Chapter 20

twenty

. . .

ADDY

I opened my eyes to a strange sight. Both of my parents at my bedside.

That didn't make sense. How did they get to our oasis? Where was Alil? Why did they look so worried?

Unless...

Everything came flying back, Alil's pregnancy, the journey here, the attack in the medic's office.

I gasped and my entire body jerked from the shock. I tried to sit up, but soothing hands held me down.

"There, there," Om-father hushed. "It's alright. Everything is fine, sweet Addy."

I blinked up at him, then looked at al-mother.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Her lips quirked and she shook her head.

"You're the one in the hospital bed, dear," she informed me.

I looked down at myself, suddenly exhausted all over again.

"Alil's al-mother attacked me," I mumbled mournfully. "I knew everyone would be mad, but didn't expect that."

"She shouldn't have done that," Al-mother said firmly. "You're lucky you are both still alive."

I shut my eyes, sighing.

"I can understand," I admitted. "It was probably her biggest fear, and it came true. Her son was bonded without an auction, or ceremony, or anything..."

Neither of them said anything.

"Where is Alil?"

"At home," Om-father told me. "Asleep in your bed."

That was an interesting thought. One I had never imagined becoming a reality. Suddenly, I was sure that my own bed, in my own bedroom was the coziest place on the planet. How I would love to be under the covers right now, cuddling my mate while we both caught up on some much needed rest.

"Can I go home?"

"I'll call the medic," Al-mother said, standing.

It didn't take long for me to be released, but it felt like ages. I was slightly stiff and sore, but not enough for them to be able to keep me from being with Alil.

My parents helped to walk me home and to my surprise, those we passed didn't glare at me anymore. One of our neighbors even stopped us to ask how I was feeling.

"What is happening?" I wondered. "Why is no one acting like they hate me?"

"No one hates you," Om-father said softly. "We will talk more about it after you have rested."

I allowed them to help me down the hallway toward my room and into it.

I stopped there though, because seeing Alil's form curled up in my bed, his purple hair spread out on my pillow, nearly overwhelmed me with emotions.

For a moment, I couldn't move at all.

How did everything look the same in here when so much had changed? It felt like my two worlds were colliding, the physical and what was within my heart. I had never had my heart out in the open before, yet there it was, right in my bed for everyone to see. For everyone to know me.

"I'll go get you some water," Om-father said, and he took Al-mother with him, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my lover.

I watched his peaceful breathing for a while longer, and then I crept up to the bed, and as slowly and carefully as I could, I climbed under the covers with him.

Despite my efforts to not wake him, Alil's eyes fluttered open, revealing his striking, amethyst gaze.

"Addy!" he whispered, wrapping his arms and legs around me and squeezing.

I winced, tried to hide it, but Alil felt it and pulled back far enough to look at my face. He sat up.

Even though all I wanted was to hold him, I allowed him to pull the sides of my robe open and examine the remaining scars. I had barely glanced at them yet, but by the anger on Alil's face, they were not pretty.

His gaze darkened.

"I will never forgive her," he said.

It was his choice, so I did not tell him not to, but I pulled him down into my arms.

"Please, just hug me again."

He drew a shaky breath and wrapped his arms and legs around me again, squeezing more carefully this time.

I sighed, smiling, and nuzzled him before drifting into the most peaceful sleep.

I sat outside the council building, tapping my foot nonstop until Alil finally emerged.

When he saw me, he shook his head and let out a breath as though he'd been holding it the entire time he'd been in there.

I stood, meeting him halfway.

"How was it?" I asked, holding his arms at length.

"Intense," he said, "but I couldn't tell you how it went really. They're so hard to read."

Worry flashed across his face, and I couldn't help leaning in and pressing my lips to his forehead.

"Don't worry. Things have already gone better than expected since we got here."

He gave me an incredulous look.

"Are you kidding?" he demanded, poking me under the ribs where I was still slightly sore from my new wounds. It hadn't even been forty-eight hours since I'd received them after all.

I winced and he gave me a pointed look.

"Forgot about that part, did you?"

"No," I laughed, and he looked like I'd lost my mind.

I couldn't help this strange optimism. After the initial disaster, no one had treated me like I was a monster. A few friends had stopped by to see how we were this afternoon. My parents hadn't allowed them to stay for long, but it made my heart feel so full.We had such a connection in our own city. We knew nearly everyone, and they knew us. They wanted us to be okay above all else.

Even on our walk to the council building people had been kind. Someone I didn't even know told me they were glad to see me on my feet "after last night" and someone told Alil they had been praying for his safety after he had been taken away and were glad to see that he was good as could be.

The attention made Alil a little bit flustered, but I had seen him look back at the alpha who had said it with wonder in his eyes.

"You're feeling better already," I pointed out. "And I got to wake up comfortably in my bed with you this morning. What is there to complain about?"

He pursed his lips.

"Talk to the council and see what they decide before you start celebrating, please."

I sighed and nodded, releasing him so that I could go inside, but he stopped me and pulled me by the wrist to give him a sweet kiss before releasing me.

"Good luck. I'll wait right here."

I nodded and went to my supposed doom.

The moment I entered the room though, I understood Alil's trepidation.

Everyone had been kind so far, but the council building was not very warm and welcoming. It was intimidating.

Inside was dark and cool and empty but for some sort of human technology boxes standing in the back, and a table directly in the middle.

There, all the members of the alpha council sat. From above, a single hole—what would normally be used as a smoke escape—allowed in a spotlight of sunlight to illuminate them.

Saar, who I knew well-enough already, pushed out the only empty seat for me to take.

"We have already heard Naz's and Alil's stories, and now, we would like to hear yours," Head Alpha Kion said.

I nodded but didn't start straight away because suddenly, I didn't know how to begin.

"What brought you together with Kazm, Ossad and Fari?" he suggested.

I swallowed.

"After the last auction... and the events leading to it, I was upset. I felt that we were being lied to and that we were losing our culture. I kind of felt that it was due to the human influence."

I glanced around, aware that two of the mated humans were bonded to alphas in this room, but Eisa and Saar didn't show any reaction.

"Truthfully, I was angry that you had all decided to side with my brother." I was ashamed to admit it now but there was no room for any more secrecy.

"You are against the new omega initiatives we are working on?" one of them asked.

"Well..." I bowed my head, my shame growing. "Not anymore. I didn't understand it at the time. I didn't understand much to do with an omega's viewpoints, it turns out. All I could think about was the fact that there would be a possible end to the auctions and that omegas would run around doing as they pleased. Like Latif had done."

I sighed, understanding what a prick I sounded like.

Pursing my lips, I finally answered the initial question.

"I found myself ranting to Fari at the bathhouse one day and he invited me to meet with his group. We called ourselves the New Order of Alphas. They told me their plans were to reinstate tradition into our society. First by convincing omegas, then gathering more alpha followers. I am ashamed to admit that I supported the cause."

There was a long silence.

"So, kidnapping the omegas..."

"I was told to bring an omega to a meeting, where we would discuss the issue with them and change their minds." I shook my head. "It sounds ridiculous now, but I did believe that was all that would happen."

"Can you tell us what happened after that?"

I nodded resolutely. I felt so small sitting there, explaining my misguided actions, but I wanted to do right by Alil so I didn't skip any details—aside from most of the sexual ones. I did tell them how we decided to bond. How it took a few days first and how Alil had asked me to. I was pretty sure he would kill me if I left that out. He wanted me to fight for myself, for us.

"When his health took a downward turn, I insisted on bringing him home."

Another long silence followed my story.

"Did he not want to return?" Eisa asked curiously.

I shook my head, embarrassed.

"He was only worried that I would be punished... truthfully, he thinks it is all his doing, but I know I played a large part in this."

The head alpha gave me a long, assessing look.

"What is your take on the omegas now?" he asked. "Do you still feel that we should return to tradition?"

Surprised, I shook my head.

"No. I think I was blinded by the fact that I didn't believe I would ever have a mate," I admitted. "But it doesn't make any sense for all of them to be so overprotected. They deserve the right to choose what, or who, they want for themselves."

I looked around at them, wondering how much detail would be too much, but in the end, I decided I would share everything if it meant that Alil would have his mate by his side during his pregnancy...

"I don't know if he told you this, but Alil had decided not to have an auction. He was planning to join the priesthood. If Alil had decided to have an auction, I would have fought in it. The problem is that he was too worried that I wouldn't win and so he wouldn't even enter... he completely removed himself from the pool of available omegas just because he didn't have control over the end result."

They all seemed to understand me at once and there was a shift in the air in the room.

"Very interesting," Head Alpha Kion remarked thoughtfully.

He exchanged a pointed look with Saar and then Eisa.

"There has been a rise of alphas taking matters into their own hands."

"I've noticed," I admitted, glancing at Saar and Eisa myself. They both shrugged with a grimace.

"It is what it is," the head alpha said, waving his hand dismissively."There is an epidemic of loneliness amongst the alphas in our community."

I nodded. That was certainly true. I knew firsthand.

"In my generation, there were plenty of omegas. Most ended up bonded. For some reason, our gene pool has mostly created alphas since then. You are not our first alpha to act out in this way. Over the past year, there have been two other omega kidnappings and though they have been forgiven, and although those messes led to happy bondings, it is a matter that needs to be dealt with in a new way."

I raised a brow because it sounded an awful lot like he already had an idea in mind to fix the situation for the alphas, but he didn't seem inclined to let me in on the secret.

"For the time being, there are still three alphas and one omega missing," he said. "Our immediate priority is to get them back. Do you have any idea where they may have gone?"

"Unfortunately, I wasn't privy to any part of the real plans," I said. "I don't know if they had anywhere else they may have gone."

"After Naz's story, we thought as much."

"Oh, where is Naz?" I asked, feeling terrible for only just thinking to ask. "And where is Samar? Are they alright?"

"Naz has returned to the main omega temple, and Samar has returned home. They are both recovering from their ordeal."

He hummed thoughtfully and then looked at the others.

"Do any of you have any other questions or concerns?"

"Alil puts on a brave face," Saar said. "But is he actually feeling better?"

"I believe so," I said, touched that he would ask. "The desert heat was too much for him. Since we had a good night's sleep and he has taken some tonics, he seems to be much better."

"Good," he said sincerely. "Your child will a blessing."

My heart leaped at the mention of it. Saar knew from firsthand experience after all, and hearing it being spoken about so openly made it feel all the more real.

"Thank you for your cooperation," the head alpha said. "You may go back to your mate now."

"May I ask what the plan is for my punishment?" I asked, uneasily.

He smiled for some reason and shook his head.

"We haven't decided yet. There will be one, though, don't you worry."

I chuckled and stood, confused on how I was supposed to feel about that statement.

Outside, Alil was still waiting for me.

He jumped to his feet the moment I stepped outside.

"Well?" he asked, rushing to me. "What did they say?"

I shook my head, at a loss.

"I have no answers yet," I told him. "But they promised me that a punishment was coming... but the promise was delivered in a very light-hearted way."

"What does that mean?" Alil asked.

"I have no idea."