Page 9 of Omega and the Beast

“Because she was bound,” Adonis said, his lips twisting at the thought of the evil priest inadvertently sabotaging his own efforts. “The Beast doesn’t want to be fed. It’s not a dog, to take scraps from his hand. It has to hunt. When I saw her, I was… repulsed by her captivity.”

“And you freed her.”

“Not intentionally, I must admit. The ropes angered the Beast, so the Beast ‘killed’ them. I bit and clawed, then prowled away when the ropes lay ‘dead’ on the ground. Deirdre fainted. With distance, some sliver of reason returned and Deirdre awakened. She stumbled away, but didn’t run, so the Beast couldn’t chase.

And so I was able to follow her, to herd her to the castle, where I hoped she’d be able to lock a door against me until the night was done.

She did, and in the morning, when I was…

myself again, we were able to speak. It was only then that I learned about this ‘ancient’ lottery, and all the other lies Conal preached as truth.

That she, you, everyone… had forgotten.”

“Forgotten… you?” Callista guessed.

“Me. My parents. The castle. That your village has always stood in our territory, protected by our family, by the Alpha and Omega he banished with his curse. Now he claims that Alphas and Omegas are the embodiments of sin, and you are all compelled to believe it, but I tell you, just ten years ago, your winter festivals were held in our halls! There was no priest’s tithe, and no sin in discovering one’s true nature! ”

His voice had risen steadily, ending in a shout, and he had to turn away to collect his thoughts and his temper, which had not cooled in all the time since learning this from Dierdre.

He’d raged all that day and the next, terrifying the poor female.

Now she was one of his closest friends, but at the time, she’d been half out of her wits with fear, whether he stood before her as Man or Beast. It had taken a long time to earn her trust after that bad beginning, but as more and more villagers had joined her – female sacrifices and male would-be Beast-slayers – their distance from the priest had weakened Conal’s influence over them, and they had come to know the truth.

Over time they’d learned the parameters of the curse.

If anyone left the castle at night, the Beast in him saw them as a threat and attempted to hunt them again.

He had never killed one of his friends, but there were scars upon one of his protected to remind him not to rely upon the power of friendship to keep the Beast at bay.

Mirkon claimed not to mind it, that every monster-hunter should have a few good scars, but Adonis still felt the pangs of guilt whenever he saw them, and Mirkon insisted upon short breeches and ankle boots.

He wanted them seen, as a warning to newcomers: Remain in the castle, where it is safe.

“Are there many here?” Callista asked, looking around the bedchamber as if she expected them to pop up and wave.

“Quite a few, yes,” Adonis replied, marveling at it a bit himself.

They’d built up their own little community there—tending the gardens, doing the essential work of the castle, hunting during the day while Adonis remained inside, and eventually, falling in love and having children, as Deirdre and Mirkon had done.

They’d even had a marriage of sorts, with Adonis presiding in place of a priest. He could not be happier for them, even as he was filled with envy.

“But why have none ever returned?” Callista wanted to know.

His reminiscing smile faded. “Several have tried. I thought at first they had succeeded… until their bodies were found, hung from the trees, torn…” He took a breath and let the rest go unsaid.

“Clearly, Father Conal and those village leaders under his power aren’t willing to risk anyone countering their version of the ‘truth.’ Be assured, they were mourned and buried here, with respect and care. ”

“That’s terrible!” Callista breathed, clutching a pillow to her chest, as a child might shield herself against the horrors of the night.

Adonis closed his own eyes. “Yes. It is.” Especially because he’d been unable to help with any of it until the others had gotten the bodies back to the castle.

He’d dug the graves personally, as it was the only thing he could do.

That, and do all he could to convince any other restless guests not to return to their homes.

“Father Conal.” Callista swallowed hard and her trembling voice firmed. “I always knew he was foul, but he’s a monster. Something needs to be done about him.”

The fierce determination in her gaze sparked something in his own heart. Adonis felt the same. He didn’t know how, he didn’t know when, but Father Conal would pay for his evil.

“What about your parents?” she asked suddenly. “You said they went away, but they’ve not returned? Did Father Conal… did he…”

“They’re alive.” Despite that fact, his words were mournful.

“I’ve seen them, when I run the perimeter of the territory.

They’ve tried to come back so many times over the years, but whatever barrier keeps me in, keeps them out as well.

Only Betas seem to be able to pass through, and they rarely do, as far as I can tell.

I don’t know for certain why, but I do know that a curse has a…

sense about it, and the darker the magic, the fouler it feels.

It could easily be that travelers no longer come here simply because the woods of my territory have that ill feeling about them.

Travel is dangerous enough even without dark magic and hungry Beasts.

If something feels wrong, it’s easier to simply stay away than to venture in, just to peddle ribbons and spice. ”

“I wonder if my father has ever traveled beyond the borders,” she murmured.

“No.” Seeing her surprise at his swift answer, he had to smile, despite his mood.

“I was able to speak with him after Mirkon and the others told him of the way of things here in the castle. He’s only traveled between the other villages within my territory.

I suspect this, too, is part of the curse.

Father Conal’s power is strongest over his village and notably weakens with distance.

Whether he keeps the other village leaders under his control with dark magic or just with coin, I don’t know, but I do know that they, too, have solidified their power over their own villages by demonizing innocent Alphas and Omegas. ”

This was not all he’d learned from Callista’s father.

He’d also learned of Lachlan, a Beta male in Shining Village, the village closest to the edge of his territory, who, although outwardly loyal to Conal and his lackeys, remained sympathetic to non-Betas.

He even produced a kind of suppressant that Broderick thought might help Adonis.

Now, having met Callista, Adonis fully understood why Broderick had known about the suppressants.

Although Lachlan was not brave enough to stand against Conal and the rest of his compatriots, he was helping. How they might be able to use that to their advantage, Adonis had not yet decided, but it was an encouraging thought.

“May I see my father now?” Callista asked.

Adonis came out of his thoughts with a start and squeezed her hand again “Of course.”

Hopefully, the male didn’t try to kill him when he realized what Adonis and Callista had been up to the past few days. He liked Broderick. He didn’t want to have to hurt him.