The soldiers have formed a wide circle around me. On their faces I see fear, desperation, also resignation. What’s missing is respect. What I’ve craved from the beginning.
The need to redeem myself in front of the people who’ve made me their leader.
I’ve wanted this, craved this power since I was five and had caught a glimpse of my father sparring with his troops right here in this courtyard. And yet every time I’d tried to live up to his expectations, tried to live up to my own dreams, I have failed. The only thing left for me is to destroy this town and show them once and for all who is the most powerful alpha.
No one meets my gaze, except Solomon who stands there, eyes narrowed, a look of understanding on his face. I glance away.
Ethan steps forward. “Want to take on someone your own size, Alpha?”
“You have a death wish, Second?” I crack my neck from side to side. Truth is, that’s exactly what I need. A chance to pit my skills against someone who can hold his own, who will challenge me, push me, take my mind off the annoying, beautiful, alluring woman whose thoughts send a pulse of desire shooting to my groin. Yet who I’ve sworn not to touch, not until she asks for me to take her.
Ethan’s lips pull up in the semblance of a smile. He has his armor on already. He holds up his sword and takes position.
My gaze falls to it. “Barehanded. No weapons.”
The color slides from his face. A nerve ticks at his temple.
He is unsure of how he’ll fare against me without his favorite weapon. Good. When I was running wild on the streets of the East End, I had no access to fine weapons. All I had were my wits and my bare fists. Fighting freehand is what I still excel at. No one has defeated me, ever. Many have tried and been hurt.
The same thoughts must have run through Ethan’s mind, for he nods and hands his sword to Solomon.
He shrugs off his armor and lets it fall to the ground.
I take off my vest and fling it aside.
We walk to the center of the courtyard and face each other.
The heat of the morning sun pours over us. People begin to stream onto the balconies above us.
I bend my knees, raise my fists, and am about to charge forward, when a soldier runs into the courtyard.
“The omega. She’s gone.”
31
Lucy
The shirt I wear, his shirt, whips around my thighs. Reaching the other end of the building, I hear the shouts as soldiers pursue me.
I still can’t believe he’d left the suite without locking it behind him, that there had been no guard on duty. Zeus was crude and an alpha-hole, but he wasn’t sloppy. Had he done this deliberately?
Yet, this is too good an opportunity, and I have to take it, even if it means being caught and punished. I have nothing to lose.
The sound of footsteps racing in pursuit thunders, and blood thuds at my temples; my pulse beats so fast that I feel dizzy, yet I keep going.
I run through the gardens, to where the scent of the river floats to me. A cry breaks out behind me, and I pick up my pace.
My feet skid on the stones, and pain rips up my legs. I bite my lip to hold back my groans. Stumbling over the uneven ground I reach the parapet wall and peer over the side. The water of the Thames churns below.
My heart pounds. A chuckle rips out. I thought I was so clever to escape. Thought I would be brave enough to jump and leave the alpha behind.
The mating bond in my chest throbs and a shudder of desire races down my spine. My throat closes. No. No. This is not happening. I cannot be bonded so closely to him that he can anticipate my fears, my uncertainty, even predict what I am going to do next. Once more I glance over the parapet at the river.
My head swims, and a moan emerges from my mouth.
I grab the platform of the parapet. Can I do it? Can I take this final step? Or am I forever fated to be here, bonded to a man I know nothing about? Who knows my identity? Who probably suspects that I had an ulterior motive to have come this far? He’d found out my real identity but he still doesn’t know the real reason I am here. This is my chance. This.
My heart stutters. The mating bond pushes against my chest. He’s coming, he is. I don’t need to look over my shoulder to sense his presence.
“Lucia.”
His voice shivers over my skin. The mating bond stretches and pulls at me to turn around. I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Don’t…don’t come closer or…” Pain floods down the mating bond.
The fear that comes down the connection almost blinds me. It also confuses me. He can’t be afraid for me. He doesn’t care for me. But he’d walked away from me that morning and given me a choice. In this instant I know I’ve made a mistake. I’ve found the one person who finally recognizes what I am inside. Not any omega. Not a meek female. Not only a submissive. Someone who is his equal. Someone he won’t treat as another breeder, but one who he’ll want to please. He’d grabbed me from that room full of alphas, but he’d actually saved me from them. He’d taken me for himself, yet each time he’d also made sure to pleasure me. And his touch…his feel…his caresses. Desire tugs my groin, and slick gathers and drips from my core.
“I am not going anywhere, Lucia.”
Another pulse of heat trickles down the bond. There’s a yearning there. A need to fulfill, to take care of me that I had refused to accept. And now? It’s too late, it is. I turn to him.
“But I am.” I smile at him. Tears prick my eyes.
“Wait.” He flings out his hand and closes the distance between us.
I push back against the wall. The breath catches in my throat. My hands slide on the parapet, and then I am falling, falling. I think I scream, but I am not sure. The wind gushes past me so fiercely, so strong that my eardrums seem to rupture. Then there is only silence and pain that rips through me as I hit the surface of the water and sink under.
32
Zeus
“No!” My heart slams against my rib cage, and I race toward the parapet. I throw my leg over the wall, but arms seize me and yank me back. “Let me go,” I roar at the intruder.
I scan the river, searching for her. There is only the churning, swirling mass of water that is the treacherous surface of the Thames.
I can’t see her.
There’s no sign of her.
Another pulse of worry twists my guts. My stomach lurches, and my breath comes out in pants. My vision narrows. The hair on my skin pops. I grab the arms that restrain me and rip them off of me, then leap for the wall and jump over the side.
Keeping my arms close to my body, I hit the water and go through. Opening my eyes underwater, I look for her. Nothing. I don’t see anything. There is a ball of fire in my chest, squeezing my heart. I fall inside myself and reach for the mating bond and find it quiet.
So quiet.
Fear shudders down my spine. Surfacing up for another gulp of air, I then dive below, my gaze scanning the space. And again. My arms are so tired, legs so heavy I find the current overpowering me. Know I must swim to the riverbank, else I’ll likely drown, too.
Closing my eyes, I reach for the bond and stretch my consciousness out through it, searching, sensing, and all I find is white.
A silent whiteness so blank it could be a canvas that will never be painted on.