Savage Prince by Alison Aimes
14
Maxheim came awake all at once, the burn beneath his armpits telling him he’d been hanging for a while.
The chalky taste of the tranq residue left a bitter taste in the back of his mouth while the vibrations beneath his boots were proof they were already under way.
He wondered how long he’d been out. They’d shot him with enough shit to stun an Abzalian mountain beast.
With a slight grimace, he shifted his body so that his legs could absorb some of his weight and yanked hard.
The chains around his wrists and ankles rattled but didn’t break.
Fucking Federation. They never did anything halfway. The manacles were fortified. The cell itself reinforced glass.
He hated these hypocritical, uptight bastards. Almost as much as he despised Byrel and his nameless employer.
Maxheim’s gaze locked on the form curled in the neighboring cell, her form just discernable in the dim cargo hold light.
At least she was close by. Unchained. And they’d given her back the damned blanket.
“Omega, turn around and let me see what they did to you.”
She didn’t move.
It better not be because she was too hurt to get up.
His heart slammed against his ribs. “Tesstala, look at me. Now!”
She whipped around, her arms still hugging her knees. He’d expected pain or defiance.
Instead, big, guilt-ridden, violet eyes filled with relief slammed into him. “You’re alive.”
Shoving to all fours, she scrambled closer to his side of the glass, the dirty blanket tucked around her like a strapless gown. “I’ve been trying to wake you for so long. I thought…” Her breathing hitched. “I thought maybe they’d killed you.”
She was covered in scratches and a few bruises, but she looked so beautiful he could barely breathe. “It will take a lot more than that.”
“Good.” But despite his assertion, her worried expression didn’t disappear. “They loaded us onto a transfer shuttle and are sending us to the main Federation detention center.”
“As expected. How long have I been out?”
“Only about twenty minutes.” Her voice shook. “It felt like longer.”
“I’m fine. You will be too. Don’t worry.”
Guilt and worry glittered in her gaze as she rose to her knees. “Why did you stay? You should have run while you could.”
Like that bastard Rav?
Maxheim had seen the coward scurry away at the least sign of trouble—after he’d been the one to lure her from Maxheim’s safe zone.
One more reason to kill the bastard.
But he didn’t think it was smart to lead with that, so he shrugged. “I’m playing the long game.”
She frowned, her tiny nose scrunching up in a way that was fucking adorable. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t expect you to. Not yet.” But he had so many plans, and he was done with missteps when it came to her.
She swallowed hard. “I just wanted to protect my friends. I didn’t want you or anyone else to get hurt.” Her shoulders drooped. “I’m sorry.”
His heart beat a rapid tattoo against the inside of his chest. In their brief time together, he’d seen her horny, defiant, sly, scared, angry, and upset, but he’d never seen her look so defeated.
He didn’t like it.
“This isn’t on you. I told you before, this evening was always going to end with you leaving with me and,” he winked, “I really don’t like to be wrong.”
She blinked. Once. Twice. “Are you actually making a joke right now?”
His brothers would have been equally dumbstruck. As they’d so kindly pointed out, teasing wasn’t in his usual repertoire, and he definitely didn’t like when his plans went awry, but this situation could have been a lot worse.
She was with him—and he didn’t hate the way she was looking at him. Like maybe he wasn’t the devil she’d thought. Like maybe there was a worse enemy out there.
He was a ruthless enough bastard to work with that.
“We’re going to be just fine, little one.”
A wistfulness entered her gaze. “My mother used to call me that.”
“Is that good?” He could share with her mother if need be.
She hesitated, then nodded. “It’s . . . nice.”
Score. A flush of pride slammed through him, and his chest puffed wide. “Good, then we’ll save Tesstala for when you’re over my knee. I get the distinct feeling you’ll be there a lot.”
The gold of omega heat flickered in her violet eyes. “Your arrogance is only surpassed by your outrageousness.”
She was the first soul in his life to use that adjective for him. Steady. Cold. Ruthless. Uncompromising. Savage. Intense. Those got tossed around a lot. But outrageous? Never.
It was strange to think she saw something in him no one else did.
“And you’re a pain in the ass.” Just thinking of how helpless he’d felt when he’d seen those bastards slam her to the ground had him snarling.
He honed in on the bruise on her cheek. They hadn’t even brought her a med kit to fix her up. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I just . . .” She shivered, her fingers ghosting over the injury. “This is nothing.”
He hated her easy dismissal. It told him too much. “If that’s not what’s upsetting you, what is?”
She was silent for about a heartbeat before the truth poured out in a rush. “You keep saying I’m yours, but I can’t be. The Brotherhood will never allow me to live.”
“I’ll handle that.”
“You’re out to kill my friend.”
“All relationships have challenges.”
She shook her head. “We want different things.”
“It’s a dangerous world out there, especially for an omega.”
“I know it all too well.” Her chin tipped up. “I know what I am. What my omega instincts crave.” She blushed, tightening the blanket around her. “But that doesn’t mean I should be forced to bend, bow, and submit to anyone stronger.”
“I’m not just anyone.”
“No, you’re not.” She looked at him—really looked at him—and his heart beat fast. Then she ruined it by saying, “But a cage is still a cage. If I don’t try to make it out in the world, I’ll never know if I can.”
“You can’t. Even if the Brotherhood wasn’t after you.” He didn’t even bother to sugarcoat it. “We already went over this with the other omegas. Your best shot for the kind of life you want is with me.” His voice dropped. “As mine.”
Was that unfair? Yes. Did he feel bad about it? Not really. That was just the way life in Anarcheim was, and he wasn’t one to hesitate to take advantage of it.
He and his were lucky that he was one of the strong.
“The Alphas you’ve dealt with until now and I are very different, little one. Don’t make the mistake of putting us in the same category.” He let his voice soften. “I don’t want to crush your will. I like your spirit. It makes me horny to taste it on my tongue. It makes me want to fuck it right out of you, again and again.”
She bit her lip, her gaze flickering away.
He could tell his words confused her, almost as much as they excited her.
Too few had told her of her worth. He was damned well changing that immediately.
“I think you’re extraordinary, Tess.”
Her big eyes went even bigger. “I-I . . .” She swallowed hard, clearly flustered. “None of this matters. You know what’s going to happen to us, right?”
“I do, but I wonder what you think is going to happen.”
Her lips pressed tight. “As criminals of the Federation state, we’ll be put on trial. Flogged publicly to set an example for the rest of the citizenry before we’re placed in the stocks.” Her breathing sped up. “Then we’ll be executed.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about Federation criminal proceedings.”
She looked away.
“Do not hide from me.”
Her gaze found his once more. “Yes, I know. My mother tried to steal food to keep us from starving to death. She was caught and punished . . . Killed.” Her voice hitched. “They executed her in the very same square where she and I sold her jewelry before she got sick and couldn’t work . . . before she was flogged and hanged.”
“That is not happening to you.” Just picturing the tiny vulnerable girl she’d been going through that kind of hells only to be caught and brutalized by traffickers made him want to kill. “I will keep you safe.”
Her look said it all.
He got it. He was chained and locked behind a reinforced cell. In her view, he’d probably passed by cocky and into delusional a long time ago.
“No one is going to lay a finger on you, beautiful,” he asserted anyway. “We’ve got plenty of time until we reach the detention facility. A lot can happen.”
Doubt flashed in her gaze, but the fluttering pulse at the base of her throat slowed.
Her body had come to trust him, even if her mind did not.
He could work with that.
Of course, she wasn’t silent for long. “What did Rav do?”
He’d been waiting for her to ask that damned question forever, so he gave it to her straight. “He killed my mother and abducted my baby brother and sister.”
Horror darkened her violent gaze to near black. “That is . . . indefensible. I am sorry.”
He blew out a breath. “I appreciate your apology, but I don’t need it. I know you had nothing to do with it.” He let the full extent of his resolve show. “But I do need you to understand why even your affection for Byrel won’t be enough to save him.”
She swallowed hard, and he could see her turning all he’d said over her in her mind.
“I can see why you hate him.” She paused. “But I hope I don’t sound cruel when I say you’re blaming another victim. This galaxy is harsh. None of us are without blood on our hands. I’ve killed. So have you. I’m sorry Rav took your siblings. It sickens me to think of him doing what was done to us.” Her voice shook. “To think of your baby sister and brother forced to endure what I have.”
Maxheim swallowed down a wounded, animalistic growl. Losing it now would not gain him anything.
“But,” she continued, “Rav and I are slaves. We didn’t get to choose what we did. We didn’t even get to decide death over dishonor. Believe me, when I was younger, I tried. You asked how I got the scars on my back? I was punished. But not for attempting to escape. I was disciplined for trying to take my own life after the first time Aldar forced me to use my gift to kill.”
Panic slammed through Maxheim. He’d come so close to losing her without even knowing it.
“I tried to use my binds to hang myself.”
Each of her words brought him closer to the edge.
“Rav found me and cut me down. Aldar was furious. He had Nils and the other guards whip not only me but every slave in his stable. Aldar told me if I ever tried anything like that again, he’d repeat the punishments. Only this time, he wouldn’t have his guards stop until the others were dead.” Her voice broke. “He took away all my choices.” Her breathing grew choppy. “Still, I might have tried again, except Rav gave me an alternative. He came up with an escape plan. A way to save me and the other slaves. He threw me a lifeline. It changed everything.”
“Tess . . .” Maxheim’s palms twitched with the urge to hold her, his chains never more despised.
He hated, too, that now some part of him would always have to be grateful to his enemy. Because whatever else he was, Rav Byrel had kept Tess alive until Maxheim could find her.
“Tess, baby, I am sorry for all you’ve been through, but I’m so fucking glad you’re still here.”
Her lips tilted upward in a wobbly almost-smile. “You shouldn’t be so nice to me. It’s . . . confusing.”
His voice dropped. “I plan to be very nice to you. All the time. Preferably without clothes.”
Her smile grew into a full-fledged grin. “You’re outrageous.”
If it worked to erase the worry and guilt from her face, it was worth it.
“I didn’t tell you all that stuff before to gain sympathy,” she continued. “Only to explain that Rav is as trapped as me.”
“Byrel is nothing like you.”
“You keep saying that, but you don’t say more. I can sense you’re keeping something back. Tell me.”
He blew out a breath. “If you can’t handle it?”
She tipped her chin. “I can handle anything.”
He hoped she was right.
The stomping of boots echoed down the hall.
“Someone’s coming.” She pushed to standing, securing her blanket around her as her spine snapped straight.
He realized then just what a sick, twisted fuck he was. Because, even under these circumstances, seeing her trying to be so brave made him hard.
He sensed her refusal to break. Her determination not to cower. It awed him.
But he could discern something new through their bond too. A tentative part of her that curled toward him, as small and precious as a child’s palm searching for a hand to hold.
She was strong and full of bravado, but she was also fragile.
She might not know it yet, but she needed him. Just as he needed her.
He seized on her tentative outreach as if it was a flesh and blood palm, squeezing tight and sending as much assurance and confidence back through their bond as he could.
Twisting sideways, he strained against his chains. “Just remember, you’re going to be fine. Don’t let them get inside your head. They’re going to try to get you to talk. Don’t. You got that, Tess?”
She nodded, slowly at first and then with more conviction. “Yes. I’ve been through worse. I can do this.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve got a plan. We just need to stay cool and unruffled and wait it out. You got that? Plan C. It’s a good one.”
“Yes. Plan C.” She pressed her palm to the glass. “They can’t defeat us.”
Her hand was half the size of his, but somehow, in that heartbeat, it was as if she held his existence in her tiny palm.
His chest went tight.
Fuck, the long game was feeling pretty damned long right now. He wanted all of her—especially her total trust—this moment.
The footsteps sounded closer.
“Let me take the lead,” he commanded.
Her chin lifted.
Aw, fuck. As he’d predicted, she’d be over his knee a lot.
The Federation soldiers marched into view, stunners gripped in their hands.
He recognized a few, especially the bastard with the kill marks scratched into his helmet. He’d been the one who’d manhandled Tess.
Maxheim was glad to have him close by. The soldier was already dead. He just didn’t know it yet.
Bright lights flickered on, momentarily blinding Maxheim.
He regained his vision as another guard swiped at a panel on the wall.
Lights from a hologram shimmied into view and condensed into the crystal-clear image of a male figure.
The infamous by-the-book Commander Flynn Anderson solidified in front of Maxheim’s cell.
Outranked only by the Federation top brass, the high-level officer was decked out in full navy and gray regalia, his expression hard.
The question of who was to be the welcoming party once they reached the main detention center had just been answered.
Which meant things were definitely going to get uglier before they got better.