Crave To Conquer (Myth of Omega, #1)(12)
Drocco stood gripping the files, for a long moment. This, he had never heard before. Omegas had been dying? That couldn’t be possible. It hadn’t ever been reported.
“Head Keeper!” he called.
Within seconds the head keeper appeared at the door of the room. “How can I help you, Emperor?”
“Explain why Omegas were dying.”
The man clasped his hands in front of him as he headed into the room. “I’m afraid that is something we do not have data on.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“No one reported or recorded any information on it, your Imperial Majesty,” he responded, his voice trembling. “Please remember, the data gathered is most comprehensive from when the late king’s family came into power. Before that, there was no culture of recording events or occurrences. We have noticed the declining numbers of Omegas but we cannot explain it with factual information.”
“What theory would you surmise based on the information you do have?” Cailyn asked.
The head keeper hesitated. “We don’t like to theorize—”
“Answer,” Drocco ordered.
The head keeper swallowed. “It’s possible the Omegas were under some kind of attack,” he said, carefully. “But we cannot guess what kind of attack and we do not recommend you take that theory seriously, your Imperial Majesty.”
A short moment of silence expanded in the room as Drocco digested the information. If Omegas were under attack, it had to be by Betas. They were the most numerous dynamic and had much to gain by killing Omegas and thereby reducing the birth rates of Alphas. Before he could think it through properly, Cailyn headed to the door.
“Where are you going?” Drocco said sharply.
“We’re finished here, aren’t we?” she snapped, her eyes flashing at him.
The head keeper blanched as she stormed past him while Drocco watched her. Her anger was causing her to be carelessly willful and surprisingly entertaining, despite the rudeness.
He inclined his head at his guards at the door and they blocked her path. She tried to push past them and they grabbed her, holding onto her arms until she stilled. A dust of rage skimmed over Drocco at the sight of their hands on her, but he forced himself to ignore it. She was causing the restraint to be necessary.
“I’ll be back to look into the documents you have selected for me in more detail, Head Keeper,” he told the man as he turned to go. “I will also consider how your facility may be of full use to the Lox Empire. In the meantime, notify the Palace if you or your keepers or clerks find anything that you think would be of use to me.”
The head keeper bowed deeply. “I shall, your Imperial Majesty. We look forward to your next visit.”
As he passed the guards, Drocco served Cailyn with a fierce look, heavy with all the rage rocketing within him. She immediately relaxed into a submissive pose, and a gleam of satisfaction pierced through him at her reaction. Yes, he would enjoy training this one.
“You will walk, unaided, to my carriage,” he said, harshly. “And you will get yourself under control. It is your choice whether you continue working on this investigation with all of your limbs intact. Understood?”
Cailyn nodded, her head low, in the correct position, yet Drocco was momentarily annoyed he couldn’t see her face.
“Good. Let her go.”
On the return journey, Cailyn kept quiet. She sat with her head down and her hands in her lap, as she should. Drocco still couldn’t keep his eyes off her and found himself thinking back to the smile she had given the clerk. He had initially thought that nothing about her pleasing features stood out as being remarkable, but he had been wrong—her smile was. It had enhanced her petite features so beautifully and even in the short glimpse he had witnessed of it, it was mesmerizing. It infuriated him that he hadn’t received anything close to a smile from her in all this time—over a month of watching her—yet he was the only one who deserved it. He was the fucking Emperor. He brooded in his seat, considering if he should take her to bed that very night, but one thought of the Omegas threw that notion away. He had to figure out why the Omegas had been dying, and why his father and grandfather failed to mention it. Cailyn was the route to that knowledge.
He stared at her, a dark mood crawling over him at the restrictions on him. He would fuck her raw as soon as the investigation ended. The minute they found the Omegas he would drag Cailyn into his— His thoughts shuddered to a stop. When they found the Omegas he would need to prioritize selecting the one that belonged him. He wouldn’t have time for Cailyn. Fuck! He ground his teeth, his eyes boring into her. He wanted that smile on him, that body underneath him, that bouncy hair in his fist.
He descended into deep thought while the carriage swayed, jostling them about as it entered the cobbled Palace grounds. Maybe he could keep her around and fuck her just before he bonded with his Omega. There wouldn’t be much time though; he would need to complete the bond as soon as possible.
When the carriage arrived at the Palace, his frustrations were even stronger than when they had started the journey, and he retreated to the training grounds to work off his agitation. Later that night, he tried again to find relief in the throat of a Beta female, but once again, he had to send her away without even undoing his pants. He could think of nothing but the smile that had not been for him.
***