Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
She was tainted in their eyes.
But they had one another. Their lives were quiet and happy, with no need of outside interference.
And though they had avoided her mother, the same neighbors had never been cruel to her. In harsh winters, no one went hungry. When her aunt’s body had been found swinging from the rafters, many had come to offer solace.
As far as parentage, for all Morgaine knew, her mother had been a willing participant the day she was conceived.
And now her father was dead. Did he even know why? Had he too watched Esin rub between her legs?
Guilt, disgust, and shame left the Omega white as a sheet. Morgaine knew she had to answer, had to give Sergeant Uriel something or else a punishment might follow, so she muttered. “Alphas keep Betas safe.”
Uriel was pleased, a smile in his eyes. “Well done, girl. You are learning.”
She was learning. Every day she learned Alphas were closer to monsters than men. “What is my lesson today? Shall I sit in the chair and watch the screen?”
“No.” Genuinely exultant, Uriel took her by the elbow and offered clothing. “Today we leave this room so that you can be introduced to those in the fleet with an interest in knowing you better.”
Chapter 10
It took less than ten steps outside her room for Morgaine to discover that the Alphas’ ship was incredible. In contradiction to her smooth-walled prison, the halls were etched, carved with jagged geometric shapes unlike anything she had seen in the settlement. Light seemed to emanate from the very metal—each glowing panel appearing warm to the touch. But the instant her fingers reached out to explore, her wrist was caught in a vise.
“Eyes forward, Morgaine. This is no place for an Omega to linger.”
But why? After all those days tucked away, with the first inkling of excitement she’d felt since waking up in the sleeping pit, why could she not enjoy this? “I thought—”
“Don’t think. Walk.” Her guardian was stiff, marching her forward with an air of menace he’d never displayed, even at his angriest in her room.
What happened to the reserved authority figure?
This aggressive warden—who held her wrist in a harsh pinch and yanked her to keep pace with his relentless gait—wasn’t the aloof Sergeant Uriel he portrayed in private. Proof again that Alphas were never what they seemed.
Murderers, thieves, rapists… liars.
Trotting in an effort to keep up with the larger man, Morgaine knew better than to complain. After all, he was dragging her to meet potential suitors, and had already told her that when it was time for rest, Corporal Esin would be allowed to do more than use her hand to give himself pleasure.
No matter her feelings on the subject, Esin was going to rape her. Thrust over her flattened body like the Alpha she’d watched rutting the Omega on-screen.
Bunching shoulders, pinned wrists… slick or no, no matter what Sergeant Uriel claimed, Morgaine would never welcome such attention.
The man had ordered her mother’s face to be branded. The same man treated her as his plaything.
Act in any way these Alphas might term as insolent? She would face lessons.
Mention her mother? Earn herself a caning and her mother a public whipping.
Walk too slow? Her arm would be yanked so hard her shoulder ached.
Stay silent? Be rebuked for not speaking.
Speak? Dark looks and castigation for failing to amaze.
They murdered a stranger because of one retort spoken in anger…
These Alphas didn’t want Morgaine at all. They wanted the part of her Uriel referred to as a cunt. A cunt that dripped slick and was attached to a machine that made noises and did as it was told.
In the settlement, women did not leave their hair uncovered. They certainly didn’t let men touch them without permission.
Rape was punishable by immediate execution.
Not here. Here Alphas did as they pleased.
Walking down those glittering corridors, Morgaine let that concept sink in. Don’t think. Walk.
Don’t complain. Obey.
You are no longer a person. You are property.
It did not even matter that their pace had left her flimsy garment loose, her left breast bouncing free of its covering. Not one of the males in the halls or galleries cared her modesty was gone or her hair flowed free and loose.
Don’t live. Serve.
“Morgaine, pay attention. I’ll not say it again.” Pulling her to an abrupt stop, Sergeant Uriel turned on his charge and gave her a look that said now was not the time to misbehave.
Winded from the effort to keep up, feet aching from pounding against cold floors, Morgaine curled her toes and tried to catch her breath. “What?”
He did not release a frustrated sigh, but his glare alone made it seem Sergeant Uriel greatly desired to. Shoulders back, neck tense, he stood as if on display for the multitude of Alphas milling about the gallery.
It was them—the soldiers in their vermilion armor edging nearer—that had made him this way. Without thinking, immensely nervous to see so many eyes on her, Morgaine toed back a step. Uriel’s tightening grip made retreat impossible. Staring at his face as he scanned the waiting crowd, the tense lines, the way his lip curled… the threatening growls offered to any who dared approach—she understood that she was prey in a room of circling predators. And only Uriel’s snarls kept the beasts at bay.