Page 4 of Prelude to a Revolution

Noting the change in scenery, I stand up and extend my hand, waiting for Annora to look up and take it. She never wavers as she stares down at tonight’s dinner, but still reaches her hand up to take mine. At least that part isn’t damaged. It would have killed me if she refused to even hold my hand.

She’ll come back around, but for now, I need to give her space to think, to process. The walk from the transport to our home should be enough time, but if it’s not, I’m sure she’ll deposit the basket of food into my arms and beg to take a bath. To this day, she thinks we don’t know her cue for when she needs to break down.

Shaking my head, I lead my young omega home, the path illuminated by the fire of the setting eastern sun. It blazes before us, turning our way into an inferno. My lips curve up into a smile as her feet skip by my side, the only sound other than our breathing. It’s these memories I’ll cherish forever.

Chapter 2

Sonria

My fingers tremble, shaking the paper in my hands. Blurry eyes can barely make out the words, but I don’t need to. I’ve read them enough times to know what they say. When I first received one of these threatening letters, I chalked it up to a prank, a misled miscreant that has more balls than brains.

Beta Scum Must Die

It has to be a teenager. Who else would dare threaten the mate of a Guardian Alpha? Harmless. At least, that’s what I have to tell myself. If I allow my brain to run away with the ideas swirling about, I’ll go crazy. Glancing over at the clock, I wipe my eyes with a soft rag and place the note in the lit fire under the boiling pot.

Gemhardt will be home soon, and I don’t want him worrying about this. He already has so much on his plate, and me adding just one more burden is far too much. Forcing a smile to my lips, I walk over to the small enclosure where Karis toddles about, grabbing at brightly colored toys and talking up a storm.

Her gray eyes twinkle at me as she holds up a block, her babbling an incessant stream of happiness. My precious little Karis. Just like Annora, she already shows signs of her dynamic, and it’s not just the eyes. She’s so much smaller than my siblings were when they were born. But luckily, since Karis’s mother is considered beta scum, most people will just assume it’s because of inferior breeding.

How ironic that the most precious thing in the world can be so easily dismissed because their mother is not who society would have chosen. I hide my girls, not just so they can escape a life of drudgery in the High Sanctum, but also to protect myself. Gemhardt thinks that the brothels are the final resting place of betas that bear omegas, but he’s wrong.

So many of my kind have been taken to be experimented on, their insides ripped out just so the Alphas can see what makes them tick. When an omega cannot deliver an Alpha or even another omega, yet a beta can, it makes them crazy, feral, unable to process the “injustice” of it all. Some even go as far as to suppose we’re omegas in disguise, forcing pills and concoctions down our throat until we turn. But we never do.

Suppressants are expensive. Their illegality makes them hard to come by. A normal beta cannot afford an extravagance like that. Even the higher born betas with steady work cannot even fathom spending money on something like that. If Gemhardt were not an Alpha, it would be impossible to hide our girls, much less hide myself in process if I wasn’t indeed a beta.

Scooping Karis up in my arms, I take her back to the kitchen to check on the water. Even though Annora will want to cook tonight, I always have things prepared just in case she needs a moment to herself. With everything in order, I take us into the living space, perching Karis on my knee to bounce her about, smiling as her giggles fill the air.

Soon, the door unlatches, but instead of the normal excited chatter of Annora, all I hear is silence. Fear grabs hold of my heart as I clutch Karis close to me and tiptoe towards the opening where I can look at the door without being seen. My limbs tremble as the door closes once more and sounds of moving scratch away at my brain.

Something is wrong. The moment I look between the space, my breath comes out in a loud whoosh. It’s Gemhardt and Annora. There is, in fact, something wrong, but it’s not a stranger coming to get me. Turning, I rest my back on the wall and bounce Karis in my arms, attempting to stymie the cry that threatens to erupt from her lips.

My fear must have rubbed off on her, turning her playful laughs into a full-on frown of epic proportions. I hold her close, running my hand down her back in a soothing, circular motion, the song she likes the most dripping from my lips in a warbly tune. If I don’t come out of here and greet Gemhardt like usual, he’ll know something is up.

I’ve been trying so hard to keep this secret from him, to not let him know about the hateful messages I’ve been receiving. If he knew…. Heavens help the people responsible. He’ll stop at nothing to see that vengeance is served. I would feel horrible if my actions caused the death of some younger people that are just trying to play a prank.

“There you are, my love.” Gemhardt steps into the room, Annora nowhere in sight. He tips his nose in the air for a moment, scenting it, before leveling his eyes at me. “Is everything okay?”

Damn it. I hoped the episode was so short-lived that my stench of fear could have dissipated before he stepped foot inside the room. “Yes,” I murmur, the lie easing from my lips as simply as breathing. “I thought Karis swallowed something, but I was mistaken. Where’s Annora?”

I need to change the subject. The more Gemhardt looks at me with those knowing eyes, the harder it is to keep this from him. He stares at me for a few more moments before letting the exhaustion he’s been carrying fall back onto his shoulders. He sits down with a weary expression lining his face, aging him for a minute or two.

Once he sits down, he holds out his hand, motioning for Karis. With her grubby toddler hands, she reaches back out, her face lighting up at seeing her father. The smile and giggles are back. Gone is the frown that threatened to overtake her. Karis is so easy to please; just give her Daddy, and all is right with the world. Though who can blame her? One minute in Gemhardt’s arms and my own world is stable once more.

I set her down and watch as she ambles over to him, her broken words saying everything and nothing. I tune her out, opting to clean up the space as she tells him all about her day. Most of what she’s saying is nonsense, some story she must have made up in her head of monsters and princesses.

“Mommy cried.”

I freeze, one of her stuffed toys clutched in my hand. Looking up, my gaze collides with Gemhardt’s hard stare. “Oh, she did?”

“Uh-huh! Loud noise. Then cried.”

A soft chuckle that borders on hysteria slips past my lips as I continue to organize the space. “Yes, that’s right Karis. A loud noise did scare Mommy.”

Gemhardt sets Karis down on the seat next to him, ignoring her pout as he walks over to me. Without saying a word, he gathers me into his arms and holds me tight. At once, the stress of today melts out of me. All I can think about is him. His muscles bunch as he engulfs me in a tight hug.

Then he purrs.

Dear gods. He purrs.