“It doesn’t bother me. If it makes our chances of victory better, then I’m good with it,” Alaric said.
I looked in each of their eyes and saw their sincerity. I grinned.
“To unity then,” I replied, lifting my glass in salute.
“To unity,” the three of them replied.
* * *
Hours later, Nikkihad returned and the three alphas, a large group of omegas, and I traveled back to the training cavern I had secured for them all. An additional few crates of weapons and supplies had been delivered and stacked against the rock walls.
Nikki went out of her way to avoid my gaze. I could tell she was particularly peeved at my actions yesterday, but it had been necessary. She had needed to be taught what it meant to be subdued by an alpha. There just happened to be three of them here to teach her that lesson. The whole thing should have freed her omega instincts and relaxed her in a way to make working together between all of us easier and less turbulent. At least I hoped it would.
I watched her carefully, hoping to see signs of acquiescence, but I could see none. The more she moved about though, the more I began to realize that it hadn’t changed her feelings about me in the slightest. In fact, it appeared to make our own relationship worse.
I sighed. Then I decided to test her. To give her a chance to show me that she was willing to put her own feelings aside and be strong with me together, to show her omegas that we were a strong, united front. What happened next would be entirely up to her.
“Nikki, would you come over here so I can show you and the omegas how to take apart and load this particular rifle?” I started, keeping my voice level and calm, entirely non-combative. I’d allow her to take the first swing and maybe even a few more before I decided to push anything further.
“I’ve already worked with that rifle,” she huffed, and I bit my tongue for a moment before responding. Quietly, I sighed.
“Your comrades haven’t, however, so please come join us,” I requested, giving her another chance to rethink her sassy tone. Her eyes flared with fire and I pulled my shoulders back, taking a deep breath as I did so.
“Whatever. I don’t have to listen to you,” she replied, and her three alphas snarled, the sound a muted and quiet rumble that echoed in the rocky cavern.
The omega women surrounding me shuffled back and forth, clearly feeling more than uncomfortable. The tension between their five leaders—Nikki, me, and the three alphas—was making them question all of us and that was more than I could allow. I had to fix this, and it was more than clear that I had to fix it now.
“Nikki, unless you want to be punished once more, you’ll save that sass for someone else. Now, come over here so we can all learn how to properly load and clean this long-range rifle,” I warned, giving her one last chance to obey. She gasped quietly at my audacity.
Even though I was a beta and not an alpha, taking on a commanding role with her felt natural. Omegas were always at the bottom of our genetic hierarchy. They were programmed to yield to an alpha, but also in a small way to other betas. I knew this, but she apparently didn’t. I could see it in the way she looked at me.
That meant that she would submit to me, even if I had to force her to.
“You shouldn’t allow him to speak to me like that,” she spat, looking to the others to protect her.
How cute. She thought that they’d save her from me. I held in a silent chuckle.
Viktor caught my gaze and smirked.
“You should obey Damiyen, omega, if you know what’s good for you,” Viktor said then. Nikki’s glare raced over to her alphas in disbelief and when she realized they weren’t going to help, she hissed with her defiance. Now that she was bonded to the three alphas, she expected them to defend her.
But they wouldn’t. Not from me. They were never going to protect her from me, and it was about time that she learned exactly that. I stared back at her, my eyes bold and my gaze steady. I stayed silent, letting the whole thing play out, watching her face fall as the first traces of fear began to edge into her eyes, bleeding into her expression next and then into the way her arms curled around her waist. It was beautiful really. I cracked my knuckles and she jumped in response.
“You can’t be serious,” she replied, disbelief painting her soft features.
Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.
“You’ve been rather ungrateful for Damiyen’s help thus far, Nikki, and to be honest, extremely uncooperative when he’s provided us with desperately needed funds and weapons in order to secure your freedom and the freedom of your comrades here in the sanctuary. If Damiyen feels a need to teach you a lesson, I’m all for it,” Ethan scolded her.
“Me as well,” Viktor said next.
“Yup. That’s cool with me,” Alaric grinned.
Nikki blanched and her eyes tore back to me. All around us, the group of omega women shuffled back and forth, trying to figure out what they should do next. I pulled my shoulders back and passed my eyes over them.
“Omegas, I suggest we reconvene and continue our training tomorrow. Nikki and I need to discuss a few things in our battle plans. Privately,” I said, and the other women rushed to leave the cavern and return back to the underground. They practically ran out at hearing the warning in my voice. In just under a minute, it was the five of us. Alone.
Nikki’s icy blue eyes never left mine.