When it came down to it, she received help from a very unexpected quarter.

Racide had decided that he needed to talk to everyone who would be involved – at least on this end – in Emmy's escape all at once, to make certain that they were coordinating things correctly. This was going to be a very tightly choreographed dance, this escape, and none of them could afford to get the slightest thing wrong.

Somehow, he managed to get her to the library without Vaudt knowing. Since he was gone, she assumed it involved Racide not going with a raiding party. They were usually gone at the same time. His second-in-command usually took over the running of the place for him when he left.

And Racide was definitely not his second-in-command.

But Emmy didn't really care how he did it. She only cared that they were all there and they could get on with it. The closer it got to becoming a reality, the antsier she got, wanting to, finally, be free again.

If what Racide had said was true, and she was pretty sure it was.

When she walked into the library, pushing the voluminous hood back as she did, the first people she saw were the doctors, who all turned to glare at her, as they always did. They would definitely be happy to have her gone.

And as soon as she thought about it, as much as she would hate having to rely on them, she realized that they were the only solution.

Favus went so far as to come over and confront her.

"You are a very unnatural Omega, and an even more unnatural female," he informed her disdainfully. "Our Lord, the Tarq, Vaudt the Second, Undefeated may he always be, will be well rid of you."

There were murmurs of agreement from the others of his ilk.

"Likewise, I'm sure."

"I, for one, find you wonderfully strong and feminine – I firmly believe that those two qualities were never meant to be mutually exclusive," Hinda said quietly from behind her.

Emmy turned to face the woman she had become friends with instantly when they'd bonded over her books, hesitating, biting her lip, knowing she should not expect a hug.

And yet she got one – the warmest, most loving one yet.

"I am so sorry my son has made you so unhappy. I am honored to play a small part in – hopefully – getting you to a place where you will have more freedom."

"I'm sorry I won't be providing you with the grandchildren you want," she replied, and she meant it, on some level, anyway. On impulse, Emily asked, "Will you not come with us?"

Hinda smiled, cupping her cheek in a way that reminded Emmy of Vaudt, somehow. "I'm touched that you would want me to, but no. I am too old to make the journey, or to change my ways. I wasn't raised the way you were, to expect to be allowed to be so independent, to make my own choices. Besides, I have my sons to look after."

No one brought up the fact that there was an extremely good chance that she might lose one, the other, or even both, if this plan failed.

They met for as long as they dared, firming up plans and stories and the timing of events, until everyone seemed to have it down pat.

They decided that they would pull off this daring plot within the next few days. It all had to be a bit more fluid than they would have liked, but none of them had any control over when or where Vaudt might decide to go into battle and that was the crux of the whole situation. He needed to be gone for a good long while in order to get her as far away from him as possible while he was away.

By the time he returned, she would be well on her way to her new home, well beyond his considerable reach.

* * *

As that day drew nearer, Emmy was having a hard time not appearing incredibly nervous. Luckily, the man who was closest to her seemed to attribute that to a part of her recovery and didn't seem in the least suspicious about her behavior. He was just happy that she was – slowly – becoming more like her previous self, and he was doing his best to be patient with her, when, in actuality, his small stores of that quality had long since been exhausted.

The morning of her escape, which would take place that night, dawned – as always – hot and bright. Emily forced herself to remain as calm as she could, but she was a terrible actress.

She had laid some more groundwork the night before, hoping that might give her some cover.

And it had.

Knowing it was to be her last night with him, she had dropped the veil of indifference she had shown him for so long, jettisoning even some of her anger towards him in favor of lulling him into a false sense of security. She allowed him to think that this might be the start of her true return to him, of her acceptance of her place in this world – in his life.

She touched him again – voluntarily – for the first time in a long while, and she was horrified to feel her heart clench at the way his eyes lit up when she reached up to trace his lips with her fingertip.

Just that – not much more – but it was all he needed.

He gifted her with one of those beautiful smiles of his, but although she recognized it for its rarity, it wasn't nearly enough.

Nothing would be enough to make up for what he'd put her through.

But those thoughts were not conducive to her goal, so she'd carefully banked the fires of her anger at him and smiled, hesitantly, up at him.

And he had made it just that much harder, from that point on, because he was so elated by the change in her that he pulled out every stop. He used every trick he knew to coax every last bit of bliss from her body – a body she'd had to open to him completely in order to capture him – if temporarily – just as firmly as he was trying to bind her to him.

He very nearly succeeded in causing her to lose herself to him completely, but she kept a small kernel of hatred – pure and simple – of him alive in her heart, even when she could feel herself being subjected to the absolute perfection of their physical union.

And it was enough to keep her grounded, to keep her separate from him, even as the waves of ecstasy nearly knocked her to her knees.

It was her lifeline. Her sanity. Her savior.

That next morning began as they always did, and she was allowing him to see her recovered enough that she joined him for breakfast, although she didn't eat very much, and he commented on it, reminding her that she would need all of her strength if she was to carry and bear his child.

She smiled – almost shyly – at him, watching him eat up her performance like the stew Anja brought them for dinner that evening.

He was going to be leaving soon and she knew it – she was counting on it. Somewhere along the line, he had become a bit less secretive about his doings than he ever had been with her and had begun keeping her better informed about when he was likely to be there. This had helped them immeasurably in their plotting, along with all of the information along those lines that Racide could call up, which was even more accurate since he was a part of Vaudt's inner circle.

She watched him get ready for battle, still marveling – even after all this time – at his size, almost allowing herself to wish things had been different. What a magnificent man he would have been in her time! He could have been an educated, successful businessman, an athlete of some sort, or even an actor or a male model. He would have had to kick women out of his bed every night.

He might even have been the father he was so desperate to be to their child.

Sadness descended upon her for a moment, at what should have been for him – and for everyone else left on this God-forsaken planet.

And, of course, he noticed immediately that she was downcast. Coming over to stand before her in his armor, this made him look three times as big as he was. All metal and leather and big, clompy, military-esque boots that she knew each contained a very sharp knife, bandoliers – heavy with cartridges – crossing over his chest plate, a deadly looking machine gun over his shoulder and two other guns, one on each hip...

He was a walking wet dream of a proud, powerful Alpha male and, to her great consternation, there was still proof of that in the way her essence still wept copiously from her pussy.

"Are you all right?" he asked, in a tone she wished he wouldn't use with her, one that sounded as if he really cared about her, when she knew it wasn't really true. He might feel something for her, in his way, but it would never be enough for her.

But it still made her shudder, and his brows drew together in concern as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her gently against his armor.

"Cold?"

"No." She shook her head, and then a valid explanation – that was fit for his ears – popped into her head. "Scared."

"Scared? Why? You're well protected here. You know I always see to that."

"Not for me, silly, for you," she whispered, and it came out almost coquettishly, as if she was flirting with him as she wrapped her arms as far around him as they would reach.

And he ate it up, every last bit of it.

"I'll be fine." Seeking to distract her, she knew, he asked, "Is there anything I could bring back to you?"

"Just you – in one piece – please," she asked prettily.

His kiss made her knees weak and increased her shivering, albeit for a different reason.

He was just about to reach for the straps that covered his cock, wanting to have her one more time before he left, but there was a loud knock at the door, and he knew it was his lieutenant, not so silently telling him to get a move on.

He had to settle for another almost crippling kiss – he guessed that was why they said you should have sex before a battle – then turned to head for the door, looking back at her one last time as he stood in the open doorway.

She looked pale, fragile, and frightened, and it nearly broke his heart to leave her, but he knew he had to do it.

"I'll be fine. You'll see. It won't be too long before I'm back."

Wringing her hands nervously, Emily nodded, her eyes full of tears, which certainly added to the effect, but she had no idea why she was really crying, refusing to admit that it might be because this was going to be the last time she saw him.

He hesitated – which surprised her enormously – just for a second, before closing the door behind him and locking it.

As soon as he had, she dashed her tears away and scrambled to make everything ready.

* * *

Unfortunately, there was no way to plan for the unexpected. She had overplayed her hand and made him more concerned about her than she wanted to.

As a result, long before the appointed time, she heard someone's key in the lock and was horrified to see Vaudt entering her room.

She was stunned to see him.

And instantly depressed beyond belief.

He couldn't be here – he simply couldn't. His presence here meant that everything they'd so carefully planned was rendered null and void.

She wouldn't be leaving him, would never find any sort of happiness or freedom.

"I just came back to reassure you, one more time, that you are safe, and I will come back to you."

Emmy tried to appear grateful, but she knew she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

He strode over to her, dragging her into another big bear hug.

Vaudt knew he shouldn't be here. He should be with his men, getting ready to take on Garron and the hoards of Skorge who had been harassing his people, raiding them, killing them, making off with women and anything else they thought could make money for them.

Instead, he was here, although he surprised himself by being unable to chide himself for doing so.

She had looked so sad and forlorn and alone when he'd left her, he just had to come back and reassure himself that she was okay and reassure her that he would be, too.

He'd been with his brother when he'd decided to come back, and Racide had looked somehow…stricken that he was doing so and had decided to follow him, which he found annoying, but he couldn't be bothered to give him the dressing down that he deserved. He didn't have the time. It was more important to him that he make his way back to her

His mother was right.

She had changed him and not necessarily for the better.

Maintaining military discipline was essential to his survival. If any of his men thought he was weak in any way, they would be only too willing to try to replace him, and none of them would hesitate to step over his cooling body as they did so.

Racide knocked at the door, which swung open at his action, and he stood in the doorway while Emmy looked at him with eyes that pleaded with him to rescue her, even as his brother was holding her.

Suddenly, he had an idea. While Emmy watched him do it, he lifted and loosened one of his own handguns, where it lay on his hip.

When Vaudt kissed her for the last time, obviously very reluctant to leave her, she pulled a bit away and began to wander casually, reversing their positions, and she was now between the two men.

But their impromptu plan never came to fruition.

In the next second, they were all standing in pitch black.

Their power had been cut, and suddenly, from within and without, they could hear the sounds of a battle being conducted, as near as the hallway outside the door.

They were being raided themselves.

"Where is Emmy?" Vaudt roared over the sounds of gunfire and men dying, as their enemy began to pour towards them and into the room. They couldn't see much, either, but they had the benefit of surprise.

He never got an answer as he joined his men in fighting fiercely – and blindly – until the back-up generators had a chance to kick in. The lights began to return, very slowly and dimly at first, revealing just how badly they had been caught unaware and unprepared. He tried to look around for Racide, but he couldn't see him.

He had already sent most of the supplies and his men to a staging area, and although there was still a core group of his personal guards – whose duty it was to protect Emily, at any cost – around somewhere, there was otherwise just a skeleton crew in place to keep things running.

However, at a time like this, every capable man had a weapon in his hand of some kind – and even some of the women, fighting alongside trained soldiers – and they were losing, badly, but they were more than willing to make the attempt to save their families, their own hides, and to defend their homes.

Vaudt managed to fight his way to the courtyard, where bodies were strewn all around him – most of them his own men, and he was worried – although not too much – that his brother's was probably among them.

But then, he knew he had no cause for worry as he stood there and raised his head, guns at the ready but not blazing.

They definitely should have been, but he just couldn't, once his eyes had landed on her.

She was naked, spattered with dirt and blood, and he didn't want to consider what else, hanging from an arm around her middle, still fighting ferociously even though she was caught, while the man who had her laughed at her feeble attempts to escape.

It was his brother, Racide, with Garron behind him – cackling wildly.

He made sure that Vaudt was watching when he viciously groped Emmy's breast, then slid a disgusting, dirty hand between her legs, cupping her there as he yanked her head back by her hair.

Vaudt could hear her scream and cry – even over the din of the battle raging around them – from where he was. He could feel the terror that he saw on her face, in the pit of his own stomach.

He raised his guns again as if to fire, knowing he couldn't risk hitting her, knowing that it was a useless, coward's gesture.

And when his enemy – his rival – his blood – took his engorged cock out, right there, in the midst of everything that was going on around them, lifting Emmy with surprising strength – like a rag doll, he knew what he had to do.

"Vaudt!" Emmy screamed frantically, the look on her face one of sheer terror.

He acted quickly, running at full force until he reached them. The air was filled with gunfire, but nothing would stop him from getting to her. Nothing.

Knife in one hand, with the other, he pulled Emmy free of his brother's grasp with a supernatural-like force.

The next thing Emmy saw, as she stood frozen to the spot, was the bright red stain that quickly spread over Racide's chest and the knife protruding from his mid section.

Vaudt ran to her and picked her up in his arms, turned, and ran. Safely handing her over to his mother in the now ransacked house, he looked at her and said, "Stay! I shall be back, as I promised. Nothing will keep me from you."

Emmy nodded, turning to his mother for comfort. As she watched him return to battle the enemy, she whispered aloud, "I shall be here, Vaudt. I shall stay with you forever, my love."