(Thane)
Perhaps buying every woman on the block had been excessive, but after what Thane had just witnessed, he couldn't leave them there. The image of strange men pawing at Celeste replayed in his mind, fanning a rage he still struggled to contain. His arm tightened around her where she rested against his shoulder, more possessive than protective.
The moment her bound hands had risen in defiance, middle fingers extended proudly to the crowd, Thane had known. Omega or not, she was his.
Celeste. The name fit like a whispered promise. Her mismatched eyes had blazed with hatred, her mouth curved in scorn, and yet beneath the bravado he had sensed her fear. When those men forced her open, he had felt it like claws raked across his own skin. If he had not intervened, the square would already be drenched in blood.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded now, her voice sharp with distrust.
"To my palace, of course." He shifted her into position astride his Kripton, nestled between his thighs. Taking the reins, he glanced to Jubal riding up alongside. "Did you pay the man?"
"All of them," Jubal said dryly. His lips twitched with suppressed laughter. "Really?"
"I got carried away."
"Carried away?" Jubal snorted. "Your mother is going to love this."
Thane grimaced. Natira would be thrilled with new toys to dress and train. He, on the other hand, would endure endless questions.
Celeste twisted to glare up at him, her voice low and biting. "Just let me go. You have more women than you could possibly want—any of them would spread their legs gladly."
Thane studied her, letting silence stretch. Then: "Yes. But I didn't want them. I wanted you."
Her shoulders stiffened. "So I'm to be at your beck and call?"
"Yes." His tone was simple, final.
The rest of the ride passed in silence, though tension hummed between them. Celeste's breath hitched now and again, as though wrestling her thoughts. Thane wrestled with his own.
Rape was against everything he believed in. He would never force her. But his desire for her had already taken root, tangled and fierce. Her scent drifted to him on the wind—sun-warmed earth, wildflowers, and rain. Nature itself. It tugged at him, urging him closer. He longed to bury his face in her golden curls, to inhale until the world narrowed to her alone.
She was a virgin. That truth struck him harder than he expected. He had never touched one before—never wanted to. Virgins required patience, teaching, care. Thane had always chosen women who already knew what they wanted, who could take what he gave without hesitation. He had grown spoiled, even lazy, as the Emperor's son. No woman had ever refused him.
But Celeste was different. Defiant. Unbroken. She might resist him until her last breath. And still…he wanted her. Not for the challenge, though that was part of it. No, there was something deeper, something dangerous.
The way his beast had roared when another man touched her had shaken him. Jealousy had surged like a tide, uncontrollable, and before he realized it, he had been moving through the crowd, knife in hand, cutting her free. It had not been thought. It had been instinct.
He needed answers.
Every Alpha was trained in the lore of Omegas, but the lessons had become history more than practice. Omegas had vanished decades ago, whispered of in stories told around fires. They were rare, fertile, powerful—meant to be cherished, protected, adored. An Alpha's call could unravel them, send them spiraling into bliss. That was the legend. But legends often hid truths in shadows.
Celeste was no shadow. She was fire and fury, and he would learn how to hold her without extinguishing that flame.
For the first time in his life, Thane found himself willing—wanting—to put in the effort. Not to conquer. To earn.
He looked down at her where she sat stiff and proud, glaring at the horizon as if she could will herself free.
"You are mine now, Celeste," he murmured, low enough that only she could hear. "But I swear on my throne—I will not break you. I will make you melt."
She stiffened, and though she said nothing, her body trembled once against his chest. Not from fear, he realized. From recognition.
The beast within him purred.