I did as he requested but we were once again back to the stage of him using a ruler to poke and prod at places I needed to adjust. I could feel Savo’s gaze heavy on my back as he watched. So far, Arthur hadn’t done anything that was to cause me harm besides his cruel words. Something more was going on besides the fact that I was leaving tomorrow. That wouldn’t have made Arthur so volatile after having kept such a cold exterior this whole time.
“Don’t look so scared. Your Alphas are your protectors and providers,” Arthur grumbled, using his ruler to tap the side of my cheek. “You should always have a serene gaze. Many would wish to be in your place, knowing they will never need or want for anything in their life. These men you will be given to are leaders of the highest level, and the actions of their Omega reflects on their ability to attend to your basic needs. Looking like you might cry at the drop of the hat would make people believe you are not being looked after.”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in, counting to three and letting it back out like Rafael had taught me. It helped slightly, but when I heard the loud banging knock on the door I flinched. My heart was racing in my chest waiting for retaliation from Arthur, but when nothing happened, I looked up to find Savo standing next to me, glaring at the Beta. If looks could kill the butler would be dead on the floor with the rage flashing in Savo’s gaze.
“That must be the tea,” Arthur muttered and turned on his heel to fetch it.
While he was distracted, Savo turned his gaze on me letting the back of his finger brush along the cheek Arthur had touched. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to because the possessive anger was written all over him. Whatever he’d been doing to come across as a Beta didn’t seem to be doing much good at the moment. I gave him a soft smile trying to reassure him, but he wasn’t having it.
Instead of going back to his normal spot, he took a seat at the table. “It will be better for her to learn with two people, since I’m assuming the pack will have more than one Alpha.”
Arthur’s jaw clenched but he nodded and sat in the seat opposite him. “Now, Miss Cambrie, in Shearia they use loose leaf tea, so you will need to scoop one spoonful for every cup of tea you are pouring. As there are two of us, put two scoops in the teapot.”
Looking over the tray, I found the glass jar of dried leaves. I tried to unscrew it, but the lid was on too tight, and I had hardly any strength to speak of, even though I was building stamina. I tried and tried but no matter how I maneuvered the jar, it wouldn’t budge. My hands got sweaty as my anxiety rose, knowing that Arthur would be upset with me but I didn’t know what to do. How could I fix this if I wasn’t strong enough?
“Hand it to me, Cambrie,” Savo directed.
Arthur all but growled at the order. “No, she has to do it herself. This whole process is for only the Omega to perform, it defeats the whole purpose if any of the pack assists.”
“You said it was the Alpha’s place to provide for her needs. Wouldn’t opening this when she can’t fall under that line of thinking? Or are they solely concerned about her basic needs and nothing beyond that?”
“It’s a jar, how is opening a jar providing for her? She’s incompetent and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. Look at her, she’s standing there shaking like a leaf, skin and bones, and not a trace of lady-like grace to her. We are sending her to be our representation of what Oscad has to offer Shearia, and this is a disgrace!”
Savo shot out of his chair, knocking it back with a roar. He grabbed Arthur by the neck and yanked him up so his feet dangled in the air. “Howdareyou speak about her like that while I’m sitting here. That Omega ismine,and you will never utter another disrespectful word about her or I’ll remove your tongue.”
Arthur's eyes went wide as Savo’s scent changed and his dominance filled the room. It was clear to me that while I knew Savo was an Alpha and could recognize the energy in him, I hadn’t seen his true self. If I’d felt this before I trusted him, I would never have allowed him near me. The anger and violence rolling off him in Arthur’s direction was overwhelming.
“Y… you’re… Alpha,” Arthur choked out.
Savo snarled in the man's face as he spoke. “Yes. She’smine.”
“How,” Arthur rasped as Savo let up on him slightly.
“That isn’t any of your concern right now. What you should be worried about is whether or not I’m going to kill you,” Savo threatened.
Gasping, I grabbed the arm that was holding Arthur aloft. “No, you can’t kill him. You’re better than that, it's why you left everything behind you. I know you’re a good man, Savo, having his death on your hands will only hurt you later when you calm down.”
My Alpha looked at me, his green eyes wild with the need to protect me. “He’ll hurt you, that’s been his goal all along, to punish you for being born.”
“What?” I asked, completely confused by the change in topic. “What are you talking about? Arthur has no idea who I am. We only met when I came here.”
Savo shook his head as he dropped Arthur to the ground. “Tell her, tell her the truth of what your Alpha did. She deserves to know why she’s been put through hell her entire life.”
“Hell? What does she know about hell?” Arthur spat, once his coughing subsided. “That bitch ruined everything when she stole Yoram’s daughter and ran away. It was bad enough her weak willed mother couldn’t withstand the drugs her own family made, leaving us with her spawn to raise. All we had to do was wait for Yoram to gain control of Oscad, then we could be free. He wouldn’t need a pack to put on appearances, all he needed was the baby to barter with and we were home free. Then, they disappeared.”
It was as if a bucket of cold water was poured over my head as I started to make sense of his ramblings. “Are you saying that Official Yoram Dubois is my father, and the woman who raised mewasn’tmy mother?”
“Seems you're not a complete idiot,” Arthur taunted. “The woman who stole you was a Beta in our pack, Aria. Now it’s just me and Laura, Aria’s sister, left to clean up the mess she made. The three of us were with Yoram from the beginning, but he needed an Omega to give him a child. When he found the perfect one, he bonded her to him just like my Laura and her sister Aria. Bastard knew leaving me unmarked did him more good, threatening to separate me and Laura. He never loved her, he never loved any of us. All we did was get him what he really loved… power.”
My heartbeat wildly in my chest as panic, betrayal, and hurt slammed into me at his words. My real mother was dead, my fake mother was also dead, and the man who beat and abused me my whole life wasn’t even my father. No, the man who held that title was even worse if what Marius and Spencer had told me was true. They called him evil, the devil, a man who cared about no one but himself. Arthur was only confirming that with this new revelation and how he abused his own pack.
Darkness started to seep into my vision as my legs collapsed under me.
“Cambrie,” Savo called, catching me before I hit the ground. My sight was fuzzy as the stress and panic made my head pound.
My Alpha held me in his arms and started to leave the room. “Where do you think you’re going, Alpha?” Arthur snarled. “If you think I’m going to let you take my last chance for freedom, you’re not the man Yoram told me you were. No wonder you had to run from your home. If your father knew the kind of man you turned into, he’d kill you himself for being such a disgrace.”
Savo growled. “You don’t know a damn thing about me or my father. If you’d been a stronger man, you’d never have let yourself be trapped here in this house. Aria was brave enough to run. What held you back? Seems to me like you let yourself be caged here in this place all your life because you were too scared of Yoram to do what a real man would have done for the woman they love.”