Their silent journey ended at the lower terrace, near the base of the Citadel—a disappointing segment which offered little in terms of the view beyond the fog-coated Lower Reaches. The blue-eyed Beta was there, armed and staring straight ahead, but no one else.
Feet freezing against the ground, a stiff wind pressed the fabric of the blanket against her legs, all discomfort was ignored by the unhappy Omega. Though it was dark, there was an expanse of sky far above, surrounded by towers reaching up to brush the top of the Dome.
If she squinted she might make out the stars.
Claire ached, her heart a deep-seated, rotting piece of meat encased in ribs damaged by the worming thread. Absently she began to rub at the spot, staring through tears, sick, and nearing hopelessness.
Shepherd stood behind her, flush to offer body heat, toying with her hair as it blew in the gusts. Every part of her longed to shove him away, to pull her hair from his fingers, but she knew that screaming at him in a rage in the room was the extent of the disobedience Shepherd would allow. Challenging him in front of a male, his subordinate Follower, would not end well for her. He had so much more to threaten her with now that chemically induced estrous approached. If she pushed him hard enough, he might go so far as to let his men mount her, and she was terrified at the thought of being shared like a whore.
A torment was coming. She was young, fertile, and Shepherd's scent advertised virile male. They were extremely biologically compatible. He would create life within her. As if it were already an actuality, Claire looked down to her flat belly and pressed her hand to where, in less than a week, a baby would be growing.
His nose was at the back of her skull, Shepherd breathing deeply. "You are feeling better."
"Does it matter how I feel?" she asked, low enough that her words were kept between them.
Tugging gently on her hair exactly the way he knew would calm her best, he answered, "It matters."
"I will never forgive you for this."
The man purred louder, his arm slipping about her middle like an anchor.
Turning around, eyes level with his chest, Claire put her hand on the relative part of his body where her own worming thread was hooked. Lifting wet, spiky lashes to look into expressionless silver eyes, she openly wept. "This is where you are tied to me, where the bond is threaded. Perhaps you are incapable of feeling what you've done, but I do know this: pair-bonded Alphas are supposed to care for their Omegas. But you do not... so why pair-bond to me? If all you wanted was a child, you could have injected me with your drugs and seeded me just the same. Why make me carry the burden of an unfulfilling bond? Why ruin me so I might never be happy?"
He did not look away, but she got the feeling he was trying to look through her. After the space of three breaths, Shepherd spoke. "You are young and believe that you understand the world from your short-sighted, idealistic perspective. You think you know much more than you do," he explained as if he were some great eloquent teacher, the music of his voice unaffected by the wind. "Sometimes, it is as unsophisticated as a man simply wanting to because he could, saw a chance, and took it."
The giant was talking in circles, giving her nothing at all. Claire took her hand from the place where she hoped he might feel something—some hint of regret, something for her beyond the idea of a possession. "I will fight estrous."
"You will try." A finger hooked her chin and brought her attention higher. He was serious, his expression conveying his point. "But I am your mate, and I will see you through this heat. I will tend you and give you pleasure, and when it is finished, you will give me what I desire."
"If I fail to conceive, will you drug me again?"
Tucking back a strand of her hair, he nodded and softly answered, "Yes."
Locked in that silver gaze, Claire muttered, lost and shaken, "My feet are cold."
"I am aware, but I want you to experience your sky for as long as you can." He rubbed her back as if to warm her and continued almost gently, "We both know you cannot be trusted, little one. Therefore, you will not be seeing it again for quite some time."
A large warm thumb was already there to wipe away the angry tears he knew would fall at his verdict.
#
Corday pressed his back to the wall behind him and tried to ignore the chemically induced begging of the women locked in the room at his back. Only six Beta Enforcers had been allowed to remain on scene at the safe house, rotating who had to enter the room to force-feed the Omegas heat-suppressants every four hours. They did what they could to block out the pheromones, wore masks drenched in pungent oil, moved as quickly as possible. Even so, it set the Betas into the rut and each man had been tested. Two had been dragged outside to breathe clean air when whoever was watching through the pane of glass saw the change come over their comrade.