Page 56 of The Runaway
“No, I don’t,” Connor said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, as he trotted after Gabriel.
“Yes, you do,” Gabriel tried to argue.
“No, I don’t,” Connor said again, then, before Gabriel could contradict him again, he said, “You own me. Therefore, I should go with you.”
“No, I don’t. Antoine owns you. This estate owns you. I know Ipaidfor you, but on behalf of the estate.”
Connor raised a surprisingly haughty eyebrow at him. “That’s not what the brand on my back says.”
Gabriel stopped in his tracks. “Excuse me?”
Connor shrugged off the rucksack, then turned around and lifted his shirt, all the way up to his shoulders so that Gabriel could see the brand that had been carefully inked into his skin. Connor gestured at it with his thumb. “See? Owned by Gabriel Calvet.”
Gabriel leaned forward to examine the brand. The symbols and letters were arranged in a neat, specific order, to tell a detailed story about Connor’s owner. And sure enough, in the space where the given name of his owner should go, there was a G. For Gabriel. Not an A for Antoine. Of course, the rest of the omegas on the estate still bore a C, given that they’d been bought by the estate when Christophe had been master of the house, but legal ownership of them would still have been transferred to Antoine after Christophe’s death. This, though…
“Why the fuck did the tattoo artist put my name on there?” Gabriel asked, turning to glare at Antoine. But Antoine looked calmly back, not at all surprised by the news.
“That’s what was on the bill of sale,” Antoine said. “And at the time, you never said anything about buying him on behalf of the estate. You simply said you were going to buy him.”
“Fuck, I…” Gabriel rubbed a hand over his face. “This is not what I meant to happen.”
“Perhaps not. But it’s what did happen, and for what it’s worth, I don’t see a great deal of difference in the details. The purpose was to stop Connor having to go back to the Riviere estate and ensure he was able to stay here on a permanent basis. And whichever of our names is on his brand, we still achieved that outcome.”
“But I didn’t… Fuck…” Gabriel muttered to himself. So many complications that he’d never even considered. He turned back to Connor. “Whether or not I own you, you should still stay here. I’ll be back in a few days. You don’t need to drag yourself all over the countryside just because of a bureaucratic error.”
Connor watched him intently for a moment, seeming to weigh up his options. Then he said, very deliberately, “I want to come with you.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to deny the request… and then had to pause as he realised the significance of it. Connor wanted to come. Connor, the omega, who had no choice about how he lived his life, or where, or with whom, had stated a desire. And in some bold and daring corner of his mind, he actually seemed to expect Gabriel to take him seriously.
Antoine spoke next, before Gabriel could manage to get his brain to work. “Take Crimson,” Antoine said. “You can ride her, and Connor can ride Pearl.”
“I don’t know how to ride a horse,” Connor said.
“Which is why you should ride Pearl,” Antoine said. “Gabriel can hitch him to Crimson’s saddle, and then he’ll just follow along. He’s a bit of a plodder, so all you have to do is hold on.”
“Yeah, I can do that,” Connor said, willingly rising to the challenge.
Cirroc scurried off into the stable, presumably to saddle Crimson, which left Gabriel with nothing left to say. He could insist that Connor stay here, but he couldn’t find it in himself to deny the omega’s request. But when Cirroc led the mare, saddled and ready, out of the stable a few minutes later, Gabriel all but panicked. Connor’s company was going to be equal parts soothing companionship and maddening enticement. He was already looking forward to slow evenings around a campfire, discussing the world and gaining Connor’s insightful views on the state of things. But at the same time, they would be sharing a tent. Bathing in a river together. Eating together, sleeping beside each other, and God, no, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t stand to be so close to his omega for days at a time with no work to do, no distractions, nothing to draw his attention away from Connor’s pale skin and lean body, and his omega’s thoroughly captivating scent…
Hisomega? God help him, this was already a colossal mess.
Cirroc helped Connor mount his horse, and then the omega sat waiting for Gabriel to ready himself to leave.
“Anything else you need?” Antoine prompted him, when Gabriel didn’t move.
“No,” he said, though he had no idea if that was the truth or not. His brain had just taken a long walk off a short pier and was currently drowning in a flood of emotions that made Gabriel’s whole world tilt sideways. He gripped the saddle, shoved his foot into the stirrup, and swung himself up onto the horse. “I’ll see you in a couple of days,” he said, as he turned Crimson to head for the gate. God only knew what sort of chaos would have taken up residence in his world by then.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The rhythmic clop of the horses’ hooves was soothing as they plodded along, accompanied by a backdrop of birdsong, the occasional moo of a cow, and the rustle of the wind through the trees. Gabriel had taken the road away from town, curving in a long arc to the south west, then chosen a fork in the road that would lead them back towards the river. His intention was to follow the water until the river headed southward, away from the road, and find a quiet spot where they could camp. Long stretches of the river ran through forest that wasn’t officially owned by anyone – save perhaps the king – and so they could camp without worrying about being disturbed.
As they travelled, alternating between a trot and a walk, Gabriel let his mind wander. It wasn’t just the Martins and Avril in his head, he’d realised fairly quickly. The incident a few days ago had stirred up a lot of other memories which Gabriel was now being forced to realise he’d never really dealt with. There was an omega named Estelle who’d thrown herself into a bonfire after being raped by a pack of five alphas. Another one, whose name he didn’t know, had jumped into an icy river to drown. There had been dozens of nameless alphas who had laughed and derided the omegas when they’d begged for mercy. A major had asked if Gabriel was soft in the head when he’d pleaded for the omegas in his unit to be given more food. And it all spiralled back to Avril, and Chloe, and Connor, and the idea that no matter what he did, the world would still be a terrible and cruel place, where human beings took such delight in causing pain to one another.
“Are you mad at me?”
Gabriel jumped in his saddle, startling Crimson in turn and making the mare sidestep anxiously until he got her under control again. Once she was settled, Gabriel twisted around, looking back at Connor quizzically. “No. Why would I be?”
“You haven’t said anything to me since we left. I thought maybe you didn’t want me to come.”