A sign to them she is mine and off limits to anyone else. She is my mate, the one I chose…the one who chose me.
Or maybe it’s just this primal need inside me to make sure they can smell her on me, feel my satisfaction and know that she waits for me back in my suite.
Not that any of them would dare to touch her, and if anyone dares look at her, I’ll burn out their eyes, I’ll gut them… I’ll—
A touch on my shoulder snaps me out of my thoughts.
“She’s in your head.” I look around to find Ethan standing at my shoulder. His features are calm, his gaze wary.
When I had killed my father and taken his place, Ethan had been the first to pledge his loyalty to me. It still didn’t change the fact that he came from the ruling classes. The same as the alphas who had misused their power and hastened my mother’s death.
“Second.” I stalk to the head of the table.
Ethan drops into the chair on my right.
I glower at the assembled men. “When do we attack Scotland?”
My gaze sweeps the room.
There’s silence, then Solomon leans forward. “It’s not a good idea, General.”
I train my gaze on Sol. “Is that right?” My voice is low and measured.
Solomon pales under his tan.
I’d hand picked him to become my Head of Troops. Not that it matters. As long as he follows my lead, I’ll be tolerant of him.
“Answer me.” My voice rings through the room.
Sol’s gaze flicks to Ethan.
“The timing is not yet right to take on the Scots.” He swallows, then squares his shoulders. “We need to arm the soldiers and train the new recruits. Also need to source more weapons. It’s premature to attack.”
“All of you agree?” I look around the table.
“We are not yet prepared,” Liam growls.
“Care to elaborate?” I thrust out my chest. It’s a subtle act of dominance, warning off the other man, telling him that I am stronger, more powerful than him, and not just physically.
“I am the first to want to wipe out the Scots for their slaughtering my family, but I know the importance of not rushing in.” The tank of an alpha pounds his fist on the table for emphasis. “When we finally attack, I want to do so with all our might. Kill them in one go.”
Well, at least he speaks his mind.
“Anyone else?”
“Since we are all in such a chummy mood,” Ryker drawls from the other side of the table, “perhaps you need to spend time consummating your bond with your omega, get it all out of your system so you are not distracted when we fight the Scots.”
Anger bubbles up, the emotions ripe and thick and coiling through my blood. I taste the need for violence on my tongue, so rich, so strong. “Is that what you’d do if you were in my place?”
Ryker’s shoulders stiffen. He’s one hell of a marksman, the best on my team. Doesn't mean I have to spare him. No one is indispensable, and he knows it. He swallows, then nods.
“You’re right.” I let my lips twist in the semblance of a smirk.
A breath rushes out of Ryker; his shoulders visibly relax.
“That’s the last time I tolerate anyone talking about my omega. No-one is to even glance at her, got it?”
Silence.
I glower around the table, making sure to look each alpha in the eye.
Ryker gets to his feet. “That’s our cue then.” He glides out of the room.
Sol and the other alphas follow.
Well, all except Ethan who stays seated. He brings his fingers together in front of him. A nerve tics at his temple. He sets his jaw. Adamant fucker. He will not leave without having his say, and the frustrating thing is that I am going to let him do just that, too. Fuck! Leaning forward, I brush the dust off his shoulder. “What?”
He doesn’t get the threat inherent in my gesture, or if he does, he chooses to ignore it. Fucker has some balls.
“You count on me to tell the truth.” He holds my gaze.
He’s right, and fuck if that doesn’t infuriate me. Anger heats my blood. “I keep you because you had no other place to go.”
“And isn’t that a fact.” Ethan lowers his palms and drums his fingers on the table. “I was born here; these are my people, and I plan to do my best by them.”
“Your misplaced sense of loyalty will bite you in the ass,” I glower.
“Your trying to hide what you always feel whether it is to your men or to your omega will—”
Only when I feel the rough cloth of Ethan’s collar under my fingers do I realize I’ve closed the space and hauled the slimmer man up to his toes. “I warned you not to talk about her,” I snarl.
“And if I obeyed you every single time you issued a command, I’d be mistaken for a beta.” Ethan’s lips twist.
Annoyingly, he is right again.
Sure, I have an ego, but I also know I don't want to surround myself with men who agree to everything I say. That’s what Golan did, and look what happened to him. A harsh chuckle rolls out of me. “Speak then.” I let go of him.
He crashes into the table, then rights himself. “You should have sent the omega to the harem.” He pauses as if choosing his words with care.
Ethan thinks things through down to the last detail before he takes action. Me? I lead with my gut.
“Go on.” The mating cord nestled under my breastbone throbs. A shudder of awareness rolls down my spine, twining with something else, a faint sense of unease. I rub the skin of my chest above my heart.
“It’s the deal you made with us.” Ethan sets his jaw. “No alpha is allowed to touch omegas without their permission. How do you expect your men to live by your code when you can’t follow it yourself?”
The blood thuds at my temples, my left eyebrow throbs. “I wanted her; I took her.” I lean forward and shove my face close to his. “No one comes near her, until I decide what to do with her.”
His lips tighten. His entire demeanor is one of censure. And I thought when I’d killed off Golan, I’d gotten rid of the ghost of parental disapproval. Fuck this. I don’t owe an explanation to anyone.
“I don’t march to anyone else’s tune or follow anyone else’s timetable, only my own.” I grind my jaw so hard that pain slashes down my throat. “We will attack Scotland and bring Kayden to his knees.”
“We need more time—”
I raise my hand, cutting him off. “We will wait a few more days… Until I have made sure my omega is settled. Then we attack.” I turn to leave.
“We chose you for our leader, Zeus. The underbelly of this city needs to be swept clean of the criminals and the corruption fostered under your father’s rule. You are the only man who can show us the way.”
I pause halfway to the door. A cold feeling rolls in my gut.
He is wrong, so wrong. I’m just the bastard from the wrong side of the tracks who is always on the outside looking in. I believe in only one thing: fighting for myself, for my survival. That is it. Nothing else matters. Not this city. Not the people. Not my Council. Nothing.
I glare at him over my shoulder. “Don’t patronize me.” My voice is deceptively light. Blood thuds at my temples. “Do. You. Understand?”