Omega’s Gamble by Claire Cullen
Chapter Sixteen
Raine wasn’tsure what to make of Darien’s apology. The alpha appeared sincere, and his words didn’t seem rehearsed. Raine would know—his family were masters of acting contrite to appease his father’s shifting moods.
He settled down on the settee next to the alpha, uncomfortably aware of their proximity.
“So you didn’t want to get married?”
“Not… not like that,” the alpha admitted. “But then I’ve always had a romanticized view of marriage. Reality was never going to live up to expectation.”
Of all the things Raine had thought Darien would say, it wasn’t that. To his chagrin, he didn’t manage to conceal his disbelief as well as he’d have hoped.
“I know, I know,” Darien said with a grin. “The word romantic doesn’t exactly spring to mind when you look at me.”
Raine almost seized on the distraction but he knew he was just postponing a difficult conversation.
“You didn’t want to get married, but I did.”
Darien grin faded to a smile. “I kind of guessed that when you agreed to marry me only minutes after we met. But I have been wondering why ever since then. Why Stormshield? Why me?”
Even though he’d known the questions were coming, Raine still struggled with them. He had to be careful what he said here. Tell the truth, yes. But it had to be palatable. It was still possible for Darien to call a halt to their marriage, and Raine would be back where he started.
“You could have been anyone. Any prince. Any kingdom. I was running out of time and almost out of chances.”
Darien’s smile slipped from his face.
“I don’t understand. You’re a prince of Ludinia. You must have had alphas falling at your feet. Far better options than shackling yourself to me and to this kingdom.”
“You’re really not up to date on royal society gossip, are you?” Raine said with a bitter laugh.
“I—No—What am I missing here, Raine?”
The alpha leaned closer, open and attentive. It almost made it easy to confess the truth. Almost.
“I am my father’s most hated son. Everyone who’s anyone knows that.”
Darien raised an eyebrow. “It’s fair to say we’re a little out of touch,” he conceded. “But why would your father hate you?”
The alpha’s skepticism was understandable. Most people outside the family didn’t know the particulars beyond whatever gossip made it out of the palace.
Raine took a deep breath, ready to reveal the whole truth, and then chickened out at the last second.
“He wanted an alpha son. You can imagine the disappointment when I was born.”
Darien didn’t quite buy it.
“But your father has other alpha sons, doesn’t he?”
“The occasion of my birth was an auspicious time for Ludinia. There was an old prophesy from the founding of the kingdom about a prince born under a blood moon, destined for great things. So much expectation built up across the kingdom. He believed this alpha son would be his crowning glory. When I was born an omega, he was so furious he had me sent away for the first year of my life. No one from the family set eyes on me until I was a year old and his anger had cooled.”
“It was hardly your fault that an ancient prophesy was wrong. Are you saying he’s carried that anger all these years?”
Raine had never fully understood it either. He knew there were two sides to his father’s hatred of him—the fact that he was born an omega, despite all predictions to the contrary, and that by virtue of his untimely birth, he’d robbed the king of the chance to have another alpha son. He was the ultimate bad luck charm, to be hidden away and forgotten about. He wasn’t going to admit that he’d killed his own omega father in childbirth though. There was still a lot of stigma around that, especially being an omega himself. It was believed to be a bad omen for his own future children, giving Darien yet another reason to end this union.
“My father knows how to hold a grudge, I guess,” he said with a shrug.
Darien seemed to take that at face value.
“Alright, so maybe you wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice on the marriage circuit, but there are plenty of lesser princes from better kingdoms who would struggle to find an omega. It would only be a matter of time…”
“Time I didn’t have. My father was very clear—I got one chance, one tour on the circuit, and that was all.”
“And you didn’t want to leave yourself at the mercy of whichever husband he chose for you if you failed to secure a betrothal on the circuit,” Darien said knowingly.
Raine didn’t bother to correct him.
“So you see, my only chance of escape was marriage. It didn’t matter who or where. To be honest, I didn’t even know Stormshield was a possibility until the day we landed. And I… I’m sorry, Darien. You didn’t want to marry like that, and I’m sure you had your reasons. My coming here forced you into this. I did it for my own selfish purposes. I never considered that I’d be dragging an unwilling person into this.”
Darien reached out, covering Raine’s hand with his, his touch warm.
“Marrying someone to save them from a life of misery is a noble reason for a union. If I had known that, and I’d had the freedom to choose, I like to think I’d have chosen to marry you anyway. To save you from that.”
Raine shook his head. They were kind words, but in his world, there were no knights in shining armor who came to his rescue.
“It still wouldn’t have been fair to you. Marriage should be a person’s choice, not an obligation forced on them. You… you did intend to marry, eventually?”
The alpha had said as much already.
Darien smiled, a little sadly. “Oh, I always planned to marry. From the moment the first airship touched down on our soil. Only I wanted to marry the same way my father did.”
Raine didn’t understand.
“How did your father marry?”
“For love.”
Oh. Raine had never had the luxury of thinking that way. As a young teenager, he’d often dreamed of being swept off his feet by a handsome prince who’d fallen head over heels for him. Who’d carry him far away from his father’s kingdom to a place he’d be loved and respected. A place where he wouldn’t be the hated son. He felt for Darien, knowing what it was like to have dreams that would never come true.
“I like to think that if we’d had time to get to know each other properly, you’d have grown to like me a little.”
“I like you a little already,” Darien said with a smile. “How my father did things isn’t the only way to happiness within marriage. We can make this work, you and I. Even if it’s just as friends.”
Raine nodded readily. “I want that. I want… I want to find a home here, in Stormshield. I want to have somewhere I belong.”
“Then let’s make a promise from here on out,” Darien said. “A pact to try harder to make a go of things.”
Raine swallowed hard. He was still keeping so many secrets from the alpha, but he wanted so badly what Darien was offering.
“I’d like that. At least, I’d like to try,” he agreed softly, placing his hand over Darien’s.
That was the truth—he’d already lied enough in this conversation. But giving up his secrets was too risky right now. Maybe later, when things between them were more settled. Darien was offering him a real chance to have everything he wanted. And he wasn’t willing to let that go just yet.