Balinar;

I stare boredly at the wimp crying pathetically at my feet.

His tears drop on my skin as he kisses and sucks on and worships my feet, and this causes irritation to gnaw at me.

He was holding up, you know?? For a whole day, he hadn’t cried, and foolishly, I was starting to think that maybe... just maybe he had the potential to walk in Elien’s path.

How could I be so foolish??

I spent years breaking Elien. Years making him. Years shaping him to be exactly what I needed him to be, and I thought some good-for-nothing dimwit could replace him!?

No one can! No one. Not this fool, and not a thousand more to come. There’s only one I need. Only one that fits just right at my feet.

Elien. My Elien!!

My irritation morphs to anger as I reach for the sobbing omega shackled at my feet. My fingers sink into his hair, and I feel him stiffen.

"Stop with the fucking crying!" I rage as I throw a slap across his face, and he crumbles completely to the floor with blood splattering out of his mouth.

"You’re a man, aren’t you!? Keep it together, you pathetic fuck!" I scream, but the fool just curls into himself and cries harder.

I groan in annoyance and run a hand over my face.

My mind instantly goes back to the Ashfang brothers, and a growl slips out from a deeper part of me.

Those brothers didn’t just take Elien from me. They have gotten him so comfortable, I fear he may have actually forgotten me.

I stand up from my throne and walk to the edge of the hall with my hands resting on the windowsill as I stare down at my people. From here, everything looks beautifully chaotic. Predictable, and challenging in a way that shapes my people into the vicious soldiers I need.

I have singlehandedly reshaped Elkhorn over the years... And the Ashfang brothers think they can keep my Omega hidden from me forever??

Does Elien really believe that fallacy??

...I wonder if Nagari knows how close it already is to screaming.

The door to the hall opens, and suddenly, the Omega, trying to stifle his sobs, becomes irrelevant.

From the scent that floods the room, I know who it is. Another of my shadow scouts.

"He’s in Nagari," the scout says behind me without wasting a second, while keeping her voice carefully neutral.

"He’s healthy and heavily guarded." She adds, and one word sticks out.

Healthy.

I smile faintly.

That much, at least, they did not ruin.

"And his condition?" I ask.

There is a pause. A hesitation that shouldn’t be there, and I raise a brow.

I turn my head slowly, and find the scout’s gaze on the ground like she’s afraid to look at me as she says what she’s about to.

"He’s... pregnant, my lord." She adds, and I freeze.

I blink at her as if I’ve suddenly developed an issue with understanding.

Pregnant.

Pregnant!?

My fingers curl against the stone as my mind scrambles to accept this.

"Say that again," I demand, and she swallows.

"He’s carrying a child," the scout repeats, quieter now.

"The bond traces point to one of the Ashfang brothers. I cannot determine which." She adds, and my mouth falls open.

Those bloody Ashfangs!! They actually got him pregnant!!

Wow!!

Laughter escapes in calm, amused waves, but it’s dark enough to make the scout and the omaga behind her stiffen.

"Of course they did." I laugh as I picture them.

Arrogant fools who think love is teeth and protection. Fools who think warmth is ownership. Who confuses proximity with belonging.

They touched him.

They filled him.

They dared to!!

I turn fully now, studying the high officials who have been sitting all this while, in silence around the stone table where we delegate wars and strategies. None of them meet my eyes. They wouldn’t dare even if I told them to. Good.

"Do you know what disgusts me the most?" I ask conversationally, and of course, I am met with silence.

"It isn’t the child." I continue as I pace slowly... boots padding against the floor.

"It isn’t even that one of them put himself inside what was mine," I add, and I stop in front of the nearest man and crouch.

"It’s that they think this makes him theirs," I whisper.

My voice remains calm, but something sharp hums beneath it.

"Elien does not bond because he is weak. He bonds because he is open. Because he believes in connection. And they exploited that." I inform, before straightening.

"They turned my Elien into a vessel." I spit disdainfully.

A filthy mistake. One that can be corrected easily.

"The child cannot stay," I continue, as if discussing logistics.

"It binds him. Anchors him. Forces his body and existence to prioritise something other than me." I add, and although my officials don’t talk, they shift about uneasily.

"Do not mistake this for jealousy," I quickly correct.

"I don’t compete.... I simply remove obstacles." I note as I turn back to the scout.

The Ashfangs will learn that fact soon.

In fact, this is proof that I have sat on my hands for far too long.

"Nagari believes itself untouchable," I speak again as I walk towards her.

"Ancient borders, sacred wards... A queen who mistakes caution for control." I continue before stopping and looking back at my officials.

I smile.

"We will not attack Nagari," I say calmly, and I know this caught their attention as most of them look up at me in shock.

"We will enter it," I say to ease their confusion, and they share looks amongst themselves.

"We’ll enter that kingdom quietly. Patiently. Through its blind spots." I add, as I stare at the scout.

The plan starts unfolding in my head with measured precision.

"I will enter last," I say with a smile moulded by the soothing darkness of my heart.

"He needs to feel me coming," I add as memories send a shiver through me. Elien always does.

I need to remind him who truly owns him.

"When the time is right, we’ll isolate my runaway bride. Not publicly... Not violently either. I need to let him know that he’s valued at home... loved. Of course, he’s made many mistakes and will be punished for them. But he must feel the love first. Don’t you think?" I speak, asking no one in particular, but I get no response.

Which causes me to chuckle.

The truth is, my high officials are not really here to give me their opinions. Heaven knows I’d rather listen to my nails grind against stone than hear whatever they may think or have to say about anything.

In fact, only two of them still have tongues. I ripped out the others long ago when they thought they were in this room for something other than my entertainment.

When they tried to suggest to me how to run MY kingdom. MY people.

Now, they know better. They understand that their silence is all I require. Except for when I want to watch them struggle to interact with each other without tongues, of course.

"Fear must be precise," I say rather casually, and those who had previously lifted their gaze drop it back.

My mind goes back to Elien, and I can not deny the anger I feel building inside me.

That filthy child in his womb will complicate things. I know this. His body will resist me now. He will rebel harder.

But bodies can be taught... after the stain is removed, of course.

"The child will be removed. Quickly and cleanly." I announce... and then I pause as a new thought forms.

"Or not," I whisper under my breath as I stroke my chin gently.

Whatever game I choose to play depends on how well Elien listens.

"And the Ashfang responsible for the baby?" The scout dares to break my revere, and I turn to her.

I smile. A wide, soulless smile that causes fear to flash in her eyes.

"I don’t care which one it is," I note honestly, and she blinks at me.

"After I take him back, they can howl. They can tear the world apart searching for him." I speak as I take a step closer to her.

"It won’t matter. Because even if they eventually find him. When I’m done with him, he won’t be theirs anymore." I add, leaning closer, and she cautiously pulls back while adjusting her cape.

I straighten, with satisfaction settling deep in my chest now.

"They think they saved him. They think love healed him." I add before laughing softly.

"There is no healing from being known." I breathe with a full grin.

Nagari will learn this.

And Elien... Elien will come home.

He may run miles. Years... He might weave through wars and kingdoms, but at the end of it all, he will return right where it all began.

Right where he belongs.

With me.

And to make sure that happens, I need to get rid of the major hurdle now in my way.

That child.