Stolen, page 16
Which one of them had it worse?
Annette did.
And Jacques had allowed that to happen. The same Jacques who twisted up her insides when he called her beautiful despite her mutilated face. The same Jacques who terrified her when he held her down and forced her to feel him.
It would almost be better if she didn’t have to see the Alpha before termination took place. One look at her weeping in the streets of his kingdom, and he’d know he’d won.
He would know that sometimes… sometimes when he touched her it had been beautiful beyond all measure. He would know that she’d hated not waking up in his arms even though she despised what he was.
And that… that was the most horrifying part of it all.
21
How she’d wound up on the tarmac, Brenya didn’t know. She had no clue what part of Central she was in, how far the palace might be… but staring at the massive ship waiting there, she found she could not bring herself to care.
It was beautiful, sun glinting off the silver solar collection panels just as it would have off Bernard Dome’s siding. The sight was so familiar and so alien all at once.
Without hesitation, her hand reached out, fingertips tracing over the lines of the hull. The metal was warm. Warm enough to take the chill from her bones. Warm enough to distract a lost woman from her troubles.
With a sniff, she paced around the monstrosity, knowing what it must be: Ambassador Jules Havel’s ship.
As far as Brenya knew, there were no aerial craft in Bernard Dome. Or, if there were, she’d never been exposed to them. And this one was an original from the Reformation Wars. There were scars in the hull and marks where turrets must have once been attached.
This was a treasure, a living piece of history… and she was touching it.
When she rounded the back and found the gangplank down and hatch open, mindlessly she abandoned her guard and let her explorations take her inside.
The cargo ship could hold a great deal but was practically empty, little more than a few chairs bolted into the floor. There were no comforts, no niceties, a solitary cot set up in the corner and a room near the flight deck rigged for human waste disposal.
It was perfect. Completely perfect.
The nearest metal sheeting access panel was easy to remove, opening up a fascinating view of the guts of the craft. The upper part of her body bent into the crevice, Brenya spoke to the wiring, the pipes, the generator coils, listing what they were as if she had built the machine herself. “Vandigrath magnetic couplings. Coolant housing. Electrical flight circuitry.”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Ambassador Havel had not been there when she’d arrived, or if he had, he’d hidden out of sight. Gone was his cold tone, the one he’d used to interrupt her explorations bearing the hiss of acid chewing through metal instead.
It might have been because there was nothing left to lose, but the Beta’s open aggression did nothing to her. Brenya continued her explorations even as she replied, “Your ship is… remarkable. I have studied old schematics, but I’ve never seen one intact.”
Jules’ tone dropped lower. “Remove yourself from there immediately, or I will remove you.”
“Why?” Her hand had been fingering a mismatching link of tubing. Closing her fist about a crusted red hose, she yanked hard enough to rip it from its nest.
He’d moved faster than her eyes could track, slamming her body against the wall, his forearm across her throat.
Total shock was on her face, in her scent, expediting the rise and fall of her chest.
Showing his teeth, Jules was much more animated than she’d ever witnessed. “What did you damage?”
The sound of sand falling on the floor increased when she held up the spoiled tubing and met those chilling eyes. “This is a size seven cycle regulator hose. Had you tried to take flight with the accumulating crystals blocking the tubing, your energy converter would have redlined and your ship would have crashed in minutes. Whoever replaced this should never have used a plastics lined connector. It must be silicone. The subsequent chemical reaction destroyed the internal structure. I’m amazed you even made it all the way here.”
Narrowing his lids, the man’s bright blue eyes darted down to see what she held in her grip and the subsequent mess it was making on the floor. “How would you know that?”
She knew it because she was once the best engineering grunt under the Dome. Growing angry at the injustice of it all, tired of being pushed around by males, Brenya growled—she growled in the exact manner Jacques had told her not to. “If you tried to take off without repairing this mistake, you would die. Rerouting existing tubing would take me less than three minutes. Do you want me to fix it, or do you want to dispose of me?”
“Dispose?” Her word choice seemed to upend the Beta, who backed away while looking her over. Like all the others, his eyes found the scar. “Far be it from me to harm those with good intentions.”
If it was supposed to be a joke, she didn’t get it. Dropping the damaged tube, she turned her back on the threat and went to work. As she said, it took three minutes to rig a bypass with original parts. “Your thrust will be decreased, but at least you won’t fall out of the sky.”
By the time she had finished threading the tubing into place, there was engine grease smeared on her hands and her clothing. The smell was familiar and comforting, the slippery feeling between her fingers pleasant.
Her sleeves were made all the worse when she rolled them up so they would not catch as she dived forward to test the connections.
The ship was powered down, but she could cycle the fluids by flipping a series of switches, intuitively knowing what to manipulate and exactly how much force to use.
When it was done, she straightened, creeping back to face the looming Beta. “Repairs are complete.”
Arms crossed over his chest, he scowled at her. First it was her hands, then the mottled bruises on her forearms, those blue eyes lingering over the worst ones at her wrist. He gave her the luxury of skipping over her chest and going right back to the puckered scar on her face.
Turning her head so he might only see her good cheek, she scanned for more access panels, eager to open them up and see what she might find. “I would like to—”
Ignoring her half-formed request, Jules asked, “Did the Commodore cut your face?”
Brenya kept her head turned and eyes anywhere but on him. “No. While making repairs to a damaged solar collector, my rigging failed. I fell down the side of the Dome. During the accident my helmet’s visor shattered,” she whispered, adding the worst part of her secret, “I breathed outside air.”
The male hardly blinked an eye. “I see.”
Dirty fingers untucked the hair from behind her ear, drawing the locks forward as if to cover her face. “I am aware the disfigurement is off-putting. Omegas are supposed to be beautiful.”
“Omegas are supposed to be people.”
There had been no inflection behind his phrasing. It was just a blunt statement, but something about hearing so simple a declaration made Brenya shyly turn her head to face him, horribly scarred cheek and all.
She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know why those words seemed important, she just wanted to look in his eyes and see if he was lying.
It was hard to tell.
“May I explore your ship further? I can catalogue any required repairs your diagnostic programs may have missed.”
Steps sounded on the gangplank, a familiar aggressive scent preceding the massive body of the last person Brenya wanted to see.
“I have been looking for you, mon chou.” Narrowing his eyes, Jacques looked over her messy clothing, glancing next to the nearby Beta before announcing in a voice that was not one bit pleased. “How strange to find you here.”
Her heart sank. It would have been nice to spend a few hours enjoying the craft before he took her away and ended her life. Wiping her hands on her skirt, she cast her eyes to the floor. “Hello, Jacques.”
Jules’ open disdain was cruel, the Beta mocking her before the Alpha. “Your Omega has taken it upon herself to pull my ship apart.”
An ironic chuckle, then a hint of darkness layered the statement as Jacques purred the words, “It seems she’s had quite the adventure today.”
Her earlier bravery was gone. Swallowing, she pleaded, “I’m not ready yet…”
She was not ready to die. Not yet.
“Then, by all means, play to your heart’s content.” Taking the nearest jump seat, Jacques crossed an ankle over his knee and motioned for her to continue. “The Ambassador’s ship isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
She must have misheard him, Brenya glancing back and forth between the two males staring one another down. Taking a cautious step toward a floor panel she assumed covered the hover mechanics, no one stopped her. When she reached down to pry it open, not a word was said.
Ancient machinery was at her fingertips, the extremely complicated mechanics making her fingertips twitch in anticipation of all she could learn. She dove in, willing to seize the distraction for as long as it was offered.
In a matter of minutes, a collection of parts had been organized around the floor, Brenya working to see what type of energy coupler the old ship employed. She found something much more interesting. There was an insignia on the hull hidden under decades of murk.
It read Thólos.
Cocking her head, she wiped it clean, certain her eyes must be wrong.
Thólos, clear as day.
The Ambassador’s ship had not come from Greth Dome.
Glancing up, she locked eyes with Jacques.
He asked her point blank, “Did you find anything interesting?”
Yes, she had. “Everything about this ship is interesting.”
22
Hand at her back, Jacques led his quiet Omega down the more picturesque Central pathways toward the palace. It had grown dark in the hours he’d let her play at deconstructing the prick Ambassador’s ship, leaving the streets aglow with soft light playing over the old European architecture of surrounding buildings. The Dome had done well capturing the spirit of all that had been lost, tree lined streets, canals, a reflection of dead cities compressed into one space.
All of this was lost on Brenya.
She was quiet, shoulders drooping and eyes missing the beauty. Withdrawn, she dragged her feet and kept their steps slow.
Jacques didn’t like it. He wanted her as she had been elbow deep reassembling whatever she’d taken apart. “You enjoyed yourself working on the ship.”
For a split second he saw her face grow wistful. One blink and it was gone, her expression as detached as her words. “I did. It was nice to remember that once I had been more than…”
“Than what?”
She screwed up her brow as if unsure how to phrase her thoughts. “Something inadequate. I was an excellent engineering grunt. I am not skilled in any of my new tasks.”
He halted their steps, smirking with a mind full of indecent thoughts. “On that, we’ll have to disagree.”
His teasing did not lighten her brooding at all. If anything, it only made her appear more miserable. “How much farther is it? I will comply and remain obedient, but I am growing anxious. I’d like it to be over soon.”
Jade eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
Her lips shook, honey eyes casting about as if they might find something to keep her steady. “If I asked you to purr while they do it, would you?”
“You, girl, are frustrating beyond all measure.”
She wrapped her dirty arms around her grease-stained middle as if she might hold whatever she was feeling inside. “I know. I am an unsatisfactory Omega.”
This was his fault. He had been careless in his vanity and cruel in his temper. Angry with more than himself, he stated, “You believe I am taking you to be terminated.”
Her voice caught, but she was brave enough to turn pretty eyes up and meet the gaze of the male she thought was to have her killed. “I’m not the only Omega under the Dome.”
He put a finger to her chest, tapping it on her breastbone. “And which Omega would replace you?”
“The blonde female was very beautiful. She made you laugh.”
Dry, he quipped, “I was notified that she entered the early stages of estrous this morning. I could pair-bond with her immediately.”
“That…” Brenya blinked, exhaled, then offered, “is convenient. I’m sure you will be happy.”
Scoffing, he shook his head. “You have honestly considered this, haven’t you?” The corner of Jacques’ lips curled, equally pitiless and amused. “I was under the impression that only seasoned wives thought to tell an Alpha male what to do.”
The word wives shut her down. “Will you purr like I asked? I would appreciate it if you started now.”
Anticipating a different reaction from the female, Jacques sighed. On his next breath he did begin to purr. Seeing the small thing’s immediate relief, he reached out, took her face in his hands, and watched her eyelids droop. Smoothing a thumb over her trembling lip, he murmured, “Last night was unpleasant, but I did not intend this to be your reaction.”
He’d been working to inspire jealousy, not fear for her life. The whole show after dinner had been to make her desire him more—the laughing with the females, the prodding of her pride. He should have known better. Brenya Perin was not wired that way.
Instead she had made him insanely jealous—seeing the feed of her talking with the scrawny Beta pushing him past the pale. She had even dared to throw her arms around the man. She had dared to smile when he’d talked.
Perhaps he had overreacted. The earlier meeting with Shepherd had been a blow. Knowing the Dome was under an invisible siege, and that in a very real sense his hands were tied, burned his ego. Brenya’s naiveté and innocence burned him more. “What if I do not desire to terminate you?”
The magic of his purr could not change the look of terror when her eyes flew open. “I don’t want to be given to another Alpha.” Throat, flexing, color draining from her face… Brenya looked on the cusp of being ill. “I can’t imagine another person… on me.”
That appeased him somewhat. “That won’t happen.”
She took a shaky breath, nodding. A tear even dared to fall from her eye. “What is going to happen to me then?”
“You’re going to learn how to handle my temper.” He reached to stroke her hair, purring all the louder. “I’m going to work on choosing my words when I’m angry. And I am still angry… as I am sure you sense. You acted against your best interests today, and I took action to prevent it in the future, but we will discuss that later. Right now we are going to walk back to our nest. I’m going to feed you dinner, and we will relax. And then I am going to mount you. It will be rough. I can’t bring myself to be gentle, because you have been rebellious and I need to see you punished. But I promise you, when you come, your screams will be those of bliss, not pain.” He set his lips to her forehead, pulling his sweet, unyielding mate into his arms. “Tonight, you will learn the difference between rape and discipline.”
Her scent changed, fear fading into something hinging closer to excitement. “Will you sleep in the nest when you’re done with me?”
“I promise my knot will be inside you. There may be very little sleep, though. I intend to be thorough for both our sakes.”
Sweat matted her hair to her head, Brenya unable to catch her breath.
Looming over her, the Alpha glared down, an expression of perfect violence playing off the joy of his conquest. “What did you learn?”
That he could do so much more to her than she knew. Moaning as her insides throbbed, Brenya grimaced, unable to speak.
He tweaked her nipple pulling it upward until her ribcage bowed. He smiled. “What did you learn, mon chou?”
It should have hurt, a great many of the things he had done to her had… but it did not. Not anymore. When he released the puckered flesh, and took its twin to offer the same treatment, she swooned.
Soft, timbre exceedingly gentle, Jacques said, “You are more beautiful in this moment than I have ever seen you.”
Lashes parting, she found his blurred form glowed. Dreamlike waves of warmth moved over her weighted limbs. She tried to move them, having forgotten he had chained her to the bed.
That had been the first step in his lesson. She was at his mercy, always.
The roughness he had threatened her with was more in theory than in practice, though he had abused her slit when the rut made him frantic in the first knotting of the night. Afterward, he had pulled out and brought down his hand against the fleshier parts of her skin: buttocks, thighs, even between her legs until she’d climaxed.
Her body had surprised her, and he had grinned when abundant slick squished out between his fingers. His cock had not even been inside her.
Jacques had lowered himself over her, his lips whispering at her ear, “Don’t you care for me even a little? Would you come like that for any male? Did you come like that for George?”
“No…”
He thumbed her clit until her legs began to shake. “No to which question?”
The kind of noise that fought its way out of her body was a squeal that both pled for mercy and wanted more. “I never came with George! I never knew this feeling!”
“And how about this one?” His fingers slipped inside, hooking behind her pubic bone. He pressed up against that fleshy place, kneading it until she grew red from holding her breath as if to escape.
Somehow he drew a jet of slick, catching it in his hand to bring to his own swollen body part. Working her juices up and down his shaft, he cocked his head… waiting for her to recover enough to torment further. “Yet, you went to the Beta today. You touched him as you should only touch me. You smiled.”
