Page 96 of The Fallen Fae King

I crawl to the bottom of the bed, wrenching open the plain pine chest, which rests at the base.

I grin down at the long, scarlet dress that is still folded neatly where I left it.

The dress glows with the fae runes that I drew on it with my own blood when I escaped Fang Kingdom. They hide my scent.

Aurelius insists that I am a spy. I have always been a thief.

So, I’ll wear a dress that allows me to practice my talents.

Who says that I am either a spy or thief for the Draca Kingdom alone?

I pull the dress out and start to wriggle into it. As the cotton dress settles on my skin, falling off my alabaster shoulders to reveal the glittering emerald wolf head tattoo of my Omega Mark, I start to feel more like myself again.

I wrap the sash around my middle, before reaching for my dagger that I had hidden under my pillow, fixing it at my waist. Then I also pull out the tiny stone, the anti-metallicum that I hid next to it, and slip it into my pocket.

I should tell Lanlin that I now hold the only weapon that may be able to undo Maximinus’ magic.

Yet this is my one true weapon. It makes me the strongest player in this entire game, a secret one that others don’t suspect.

I can’t give up that advantage yet, especially since I’m not certain that Aurelius will save my pack.

This dress is the only thing that I have from Fang Kingdom.

I am the Omega Wolf Queen. I must remind Aurelius of that.

I smooth down the sash, before I march out of the bedroom into the study at the heart of the royal nest.

My soles are cold against the marble floor.

I hurriedly scan Aurelius’ oak desk, shocked with how piled high it is with official papers. As always, they are neatly ranked, but Aurelius has always been overworked, often falling asleep at his desk.

I have never seen so many papers.

How can Aurelius keep up with this level of work?

Is Maximinus deliberately burying Aurelius in paperwork? Or has Aurelius been falling behind because he’s been separated from me?

I start for the door, determined to return to the Silver Banquet Room and retrieve all my Alphas, even if I have to kick Ignatius’ ass, but then my nose scrunches up.

The delicious scent of leather and smoke flows over me, along with dominant pheromones.

They are the pheromones of an Alpha who is close to feral — Aurelius.

Following their scent, I twist to the large, columned windows at the back of the study, which look out over a manicured rose garden, which is in full bloom.

I square my shoulders.

There is an old Omega saying: Cross an Omega and feel their fangs in your knot.

I stalk out into the thin dawn light.

Despite the rage, which is keeping me standing through my exhaustion, I still enjoy the sunlight on my upturned face.

I became used to the moon in Lanlin’s nighttime court, while snatching moments alone with Daire during the day.

Yet a wolf thrives in the sun.

I glance around at the cypress trees that flank the garden and the manicured rosebushes. The blooms are large and glossy but with sharp thorns.