Page 55 of Daughter of Garnet

"What do you know about Omega and Beta bonds?"

"Just that sometimes an Omega will claim a Beta for their pack. That's what I did, right? Bond you to my pack?"

And I did it without his consent. Sure, he was waxing poetic about how he'd do anything for me, that he was mine forever, but that was probably just flowery language, and I bit him and tied our souls together.

It was shitty of me, and I owe him an apology, but before I can, he speaks again.

"Do you have a pack?"

I cringe away from the question. "Hard to say."

He wrinkles his eyebrows and shifts his bulk so he's facing me. "What does that mean?"

"Imayormaynothaveascentmatch." The words fly out of me in a jumbled whisper.

"Come again?"

I untangle our fingers so I can bury my face in my hands. "I have a scent match. But it's nothing to worry about. He's made it clear he has no interest in bonding with me."

"Shit." Cliff's heavy sigh makes my throat tighten. Does this mean he'll pull away? Maybe this was the push he needed to either ignore the bond or find a way to break it. I come with so much baggage that it wouldn't surprise me if that's the choice he makes. "Who is it?"

"Dominic Bradly."

He swears, pushes to his feet, and starts pacing around the small room. "Dominic knows? That's not good, Zoe. That's really not good."

"I mean, he's an ass, sure, but I don't think he'll do anything to hurt me."

"I wouldn't put it past him. His father is the Archon."

The Archon sits over all of the provincial Alpha Primes and Beta subprimes. He's little more than a figurehead, a public-facing mouthpiece for what the council decides. I can't see why that would be something he can use to hurt me.

"And?"

"And the Archon isn't a good guy, Zoe. Did I ever tell you I'm from Pyxis?"

Pyxis, the province formed around the church of Ilota, is the farthest from the capital and borders Eatolis, Aenella's province.

"No, you didn't."

"Things are rough there, Zoe. There's a huge military installation, and they tell us it's to protect us. But from who? All but one of our churches, the one in what they say was Fetoria before the destruction, is boarded up. We have the high priest. That's it. No one believes in Ilota anymore, and I don't think it's because of her supposed absence. Our library is almost empty. I love my home, my neighbors, but something there isn't natural. Our subprimes don't have any authority, and our Prime doesn't seem to care. He never visits the province, and support from the Archon is nonexistent. They don't want people to worship Ilota, and I don't know why. I hate to think what may happen if the Archon knows she's Blessed someone."

None of what Cliff is saying makes sense to me. I grew up in Agria, the province dedicated to Kashmyr, and our churches are booming. We have a steady influx of support from the capital, and our library is overflowing.

"Why would the Archon care that the province worships the God it was created for?"

My skin is buzzing, my dragon pushing against it, and I can't tell whether it's because she's furious at the implication that our Goddess is being suppressed, or because she just wants to be closer to Cliff.

"What is your shifted form, Zoe?"

I squirm a little. "You wouldn't believe me."

He kneels in front of me and takes my hands in his. "Try me."

My hands are growing slick with sweat as my skin continues to overheat. I have to figure out a way to stop this from happening, because it is really inconvenient to sweat all the time, and that's not even addressing the fact that I'm sure my skin is hot to the touch. Cliff either doesn't notice or doesn't care.

"I'm a dragon." His expression falls and is replaced by a profound sadness that has my chest hurting. My defenses kick in. "I didn't choose this, Cliff! I didn't want this life."

"I know, Zoe. I just hate this for you."