Born Broken (Broken Angel 3)
“You don’t know she’s dead,” he says.
She takes a deep breath in, exhausted. “You don’t understand. I lose her either way. I have to cope with this,” she says, faltering. “Without me there to cremate her body, the chances of planetary survival are next to nothing. It will destroy everything.”
A burn clings to the back of her throat. She has turned emotional during a negotiation. She knows better than to let her emotions drive the conversation, but Rae’s possible death hits her. Hard.
“And the alphas know nothing about this?” he asks.
She bites and grimaces like she just ate something bitter. “It’s both in mine and my sister’s interests to keep them in the dark for now,” she admits.
The man leans back. He has caught a hitch in her plans, but she is sure he has yet to exploit it. In time, he will give them their freedom back.
“Earlier, you asked me what I wanted from you,” he says. “But the real question is what you want from us? It wasn’t that long since you sent men to our shores to die.”
“I bear the shame of my actions,” she mutters with slight disdain.
He continues to look at her with smug arrogance. “Is it power that you crave? Why on Alpha did you come here?”
She chooses her words. “I want an opportunity to live in peace,” she says. “Esternbrock. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It’s inside your your rule.”
“A small village?”
"In return for your alliance, I promise to dispose of my sister’s body. Extinction never happen. Your may continue your rule.”
“You think you have a shot at mending this world?” he asks. “Look around you. Reconstruction is impossible.”
“I don’t know if I can do it,” she mutters. “But this is the only thing I know how to do.”
He takes a moment to decide. “Your word is not enough. I need more,” he says.
Shocked, she stands. “I’ve been giving everything I’ve got.”
“Yes, but the Ouroboros alphas we’ve imprisoned… what will we do with them?” he asks.
“I need them for protection. Without them, we die.”
“And the children… they cannot be yours,” he mutters.
She stands, facing the wall. “They are my sister’s children.”
His eyes search her body as she turns to face the news. “They need a family, yes?”
With this admission, she has given him everything he needs to win the negotiation. Bowing her head, she breathes.
“You know, it’s unfortunate you aren’t an omega,” he says.
She holds her chin high, takes the hungry-eyed alpha for what he is. “Tell me about it.”
“I have an idea,” he says. “If you survive this, you and I will marry. We’ll raise the children as our own.”
Her sadness turns to hilarity. “Excuse me?”
She did this before with Severin. It ended with his dismembered head in Killian’s hands.
He announces his grand plan. “Our port will give your nation access to global trade. You’ll get the protection of our navy. You and I can rule together,” he says. “We can be the ones to solve the problem of the clones. We’ll fix the broken, mend the wrongs of our history.”
Fuck…
“I don’t want a nation. I just want a home in Esternbrock,” she repeats.