Own to Obsess, page 19
When the rest of the Isles heard that the Southern Isles’ only Omega was inside, many petitioned the temple to get Shaya out.
Zolt told Kardos that crowds of people descended on the temple claiming he was putting Shaya at risk for no reason; others demanded that high chief intervene and find a way to break their bond because Kardos did not deserve her.
But Kardos already knew that the high chief could not intervene in this matter—especially as her tour around Nyek could be considered her joining celebration. It was out of anyone’s hands. Tribe Nyek tried to request a gathering with him, but he refused. Since the moment his guard came back with her furs, he traveled to the mountains and remained outside, watching for her to emerge. Day and night.
Nyek members came to him, but as soon as they saw him, staring solidly at the mountain entrance, immovable and fixated, they simply joined his vigil.
Each day more members of Tribe Nyek joined him, until there was an entire crowd outside the mountains, settling down in camps and watching for Shaya. As the news spread across the rest of the Isles, more people turned up from different tribes to join them and provide support and supplies.
Kardos very much believed that some of them would not forgive him for putting her in there, but it was better they were angry at him rather than at her.
He couldn’t see how anyone could think she wouldn’t survive the mountains. She had all the relevant necessary skills and she was intelligent. There was nothing at all to indicate in her strength of personality that she wouldn't be able to figure the way out. He had done so himself at the age of thirteen, the youngest Alpha to ever complete the discovery mountains, and in only three weeks. He felt sure that Shaya would do it in a similar time or less, and then she would automatically catapult them both beyond any achievement the shinnos could make.
As the days wore on, worry and stress flickered through his belief, especially when the bond was no longer pulsing so brightly as it did when she was in his arms.
One afternoon, Severon from Tribe Jenzi, approached him.
“Greetings, Kardos.”
Kardos eyed him warily. “Greetings.”
Severon stood next Kardos and watch the temple with him, silent for a moment. “Your father is worried.”
Kardos glanced at him. “You spoke to him?”
“Yes.”
“He doesn't need to worry. I still intend to get the seat.”
Severon turned to look at him, incredulously. “He is worried about your Omega.”
Kardos frowned. “Why? She will make her way out.”
“And if she doesn't? What will you do?”
“It is not an option,” Kardos growled. “She will find a way out.”
Severon was quiet for a moment. “Your tenacity and drive and unfounded faith in your beliefs is something I've always admired about you, Kardos. You say that you're going to do something, you do it. And you do it with honesty and integrity. But this…”
“This is no different,” Kardos said stiffly.
“This is your Omega,” Severon pointed out. “She is on her own, and you know there are no guarantees. Not with this.”
Kardos growled. “Are you here to tell me that she is not going to survive this? Because I will not speak of it.”
“I'm here to tell you that I'm willing to combine tribes if you need it.”
Kardos turned to him slowly, unwilling to believe what he just heard. “Combine tribes?”
“Yes,” Severon said firmly. “If this doesn't go well, you should know you have some options.”
“That will never be an option,” Kardos grunted. The anger that flared in Severon’s eyes forced Kardos to review what he was saying. Tribe Jenzi had been his only supporter for most of the selection year. He had to remember that. “I thank you for your support in this Year of Selection, Severon,” he said, sincerely. “I didn't expect it from you, and I appreciate that you love the Isles as much as I do. But there won’t be a need for that.” He looked the Alpha in the eye. “My Omega will emerge from the mountains, and she will solve everything.”
Severon gave him a pointed look. “I hope you are right. Because if you are wrong, everything will definitely be solved, just not the way you want it.”
***
It was in the early hours of the morning that Kardos thought he saw movement at entrance. It was snowing again, which made it difficult to see, but then another slight movement caught his eye. He unfolded his arms and took a step forward, his body already knowing.
And then there she was, staggering out of the entrance.
Kardos ran toward her, pushing his legs as hard as he could to get to her, but she collapsed into a small heap, snow puffing up around her as she hit the ground.
“Shaya?” he bellowed. A shout came from the sleepy camps behind him, but he ignored them. “Shaya!”
She didn't move again, and when he got to her, he stripped off his furs and wrapped them around her as he picked her up. Whispers and murmurs ran through the crowd until they began cheering and calling her name.
“I knew you would do it,” he rumbled, kissing her cold face. “I knew it.”
Carrying her back to his carriage, he pressed his face against her cold one, kissing her and murmuring to her. The crowd was wildly celebrating, but Kardos didn't hear any of it. His focus was solely on his Omega. When she didn’t respond, he pulled back to look at her. She was so thin. Her skin was dull and dry, dustings of snow flaked from her eyelashes and… her lips were blue.
Panic slammed into his chest. That wasn't good, at all. As soon as he got her back to the carriage, he instructed the driver to leave immediately.
In the carriage, he checked her breathing, and found it unsteady.
“Shaya,” he said firmly. “Shaya? Can you hear me?”
Her eyes fluttered on him but then closed, and her mouth barely moved. He bellowed at the driver to move faster.
Throughout the journey he tried to warm her hands with his own, cuddling her freezing body close to him, and surrounding every part of her with himself. He breathed onto her lips, kissing them. “You did so well, little bird. You’ll be all right. You’re not leaving me, keep breathing,” he muttered. But by the time they arrived on Nyek Island, she was barely alive.
Thankfully, Zolt had his tobo with his pack waiting for him when they arrived at Nyek port. Holding her in his arms, he climbed on and instructed the pack to go as fast as possible.
It was almost as though they were flying, they had never moved so fast, even in competitions. Kardos kept his eyes on Shaya, every inch of him alert and on edge. He kept telling her, and himself, that she would be all right, but he hated that she looked lifeless and that her breathing wasn’t strong. The only thing that gave him hope was that the bond still pulsed, even though it was faint. It didn't feel shrunken or cold as it had when she was recovering from her attack, and throughout the journey back, he prayed to Az Eshra that her strength maintained.
He arrived at Rozalia's hut, stamped through the snow carrying Shaya, and pounded on her door, hollering for her.
As soon as Rozalia saw him, she gestured him to take her to one of her treatment rooms. He laid her down on the bed, but remained hunched over her, holding her head in the crook of his arm as Rozalia hurried around collecting potion bottles and cloths.
“Get blankets from the bedroom,” she snapped at Kardos. “As many you can.”
Kardos brought them in and Rozalia set to work.
“Get out of the way, Kardos,” Rozalia snapped at him she moved around the table.
Kardos moved an inch out of the way, keeping his eyes on Shaya. “Is she breathing well?”
“I'm trying to check.”
Rozalia pressed specific points on Shaya's neck gently and carefully and too fucking slow.
“Well?” Kardos barked.
“I'm trying to treat her,” Rozalia bellowed at him. “Be quiet!”
Kardos ground his teeth and paced at the end of the bed the agitation in his body sparking like fiery bolts. “I want her breathing, now!”
Rozalia shot him a dangerous look and then opened a bottle carefully and poured its liquid into a cloth. She smothered Shaya's nose and mouth with it for a few moments then lifted up and press it down again.
“What are you doing!” Kardos boomed. “How is she supposed to breathe with that on her mouth. She is already struggling!”
Rozalia’s body stiffened but she ignored him.
She lowered her face to Shaya's nose, holding herself there for a moment and then grabbed another potion and issued a tiny drop on each of her eyelids.
“How is that supposed to help her breathing!” Kardos exclaimed, a blast of annoyance, panic, and frustration taking over him. “I need her breathing now, Rozalia!”
Rozalia continued to ignore him, but grabbed a blanket, tilted Shaya's head back, and lifted her shoulders to tuck the blanket underneath. Then she began to massage her throat all the way down to her chest and press her hands over her body.
Shaya took a deep breath, her body shuddering as she released it.
Kardos growled in relief and rushed toward her, grabbing her up from the table and holding her in his arms.
He kissed her mouth, and murmured to her that she did so well and he was proud of her, but her eyes remained closed, even though her breathing had returned to normal.
“Why is she not waking up?” he asked Rozalia.
When Rozalia didn’t answer, he looked up to see her glaring at him, her hands on her hips as she stood on the other side of the bed. “Get out.”
“What!” Kardos snarled. “You cannot possibly be talking to me.”
“Is there another boneheaded Alpha in here?” Rozalia glowered. “Is there any other who has caused his Omega to suffer serious damage by sending her on a discovery quest she did not need to go on? Is there any other idiot who thinks that he is proving his care for his mate by trying to kill her!” She glared at him. “Is there?”
“I don't give a shit what you think about me,” Kardos barked at her, still holding onto Shaya. “It is your job to make her well, so make her well!”
“She is stable for now,” Rozalia confirmed. “But I'm not treating her with you in here. Get out.”
“I am not leaving her,” Kardos said, his voice low as he growled. “So if you choose not to treat her and she dies before I find another—”
“I would never let anything happen to her,” Rozalia said sharply. “And it feels like I'm the only one who is even thinking this way.”
Kardos snarled at her insinuation. “You will treat her immediately, Rozalia, or you will find another fucking tribe.”
Rozalia’s face slackened, but her hands dropped her side curled into fists.
“I spent weeks trying to get her to understand the Isles while she was with me, Kardos,” Rozalia said after a moment, looking at Shaya. “To help her understand why things have happened and why her life is full of confusion and sometimes pain, but nothing I’ve said seems to make her believe that she is valued, and I didn’t know if she would ever believe that. Then she was attacked… maybe by someone of her own tribe, maybe not.” She lifted her gaze. “But it began with you, Kardos. You treated her the same way you have been treated all these years—how you are being treated even now by the shinnos.”
Kardos tensed and he snarled. “How the fuck can you say that?”
“Because it’s true,” Rozalia said calmly. “You chose to bring her here because she is an Omega, you chose to put her in the mountains because she is an Omega, you took advantage of her bite for your cause for the seat… Everything she has experienced has been because of her dynamic, not because of who she is. It was only her hair that signified who she is and that’s why she was so upset.
“You have been treated by the shinnos because of one defining physical feature… not because of who you are.” She shook her head. “She told me I would never understand it, but I think I do now.”
“You do not!” Kardos stormed. “Shaya cannot be separated from the fact that she is an Omega, just like I cannot be separated from the physical characteristics that define me. The things she does matters. The choices she makes matters. I will not pretend they don’t! She is an Omega, yes, but not every Omega would’ve been suitable to come here. Not every Omega would have chosen me, and not every Omega would have made it out of that mountain! She is exceptional, Rozalia, and if you choose to underestimate her like others have underestimated me, that is your choice. But you will treat her, now!”
Rozalia’s mouth tightened, but she finally moved to gather what she needed.
***
Shaya finally showed improvement after a few days, but her recovery was painfully slow. Kardos stayed by her side at every moment, sleeping in her treatment bed and keeping her smothered with his scent and heat at all times. As soon as her recovery was almost complete, and the bond strength felt normal again in his chest, he moved her back to their bedroom and insisted that Rozalia stay at his hut to treat her until she fully recovered.
Things were tense between him and Rozalia now; it wasn’t any different than with some of the members of Tribe Nyek who had loved Shaya, even if just the idea of her. Tribe members came to visit her and to join in a group prayer to Az Eshra outside the hut, and many left gifts for her.
Everyone would eventually understand why he had to do what he did. He didn’t have to explain himself to anyone.
Shaya’s recovery was quicker in their bed, and her moments of consciousness and strength lasted longer each day. She still had to sleep a lot, which annoyed the fuck out of him. He wanted her gaze, his kisses, her touch on him. He wanted to be able to celebrate with her and tell her how much she was loved in the Isles, by the people and by him, but she still needed time.
One afternoon, Zolt came to see him, forcing him to leave her side.
Kardos stormed into his study. “I said I didn’t want to be interrupted!”
“I know, my shinno,” Zolt said hurriedly, “but you said to come to you with this information urgently.”
Kardos stilled. “The attacker?”
Zolt nodded. “Evidence is showing it was Anata.”
Kardos lifted his head in understanding. He should have known. Perhaps she was working for Tribe Obari all along. “Do you have her?”
“Yes,” Zolt said.
“Good,” Kardos growled, marching to the door. “She will die today.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHAYA
Shaya lay staring at the ceiling.
Although her fingers, toes, and arms no longer felt numb, a numbness had crept inside her somehow. Not deep enough for her to feel any kind of depression, but enough to give her a strange kind of clarity.
She had been naive. She believed things at first glance without questioning them, taken things at face value without understanding that there were deeper meanings behind everything. Out of principle, she tried to protect her sister by taking her place, but Shaya was the one who’d needed protecting. She hadn’t realized how complicated and manipulative people could be.
Kardos manipulated her from the beginning.
Even if she had not volunteered in her sister's place, he admitted he would have found a way to get her to the Southern Lands—to do what he wanted with her. It was unlikely he would have kept her for himself, since he was already betrothed to someone else. He saw something he wanted, and he took it. That was it. It wasn't any more complicated than that. The fact that she was an Omega gave him more reasons to secure her, and once he did, he used it to his advantage in every way. He would never stop using her, no matter how much he tried to convince her or himself that she was important to him. She was important for his seat. But not important the way a mate should be, not in the way her sister had told her.
The bond felt like it was preening. Swirling slowly and arrogantly in her chest, pride and satisfaction dominant within it.
She wasn't even disappointed, just empty, like part of her had been sucked away.
“Shaya.” Rozalia appeared at her side and took her hand. “How do you feel? Still drowsy?”
Shaya kept her eyes on the ceiling, her hand limp. What was the point in engaging with these people anymore?
“Shaya,” Rozalia said, her voice hoarse whisper. “Please speak to me. I've told Kardos you need more time, but I know you are well enough to speak.”
Shaya tilted her head to one side, drawing her eyes down to look at her. “Why did he do it?”
Rozalia's body jerked at the question, and Shaya had never seen her expression so troubled. “He felt he had to.”
“For the seat.” It wasn't a question; it was the conclusion of Rozalia’s response.
Rozalia didn't answer; she didn't have to do.
Shaya's eyes returned to the ceiling.
“How are you feeling?” Rozalia asked again, sitting down on the edge of the bed, a fake brightness in her tone.
“Used.”
“Shaya…”
The silence that hung between them was clearly uncomfortable for Rozalia, but Shaya had never been more calm, more clear, and better able to understand what she needed to do.
“Tell me how you got to the Eastern Lands,” she said quietly, her eyes still on the ceiling.
“What?” Rozalia's body jerked with her response. “What do you mean?”
“You went to and from the Eastern Lands in four days when it is months away. How?”
Rozalia seemed to squirm in her seat. “Why do you want to know that?”
Shaya didn't respond but she returned her eyes to Rozalia's.
Rozalia pressed her lips together, her shoulders tense. “I cannot help you do that, Shaya. You don't understand what will happen if—”
“I can do it safely with your help, or unsafely without it,” Shaya responded. “I already thought I was going to die, and it wasn’t for a cause I care about. This is worth dying for.”
