Crave To Conquer (Myth of Omega, #1)(26)
Pushing away the fear building in her, she got up and stumbled over to the wall-wide curtain. It couldn’t be drawn; it seemed to be pinned in place at the top, but behind it was an enormous window that made up one whole side of the room, similar to the one in her quarters. The sunlight blinded her for a moment, but when her eyes adjusted she looked out upon a wide green forest, one she recognized. It surrounded a part of the Palace that no one had access to. It spread out before her, extending from the Palace and ending in the distance where it met with the city of Ashens.
A glass door in the center of the window led to a high-railed balcony, but of course, it was locked. She methodically searched the room high and low for a key or a way to escape, moving as quickly as she could while trying not to wince at the pain from her Haze.
At the Compound, Omegas sometimes paired up to satisfy each other with their tongues and fingers and phallic contraptions, but Cailyn had never been interested in that. The idea of having to look another Omega in the eye afterward was too mortifying. Instead she and her friends, Viktoya and Amara, would look out for each other on rotation, keeping each other safely in their rooms and making sure they drank, ate and kept as clean as the Haze would allow. Some Omega spies would seek out men to have sex with while on their missions, to experience it so they could use it as part of their missions, but Cailyn never felt any need to do that. Besides, many of those spies would end up wanting it regularly, and she didn’t become one of the best by seeking out such distractions. However, none of those Omegas she had spoken to about it had ever talked about being in such pain afterward.
Normally she would be achy after her Haze, but this time it felt like every muscle in her body had been stretched to its limit. She paused at the thought. Maybe they had. Cupping her sex, she gently felt along her sore slit, and a realization came to her. Drocco had knotted her—that’s why she was so sore. He could have mated her numerous times, which meant she could be pregnant.
She took a shaky breath and bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes. No… she had to get a grip. Her memories of the Haze would come back soon enough and she would know for sure what had happened. For now, she needed to find a way out.
The enormous room had three doors; the thick and heavy one on the wall opposite the bed was locked from the outside, another was in a corner of the room and led to an equally lavish washroom that held small windows, the last set of doors led to a wide closet that held a few sets of men’s clothing.
Cailyn returned to the wall length window and looked around for something to smash it. It was too thick to smash with her fist, but nothing in the room could be used for that purpose, there seemed to be a lack of ornamentation in general; no candlesticks, paintings or accessories—not even a clock. She paced the room, desperation overcoming her—there was no way out. Of course, Drocco would not allow the first Omega he had ever come across to escape so easily. He had found a way to prevent her from using the Talent and was no doubt planning to keep her secure until he had had his fill.
She was in the hands of the most vicious Alpha known to the Eastern Lands, who had an army of Alphas at his disposal. Her fate was bleak. She thought back to her home, the Omega Compound. All the warm, friendly Omegas that lived in peace and harmony. Her time with them was over—she would never see Victoya, or Amara, or the Mothers again. Her life would become exactly what she had been fighting to prevent all her life for Omegas. She dropped down against the wall next to the bed and dug her fingers into her palms as she blinked away angry tears.
As the raw edge of her anger faded, she calmed and tried to consider her situation logically. She always knew this outcome could be a possibility—all spies were told to prepare for it. She brushed her tears away and used the washroom, realizing that her hair had been washed and she had been cleaned up after her Haze. Maybe there was a servant she could appeal to. She returned to the bedroom and stripped a sheet from the bed to tie around herself and wait for the Emperor, firming her mind. He could do whatever he wanted to her. She would never lead him to the Omegas.
When the lock turned in the heavy door opposite the bed, she stood and faced the door, her lips pressed into a straight line. Blurry memories of the Haze had returned and although she was glad he hadn’t gotten through the barrier until the very end, an annoyance churned in her that he had fucked her when she had been mostly unconscious and exhausted.
The Emperor’s enormous bulk stepped through into the room, and the door closed immediately behind him, locking without him having to do anything. It confirmed her suspicions that there were guards outside the door.
Emperor Drocco looked as he always did—like a wild beast just barely contained in the flesh of an enormous man—but there was something fascinating about him that she hadn’t noticed before. That familiar nervousness bloomed immediately, trembling in her stomach along with a desire to go to him, but she knew it was because her blocks had gone. Without them, she wouldn’t be able to resist his pheromones, but she would try.
The Emperor looked around the room until he found her, his black eyes unreadable. “It is fortunate for you, that you’re finally awake.”
“So you can knot me while I’m conscious this time?” Cailyn spat, instantly angry. “Yes, how fortunate for me.”
He held her eyes for a moment, then turned slowly to place items she couldn’t see on the table by the door, next to one of the sofas. “Your willful attitude was entertaining when I thought you were a Beta,” he said casually, turning back to her. “When I thought I had to wait to fuck you. I’m not interested in being entertained by that now.”