Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
I stop my thoughts before they stray too far down that dark road.
My parents are gone, but Rose is here. I must study so I can return to her. Once she has rebuilt her nest to her satisfaction, she will be desperate for me to rut her in it. The thought makes my lips curve up. The muscles of my face are aching from the unfamiliar movement. I haven’t smiled this much in a long, long time.
A whisp rustles the scrolls on my desk.
“What is it?”
The orb I’m using to watch my Omega floats closer. The image reveals the nesting room made up neatly, with columns of pillows stacked in artful piles. All the sweet cakes from the second plate have vanished, too, leaving only crumbs.
But the room is empty.
My Rose is gone.
ELEVEN
Rose
It took a little cajoling to get Rogue to let me out of the nesting room. First, I claimed I had to go to the bathroom—which was true. Washing my face had the added benefit of clearing my head. I held my packet of smuggled sweet cakes to my nose to ward off Bestian’s delicious scent. My kryptonite.
The next hurdle was finding a window that looked out over the garden. But when I made a fuss about wanting to pick a moonflower, the little wind relented and guided me to a balcony. And what do you know, one side was covered in moonflower vines, the perfect thickness for climbing.
The suns have just set and the moons are clambering up into the sky. My gut feeling was right—we did sleep for ages. Rogue tugs at my hair and wrap dress as I stride down the path dividing the manicured flower beds. “Nothing personal,” I tell it. “I need to get home to Ma. She’s probably worried sick.”
The little wind blasts my curls back and I break into a jog, winding my way through the hedge maze. The air is heady with the scent of moonflowers and a touch of salt. The castle overlooks the coast, and the roar of the surf is faint, but ever present in the distance.
Up ahead, the wall looms in the darkness. When I reach it, I’ll have to figure out how to open the gate.
I’m almost at the end of the maze when I’m hit with a burst of cedar scent. A huge shadow detaches itself from the hedge wall and blocks my way.
“If you wanted to take a stroll in the gardens,” Bestian says in an amused tone, “you only had to ask.”
Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.
The hooded king towers over me. I squint up at him, but his head and upper torso are in shadow.
I flick a stray curl out of my face and try to act casual. “Maybe I wanted to walk alone.”
“You will never be alone again, Rose. Or have to go without.” He reaches out and plucks the bundle of sweet cakes from my hand. “You have only to ask, and my servants will bring you hundreds of these.”
“Servants?”
“The whisps. You are quite comfortable with one. It followed you all the way home after your first visit. Even though it had strict orders not to leave.” His tone turns sharp.
The little wind in question is cowering behind my ankles.
“Don’t be mean to it,” I say. “It helped me. I would’ve been Alpha bait without it.”
A menacing growl erupts from his broad chest. “You should never have been in such danger.”
“I wouldn’t have been if you Alphas were able to control yourselves.”
“It is the way of an Alpha to lose control around an Omega. Perhaps even more so now that Omegas are so rare.”
“Everyone keeps saying that, but why? Why are they so rare?”
“If I knew, little one, I would tell you.” His voice softens the way it does when we’re in bed and he’s whispering filthy nothings in my ear. I hate the way I love it. “I’ve spent my life trying to find out why.” His huge hand settles on my back and I let him turn me. He’s too big—I have no choice. “Come now. Back inside.”
“Can we walk a little?” I lean back against his palm. “The moonlight is so nice.” And the more I explore the grounds, the easier it will be to find an escape route. That’s my real purpose, even if everything inside me sighs with contentment whenever the king’s around.
Bestian pauses. “Very well. We will walk. And you will explain to me why you do not think you are an Omega.”
I roll my eyes, glad I’m facing away from him. How many times do we have to go over this? Is the concept really so hard to grasp? I’m a human being. From a completely different fucking planet. Therefore, I can’t be an Omega, and I can’t be in estrus, period.
Then why do you react to the king the way you do? Why does a single look from him, or touch—not to mention his ridiculously delicious scent—turn you into a helpless bundle of need and make you forget everything but him?