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by Alison Aimes
A chill ran through Dahlia, and it wasn’t simply from the icy cold. If she understood her mother correctly, there were other unknown enemies in the Brotherhood’s midst. Like a hydra with many heads, her mother’s employer had planned his attack well. But something else about the way her mother spoke of her employer caught Dahlia’s attention as well.
“Others? I see. But you must be his finest creation.”
“I suspect so.” Her mother preened.
“But you don’t know for sure, do you?” Certainty came in a flash. “Just as you don’t know who your employer is. I saw through my vision that at the time of the fire, you had no idea who either the silver-skinned male or your main employer was, only that they were offering you a way out. You were determined to discover their identities and use that as leverage to secure your position, but you never did. You still don’t know.”
Irritation narrowed her mother’s eyes. “Well, I see there’s some of me in you after all. Clever girl.” The omega didn’t sound as if she meant it. “You’re right. I don’t know. I’ve spent years trying to discover their identities but have been blocked at every turn.”
“Yet you’ve convinced yourself this unknown employer will somehow let an omega who he hasn’t allowed to know his identity be his advisor once he is ruler of all? I saw the way the silver-skinned Alpha treated you in my vision. You accuse me of being foolish, but even you must see that you will never be allowed to do anything more than serve.”
“Agreed. An omega’s lot is the same every Alphaverse over unless she has been funneling off money for her own use . . . and has access to a gift powerful enough to make the most vicious of Alpha’s consider negotiation.”
The mercenary glint in the prime omega’s stare sent a shiver down Dahlia’s spine. “You intend to use me as a bargaining chip to gain a greater position of power.”
“Yes. At first, I thought it best to kill you and keep you from spilling my secrets about the fire, but now that it’s too late for that, I’ve decided on a different plan. I think my employer will be quite excited by all your gift can offer. So many secrets up for grabs.”
Dahlia backed up faster, but the wet hem of her dress dragged her down, slowing her steps.
“I’d think you’d be pleased.” Her mother’s guards were skirting around the twisted blocks of ice, closing in. “You always spoke about how you wanted us to be together forever. Now we will be.”
“I said I wanted to be free. Not used and whored out to a madman to further the greed and ambition of a woman I once trusted.”
“That was your first mistake. Trusting anyone, caring for anyone, is a fool’s game.” Her mother dusted some snow from her sleeve. “Plus, an omega’s fate is to endure.”
“Except for you, apparently.” A short time ago, her mother’s betrayal would have devastated Dahlia. All she could think now was that she was beyond lucky to have crossed paths with Nikolai Skolov years ago. Otherwise, she might have ended up as twisted as her mother.
“Do not think for a moment that I have not suffered. I have.”
Despite everything, Dahlia’s heart bled. She’d felt her mother’s rage and jealousy through the vision. She could only imagine how painful it must be to have that kind of corrosive poison eating away at a person over the years. It would turn anyone into a husk of who they might have been.
Dahlia slid on the ice and almost went down. She caught herself, but it cost her. The encircling guards advanced closer. “My Alpha is good to me. He cares for me, and I for him.”
“A delusion.” The prime omega waved her hand in dismissal. “I am doing you a favor, saving you from disillusion down the line. An Alpha cannot love. At least this way your gifts will be in service of a better cause. Imagine, I will be the first omega of power. I will be a legend.”
“Is that why you told me Kaiya was dead? Was that to save me somehow, too?”
Her mother’s expression never altered. “No. That was merely a manipulation to draw you out of the Skolov compound, but you proved pathetically willing to cling to your Alpha. In the end, though, I have you right where I want you.”
“Actually, mother.” Dahlia stopped retreating and stood up straight. “I have you right where I want you.”’
Amusement played across her mother’s face. Pity, too. Until . . .
“Dahlia!” Nikolai’s roar echoed across the ice.
Followed by the trampling of an army of pounding boots as the full force of the Brotherhood raced toward her down the mountain.
Her mother’s expression shifted to shock, then horror.
The same with her men. A few broke rank and turned, sprinting down the mountain.
“He lives. There’s a chance they all do.” Dahlia confirmed with a nod. “The bond between my Alpha and me is strong. Strong enough to let me know he is alive and well. Strong enough to tell me he is on his way.”
“You were stalling.” A few more of her mother’s men heard the roars and took off. That was the problem with hired hands. There was rarely enough money exchanged to convince them to give their life.
“Yes,” Dahlia admitted, “and leading you toward them. There is more of me in you than you suspected. I can be ruthless when it’s required. You have less than twenty seconds until my Alpha arrives. Your plan has failed.”
Her prime omega’s expression twisted with rage, especially as more of her men disappeared until it was only her left behind in the ice and snow. An army of one. “You have ruined everything.”
“For you, perhaps. For me, it feels like a new beginning.” Dahlia let herself take in her mother one last time. “I understand your rage and your pain. I have felt it too. But I prefer to let love guide me over hate.”
The prime omega scoffed. “You’ll be sorry. He’ll disappoint you. You’ll see. And my employer will still win in the end.”
“My Alpha has already come through for me more than you ever did. We found a way to bring you down. We will find a way to thwart your employer as well. Goodbye, mother. I hope you find some semblance of peace.”
Her mother looked torn. Dahlia understood. Stay, and she’d be seized or trampled by the hundreds of enraged Brotherhood Alphas coming for her. Go, and she’d admit defeat. A terrible outcome for a female who’d prided herself on outwitting them all.
“Dahlia!” The sound of her name so nearby and rumbled in that deep, familiar, commanding tone had her gaze lifting up the mountain, searching for the one person who had always kept his promises to her.
By the time she looked back toward where her mother had been standing, the space was empty. Her mother was gone.
Despite everything, Dahlia couldn’t regret the small part of her that hoped the omega got away. Her mother knew nothing helpful about her employer or how to find the twins. All her capture would have done was appease the fury of the Alphas who she’d wronged, but in their way, by allowing Tasha Lundin to be brutalized by Olan Lundin, they’d wronged the omega too.
Life in the Anarcheim Alphaverse was not fair and it never would be, but this felt like its own form of justice.
“Dahlia!” Nikolai’s shout was closer.
Then, before she could answer, strong arms closed around her and she was scooped up and held in his arms. Safe. Treasured. Loved.
“Alpha.” She held him as fiercely. Soot covered his face, blood splattered his furs and leather, but he’d never looked more beautiful to her.
“You’re safe.”
“I knew you’d come for me.”
“We make a good team.” He pressed kisses to her temple. “You’re soaking wet and ice cold.”
“I’m fine. What happened up there?” She clung to him; the bitter chill not as bad with his body molded to hers.
“Your mother set off some kind of explosion. Luckily, I’d been able to warn some of the Brotherhood, who warned others. A fair number were already away from the main blast site when it erupted, but some didn’t make it. Trouble was, no one knew who the real enemy was. Chaos erupted. The
Alphas aggression triggered. Everyone started attacking everyone.”
She shuddered. She’d been so close to losing him.
“But then something miraculous happened.” He squeezed her tighter. “Your vision hit us all. There was no fighting it. It froze everyone in place, overwhelming with its power and truth. When it ended, the only sound was the howling wind. But everything had shifted. Thanks to you, the Brotherhood was no longer in chaos or divided. They had a common enemy. They stopped fighting among themselves and started fighting together. After that, taking out the mercenaries was easy, and we moved down the mountain, cutting through the fighters to find the omega behind it all. But no one was moving faster than me. I could feel your faith and your fear through the bond, calling me home.”
“I never doubted you’d find me.” She confessed the rest. “But my mother is gone, and neither her employer nor the silver-skinned robed male was ever here.”
Frustration surged through their bond, followed by determination. “A short-term respite. We’ll get them.”
“I’m so sorry about everything my mother did. I never suspected.”
“None of us did. That’s why she was so effective.”
“And the twins . . . did you see?” She hoped that would ease some of the fury she could feel pulsing through him. “They’re alive.”
He gripped her tighter. “I did. I saw, along with the small circular skin design on the silver-skinned bastard who took them. That’s another gift you’ve given me. I won’t stop looking until they’re back with us and our family is reunited. Whoever took them will pay.”
She didn’t doubt it for an instant. “I will be with you every step of the way.” Rising on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his, not stopping even as a slew of soldiers crashed into view and an ominous shadow fell over them.
The rest of the Brotherhood had arrived.
38
Nikolai shoved Dahlia behind him.
He’d managed to warn most of the Brotherhood in time, but a few families had suffered heavy losses and the Verish crime head was dead. Plus, it was his omega’s mother that was behind the mess, and she and her employer appeared to have escaped for the moment.
He had no idea what kind of mood the cavalry was in.
“We’re right behind you.” Maxheim’s comforting voice had never been more welcome. The same went for the sight of Damien and an injured, but determined, Alexi, both flanking Anya, and so many of his men, emerging from behind the snowbanks and ice to stand at his back. All of them armed, all looking ready for a fight.
He’d known his omega was alive and well through their bond, but he’d had no idea about his family. He should have known better than to doubt them.
The Skolovs were survivors.
Prendel stepped forward, his massive blob-like shape oozing over the ice and snow. “Where is the traitor?”
“Gone.”
Even for an emotionless creature, Prendel looked displeased. “I see.”
Nikolai tightened his hold on his laser.
“I think we can agree there has been enough fighting for today.” His omega spoke from over his shoulder. “You have seen through my vision who killed the Kuril head and plotted against you. At the same time, my Alpha has saved the Brotherhood from devastation from an enemy it had no idea existed, and brought a more dangerous one to light, giving you time to prepare and retaliate. Now is not the time for more division, but for the Brotherhood to come together against this unseen foe.”
Silence descended.
Pride rippled through Nikolai. His omega had found her power—and become a handful. He couldn’t have been happier. Skolovs were known within the Brotherhood for being unpredictable outsider upstarts. She was truly one of them now, and he’d defend and cultivate that growing confidence in his beautiful omega to his dying breath—though they’d definitely be having a little chat later about limits. She was still his to protect.
If they survived the next few moments.
He pushed her more fully behind him as more of the warlords drifted forward, until all the surviving Brotherhood heads, ten in all, were standing shoulder to shoulder in a semi-circle facing Nikolai and his family.
Stormhart nodded in his direction.
Prendel’s eight eyes blinked as one. “Your omega is not observing protocol. She is also not behaving as a proper omega should.”
Nikolai shrugged. “I like her as she is.”
A few raised eyebrows, some growled. Stormhart laughed.
Nikolai didn’t let it distract him. “What’s the move here, Prendel?”
“Move?” The Inner Council head looked genuinely confused. “Though she speaks out of turn, your omega’s words are correct. You have saved the Brotherhood from annihilation. Any and all perceived grievances have been wiped clean. You have our gratitude.”
Nikolai relaxed, but he didn’t bring his omega forward. “And my omega?”
Prendel’s body undulated in a giant nod. “The bylaws of the contract indicate that if the agreement you signed with the Lundin male is not met in full, the contract can be made null and void. The Lundin omega’s actions qualify under those terms. If you would like to return the property, you will be allowed to do so without a loss of honor. You will be free. The taint of any association with Lundin blood removed.”
The small, pained gasp behind him tore at his chest. By now she had to know what she was to him, but he suspected the pain of her own blood’s betrayal would leave her vulnerable for a long while.
He would do whatever it took to help her heal.
“She is mine, always and forever.” He leveled the other crime bosses with a hard stare. “But she deserves far more than that. It was not me who saved the Brotherhood, but her. If not for her power, our enemy would remain unknown. It cannot be overlooked that the Brotherhood is in her debt.”
Low growls among the other syndicate heads. No Alpha liked that idea.
“What are you suggesting?” Prendel alone seemed more intrigued than offended.
“I’m saying payment is due. I believe you can start by joining me in thanking my omega for saving all our asses.” With no more warning than that, he swiveled and swooped her into his arms. “You can give yours publicly now and, after agreeing to spare any and all innocent Lundins and their beta servants from further retribution, I suspect she’ll consider that a good start toward payment for the debt owed her. If she agrees, you can get the hells off my mountain. That explosion was big enough to show up on Federation surveillance. The law will be coming to ask nosy questions. We’ll tell them it was an accidental explosion of one of our sanctioned heating units, but it’s better if you’re not here to undercut the story. Plus, too many Alphas in one place make us all itchy, and I’ve got plans. Big ones.” He pressed his mouth to her ear. “I intend to offer my thanks to my omega privately—and very thoroughly.”
Dahlia’s heart slammed against her ribs. Need, too. “Nikolai.” Her desire for her Alpha was constant. It thrilled her to know he felt the same.
It awed her too that he would think of her family and do what he could to spare them because he knew it mattered to her.
“Do you agree to our terms, omega?” He winked at her, but his next words were meant for the entire group once more. “We might have almost been taken down by an omega, but we were also saved by one. What you have done will not be forgotten. The Brotherhood’s debt to you can never be repaid, but we will do our best to try.”
Joy thundered through her. Pride, too.
Especially as one by one, the other Alphas, motivated by Nikolai’s words, agreed to his terms. They came forward individually and offered their thanks while pledging to vote to spare the rest of the Lundin clan. Stormhart ambled forward first, then Prendel, and then the rest; a ragtag, growling bunch of blood-spattered Alphas whose barely leashed power crawled over her skin as they offered her tribute.
She could scarcely believe it. She who had once been forced to bend and bow before them was now on the receiv
ing end of their respect thanks to the Alpha who held her tight the entire time. It was a heady experience, and a little stressful. Especially with her Alpha snarling each time one of the crime bosses came close.
But Nikolai allowed it, for her.
Because he’d always be an Alpha, fierce, aggressive, brutal, but he cared more for her than he did his pride or his aggression, and he showed her so in a thousand ways.
She was the luckiest of omegas, and the biological imperative she’d once hated seemed like a privilege now.
“Thank you for this moment.” By the time the last Brotherhood head offered his thanks and stepped back, the need inside her was a wild frenzy that could only be filled by one male. “I will always do whatever is required for my Alpha because I love him. My gift, my body, my heart are his for the taking—and,” she lowered her voice and teased, “I hope he takes me soon.”
Nikolai’s eyes bled to red. “Maxheim!” He called his brother forward. “Are you up for dealing with any Federation questions?”
“Absolutely. You know I’ve always got your back.”
“And I yours.” A look passed between Nikolai and his brother. One of respect and affection. Her Alpha was clearly very happy to have his family back. “Make sure the Brotherhood members get where they need to go. Then, take the rest of the family and head back to the compound and get dry and warm. I’m taking my omega there now. She’s chilled.”
Alexi spoke before Maxheim could. “She seems pretty warm from here.”
But Nikolai didn’t bother to respond or acknowledge the laughter that followed; he was already hauling her back up the mountain at breakneck speed.
“Nikolai.” She pressed kisses to his jaw, his ear, the curve of his horn. There was no more block between them. No more doubts or uncertainties to dampen the fated-mate bond. Only the shimmering gold of pure respect, trust, and love. Its searing force stronger and brighter than any fire.