Page 82 of Desperate Omega

Behind me, Delphine clucks her tongue.

“What a little whore you are,” she says. “You’re no better than a dog, a bitch in heat, willing to let your lover die just so you can have a little taste of alpha cock.”

Willpower has nothing to do with it. I try to stop it, I try with all my might, but my muscles refuse to listen.

My body is no longer my own.

“Don’t listen to her,” Brik says. “Listen to me. Listen to your alpha. I want you to stop right there, Syra. Don’t come any closer.”

It doesn’t work. I’m too far gone. There’s not enough of me left to hear him. There’s only my heat, my need, my hunger.

My arm lifts. My hand reaches toward him, trembling.

Thorus’s voice purrs in my ears. It sounds as though he is right behind me, only inches away.

It’s alright little one, he says. You tried your best. I am so proud of you.

“I did,” I whisper. “I tried my best…”

But it wasn’t enough.

Behind me, I can hear Delphine ordering Hadrian to prepare his dagger. In front of me, my hand reaches forward against my will. My fingertips brush against Brik’s skin, and an instant later a howl of pain splits the air.

CHAPTER 34: SYRA

But it doesn’t come from Thorus. It doesn’t even come from inside the prison. It comes from outside, from beyond the outer wall, and it is soon accompanied by other howls—howls of pain, howls of rage, the rattle of gunfire and the din of battle.

My eyes snap open.

I am not on all fours. I am not touching Brik. I’m still lying on my back at the front of the cell, naked, shivering, drenched in sweat. It was only a hallucination.

I turn my head and look through the bars. Thorus is still there too, still hanging from the railings of the walkway.

Still alive

And around him, all hell is breaking loose.

“Intruders!” a voice shouts. “Alphas!” cries another. “We’re under attack!”

Some of the Farlanders scatter. Some of them leap down from the walkways where they’ve been standing, enjoying my performance. Others climb to higher levels seeking safety. The only alpha who seems to stay put is Hadrian. He maintains his position on the walkway right behind where Thorus is hanging. His dagger is drawn.

“Kill him!” Delphine shrieks, pointing at Thorus. “Kill that alpha!”

I watch in horror as Hadrian lifts his blade and starts to bring it down in a quick, sweeping arc toward my mate’s chest. I scream.

“Nooo!”

With lightning speed and perfect timing, Thorus swings his legs up and catches Hadrian’s wrist between his feet. Then, with one quick jerk, he yanks the alpha over the top of the railing, sending him tumbling to the floor below. When Hadrian stumbles to his feet a moment later, the hilt of the knife is protruding from the middle of his chest. He clutches it, as if to wrench it free, then topples backward onto the floor and remains there, unmoving.

“Shit!” Delphine shouts.

She draws her stiletto, just like the one she tried to stab me with in the barn, and she draws back her hand as if to throw the weapon at Thorus.

I won’t let that happen.

Summoning the last of my strength, I surge to my feet and thrust my hand through the bars of my cell. Delphine is just within arm’s reach. I grab a fistful of her lustrous blonde hair and tug with all my might. The back of her skull hits the bars with a loud kong, and she slumps to the floor outside the cell.

Anton is standing a few yards away. When he sees his omega go down, he lets out an anguished cry and rushes to her side.