“Born omega with an alpha heart,” she murmured, her voice mysteriously free of judgement. It wouldn’t stay that way. It couldn’t. No matter what had changed in the kingdom, the omegas had a lot of hurts to heal from, Ashla included.
“I guess you could say that.” I scanned the dark horizon for any sign of trouble and scented the air for unfamiliar smells.
“Does this mean I should stop calling you alpha now?” she asked quietly.
“You may call me Solen. I prefer it.” I’d always hated the way our culture referred to each other by status instead of name. I’d hated it in secret though, just like everything else.
“Okay, then you may leave the ‘omega’ off, and call me Ashla from now on.”
I mostly did that anyway, but having her permission was cute. Ashla. It was a beautiful name. A little sweet, a little spitfire.
The sun was beginning to rise as I led her to the far reaches of my territory where my secret bunker was hidden. The cover of darkness would allow us just enough time to get inside and seal it up before the dust and heat settled over the flat land, erasing whatever scent trail Ashla might leave behind.
I glanced at her in the waning darkness. She wasn’t in heat yet, but I feared she was closer than either of us realized. As we walked, her shoulders sank with each labored step. She was tired, but she hadn’t murmured a single complaint.
“We’re almost there, my little spitfire.”
“We’re close?” she asked. “I don’t see anything.”
I smirked. “If you could see it, it wouldn’t be very well hidden, would it?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Twenty more steps and we were at the marker. A thin Joshua tree shaped like a perfect Y. Kneeling beside it, I brushed the sand away from the base, revealing a small keypad.
“The code is 1002 and my name spelled backwards,” I told her as I quickly unlocked the hatch and let it slide back.
“Whoa,” Ashla murmured as the outer arm of the hatch slid the sand away revealing the inner doors. “Let me guess. It replaces the sand when the door closes?”
I nodded and started down the sturdy ladder. I’d designed this hideout to be like the Badlands heat bunkers… but nicer and more secure. Much more secure.
Reaching up, I took her hand and helped her down the ladder before securing the hatch. I listened for the sand to fill back over the outer doors and only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
Turning, I watched her take in the place as the lights slowly came on. She turned in a full circle, her eyes going wide with surprise.
“This is where you come to shift?”
“I shift as little as possible. I don’t need to often. This is where I come to…” Finishing that sentence was uncomfortable, but I did it anyway. “… to be me.”
Ashla eyed me. “You. Solen, not the general.”
“Yes.”
She looked around again, her gaze slowly roving over the place like a caress. “I’ve never had a place like that. Somewhere to just be… me.”
The Badlands didn’t allow for that kind of freedom, and the truth was, neither did the castle. Both our roles required discipline and the putting aside of wants. War. Tattered society. Prejudice. We all wore masks, some more painful than others.
That was the world we lived in. But for now, we had this.
“You can be yourself here,” I said, and she turned to me with a wry smile.
“I doubt that’s true. I’m used to dirty bunkers and satin sheets. There was never any in between.” She strolled forward, examining the king size bed that took up most of one wall. “They may not be able to hunt me down here, but freedom of any kind is still so far away.”
I disagreed. The king wasn’t as weak as some omegas liked to think. His mating to Zelene wasn’t a move of weakness. It was one of strategy even though his heart chose her. The love they shared only strengthened his resolve.
Aside from that, I knew something no one except the other guards did.
Adalai was working on plans of his own. No doubt whatever he came up with would blow everyone’s expectations out of the fucking water.
Freedom was closer than anyone expected.
Ashla
Chapter Four
“It didn’t have to be this way.” An incredible wave of sadness washed over me as I took in this beautiful bunker. In a way, it was more comfortable than my room at the castle. It wasn’t for show. It was meant to be lived in. Anyone who came here could find comfort.
I wanted that.
It was more than just my heat making me react like this. The first thing an omega learned how to do was build a wall thicker than the one that had shielded Luxoria from the Badlands to protect ourselves from feelings. Always at a disadvantage, any weakness would be exploited.
In the armory, I worked with the strongest alphas that survived the front lines of battle. I’d studied them, and modeled my behavior after them.
I hated it. I was tired of being hard and afraid. A pretty dress and a room at the castle didn’t change that. And this bunker pissed me off. Solen could have fought for us. We all could’ve had this. But instead, he let us suffer.
I shook my head. “It didn’t have to be this way.” This time my voice came out stronger.
“It did, because that’s the way it was. It was a path set into motion long before you and me were in a position to do anything about it,” Solen said, taking a step closer to me like he meant to comfort me.
