Page 17 of Omega and the Beast

Adonis

Giving in to the urge to kill, to slaughter, felt so good. His mate had held him back at first, and he’d stayed, aware of her fragility even as animal thought clouded his own, but now he didn’t have to.

Fight.

Kill.

The Beast’s bloodlust was hot, pumping through his veins, and more than that, the sliver of self he retained in this form knew who he was fighting, his two halves united in rage and revenge.

His wounds throbbed, but it hardly mattered. He was familiar with pain. Pain was something he could take.

Not so the other Beast. Though his bloodlust was as high as his own, Conal was clearly unused as unused to pain and it made him sloppy.

Conal’s shrill howls were a constant, announcing each attack, each injury taken…

running on pure instinct, whereas Adonis had long years of pr actice in the fine art of restraint, using his Beast’s power rather than allowing it to use him.

Not only that, but his Beast was an Alpha.

Father Conal was still a Beta, no matter what form he was in.

From deep inside the well of instincts, he was still thinking, still pushing his own agenda. Still influencing his Beast, even through the bloodlust and the fight. He could see Father Conal’s weaknesses, note his injuries and tactics.

When the moment was right, he pushed through and made his own Beast back off a bit, whining as if Father Conal had seriously injured him. The other Beast was too gone to think twice — he advanced, roaring in triumph, his neck outstretched as he lunged for Adonis.

It was a fatal mistake.

Adonis rolled, seizing the other Beast by the throat, then pinning him to the ground under one massive paw. His claws dug deep into the other’s flesh, his jaws tightened, crushing his enemy’s cries first and then his bones before ripping it all away.

Blood gushed into his mouth and splattered over the ground as Father Conal collapsed. Pale fur soaked up mud and blood as he lay, sides heaving and small bubbles gurgling as he tried to breathe through a throat that was no longer there, then he went still.

Adonis threw back his head and roared his triumph as he stood over his prey. Vindication filled him. He’d had his revenge.

A loud clap of thunder filled the air, and everyone dropped to their knees, hands over their ears, including Adonis, whose hearing was especially sensitive in this form. After a moment, he cautiously raised his head, then looked down at his hand, still a paw, blood shining on his flexing claws .

He’d hoped that killing Father Conal might break the curse, but apparently it wasn’t so.

“Adonis!” Callista slammed into him from the side and he wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her scent, hoping it would help keep him calm… only to realize he didn’t need to.

The urge to hunt, to kill, was gone.

His instinct to mate with Callista was still there, the knowledge he would kill for her in a heartbeat remained, but the animal bloodlust that had been with this form since his first turning had utterly left him. Staring down at her, he felt like he could even…

The watching villagers, some wary, some concerned, let out a single communal gasp as he shifted, shrugging off the Beast’s form to stand before them as Adonis.

He gasped along with them, staring at himself with wonder.

The change had never been so quick before, so painless, and never at his own will.

“Adonis?” Callista breathed out his name, gazing up at him as he lifted his hands into the moonlight. His hands. Not the Beast’s.

“I’m me again…” Except, he could still feel the Beast inside him.

The night air tugged at him. He felt sure he could shift back — if he wanted to — but he didn’t have to.

He hadn’t realized how much he’d resigned himself to his half-life until the weight of that hopeless existence left him.

His heart leapt in his chest as he dared to think he might even see his parents again.

The curse was broken.

“No more Beast?” Was it his imagination, or did Callista’s tone sound a little disappointed?

Mate, growled a familiar inner voice, rough and hungry… but not monstrous .

The growling voice in his head certainly still sounded like the Beast.

Yet it was dark night, and he wasn’t the Beast — unless he wanted to be. If that was as broken as the curse could get, he would take it. Deep down, he’d resigned himself to living as the Beast for the rest of his days… this was better.

“Adonis?”

“I can still feel him, in here.” He thumped his hand against his chest and grinned down at her. “But it’s not controlling me anymore. I think I could shift if I wanted to, but Callista! If that’s broken, maybe the barrier around the territory is, too!”

He didn’t have to say anything to make her understand — her eyes lit up as bright as the moon.

“Your parents!”

“My parents.” After so long, he was almost afraid to hope. If the curse was only partly broken, maybe he would still be trapped in here while they were out there… or maybe not. Maybe at long last, he would be able to do more than gaze at them through an invisible wall.

It had been years…

He swallowed hard, looking down at the monstrous corpse of Father Conal.

All around him and Callista, the others were talking.

Some with their families or friends, many of them being introduced to each other for the first time.

More than one curious look was being sent his and Callista’s way, along with expressions of shame.

Confusion. Several Betas were rubbing their heads.

“Do you remember me?” he asked and everyone else immediately quieted. “Do you remember my parents and the truth about Alphas and Omegas?”

“We do.” Diona’s father stepped forward, his arm around his daughter. She clung to him tearfully, but there was a huge smile on her face. “I’m so sorry. I… I don’t know how…”

“It was the curse,” Adonis said. “It was not your fault that you did not remember the truth. I know many of you, especially those whose children ended up here, still fought against the depredations of Father Conal and his ilk.”

As he said the words, he wondered what had happened to the other villages. That was going to be one of the first things they needed to take care of.

Fortunately, there were more than enough volunteers willing to jump in and ride through the night. Not necessarily to bring news to the other villages, but to find out what had happened to their leaders when the curse rebounded.

It made for a long night, but report after report came in — the village leaders who had aided Father Conal in casting his curse had also succumbed to it, transforming into Beasts who were then slain by those formerly under their power.

Everyone’s memories had returned. Miraculously, although there had been many injuries, no one had been killed, apart from the corrupted leaders, among them, Lachlan, whose transformation to a Beast betrayed his true nature.

He had not truly been sympathetic to the plight of Omegas and Alphas, but profiting off them as he peddled suppressants that wouldn’t be necessary if not for the curse he had helped to cast. Although there were some who mourned him, even Broderick agreed he’d gotten what he’d deserved in the end.

With every report back in, Adonis’ heart got a little lighter.

Perhaps it was wrong to be glad the curse had rebounded, but he couldn’t help feeling grateful that fate, and the other villagers, had taken care of them, especially as the burden of judgment would have fallen to him had they lived.

Adonis didn’t mind killing Father Conal, the ringleader, but he would rather not start out this next period of his life with executions.

The only thing he didn’t do was test the barrier at the edge of the territory. He wanted to, but it wasn’t as though he could go searching for his parents tonight. It was enough for now just to know what was happening in the other villages.

That night he went to sleep not long after midnight, wrapped around Callista, still in his human form. He could feel the tug of the shift, but could resist it. And, for the first time in a long time, he slept completely peacefully, knowing justice had been served.