the fae would fall for you once his pup was born. How pathetic.”

I instinctively cradle my belly, feeling threatened by his accusations. My tears flow even faster, only giving credit to what he’s claimed, what Bock was likely already thinking.

But my fear isn’t enough for Mannus. He’s angry. He was cast out for months, living in the forest alone because of me. He’s not finished hurting me yet.

“I’ve been near the castle while hunting for you, Omega,” he says with a truly wicked grin. “I’ve overheard things. You think you can win the fae’s heart? You say he hates the queen? Then why is she preparing a grand celebration for him as we speak? A festival to present him as her consort. Her lover. Her most precious and intimate companion?”

He shakes his head and chuckles, mocking me. “Do you really think he’d choose you over the queen?”

My throat closes up, and my heart feels like it was ripped from my chest. I want to disappear. If it weren’t for the innocent pup who needs me to survive, I would gladly surrender myself to the cold waters of the stream I once hid in.

Mother tries to come comfort me, but my father steps between us and holds her back.

I’m trapped. By my fate, by the Prime, and by this new pain that’s suffocating me. Everything seems to be closing in on me. I feel smaller and more helpless as Mannus’s words replay over and over in my head.

In my desperation, I lose my grip on the loathing and disgust I’ve been holding back for so long.

“Maybe Durin would choose the queen,” I spit at Mannus before turning to the almighty Prime. “But I’d probably choose her over you myself!”

Gasps echo through the forest, and growls of his enraged Alphas rumble around me. “What did you say to me?” Bock asks, leaning down until his face is right in front of mine.

This close, his fangs are as big and sharp as tent spikes. But I’m not intimidated. I’m fueled by agony, and my rage outweighs his bark. There’s no keeping my feelings buried now that my soul has been opened wide.

“You expect me to fight for you?” I scoff. “You really think that any Omega—besides Jevive’s shameless ass—wants to be your mate? To spread their legs for you and every Alpha in this pack whenever it suits you? To have them ripped open if they refuse? To be resented by the Betas for stealing their mates? You honestly believe you’re powerful enough, and attractive enough, to be worth that? You’re out of your fucking mind!” I scream.

He growls and starts to say something, but I’m not finished. I yell the words to make sure my words are heard over his.

“You’re arrogant, selfish, and utterly clueless about what it means to provide for a pack. You think your status makes you desirable, but you might as well be a fae for what a cruel, heartless bastard you really are!”

I’m fully aware that a shifter could be killed for showing such blatant disrespect to their Prime Alpha. But even Bock wouldn’t dare harm an Omega. We’re far too valuable and rare.

Unfortunately, for the same reason, he also won’t cast me out. But what worse can he do than he was already planning?

He’s made his decision. At least now, someone has finally voiced what a foul piece of shit he is.