Ignoring her offer, Shepherd stood through the entire recording of Brenya Perin having tea with Security Advisor Ancil Vox’s first wife. Maryanne had already watched the video three times, making notations on each timestamped twitch, focusing less on the depressing exchange of two sad women and more on the physical oddness.
“Brenya Perin isn’t neurotypical. She cannot understand nuance or subtlety. She can hardly interact in this social situation without mimicking her hostess. Yet she is counting every single object in the room, unaware that she is doing it.” Those words had already been in her report, but reading an opinion versus viewing it for oneself? “She sees everything and notices nothing.”
Shepherd, it would seem, had come to the same conclusion. “She’s a genius.”
“Annette confronts Brenya for running. The ship your Followers monitored flying toward Thólos three days ago? I think Brenya stole it. That woman piloted a craft with no training, somehow managed to get outside the Dome, was apprehended halfway to Thólos, and was returned mated to the Commodore. Just look at her. She’s battered he bit her twice. The mangled claiming mark on her neck was still bleeding badly enough to leave a decent stain on her dress.”
There was no agreement or negation from Shepherd. He simply waited for Maryanne to continue her report.
“Jules was imprisoned because of her escape. He’s refusing to eat, meanwhile these women are discussing honey and Beta rations.” There was no point in beating around the bush, so Maryanne just admitted she didn’t understand what that meant. “What are Beta rations?”
Shocking the fuck out of her, he actually explained. “Outside of the ruling class, the citizens of Bernard Dome are fed pharmaceuticals from birth to keep them complacent and obedient. That is why Jules is choosing to starve.”
Okay, since they were having a heart-to-heart, she figured she’d do it thoroughly. “Why not just send him home? If he dies, they must know you will end them all. You’re not subtle in your threats, Shepherd.”
“Give me a close up of Ms. Perin’s bite marks.”
“Done.” That had all been prepared, needed only a flick of a key to display the poor girl’s shoulder and neck. “See? He practically ripped her throat in half.”
“I want a full dossier prepared on Brenya Perin. I want to know everything about that female.”
“I’ve already looked.” Maryanne scrambled to change the screens to the little data she’d scrounged up. “They must have scrubbed her file from the census. The only reason I know her full name is because it is mentioned in conversation.”
“You have observed her for days, so answer this. Would Claire feel an affinity for this Omega?”
Maryanne had to snort at that. “Oh Gods, yes, Claire would go full savior mode at one glance of this socially awkward weirdo.”
“I would suggest you speak more kindly of Jules’ mate.”
It had to be a joke. It had to be! After all, Maryanne was cackling at the idea of Jules with a woman. Not only that. “Jules is a Beta.”
Shepherd’s silence was heavy with annoyance and something that almost tasted like grief.
Why on earth Maryanne felt the need to assure him, she didn’t know. “Betas cannot pair-bond. After the Commodore gets his panties out of a twist, they will send him home.”
But Shepherd just kept staring at her.
Stuttering, Maryanne said, “It’s… it’s not possible.”
“Had you spent your time in the Undercroft gathering wisdom, listening to the stories of the men suffering, instead of pissing yourself every time someone screamed, you would have learned that there were a multitude of sordid reasons a man was disposed of instead of murdered.”
The very concept was extremely upsetting, and Maryanne didn’t quite understand why. “Betas cannot initiate pair-bonds. It’s basic biology.”
“His name was Keriman. There was another called Wess. Two men with the same tale. Two men who had never met one another, Keriman long dead before Wess was thrown into the dark. Both Alpha, both having claimed they had been used by powerful Betas who coveted and were tricked into sharing their bond. Their new mates were stolen, and each man was thrown into the Undercroft to suffer until they went mad from separation.”
“I checked the registries after Thólos fell. The Beta named by Keriman married an Omega. She had been institutionalized and died within a year of Keriman’s incarceration. The Omega Wess claimed to have bonded to, a Beta Senator, had set herself on fire… one year after he had been thrown underground.”
“If such a thing were possible, people would know. Everyone would know!”
Except they wouldn’t. No Alpha would submit to such a thing willingly. Nor would powerful Betas be allowed to retain a taboo bond should their Alpha brethren discover what they had done.
Standing tall, Shepherd gave his final order of the day. “Brenya Perin. You will find the traces of her erased registry. I want to know everything.”