CHAPTER EIGHT
CAILYN
Cailyn’s consciousness returned in slow waves.
Everything ached, and she groaned as the pain registered. She worked her jaw, trying to lubricate her dry mouth. Victoya should have been keeping her properly hydrated, but judging from her protesting limbs, it seemed the Haze had been more intense than normal this time.
Cailyn rolled over on the bed and cried out as a sharp, unfamiliar pain shot up between her legs. Her eyes flew open and she sat up carefully, her heart sinking as she looked around.
An enormous bed stretched all around her and at each corner, a thick bedpost rose up high to connect with a golden canopy overhead. Surrounding the bed was a lavish room. Thick, deep, umber carpet covered the floor and the walls were patterned with intricate decoration, color-coordinated in reds, browns, gold, and cream. Two burgundy couches sat on one side of the room, and next to them an engraved mahogany table with matching chairs. Mats, rugs, and floor cushions littered one corner of the room, where a heavy dark curtain hung along one whole wall. Soft, ivory light poured from circular orbs in the ceiling and walls. Nothing looked familiar.
Cailyn tried to keep a hold of her panic. Moving slowly, she shifted to the edge of the bed and slipped her legs over the side. Pushing herself upright she stilled, thinking back to what she could remember. It took a few minutes, as it always did, but soon the fragmented memories aligned in her mind.
Emperor Drocco.
She had created a barrier so he wouldn't get to her. She gritted her teeth. Judging by the pain between her legs, the fact she was naked, and the standard of the room around her, that had not worked. The barrier had been strong, created by his own blood. How the hell had he gotten through it?
She shook her head. That didn’t matter right now. She had to get out immediately. Focusing her mind, she drew on the Talent to recreate her blocks. Nothing happened. She tried again, forcing her breathing to calm and her mind to clear. Nothing. She couldn’t feel any magic in the air at all. Shit!
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.”
His calm manner disturbed her. “I was not aiming to entertain you.”
“You were aiming to deceive me!” he bellowed suddenly.
Cailyn jumped but discarded her fear almost as soon as it rose.
The Emperor’s eyes blazed. “You are aware that I do not tolerate traitors?”
“I never swore loyalty to you.”
The Emperor thundered towards her, and Cailyn forced herself to hold her ground. He grabbed the sheet around her and ripped it away.
Cailyn didn’t bother to react. She was barely holding out against the scent that swept in around her. Her nipples hardened and slick was already gathering between her legs, even though she was sore.
Drocco snarled as the last of the sheet left her. He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, his face close to hers. “You lied constantly about who and what you are.”
“And you raped me,” she said evenly. “So I guess we are even.”
His eyes narrowed. “Rape?” The distaste on his face surprised her somewhat. “You think you can plead to be fucked, offer me your pussy and your mouth for days, slam that tight hole up onto my knot and then cry rape?”
His words sent a tingly shiver down her spine and slick began to drip down her thighs, but her mind still worked, even if her body was lost to her. “That was hormones,” she said, through gritted teeth. “Instincts and hormones. I wasn’t sane or in my right mind.”
Drocco made a noise of displeasure at the back of his throat. “Are you sane now?” His voice lowered. “Because I can smell the release of your slick and I haven't even touched you yet.”
“Hormones,” she said, breathier than she intended.
They glared at each other, a crackle of electricity shooting through Cailyn at the feel of his eyes roaming over her. His face contorted and he threw her by her hair onto the bed. She landed on her back and began to scramble away from him.
“Be still,” he ordered.
She froze, and a part of her relaxed. It was easier on her emotionally to just follow his demands, but too much was at stake—she had to ignore the part of her that wanted to simply submit. Cailyn had never been one to take the easy route anyway.
“Open your legs,” he demanded, undoing his pants.
Her legs were already half open before he finished speaking. She slammed them shut again, scrunching her lips together. All she had to do was focus.
Drocco’s gaze intensified on her as he pulled off his shirt. “You fight your instincts.”
She glared at him. She couldn’t stop him from overpowering her, but she could try to make it as hard for him as possible. Since he wanted a submissive, it wouldn’t please him.
However, once naked, the smell of him besieged her, making her almost dizzy with desire for him. His tanned bulk of a body was the epitome of a warrior—hard muscles bunched along his shoulders and down his arms, cut across his chest, his stomach—everywhere. Accompanying them were numerous scars that documented his success in battle, marking him a successful warrior. His cock stood up, a thick and long column jutted out for her. Memories of it inside her swam in her mind and a warmth agitated her body.
She wanted to be repulsed by everything about him—his rugged look, the potency of his Alpha stench, the violence signified by every mark on his body—but as an Omega, she had to appreciate that he was an incredibly handsome Alpha, and no amount of mental self-persuasion could convince her that his scent was anything other than enticingly delicious. Everything about him magnified her desire for him.
Drocco stroked himself, his enormous fist working up and down that magnificent cock, and a smirk spread slowly across his face.
Cailyn started, shocked as she realized she was somehow suddenly spread before him, her knees as far as they could go, her slick trickling onto the bed.
Drocco advanced, his black eyes triumphant. “Are you saying no, kitten?” he growled.
Cailyn swallowed the automatic answer that came to her lips, the one pushed forward by her Omega instincts to tell him to fuck and knot her until she was near enough blind. She cursed inwardly that she didn’t even have the willpower to close her legs.
He stopped by the bed looking down at her, his eyes tracking down her body and all she could do was stare back. “Never cover yourself in this room,” he ordered. “I want to see your body at all times.”
She didn’t answer and he reached for her, grabbing her hips and dragging her to the edge of the bed. She kept herself upright, her hands behind her to take her weight. She would not lie down before him.
“I’m sore,” she said, evenly.
His eyes glittered. “I know.”
Once her hips were at the edge, her legs still wide for him, Drocco ran a hand up across her stomach, over her breasts and pinched her nipples. She bit back a moan at the feel of his hands on her, sending goosebumps all over her. She gasped when he began tapping the head of his engorged cock on her clit. She melted into the sparks of sweet pleasure, sighing at the relief of not having to fight against her nature anymore.
"What is your name?" His voice was low.
"Cailyn."
"Cailyn what?"
She didn't say anything. She couldn't.
His mushroomed tip pressed against her bruised opening, and suddenly she was alert.
“What is your family name?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He pushed the tip in roughly, and she yelled, the raw pain dampening her pleasure. She seemed to be sore all the way inside.
“I don’t know it,” she shrieked. “I don’t know it.”
He paused, stilling his hips. “Are you a spy for King Malloron?”
“No,” she breathed.
“Why are you here?”
“To look at your research.”
“Why?”
Cailyn quickly gained control of herself before she opened her mouth again. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw, fighting against her fear and impulses. She was not in the Haze. There was no excuse for answering his questions. She had just promised herself she would protect her people and she would stick by that—even if it meant sexual torture. She opened her eyes and looked upon the savage that had her at her most vulnerable. Regardless of his obvious allure, he was the enemy.
He seemed to sense the change in her and a fierceness entered his gaze.
He slammed into her pussy, a coarse grunt escaping him. She cried out as pain exploded up inside her. She tensed everything, intending to push him away. He moaned and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so her chest jutted out as he slammed in again, and again, building a hard, steady rhythm.
Cailyn struggled against him for a moment before realizing the pain had dulled. In fact, it had blended with the harsh pleasure flooding her body. She breathed heavily as she stared up at the canopy, trying to figure out why the sensation of being filled so completely and so roughly caused such carnal satisfaction. When a warm mouth closed over her breast, and a rough tongue lapped her nipple, she stopped caring. The feeling overwhelmed and intoxicated her, and soon it wasn’t enough.
Gripping Drocco’s scarred, muscled arms, she flicked her hips every time he sunk in, fucking him back. A low growl built up in his chest and it sent tingles to every part of her body. She moaned with every pound that jolted her, the wet slaps of their mating filling her ears as her pleasure spiraled.
He sucked her nipple harder as his rhythm increased and by the time he licked up her neck, an orgasm crashed into her, seizing her whole body in an intense explosion of brilliant ecstasy.
As she recovered, Drocco’s mouth pressed on her ear. “I haven’t yet heard you say no, kitten,” he sneered, before biting her earlobe. He hadn’t even paused his thrusts while she came and still gripped her hair, holding her head tilted upward. As she blinked lazily at the canopy, the tremor of another orgasm coiled within her but before she could get there, he came, jerking into her with throaty grunts punctuating each jerk of his hips.
On his last thrust, his knot slammed in, stretching her wide as he spilled inside her. As they calmed, Drocco released her hair, and she lifted her head to find his eyes blazing into her. “Who sent you?”
She pressed her lips together, simply staring at him.
“Tell me who sent you,” he ordered.
She looked away from him, toward the covered window.
Drocco placed his hands on her hips. He began to pull away from her, his knot pulling against the already sore muscles clamped onto it.
Cailyn snapped her head to look at him, her eyes wide in horror. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Tell me who sent you,” he said calmly, pausing his movement. “Why are you interested in my research? Where are the other Omegas?”
Cailyn’s lip trembled, but she said nothing.
He moved again, pulling his hips back. “Last chance, kitten. Pick a question and answer it.”
When she didn’t answer, he began moving again.
Cailyn gritted her teeth as a severe pain tore into her, spreading from her pussy. She breathed deep, thinking of the Compound as the pain turned excruciating. Then she began to scream. It was unlike anything she had experienced before and when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, it hurdled to an extreme. He was ripping her apart!
“Tell me what I want to know,” Drocco said, harshly.
She screamed uncontrollably, squeezing her eyes and fists tight as he slowly forced his knot all the way out of her. His semen gushed out after him, stinging like hell as it escaped.
She dropped onto the bed sobbing, reeling in agony and curled up on the bed trying not to move. She was sure she was torn and bleeding, but without the Talent, she couldn’t heal.
Drocco moved around her, but she could barely register him. A dizziness swam in her mind and she felt close to passing out. After a few moments, he shifted her leg slightly, causing her to cry out. He pressed something cool on her pussy. Instantly the pain muted.
Cailyn froze, still sobbing while he applied whatever it was.
“Don’t touch it,” he said, before heading away from the bed. A moment afterward, the main door closed.
Lifting her leg, she looked down to see that he had smothered her in thick white cream that bubbled and fizzed on her skin. She couldn’t see any blood, or the extent of the damage, but could guess how bad it was.
She dropped back into a tight curl and prayed he wouldn’t fuck her again.
***
Of course, it was an unrealistic expectation. Within what felt like the next few hours he had returned and was rolling her onto her back.
Cailyn’s eyes flew open, and she struggled against him, kicking and punching as hard as she could. It barely made any difference. He clasped her wrists in one of his hands and pressed them securely against her stomach. She still tried kicking him, but he grabbed her neck with his other hand, and she immediately went limp. The pressure at her neck felt oddly settling.
His face loomed over her, his black eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “So you are indeed able to submit like an Omega.”
Cailyn snarled at him, but it took too much effort to maintain. And when he began rubbing her neck, a trickle of pleasure tingled down her spine. She sighed but resisted the urge to close her eyes and succumb to his touch. She stared at him, watching his eyes lower down her body. The hunger in his face, as well as his scent in the air, made her nipples harden.
He lowered and took one in his mouth as his hand around her neck continued its firm caress.
Cailyn tried to think about something else, but as his warm mouth worked one nipple and then the other, her arousal began to overwhelm her. He licked and sucked up her chest and down her stomach until the pungent aroma of her slick dominated the air between them. Drocco removed his hands from her neck, kneed her legs apart and slammed into her. She panted, shocked by the force of his thrusts as he yanked on her pinned wrists to pull her onto his cock as he built up another rough rhythm.
Of course, the stretch of being completely filled was even better than the first time. Cailyn didn’t even know when he released her wrists, all she could do was accept the blissful, raw, delicious intensity that racked her body. Drocco groped and pinched her jolting body, squeezing her breasts and hips, sending her into a shuddering orgasm. He then grabbed her ass and lifted her up to drive into her with even more force. She came again before he did, thrusting his knot in and locking them together. As her breathing calmed, his questions began again. Cailyn suddenly realized she had felt no pain when he had entered her this time, even though he must have caused her damage before. She pondered on the thought as he continued to question her, purposefully blocking him out. The thick cream must have healed her. It hadn’t seemed like a magical cream or potion—why hadn’t she come across it before? When she didn’t answer him, Drocco forced his knot out of her again, and the pain was just as brutal as the first time.
Drocco continued to fuck her, knot her, and tear her apart. He would treat her with the cream, which would repair her enough within a few hours so he could start all over again. He always used her Omega impulses against her, pinning her down and ensuring she was dripping and succumbing to whatever pleasure he roused. A few times, he didn’t bother to pin her down—he let her try to fight him, a dark smirk on his face as he still touched and caressed her to an unavoidable arousal, and fucked her knowing she would fuck him back. Her orgasms, although powerful and consuming, became something to fear—something that also brought on powerful and consuming pain.
The Emperor always questioned her before he started to rip her apart; where was she from, where did she grow up, where were all the Omegas, who sent her, why had she come, where was the real Miss Lefroy and her sister, who else in the Palace knew about her, how did she learned the Talent…? She never answered any of it and he never failed to follow through with his threat and cause her as much pain as he could.
At varying intervals, he would order her over to the table next to the couch and push a bowl of spiced stew or fruity porridge toward her. He sat on the couch and watched her while she ate, the silence between them tense and uncomfortable. Cailyn always ate with the intention of keeping up her strength in case an opportunity to escape arrived, but with the constant pain she experienced, and the energy it took to resist him and her instincts, she began to lose interest in food. A few times when she didn’t eat from the bowl he gave her, he would force feed her until the bowl was empty. It was unbearable and she began to just eat to prevent the experience.
At first, she kept track of the days by hobbling over to peek behind the heavy drape when he wasn’t in the room to see when night fell, but she couldn't always make it over there and soon the hours and days blurred into each other.
Drocco seemed to leave at random times, usually after he had applied the healing cream. Whenever he wasn't in the room, Cailyn pulled all the sheets and duvets off the bed to lie down in the corner where all the mats and floor cushions were. She found she slept better rolled up in the sheets and blankets, as far away as possible from the bed where he tortured her with pleasure and pain multiple times every day. Whenever he re-entered the room, he redressed the bed with new sheets before dragging her back to it and starting all over again.
After a while, a deep ache grew in her pelvis. As it became stronger, it hurt to walk, and she was in constant agony. Drocco stopped fucking her, only to continue torturing her by simply flicking a finger into her hip every time she didn’t answer a question, causing a brutal pain to ricochet down her legs. When she healed enough for her pelvis to stop hurting, he began fucking her again. Soon Cailyn lost all sense of time and began to despair at what her life had become—pleasure, pain, and loneliness.
"This can stop whenever you'd like," Drocco huffed one day, as he dragged her back to the bed. “When you feel like you would like to act like a true Omega, then this will stop."
"I am a true Omega," Cailyn snapped at him. She was almost completely healed but knew she wouldn’t be once he’d finished with her.
"You are not," Drocco bit out, throwing her onto the bed. "You are defiant and disobedient, you have no desire to please me. You are nothing like a true Omega should be."
"And how would you know what a true Omega is?" Cailyn hissed, sitting up and glaring at him. "You have never met an Omega. All you have are old, traditionalist, outdated ideals, probably from some old abusive alpha who would destroy and kill Omegas for his own entertainment."
Drocco visibly bristled. "Alphas do not kill Omegas, it is Betas who are at fault for that."
"Betas have never had any reason to kill Omegas. It is Alphas that take their pleasure however they want."
Drocco snarled at her. "Alphas have no reason to take anything, Omegas willingly give."
"I have not willingly given you anything," Cailyn said, her eyes blazing. "You take it anyway."
“Are you saying you do not give yourself to me?” Drocco asked, his tone dangerous. “Are you saying I am misreading your scent, and your slick, and your greedy little thrusts to fuck me harder?”
“I don’t give myself only to be tortured,” Cailyn said, sharply. “You think a Beta would do that?”
Drocco's nostrils flared, but she was too angry to register the sign.
"You think Betas could have destroyed Omegas to the death rate recorded over a hundred years ago while Alphas sat back and did nothing? Do you think Alphas would have let Betas destroy their fuck toys? No. It was the Alphas killing us. Betas couldn’t stop them."
"No!" Drocco bellowed. "You lie. All Alphas cherished their Omegas. They viewed them as precious and something to be looked after, and cared for. You are twisting it because you’re a fucking spy!"
Cailyn shifted herself so she was sitting with her legs in front of her. "All right. If that's true, continue to cherish me, Emperor," she said, spreading her legs open wide. “Have me come on your knot only to rip me open. Oh, how lucky I am to be cared for!”
Drocco exploded in anger. His roar shuddered through her, and she jumped as he grabbed at the sheets and duvet to get to her. She scrambled backward but he caught her leg and dragged her to him. Flipping her around he pressed her head into the bed and lifted up her hips, propping her on her knees.
"Do you think this couldn't be worse, kitten?" he boomed. He ran the tip of his cock along her ass crack.
She gasped into the bed and fought against him trying to escape, but he held her too tightly.
"Do you think I wouldn't fuck you here," he said, pressing his massive cock on her asshole, "and knot you? How do you think your ass would feel if I tore that open repeatedly? And then tore open your pussy?”
"No," Cailyn yelled, her voice muffled into the bed. True fear bloomed in her for the first time. Omega females were not made for penetration in their asses like Omega males. Many of the deaths reported sodomization as the starting point for unrecoverable internal trauma and infection in her kind. Maybe not if it had been Betas, but Alphas were huge and Drocco was larger than most. She wouldn’t survive it. "No, please don’t!"
"I have no incentive to stop," Drocco threatened, his tip pressing harder until it entered.
Cailyn cried out, thrashing against him but unable to escape the new pain piercing her.
"Tell me what I want to know!"
"I’m from the Eastern Lands," Cailyn blurted out. She began to cry. "I grew up in Cillford. My family were farmers who worked on the land, but I don’t remember them."
The Alpha holding her in place was silent for a moment. "The Omegas?"
"They’re safe. And mostly together. They were not taken. They chose to leave society." Cailyn sobbed harder at what she had just revealed. No one—absolutely no one alive who wasn't an Omega—knew that information. And she had just given it to the worst Alpha known to the Eastern Lands.
"Why?"
Sobbing so hard with her face pressed into the bed made it difficult for Cailyn to answer. "Abusive Alphas" was all she could manage.
Drocco yanked her head to the side. “Stop crying!”
She pressed her mouth closed and tried to stop, her body jerking as she wept.
“How were the Alphas abusive?”
“They would fuck and knot girls of twelve who’s dynamic had only just been discovered,” she stuttered out, heaving. “Most of the girls died from internal bleeding and rough treatment. The Alphas would also share an Omega in her Haze with multiple Alphas. Over time, these Omegas became shells of what they once were, used only for breeding and abuse. Many of them began to die in childbirth—the child would not survive either. This treatment was widespread across all the known Lands. The entire Omega population was under threat. They chose to leave.”
When she finished speaking there was a silence.
Drocco pulled his tip out and his hands left her. She curled up onto the bed, sobbing with her head tucked into her chest. After a few long moments, the door shut.
***
When the door opened again, Cailyn was curled up surrounded by her stack of sheets and duvets in the corner. A dark depression had taken hold of her and she had cried until she could no longer squeeze out another tear. After all of her righteous intentions, she had told the enemy sacred information at the first sign of real permanent damage to herself. What kind of spy was she? What had happened to all her training, all the accolades of her achievements for the hidden Omega population? She was the first Omega to reveal them. That’s what she was. That’s what she’ll be remembered for, if there was anyone left to remember her by the time Drocco finished with them.
She listened, waiting for Drocco's wide hand to reach into the blankets surrounding her and pull her out. There was shuffling, and then nothing. She waited, breathing shallowly. Drocco never made much noise when he walked on the thick carpet. He could be a foot away from her, waiting to yank her out and she wouldn't know it.
After the silence stretched longer than she could bear, she peeked out of her cocoon. The room seemed empty. Her eyes swept the room again, and she noticed the enormous mass on the bed. Surprised, she lifted the sheet over her head and slowly climbed out, wincing at the pain that still hurt her ass. Drocco lay on the bed, his breathing steady, and as she stepped closer she realized his eyes were closed. He was sleeping.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do, and then her training kicked in. She tiptoed to the door trying it, but of course, it was locked. She checked the clothes he had discarded by the bed, but they held no keys or any useful items of any kind. On the table was only a few tubs of the cream he used regularly to heal her but nothing else. She continued to tiptoe around the room, checking if anything had changed that would allow her to escape, but nothing had. There was still no way out.
She stood staring at him lying peacefully, wondering if there was a way to kill him to ensure his death. But without the Talent, and without her blocks, she was useless. If she tried and failed, her life would be even more unbearable, and if she succeeded, how would she get out of the Palace? A plan like that required careful thought. She didn’t even know for certain that he was the reason she couldn’t use the Talent—something else could be wrong. What if she managed to escape and still didn’t have the Talent? Every Alpha she came into contact with would smell her. The good thing was, if he was now sleeping in the room, it gave her options to find a way to kill him or escape in the future.
She crept back to her makeshift bed and settled in. It took her a while to get to sleep with him in the room, but eventually, exhaustion overcame her.
When she woke, Drocco had gone. She slept again, this time more peacefully now that he wasn’t in the room. When she woke again, a platter of food sat on the table by the door, but Drocco wasn’t there. He didn't return for hours and Cailyn began to feel nervous about his absence. What if he was mobilizing his army to seek out the Omegas? What if he was sourcing some kind of torturous equipment to use on her? She just didn't know.
Long hours seemed to pass by. Food and water appeared on the table when she slept, but Drocco didn’t return. The depression around her situation pressed in on her, and she began to wonder if she had become more of a liability to her people than a help. There was a protocol that would allow an Omega to kill herself if the situation became dire—Cailyn considered whether she had arrived at that point. Suicide was deemed a highly heinous act considering how precious every single Omega life was. However, if she was endangering them all, then the protocol had to apply, didn’t it? She had once been sure she could eventually find a way out, but what if she didn’t? She had already revealed information she shouldn’t have. However, after surveying the room, there seemed to be nothing that would help her to complete that task anyway. Even the sheets she slept in could not be tied to anything to make a noose. Her head spinning, she lay down to sleep.
She woke to a hand gripping her calf and dragging her out of her cocoon of sheets. Drocco lifted her up and carried her to the bed.
She lay there, her depression seeping into her even further as she realized that her suffering had not yet ended. She had fully healed now, but wouldn't remain so for long.
Drocco leaned over her, his hands on either side of her, caging her in. She didn’t look up at him, keeping her head turned to one side. His scent surrounded her, drawing forth that damn slick. Her body worked against her at every turn. She never thought that she would hate being an Omega, but her reaction to her captor was ridiculous. She now had a first-hand understanding of why the Mothers had removed themselves and all other Omegas from the main population. Alphas were sick fucking bastards, and Omegas were attracted to them nonetheless.
Drocco dropped onto his elbows and pressed his nose into the crook of her neck. He took a breath in and ran his nose up to a spot behind her ear. Cailyn frowned at the action. He had never started that way before. When he licked her there, dragging his teeth over the skin, she couldn’t help but shiver.
He took his time to kiss and lick her all the way down to her breasts. Taking a nipple in his mouth, he sucked and nibbled until she gasped, her pussy clenching as the pleasure fluttered through her. He moved to the other, running his rough palm over her stomach and tugging on the nipple he had just released. As he became rougher, pleasure zinged through her every pore, and she surrendered to the feeling, eager to escape her depression. If she could discard the guilt, even for just a few moments, she would take it. The pain would no doubt come later, but for now, she would enjoy what she could.
Drocco ran his hands across her body, pressing his fingers into her limbs, massaging them and relieving stress that she didn't even know she had. His fingers slipped between her legs and he pressed them into her drenched slit, rubbing circles over her clit.
Cailyn moaned, rotating her hips to meet his fingers.
His mouth made its way down her stomach to her mound, where he licked and sucked before his tongue dipped into her slit. He took his time running his tongue along her lips, groaning into her like a man savoring a rare delicacy. She tried to ignore him as best she could, but every sound that came out of him turned her on and heightened her pleasure. He licked and sucked every area of her pussy and then zeroed in on her clit, dragging his tongue across it and flicking her gently. She ground her hips into his face as he suckled on her, his tongue dabbing and swirling in the most delicious ways as her orgasm rose rapidly. When she came, he held her hips as she bucked against him, keeping his mouth on her until she calmed, her clit throbbing.
"You’re so sexy." Drocco’s mouth hovered above her pussy, shining with her fluids. His liquid black eyes were on her as he spoke, low and raspy. "I have never seen anything like it, kitten."
As soon as he spoke, Cailyn froze. Her high was fading away, the reality of her situation returning. He never made her come without also giving her pain.
He stood up and she watched him as she lay there, through lidded eyes, for what he was going to do next. His trousers tented at his crotch, but he never made to remove them.
He looked down at her for a long moment and then turned toward the table. "Come and eat," he ordered.
***
For the next stretch of time, a new pattern emerged. Twice a day, Drocco would leave the room. On his return, he would feast on her body until she came in his mouth, and then watch her eat at the table. Cailyn tried to remain alert. Something about his behavior wasn't right. He didn't seem to want to gratify himself, after so many days of fucking her. Part of her, that stupid Omega impulse part of her, was annoyed by this, while the more logical side of her was glad that he kept his cock far away from her pussy.
Eventually, though, her impulses began to strengthen. She caught herself wondering what was wrong with her—why this perfect Alpha didn’t want to mate with her anymore. Furthermore, she was becoming more and more unsatisfied with just his mouth. Of course, the orgasms were incredible. But now that she had experienced being filled and stretched wide by his cock and knot, a large part of her wanted it, even though he had been abusing her with it. Maybe she was crazy, or developing some kind of distorted need for him that captives tended to develop after being with their abusers for so long.
And why hadn't he continued questioning her? She had given him information that had surely piqued his curiosity. She hadn’t even answered his question about where the Omegas were located, and yet he didn’t continue to try and find out anything else. It confused her. What did he want? She did not ask him, in case he went back to torturing her. And she had no idea what she would do if he did. If he threatened to sodomize her again, she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't speak. She was a coward. She had to accept that. She had been trained not to fear her own death, but the training that was supposed to help her face certain types of torture had been ineffective.
The more she considered it, the more she realized that she should be more focused on finding a way to kill herself. Now was the perfect time. Drocco only knew so much, but he didn't know enough to actually find the Omegas. She had told the Mothers in the note she had sent along with her findings that she would be taking a short break in Ricsdale before checking in with them again. Eventually, they would realize that she had been compromised and that everything that she knew could be told to the Emperor. They would have to take precautions. But it would be better if the Emperor did not actually know much, and she had to ensure that he didn’t force her into telling him any more.
One day, after Drocco had left, she tried to pull down the drapes across the window. She pulled and yanked them, but they held fast. She picked up a chair from the table and swung it against the window, but even though the chair was solid wood it did not break the window. She tried everything she could but nothing worked. She began punching the window as her anger and desperation reached its peak. She smashed her fist against it over and over, screaming with frustration that she had been stuck in this room for days on end. It was only when she saw blood on the glass that she realized that she was damaging herself.
Cradling her hand and feeling desperately sorry for herself, she crawled into her sheets and cried herself to sleep.
When Drocco returned and pulled her out of her sleeping place, he was furious.
"What the fuck did you think you were doing?" he bellowed, his entire body twitching with anger. "Do you think you can get through that glass? Do you think you’re going to get out of here unless I allow it? You will never leave, kitten. No one enters this room but me, and no one will leave this room but me."
Cailyn frowned, suddenly realizing something. “What about the servant that washed my hair and cleaned me up after my Haze?”
“I did that,” Drocco said, glaring at her. “So if you’re hoping for someone to come in and save you, don’t waste your energy.”
Cailyn didn't say anything. She barely looked at him as he continued yelling at her. It didn't matter what he said. She would keep trying to find a way to escape or kill herself, whichever option presented itself first. He applied the cream to her hand and bandaged it up.
Sometime later, while she ate at the table, Drocco began speaking unexpectedly.
"When is your next Haze?" he asked, from the couch where he watched her.
Cailyn hesitated at the sudden question. "What?"
"When is your next Haze?"
Cailyn frowned. "I don't know. I don't know how long ago the last one was. I can't tell time in this room."
"How regularly do you normally have it?"
Cailyn shrugged. "It is irregular."
Drocco leaned towards her. "I will caution you about lying to me, kitten. I know that Omegas are very regular with their Haze. Some as frequent as fortnightly, others every six months, but always regular."
Cailyn shot him a hard look. "I have been suppressing my Omega impulses with the Talent for years. My Haze has never been regular."
Drocco got up, cursing furiously. "Why would you do that? Is spying so important to you that you would damage yourself for it?"
"I'm not damaging myself," Cailyn said, her voice low.
"Of course you are! The Haze is a natural part of your cycle. No wonder you are so disobedient, you are completely destroying your natural Omega impulses."
Cailyn shrugged. There was no point arguing with him. The man seemed to think that he knew everything about Omegas, even though he had no recent information. He wouldn't believe anything she said so there was no point in even conversing with him. Her energy was better spent trying to find a way out.
"It is likely that you went into your Haze because of Alpha pheromones," Drocco said, thoughtfully. "Maybe in the presence of your Alpha, your Haze will become more regular."
Cailyn snorted. "My Alpha? Do you intend to spread me around your army until you find him?"
Drocco stopped pacing and turned to her slowly. "I will not be sharing you with anyone."
Cailyn frowned. "So what are you talking about? Who is my Alpha?"
Drocco leaned over her, one hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table, his face close to hers. "I am your fucking Alpha."
Cailyn's eyes narrowed. "You are not. "
Drocco tensed. "What?"
“You’re not my Alpha!”
“Oh, I’m not?” Drocco straightened, looking down at her, the hint of a smirk on his face.
Cailyn glared at him. “Do you think you own me?”
Drocco grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the table. “Of course I own you, kitten.” He laughed. “Your naiveté is almost as sexy as your pointless attempts to avoid arousal.”
Cailyn gritted her teeth. He still thought of her as a plaything, a toy, a kitten. She thought she was his prisoner but it was much worse, of course. She tried to think of something to snap at him, but he was already lifting her up and carrying her to the bed.
“Do you really believe you don’t belong to me?” he asked, chuckling under his breath as he lay her down.
“Physically imprisoning me is not the same as being my Alpha, Emperor,” Cailyn said, hotly. “You know an Omega gets to choose her bonded mate. I have to willingly give that title. You cannot just claim it!”
“Then tell me I’m your Alpha,” he said, his voice suddenly hard.
“You are not!”
His eyes narrowed. “Tell me!”
“No!” It was the only bit of control Omegas had. She would not give it up—she did not care what he did. He lifted her arms above her head and clasped her wrists together in one hand. A twinge of panic coiled in Cailyn’s stomach at the sudden restraint but she kept her mouth shut.
Drocco lowered to kiss her neck and she shivered, goosebumps prickling over her whole body as she breathed him in. He bit the base of her neck and licked across her chest and down between her breasts.
“You think I am not your Alpha?” he murmured. He captured a nipple in his mouth and sucked, working it hard with his mouth as his rough tongue brushed it.
Cailyn moaned and arched her chest up to him, her whole body tingling.
He released her breast with a pop and nibbled down her stomach. “That feeling,” he said, “is your body reacting to your Alpha, kitten.”
Cailyn mumbled but he was already pressing his face into her sex, breathing her in.
“You smell so good,” he mumbled. He licked the length of her slit slowly. “Your pussy belongs to me, your slick comes to me when I want it, every inch of this incredible body is mine.” He suckled her clit, releasing her wrists and positioning himself between her legs.
Cailyn watched him, becoming drunk on the high he always caused.
He lifted his head. “Tell me I am your Alpha.”
“No,” she breathed.
“No?” He dipped his tongue back to her pussy and pushed it into her.
Cailyn whined and rotated her hips. It was the first penetration she’d had in a long time, and she realized that she’d always craved it. And then it was gone.
She glanced down, annoyed. Drocco had lifted his head and was looking at her.
“I am your Alpha. Say it.”
Cailyn tucked her feet under her hips and lifted them, rising up to his mouth. Drocco laughed.
He leaned in and sucked her, his eyes alive with mirth.
Cailyn whimpered, spreading her knees wider as her orgasm approached. The man surely had a talented tongue.
Then he stopped again. “Tell me I am your Alpha, kitten.”
Cailyn cursed, a sudden anger gripping her at his lack of attention to her pussy. “Why do you want me to say it? You despise me! Why would you want me to be your bonded mate?”
Drocco’s head tilted. “You think I despise you?”
“It is well known you hate spies and you hate the Talent,” Cailyn responded, dropping her hips back to the bed. “You are only enamored with me because I am an Omega. It doesn’t make us bonded mates.”
“You don’t think I wanted to fuck you before I knew you were an Omega?” Drocco asked.
“Of course you did. You fuck every female you come across. That is well known too.”
Drocco’s grin widened. “Does that annoy you, kitten?”
“Of course not,” Cailyn snapped, though a wild anger swept through her. “It is just yet another example of why we cannot be bonded mates.”
Drocco lifted his chin. “Why?”
“You are insatiable. And when you get bored, you discard the women you have been with to find another. The man I would choose for my Alpha would not behave that way. He wouldn’t abuse me the way that you do. My Alpha is still somewhere out there; you’re not him."
Drocco growled, and the sound vibrated through her body. “You have driven me to treat you the way I have,” Drocco said harshly. “It will not always be like this. You already know my opinion about Omegas and the Alpha/Omega connection.”
“Yes. You believe your Omega should serve you.” Cailyn said, her dark mood beginning to deepen. “You believe you are justified in that thought because you can physically dominate any Omega that disobeys you.” She looked up at him. “You know nothing about real Omegas, Emperor. You think we are all virginal submissives with no thoughts in our heads other than to breed for Alphas.”
Drocco stilled. “Were you not a virgin?”
Cailyn almost rolled her eyes. That was the only thing he seemed to have heard. It was hopeless talking to him. “Does it matter?” she said, shrugging and sitting up.
“Yes,” Drocco barked. “How many men have you fucked?”
“How many women have you fucked?” she shot back, tired of his demands. For a moment it had seemed he was capable of having a real conversation with her, and then suddenly it had turned into a display of his domination and ego.
“Don’t play with me, kitten,” Drocco said, his fists clenching. “I want to know who has been with you. Their names and locations.”
He seemed to think they were destined to be some kind of great love, destined to be mates, even though she was his prisoner. Surely he couldn’t be that deluded. Cailyn glared at him, her fury rising. Maybe she needed to strongly discourage him. “There have been many, many men before you. And there will be many men after you. I will fuck every single Alpha and Beta I find, and I’ll love it, Emperor. You and your cock will be a distant memory and I’ll never give you another thought because you are not my Alpha!”
A tight pressure locked around her neck, and a hard jolt hit her back before she could register what had happened. Drocco’s face swam in front of her. She had somehow moved from the bed to against the wall and his enormous hand pressed in around her neck pinning her to it.
“I’m the only man you will ever fuck from this moment on!” Drocco roared. “I will not share you. Ever! You will never have an opportunity to fuck anyone else.” His hand tightened around her neck as he leaned in, growling. “No other man alive should have had what I own. You will tell me who they are and where they are, and then you will declare me your Alpha!”
A pressure built up in Cailyn’s head and she began to feel light-headed. She fought against him for a moment before realizing he was strangling her. This was her way out. It was the perfect solution.
She dropped her hands to her sides as the uncomfortable feeling turned unbearable. Her ears began to ring, and she couldn’t hear anything he said but he still ranted in a vicious fury. She watched him, unable to help admiring the complete, fierce, beauty that he was, as everything fell dark.