Omega’s Gamble by Claire Cullen

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The doctor gaveRaine a sleeping draught. “He should be out until morning. I’ll make sure the servants keep a close eye on him,” he assured Darien.

“No need,” Darien said. “I’ll stay with him.”

Raine had been so scared when he’d first set eyes on Darien after their return to the castle. He didn’t want to leave the omega alone, but he also had to know the truth. Was Raine afraid of him now, afraid of what he was? The skill of shapeshifting had once been greatly revered within royal families and alpha lineages, seen as something that elevated them, set them apart. But now it was looked down upon by many kingdoms, relegated to an oddity only displayed during ceremonial events.

He dragged the chair from the corner of Raine’s room next to his bed and settled down into it. The rest of the day passed quietly, servants coming and going. He got up and walked around every so often, borrowed a book from Raine’s bedside table, and spoke on and off with his brothers to gauge the pirate situation.

True to the doctor’s word, Raine didn’t stir. Darien left his side only briefly, asking a servant to sit with him while he ate and changed his clothes. He returned and took his place by Raine’s bedside, stretching out as best he could in the chair. Sleep wouldn’t come easy to him that night, but that would make it all the easier for him to watch over the omega.

He woke just before dawn as Raine stirred, mumbling something under his breath as he twisted and turned beneath the blankets. Ferno, asleep at the end of Raine’s bed, lifted his head and peered at the omega before settling back down to sleep. When it became clear that Raine was dreaming, and his dreams were anything but peaceful, Darien got up and went to sit on the side of the bed. He called to him softly.

“Raine? It’s just a dream. You’re safe, I promise.” But he very nearly hadn’t been. The pirates had taken him, had sailed off with him, and only for Raine’s ingenuity and quick thinking, he’d have been lost to them. Lost to Darien.

He reached out and settled a hand on Raine’s arm through the blanket. The touch was enough to break through the omega’s restless dreams. His eyes opened, and he stared unblinkingly at the ceiling.

“Raine?”

Wide eyes flicked to him, confused and alert.

“Darien?”

“Hi, there.”

“What…? Why…?” He subsided, his confusion only deepening.

“The doctor gave you a sleeping draught, remember? You’ve been out almost the whole night. It’s just before dawn.”

“Oh.” The rest of the previous day’s events must have returned to him because he jerked under Darien’s hand, the fear returning in full force. “The… I…”

“You’re safe, Raine. Everything’s okay.”

His words were met with doubt. “But you know my secret. You know what I am. What I did.”

“And you know what I am, the secret I’ve been hiding from you. So I guess we’re on an even footing.”

He could see Raine thinking that over, trying to work out what Darien was saying. Did he remember Darien saving him from the sea?

“You… you were a bear. You saved me. I… You’re a shifter.”

“I am.”

“You never told me.”

“I wanted to. You never told me you were an alchemist.”

“I didn’t think I could. I thought you’d send me back to my father.”

“Why take the risk then?”

If Raine was that afraid of being sent home, why dabble with alchemy at all?

“It was that night. You and Fian. After that, I needed something. Something that would be mine. Something that made me feel like I had worth. That I had some say over…”

Darien hung his head, letting his eyes close.

“I’m sorry you ever felt that way. It was never my intention to harm you. I never realized how deep the hurt went. But alchemy is a respected skill, Raine. I’m not sure why you thought you had to hide it.”

“I’m an omega. My father would never have countenanced my acting in such a manner. You won’t tell him, will you? When you send me back. Things will be bad enough for me already.”

Raine was pale, his eyes full of fear and misery. Darien couldn’t stand it, even though he felt he didn’t truly understand.

“Who is it that he intends you to marry? Are they truly that terrible?”

Someone with enough standing to be a suitable match for Raine had to maintain a reputation. Raine would have to be an active part of royal society. That precluded a lot of potentially terrible fates.

“He doesn’t intend for me to marry again,” Raine said, his voice oddly flat. “My father was very clear—I got one chance, one tour on the circuit, and then I’d have to take the grey cloak. When I return to Ludinia, I will be put on a ship bound for a priory.”

Darien’s shock ran deep. “Your father would pledge you to the priory? Against your will? Without a calling?”

“To him, it is a fitting punishment. My only chance of escape was marriage,” Raine said softly.

And now they’d got to the whole truth, the real reason Raine had left the airship and married the first alpha who offered his hand. Darien was more than agitated—he was angry.

“The priory is for lost souls, for those who cannot handle the challenges of the world. It’s not meant to be a prison for someone as alive as you, someone with a mind so full of ideas and questions.”

“You don’t know how deep his hatred of me runs.”

“Why though, Raine? Why does he hate you?” This couldn’t just be disappointment over having an omega son when he’d expected an alpha. He had other sons, many possible heirs for his throne. Why was he so desperate to have one more?

“I already told you.”

“Tell me the rest. Why cling to this hatred of you? He could have just had another child.” There had to be a missing piece to the story.

“No, he couldn’t. My omega father died carrying me. I poisoned his blood, killed him. A curse on my family, breaking the king’s heart.” The words were spoken as if by rote.

“He blamed you for that? You can’t possibly have been responsible. You were just a baby.”

“It was supposed to be an auspicious birth. A blessing on our kingdom. And then I was born an omega, killing my father in the process. Is it any wonder that he hates me?” A few tears slipped down Raine’s face as he stared beseechingly at Darien. “Don’t send me back to him, please.”

Darien wanted to promise Raine that. He wanted to promise him the world. He’d never felt so powerless, torn between love and duty. Surely things had changed now? Raine was an alchemist, he might well hold the key to defending their kingdom. Which meant he was far more valuable to Stormshield as their prince than he was as a pawn to appease King Uldar and the alliance.

He cupped Raine’s cheek, leaning in to press their foreheads together.

“You are my husband, Raine. I would go to the ends of the earth for you. I won’t let anyone take you where you don’t want to go.” Duty be damned.

“What if my father sends the alliance?”

“We’ll deal with that if it comes.”

He pressed a kiss to Raine’s cheek and drew the omega in to lean against his chest.

“This is your home now. We’re your family.”

Raine clung to him, his sobs quickly fading to soft breaths.

After a few minutes, he spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a shapeshifter?”

Darien hesitated. “I wasn’t sure how you’d react. I thought you might be afraid or that you might not want to be around me.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Others have reacted that way before. When I seventeen, my father sent me to spend the summer in a neighboring kingdom. They invited a whole group of alpha and omega princes. It was supposed to be a way for us to socialize, maybe even make matches before the official courtship started. I didn’t know how other kingdoms perceived the ability to shapeshift. So I showed them. It changed how they saw me. Made me an outcast among them. They either avoided me or acted as if I was a spectacle—expecting me to perform tricks like a circus animal.” He could still remember his burning shame at their laughter.

“Teenagers can be so cruel.”

“Some adults aren’t much better.” It hadn’t taken long for him to realize that their opinion was shared by many others.

“I heard that, in the past, all royal families carried the shapeshifting lineage, but it faded over time.”

“Strictly speaking, all royal families still carry it. It’s dominant in the blood. It doesn’t fade away,” Darien said. “But it’s a skill like any other. If you don’t use it, it stagnates.”

“But if only the alphas carry it…”

“Only an alpha can shift,” Darien explained patiently, surprised Raine didn’t already know that. “But omegas and betas carry the ability to shapeshift in their blood and pass it on to their children.”

“That’s not what my tutor taught me.”

“Well, I suppose if you don’t put much import on the ability to shapeshift, you wouldn’t put much effort into teaching the lore of it, would you?”

“I guess not,” Raine said slowly, a frown on his face as if he wasn’t quite satisfied with that explanation.

“Anything you want to know about being a shapeshifter, I’d be happy to share,” he offered. That got him a bright smile from the omega.

“What do we do now?” Raine asked as their conversation petered off.

“I thought we’d start with breakfast. And then I thought we’d get to work on your weapon. I have some ideas about the design, if you’d be willing to hear them.”

Raine stared at him for a long moment. “You want to work with me?”

“If you’ll to let me.”

A smile lit up the omega’s face. “I’d like that.”