But Nikolai refused to let him get away with it.
No one would give a shit about what happened to an omega property whore or her brats, but they would care about a murdered Brotherhood head.
He’d drag Kuril’s body out of the room as evidence if it was the last fucking thing he did.
For the twins, Zaya and Mikhail. For Naytalia, too.
Sucking down a breath, he prepared to launch himself through the flames.
Except a burning piece of ceiling crashed down and slammed into the side of his head.
His ears rung. His legs folded.
Then, nothing.
6
Fifteen years later
Dahlia bounced on the Alpha’s shoulder, naked while he was clothed. The dark, twisting corridors of the Brotherhood ship a blur as Nikolai Skolov moved at speeds she’d never be able to travel on her own, the blare of the shrieking alarms as loud as the shocked, panicked voice inside her head.
He’d come for her. Just as he’d promised.
But not to save her.
No, his intent was far worse.
He’d come to exploit the connection between them for revenge. He’d crashed back into her life to use her weakness for him against her and her family.
Alpha Lord Skolov, we did not realize the omega was your fated mate.
The memory of the disembodied voice sliced through her once more, panicking her all over again.
When she’d been younger, she’d had no idea why she’d responded to the Skolov Alpha as she had. Now she was not so innocent.
They were fated mates. Her craven susceptibility to him was yet another prison she could not escape. Even more intense than the usual Alpha-omega dynamic, the pull between them occurred not only during a rut but all the time. It was all-encompassing and all-consuming, stealing away the small bit of autonomy an omega had.
Even worse, if the bond was completed, she’d be tied to the Alpha for his entire life, not even freed from servitude after her childbearing years ended.
She had to escape before the fated-mate connection was absorbed so deep into her cells, saliva, and skin there’d be no way to break free.
“Ready for the honeymoon, fated-mate omega property?” Tone mocking, Skolov carried her to a hanger where a sleek matte black hovercraft—nicer than anything Olan Lundin owed—was parked.
She refused to dignify the Alpha’s question with an answer.
He laughed.
A walkway descended.
They glided upward, passing a cockpit and several doors before one opened and he ducked inside.
Without warning, the room spun, and the balls of her feet hit cool tile.
“Stay.” The growled command froze her in place.
He’d brought her to a massive room with floor-to-ceiling windows, a huge desk, multiple screens, and a giant bed covered in black silk sheets.
A faint vibration between her toes signaled they were about to lift off. Automatic piloting. She wasn’t surprised. Flesh and blood creatures made mistakes or could be bribed. High-security computers were a safer bet for males like Skolov or her father.
She’d have to be fast. She tensed to run.
As if he read her mind, his arm closed around her shoulder. “Not happening.” He spun her around. Pushing her up against the wall panel, the weight of his body pinned her as the disorienting mix of soft fur, supple leather, and hot skin pressed into her bare flesh. “Move again and I’ll fuck you here and now.”
The worst part? Her need was so great, she barely struggled. The scent and feel of him enough to leave her panting. She’d always been weak where he was concerned.
Still, she fought it. “I am unused.”
“Not for long.”
“My gift may not work as well once I am no longer pure.” She scrambled for any excuse. “Who knows how the fated-mate bond will affect it?”
“We both know your gift hasn’t been operating for a long time.”
Shock crashed through her.
He knew her gift didn’t work. How? Such information was a well-guarded family secret, or so she’d thought.
Plus, if he knew about her broken gift, why had he agreed to take her in return for the resolution of her father’s debt? And why hadn’t he told the other Brotherhood members about Olan’s deception? His actions made no sense, and that frightened her more.
“I don’t understand. If you know . . .” She swallowed.
His hand wrapped around her throat, his mouth pressing to her ear. “You think I don’t know what liars Lundins are?”
She wanted to protest that she’d never wanted to keep the truth from anyone, but the words stuck in her throat, stolen by the sensation of something thick and hard rocking against her bottom. Slow, deliberate movements, as if he knew that every press only made the heat between her legs burn hotter.
“Don’t worry, omega. You’ll earn me what I’m owed. I’ll wring every ounce of your true value from you before we’re done.”
The threat should have horrified her. Instead, she moaned, her omega instinct shrieking in pleasure at the thought of him working her over, fucking, knotting, breeding her until she’d satisfied her debt. She had a terrible suspicion the fated-mate bond only increased the depth of her need to submit.
“Such an eager little omega.” His voice was smug, her traitorous body telling him all he needed to know. “Remember what I told you long ago? You cannot run from what you are.”
Enraged, she slammed her head back, aiming for his nose, but he was too fast. And powerful.
“That will cost you.” His hand landed on her ass. A sharp sting radiated through her.
She hissed and bucked once more.
He pushed her harder into the wall.
“Fight and my instinct will take over.” The hand around her throat tightened.
As prey, she recognized the danger.
Freezing, her breath coming fast, she tried to wade through the onslaught of sensations. She was furious. But that wasn’t all.
His pleased purr rumbled through her as his hand slid between her thighs, exposing her shameful secret.
She was soaked.
“Such a good, dutiful omega.”
She moaned, spreading her legs wider.
“Such well-behaved property.” His other hand swept her hair to the side, baring the back of her neck to his gaze. She shivered as his breath skittered across her skin like a caress.
Another low growl erupted as he skimmed his lips along the curve of her shoulder. “I’ve wanted you like this since I first saw you.”
Another shiver. More slick pearled on her folds. “I was a child.”
“I never was.” His every dominant gesture only triggered her heat higher. “And thank fuck, you’re not any longer.”
The rustle of movement behind her and then the fur he’d been wearing around his shoulders landed at her feet. The leather bands that had crisscrossed his torso was sliced in half as if he’d used his claws to cut through them in one powerful slash.
His chest was now as bare as hers.
She whimpered as he flattened himself fully against her once more, the rock-hard heat of him searing her skin.
“Don’t fight me, and it won’t hurt.” The hand at her throat held her in place while he ground his erection against the cleft of her bottom, the friction of the supple leather and the hard ridge of his cock heightening her need. “Put your palms on the wall.”