The Ghost led the Alpha Brotherhood. I served him as the Sage of a branch of the Brotherhood intended to worship and honor Oslin, the god of the fates. I’d been a part of it since I was a teenager, born to an omega given to an alpha that had served the Brotherhood well. This was in my blood and had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember.
The Alpha Brotherhood had a single mission: to keep the balance between order and chaos so that the world didn’t fall into ruin. It was the will of the gods and we did our best to uphold it in everything we did. Our members had infiltrated nearly every city on the planet, from the domed city of Tharia to my home of Valgertha and even farther away in the villages that dotted the coastline. Our reach was exceedingly vast and the only people that stood against us were the Cult of the Blood Moon.
We were at war with them. It had been that way for hundreds of years. Recently though, it felt like things were beginning to escalate, leaving me wondering if the Second Great War wasn’t far away. I feared that it might be approaching.
The Ghost turned toward me and my gaze perused along the elegant design of his mask. I had one of my own, a wolf with a contemplative expression, but his was that much more ornate. His wolf looked openly angry, teeth gaping in a vicious snarl that spoke to his position in the Brotherhood. There was an intricate crown of grape leaves at the top of the mask, decorated with purple and dark green gemstones indicative of blooming flowers atop his head. He was the only one with a mask like that, representing his role as the leader of the Alpha Brotherhood.
“Sage Vikar,” he said softly in greeting.
“I welcome you, Ghost,” I replied respectfully. I didn’t know his name. It didn’t matter. If I was ever captured by the Cult, I wouldn’t be able to reveal his identity. The only people I knew by name or face were those who I led directly myself. Our work was dangerous and important and that required a certain amount of secrecy to keep it safe from those that threatened to end us all.
He sat down in front of the fire and I took a seat in the armchair next to him. He was wearing the black cloak that we all wore to disguise our identities when we were called together in a gathering. I could see just a hint of his light blond hair beneath the hood, but when he adjusted it once more, it was gone.
It had been some time since the Ghost had visited me in private.
As Sage, I was one of his most trusted allies and a visit like this in the middle of the night could only mean one thing.
I was about to be assigned a very important mission, one that only I was to be privy to and one that I was going to be trusted to complete all on my own.
The Ghost cleared his throat.
“I’ve come to you, Vikar, today for a very special reason,” he began.
I nodded, keeping my silence. I reached for my cigar and took another long draw, waiting for him to continue.
“In the recent battles between Valgertha and the nearby city of Ravenrath, there was a war prize that was taken and kept secret except to those of the Branch of Zymos. King Thranar had in his possession an unbonded omega. She was captured in battle and brought back to the safety of our city,” he explained.
I kept my silence, deciding to listen first and ask questions later.
“He was a cruel alpha to her, Vikar. I’m aware of many of her injuries, both old and new. Thranar was a disgrace to the alpha name,” he spat, turning his furious eyes toward the fire.
“What would you have me do?” I finally asked.
“She is going to be a difficult target, but Thranar was undoubtedly a high-ranking member of the Cult,” he explained. “This omega likely knows more, but she’s been very tight-lipped about everything, even to the queen who rescued her. It is not outside the realm of possibilities that she is a member herself or that she’s aware of a number of other very powerful members or really anything at all.”
“Would you have me torture her to find out?” I asked. I hoped that he wouldn’t ask that of me. I had no qualms interrogating dangerous men, but I’d never put my hands on a woman in that way and I had no intentions of doing so. However, at the end of the day, I served the Brotherhood and I would do as I was told.
“No. I wouldn’t ask that of you. You know as well as I that we do not do such things. Instead, you may break her in the way that only an alpha can. She is unbonded and unclaimed. Now that she is in our hands, I am granting her to you. She will be yours and it is your responsibility to find out what she knows, whether you put her over your knee or flat on her back,” he commanded.
I licked my lips. It was a tremendous honor to be granted an omega. As a member of the Brotherhood, we weren’t allowed to pair bond to another. I’d never taken an omega of my own. It was a right that was granted by only the most powerful and it seemed now that I had finally earned the privilege of taking my very own mate.
“You honor me greatly, Ghost,” I whispered hoarsely, still astounded at this unexpected turn of events.
“It’s a long overdue one, Vikar. Your loyalty should have been rewarded long ago and I apologize for that,” he answered. I shook my head.
“Thank you. There is no need for apologies. I was only doing my duty,” I replied softly.
For a while, he was quiet, watching the flames flicker in the hearth.
“Her name is Luna,” he finally said.
I tasted her name on my tongue. It was perfection. My future mate.
* * *
For days I followed her, learning about every aspect of her routine. I watched her take walks through the garden with the queen and how she smiled at her maidservants when they stoked her fire or changed the sheets on her bed. In silence, I learned of her kindhearted nature and smiled when she insisted on helping a young child in need, no matter if they fell and scraped their knees or dropped a bite of food on the sidewalk.
I always saw a faraway look in her eyes when she walked away from those children and I quietly wondered if she’d lost someone of her own in the past.