His fist clenches with anger and his teeth grit together.

  My father glares at me, daring me to speak. I remain still, my face neutral. There are always two sides to every story and I wonder if my father will reveal the reason for the governor’s uprising.

  “You know why he has betrayed me, I suppose. Your mother always was one for gossip.”

  “My mother has told me nothing,” I snap.

  My father ignores me. “He has Omegas. Daughters he has bred with the Omega I gifted him. Young, healthy Omegas — some now the prime age for breeding. And he has kept this information hidden from me. The oldest is twenty-one years old! All these years we have been searching for Omegas, all these years we have researched ways to reverse the infertility of our females. I have even sent my strongest son searching across universes for new Omegas. And here there were five of them, right under our very noses.” He slams his fist on the table again. “When his treachery was discovered, I sent my forces to arrest the governor and take his Omegas. But he refused to come, refused to hand them over to me.”

  This is the story Strax and Zyam conveyed to me in whispered tones in my chambers while my mother sat wringing her hands. Governor Krindo refused to give his daughter Omegas to my father. He still does. He does not want them claimed by my father.

  “And so here we are now,” my father muses, a tiredness overcoming his face. “Nine months later and three thousand Gryton dead. All for five Omegas.” He leans back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests. “The troops are exhausted and I do not want another uprising on my hands. How do we win this war?”

  Is he asking for my advice? He never has before. It has always been commands and statements with my father. I wonder if this is a trap.

  “There is no need to win it, Father. The planet my Omega comes from will have many, many more Omegas. There is no need to war over five.” I will just have to convince him to go about things Emma’s way. No reapings.

  My father clasps his hands together. “So I walk away defeated?”

  “No.” My father’s pride would never allow for that and such perceived weakness would damage his rule over this planet. “You call for a truce. You allow the governor to keep his daughters.”

  My father sighs with exaggeration. “Tor, you are too much like your mother. You lack the political nous needed to rule, I fear.”

  “You have not declared me as your heir,” I remind him.

  “Nor do I intend to … yet. But Governor Krindo clearly believes you to be my successor.”

  “He does?” I say with uncontained surprise.

  “Yes, you see we are already negotiating for peace. One which will allow me to claim the victory I need and for the governor to cease his uprising.”

  “What?” I can’t imagine how they have arrived at an agreement. What has my father possibly offered the governor that would persuade him?

  “I will win the war and his oldest daughter Sia will be the next queen.”

  “You mean to take her as your Omega?” I rub at my brow, confused. Surely this is what the governor fought to avoid.

  “No, you will take her as your Omega.”

  I stare at my father, my heart suddenly ceasing to thump in my chest.

  “I already have an Omega, Emma.”

  My father dismisses me again with another wave of his hand. “One you have not even claimed. That you left unguarded in the hospital facility.”

  I leap to my feet. Emma!

  “Sit down, Tor. She is perfectly safe. No one would dare to touch my son’s Omega.”

  I remain on my feet, my tail swishing behind me and a million thoughts tumbling through my mind.

  “You can keep your little alien Omega. You can have as many little alien Omegas as you wish and Gryton ones too if more are discovered hiding out in the East as I suspect. But Sia will be your principal Omega. Your official mate. And, if one day you do rule when I am gone, your queen.”

  “I don’t want another Omega.” I promised Emma I wasn’t like my father. That I had no need for a harem. That I only wanted her.

  “You are a young Gryton Alpha in his prime. It is in your nature to want every Omega you can get.”

  “Give Sia to one of the others. Krantive or Haddoth. Dram if you must.”

  “The governor has specified you. He seems to believe you are my most likely successor. That you will bring protection and status to his family. He will return to the court with his Omegas. I will make him a lord and a new governor will be sent to watch over the East. Krindo wants to ensure his place at court and has pinned his colours firmly to you.”

  “I will go to him,” I say in desperation, pacing across the room. “Explain that he is mistaken. That I have no intention of taking the throne after you, my lord. That he must pick one of my brothers instead.”

  My father’s gaze is full of amusement. “This little alien Omega has bewitched you. Has made your belly soft.” I continue to pace. “But she will come to understand our ways soon enough. She will accept her lot. They always do in the end. With some it just takes a little more time and perseverance.”

  I know my father’s means of persuasion and they sicken my already nauseous stomach.

  My father stands. “Bring her to the court again tomorrow, show her off to the other Alphas, make her feel special, cherished. And I will host a banquet in her honour in the evening. Flatter her, remind her of the Gryton lives that are at stake, and she will come around.” My gaze drops to the floor. “It has already been agreed, Tor. You can not refuse me or the general, not when so many Gryton lives depend on us finding a peace on this matter. You will take Sia as your mate and that is the end of the matter.” He presses a buzzer on his desk and Dram enters. “Prince Tor is dismissed.”

  I stride from his study, my own hands tight fists at my sides, my heart now fully pounding once more, my thoughts racing through my mind.

  But in amongst the chaos of my thoughts, two are clear.

  One, there is no way I will take another mate.

  And two, it was not my father who tried to have me killed.

  Chapter 7 — Emma

  The Grytons in the medical facility appear to be keeping a wide berth of me, although they throw curious glances my way and whisper to one another.

  If I ever wondered what it felt like to be an exotic animal on display, now I know. At least they aren’t outright staring or pointing, although I do wish they’d come closer. Now I can actually speak the Gryton language, I’d like to talk to some other people. It’s been just me and Tor for such a long time and before that there was no one at all. I’m eager to chat.

  The room they’ve placed me in for observation is large and spotless. No dirty cramped ward for me. I wonder if that’s because of Tor or because I’m a strange new breed of Omega.

  Tor promised he would be gone for only a short amount of time, but although I have no watch and no clock, I am sure he has been gone for far longer than he predicted.

  Again an unease swims in my stomach.

  More is going on than anyone is telling me. Perhaps even more than Tor knows. As space cadets we were mostly given our orders or missions at the last minute, but that didn’t mean we weren’t aware of new orders coming our way. You got used to something in the air, in the manner of the senior staff, you knew when a storm was brewing.

  I feel something similar here.

  Or maybe it’s just that everything is strange and unfamiliar.

  I sink further into the plush mattress, pulling the soft cover up to my chin.

  I have to admit that what I have seen of this world seems much more alien than I had expected. But it’s me who is the alien, the outsider. Joining the space cadets had felt that way at first; new rules, new expectations, even a new kind of language. But it hadn’t felt as unsettling as this and I’d adapted quickly, finding my feet and my place easily. Something tells me it won’t be so easy here.

  I stare up at the bright ceiling.

  It is nice to lie here in comfort but I’m not sick and I don’t appreciate being wrapped in cotton wool.

  The doctor said I was well and that the baby was too.

  I wriggle against the sheets, growing increasingly impatient when I think of the palace maze outside this facility and the world beyond this city. I want to get out and explore, for Tor to show me his world and introduce me properly to his friends and his family. Maybe then I can begin to fit in.

  Finally, my impatience gets the better of me and I throw back the covers, tug off the various wires stuck to my torso and my head, and leap out of the bed.

  Immediately various buzzers bleep in complaint, but I ignore them and remove the white hospital gown and retrieve my dress laid out on a dresser. It is hardly practical for the type of exploring I’d like to do but it’s better than the unshapely hospital gown.

  I’ve just about wrestled myself back into the mounds of taffeta material when the director comes racing into the room accompanied by two other Grytons.

  They skid to a halt and their gazes swing between me and the now empty bed with its trailing wires.

  “Are you alright, Omega?” the director asks me.

  “My name is Emma and I’m perfectly fine. Just bored with lying in that stupid bed being ignored. I’m going out to explore.”

  All three Grytons stare at me in obvious disbelief. I really wish everyone would quit that.

  “Out?”

  “Yes, I’m going for a walk around the palace.” I pause. “Perhaps you have a map you could give me?” I don’t particularly want to get lost in the maze and I’d quite like to find my way to Tor’s chambers.

  “Alone?”

  I nod, then remember the gesture is meaningless to the Grytons. “Yes, alone.”

  “This is not safe.” The director steps towards me, pointing towards the bed. “Prince Tor will return soon and I would like to continue to observe you overnight.”

  “For my welfare and that of my baby’s, or to satisfy your own curiosity?”

  The director bristles ever so slightly, her tail stilling, and I know my suspicions are correct. I may have the child of an Alpha prince in my belly but I am still an alien and a source of scientific fascination. And I don’t intend to lie here while the scientists ‘observe’ me.

  “Omega,” the director says with a little more authority, her Alpha scent intensifying. “I cannot let you leave.”

  “Excuse me,” I say, drawing myself up to my full five feet. Even then the larger female towers above me, but I won’t be cowed. I’ve dealt with much bigger bullies than her before. Several Gryton assassins for starters. “I don’t remember asking for your permission and I certainly don’t need it.” I take a step forward even though the other Grytons are blocking my path and make no effort to move.

  “You may not need mine but you do need your Alpha’s. He would not be happy if you left unaccompanied.”

  I try not to let her words aggravate me. The Gryton culture is different from mine — well, different is perhaps polite — it’s frankly sexist as hell. But like Tor said, we can’t change things overnight.

  However, as I said, I’m going to start the way I mean to go on.

  I shrug. “I doubt he’d be too pleased to hear you kept me prisoner when I asked to leave.”

  The other two Grytons peer at the director, clearly rattled by my words. They are probably trying to decide whose wrath will be worse — Tor’s or the doctor’s.

  Director Theya glares at me and the colours across her face dart about angrily. She doesn’t like to be undermined by an Omega but tough shit.

  “Fine. If you choose to be disobedient, Omega, then on your head be it,” she says at last. “But I will be making it perfectly clear to Prince Tor that I advised against you leaving alone.” She steps aside and the other two Grytons do the same. None of them offer me a map. I will have to hope my memory of our journey here is enough to find my way.

  I’m halfway down the corridor when I catch Tor’s scent and it stops me in my tracks. The medical facility is awash with a dense concoction of aromas — the scents of other Grytons as well as chemical and medical smells. My nose struggles to pick out any one aroma and the intensity burns the fine hairs in my nostrils. And yet here is Tor’s scent, vivid and clear above the others. Thoroughly familiar and immediately arousing. It’s like walking into a house and smelling your favourite meal, your mouth watering.

  I stand in the middle of the walk way and watch as he approaches. He’s distracted, his eyes glazed. He doesn’t see me until he’s almost upon me. Then he starts.

  “Emma!”

  “Tor.”

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “Leaving.”

  “Leaving?” I’m used to his puzzled looks now, the way his brow crinkles slightly and his head cocks to one side. But I still find it adorable. I want to stand on my tiptoes and kiss him but squeezing his hand seemed to scandalise his mum so maybe it isn’t the best thing to do in front of others. “To go where?”

  “To go explore. I don’t want to lie in a bed all day while I’m observed like a tiger in a cage.”

  “A tiger?”

  “Never mind.”

  “Where is Director Theya? Why were you allowed to leave unaccompanied?”

  His gaze starts to swing around above my head, searching down the corridor in the direction I’ve come.

  I grind my teeth and snap my fingers in his face to get his attention.

  “Tor,” I tell him when his eyes are back on me, “I make my own decisions, remember?”

  He swallows, weighing his next words.

  “I know you do,” he takes my hand in his, “but it isn’t safe for an unclaimed Omega to wander about alone.”

  I raise an eyebrow skeptically at him. “Because I’m so damn sexy no Alpha will be able to resist? Sure!”

  “Yes,” he says simply, “To an Alpha you smell utterly delicious. Walking around unclaimed out there is like throwing a steak into a pack of molves. It’s dangerous.”

  “I’m pregnant, Tor.”

  “It makes no difference. Only a claiming is enough to change your scent and signal to every other Alpha that you are already taken.”

  “Owned, you mean,” I mumble. “Anyway, I’ve seen the number of guards patrolling around out there. How can it be unsafe?”

  “Because many of those guards are Alphas themselves.”

  Once again, I’m left wondering what kind of place Astia can be. I’d taken Tor’s warning about my safety with a pinch of salt, assuming he was being unnecessarily protective. Now I begin to see I may be wrong. Astia is a place where an Omega like myself can not walk alone, and must ask others for permission. I felt trapped on the ice planet. But perhaps I have traded one prison for another.

  Tor shakes his head. His heart isn’t in this row. His shoulders are drooped and his face weary. Something is bothering him.

  “Let’s just return to my chambers, Omega.”

  “Can we walk?”

  “You would like that?”

  “Yes — unless you think a pack of hungry Alphas is going to attack and consume me,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Not when I am with you.”

  Outside a huge ghostly moon dominates the purple sky and only the light from a few stars twinkle at the edge of the horizon. It’s beautiful, the surrounding metal shimmering silver and pale light pooling at our feet as we stroll towards the more built up area of the palace.

  It’s eerily quiet once again and I wonder if all the Grytons are tucked up home in bed. Why no one else is out here enjoying the dazzling moon and the distant roar of the waves against the cliff.

  I grip Tor’s hand tighter and rest my head against his arm. He draws me closer in response, circling his arm around my waist and holding me flush against his side as we walk. His skin glitters, not the usual mixture of hues I know to be contentment, something stronger and bolder, and my earlier nerves, my earlier irritation, melts away.

  “It’s beautiful here,” I tell him.

  “It is more beautiful now you are here too,” he kisses the crown of my head.

  “What’s wrong, Tor?” I ask, hearing the melancholy in his tone.

  “Nothing,” he answers far too quickly, and I halt.

  I twist around in his arms to peer up at his face. “We promised each other no lies and no secrets. We promised we would always tell each other the truth.”

  He nods. “I am sorry, Emma. You are right.” He smoothes loose tendrils of hair from my face. “But I can’t talk about it out here in the open.”

  “There’s no one here.”

  “Let’s just wait until we’re home.”

  Home. I like the sound of that. I like the idea that Tor’s chambers will become ours, a home for me and him and the baby. Just the three of us. Perhaps Astia will not be so awful after all. I don’t think anything — even Tor’s dad — could break the bubble of our contentment.

  “Yes, take me home, Alpha,” I tell him, pressing my body against his.

  His eyes flash and our steps are more hurried as we make our way through the myriad of paths that weave their way through the looming palace towers. Finally we duck inside one such tower, and rise high up into its depths, arriving at the doors of his chambers.

  I’m pleased to see no entourage of friends and mums waiting for us outside and the entrance hall is empty when Tor swings back the door. Immediately, we’re greeted by Fluffy who is so excited to see us, he hardly knows what to do with himself. He leaps and bounds up into the air, racing from me and then to Tor and then back to me.

  I go to step forward and embrace him and Tor stops me with a tender hand on my shoulder.

  “Wait,” he says, “I’ve seen how I must do this properly,” and he scoops me up into his arms and carries me over the threshold.

  I laugh and Fluffy yaps excitedly.

  “Where did you learn that?”

  “From one of those films you made me watch. It is a human tradition, correct?”

  “It is — except we aren’t married.”

 

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