He came only after Halcyon's mind was captured. He didn't care when Rue had been taken. He didn't care to check. He had trusted Dante, trusted his Alpha to keep her safe. And Rue had been here for a week.
A week in this hell.
"How could I have believed that?" he'd whispered. Later, he roared at himself then, smashed objects, screaming. He couldn't blame Dante. It was also his fault. His fault. And now there were three soulmates on the island.
Levi.
Kieran.
And Rue.
He had practically combusted when he'd touched the fucking tip of the lighthouse. How the fuck could they survive for long, buried within the island? All the Titan had to do to kill them was to throw them outside. The thought horrified him.
And now he stood staring at the worst emergency meeting of his life.
"We cannot delay this any longer!"
Seraphim was screaming, waters pulsing, rising and crashing in violent whirlpools. The Council Hall was in pieces, debris on the ground, dust in the air. The entire structure groaned under the strain of his grief. The cataclysm was only made worse by Dante's lightning and thunder.
"My mates are all dying. THEY ARE ALL DYING"
The Council was scrambling, dissolving into chaos. They had been smug before. But now that the Titan was known to be capable of summoning the emperors, the situation was out of control. They were using everything they had to monitor the situation now, and with a million radars directed at the planet, it was clear that the lighthouse had been compromised.
A hive had been created at the core of the planet, and it housed four individuals. Rue, Levi, Kieran, and a being that appeared to possess the features of Halcyon. But more readings confirmed that it was some sort of being made from the components of ink.
A Titan.
His mind, Seraphim had proclaimed, with wide eyes. The monster is using his mind to create his likeness.
The natural assumption was to kill it, and they had watched in horror as Levi and Kieran attempted the attack. They felt it through their bond when pain ravaged their souls. While the hive seemed to help block Cetus' powers, the use of their abilities still burned them.
But his mind.
Halcyon's mind.
It would break. It would disappear. It would be destroyed.
Seraphim had screamed until they stopped.
Dante stood like a corpse.
But Altair could taste his emotions. Turmoil flooded his air, thick and suffocating, metallic like rust and blood. Dante was close to collapse, for the pain of his mates bled through the connection, magnified by his status as their pack Alpha.
And it all coated Altair's tongue, spicy in his throat and boiling in his belly. As Pack Alpha, Dante now felt everything in its heightened state. Every spike of fear. Each surge of agony. The flicker of fading lives.
As pack Alpha, he felt it all.
Altair wanted to slap him, grab his face and fucking shake him. But he didn't need to hurt him. Dante was already imploding, self-loathing radiating from him in waves. Their end was near. They all knew it. Why, Altair had thought bitterly, did he trust his pack Alpha? But it was also Altair's fault. And he knew that as he looked at his scarred hands with tears in his eyes.
It all started from Rue.
"We must sever her connection with you," the emperor emeritus of One continued with his bullshit, hands raised, his voice measured and controlled. "We must end her ability to summon you—"
"Enough," Dante's voice cut through the chamber. Low, exhausted. But at the very least, absolute. This time, without the drugs, without the haze, he stared at his own father with pure detest. "It is about time Planet One told the truth you have discovered."
"Dante—" His father warned with a hiss.
"Father—" he said, eyes blazing now. "Tell us about Planet 0."
Silence echoed in the chamber.
The retired emperor seemed to laugh. "I don't know what you mean," he waved his hands, but there was panic in his voice. "There is a reason why it was—"
"Rewritten and censored," Dante said, and this time he seemed older. "I knew something was not right when you brought in Cetus. I knew," he exhaled, shaking his head bitterly. "Enough with the generation of lies to bury the truth. Our books paint us as victims, but it was not the case for war 7, was it?"
"Planet 0," his father declared to everyone in court," was destroyed in the war. It was a planet that threatened us all. The Elder Gods were always, a threat to our peace."
Dante exhaled. "I found it so strange," he said, body still trembling from the aftermath of the drugs. "That significant attention was paid to our suffering instead of the war itself. That the records speak so strongly of how dangerous their abilities were, how violent the Omegas had been," his body seemed to quake, "instead of the war itself."
"They used Omegas to destroy packs!" his father screeched. "That was not wrong. They destabilised dynasties. We had to exterminate them! That is the truth. THE TRUTH!"
"How did we kill them all?" Dante stood then with a snap. "HOW?" His voice boomed; thunder and lightning clashed. The air roared with ozone. The others shuddered. His mate had returned. "Ink and hives were not a Planet 0 skill," Dante declared with a snap. "It was created by One." He slammed his fist against the table. "Why?"
The emperor emeritus of Planet One seemed to age, the weight of it all on his shoulders. He sank lower. "Dante," he said carefully, fear sharp in his eyes. "We buried that history for a reason; it will destabilize our people. It will destroy alliances, fracture our trust. It is not necessary for you to know—"
Seraphim's water slammed violently against the ground. "I don't give a fuck about diplomacy, my mates are burning alive, and they are your emperors."
And Altair stood taller now, more rigid at his words. He was hiding something. They all were. And he was done being used by these fuckers, done being walked over like a fucking doormat. "Speak," he said.
"But—"
"SPEAK!" He roared, wings flaring. The council was quiet.
Dante's father exhaled. "The ink," he began, "did not exist in this form. This…is different."
The crowd rippled.
"I did not believe those records at first," he insisted. "But it seems that ink was initially developed as a parasitic compound," he whispered. "Poison that would infect the soul of an Elder God. You see," he said, "the strongest of the Titans were capable of a strange ability. They were known to reach into an Omega's bond and bend it to the wrong name."
"Bend it?" Seraphim echoed, eyes wide.
"They erased soul bonds and forced their own," he answered. "They used this to control the Omegas, the Heras. All the women in the world were under their command. And the women would believe themselves to be mated to the Titans. At the time, the Heras were the strongest in our universe, having the ability to wield the power of their soulmates to protect themselves and to amplify it. They were…worshipped by all."
Worshipped.
Altair's mind swept at the word.
An Omega worshipped as a goddess?
The old man signed.
"The Titans used the powers of the Heras, power that our forefathers discovered was of our people. Heras were not supposed to be capable of using lightning. And the zeus realised quickly that the Heras were being controlled."
The emperor emeritus smiled then.
"Not all of our records are false. They did use Omegas to enthral leaders, Omegas of our own bloodline were made to corrupt our leaders. But that was because they were actually soulmates. And for the Heras, there was never a pseudo-mate, no drone. It was truly all the work of the soul and its attempts to right the wrong." He sighed. "The situation was worsened by the war for power. The Titans wanted more control; they wanted to rule us all."
Dante's lightning thundered. Altair felt as if he were drowning in ice.
"It destabilised dynasties," the retired emperor insisted. "The Titans turned our own Omegas and the Heras that should have been ours against us. There were emperors who fought the Titans because they just wanted their soulmates back. In desperation, our people created ink."
He cleared his throat.
"It was meant to amplify the true soul bond of an Elder God and sever the false one," the emperor explained. "It should have freed the Heras. Instead, it detonated."
Dante cursed.
"When the false bond cracked, the souls erupted. It killed their women. Killed children. It killed those too weak to withstand the revelation that their souls had been lied to." He shook his head. "The Titans were the only ones who transformed into monsters. The poison was botched; the Elder Gods were believed to be exterminated."
Altair's mouth went dry.
"Naturally," the old man said. "When the truth was revealed during the war that the Titans could manipulate Omega souls, there was fear. Omegas were reduced, controlled, weakened. They were used as breeders. The women were watched like ticking bombs. And even after the Titans were completely exterminated, that prejudice remained. The imbalance became a part of our society. And that is why," he whispered, "history was rewritten."
Altair couldn't speak. There were so many questions in his head.
"We did not know that some of the Titans survived, that they remain capable of thought," the emperor emeritus stated. "After thousands of years, we didn't know that the mutation we call Lonely were a part of their thrall."
"You say the ink has changed," Dante began. "How so?"
His father smiled grimly. "We did not know before. But the new ink that the Titans produce seems to work in their favour. They have turned it against us."
"Rampage," Seraphim whispered. "The Lonely."
"Yes," the emperor emeritus nodded. "It amplifies the soul bond, worsens the need for a missing, rejected soulmate in the form of a Rampage. The soul bond weakens in the presence of ink."
Altair's thoughts spun. So, all this fucking time…When he experienced Rampage, his eyes widened. It was because his soul needed Rue? That was why she guided him so well, that was why he needed her the most. And that thought seemed to dawn on Dante, hitting him the hardest. His face growing pale the more his father spoke.
"When the virus takes a hold of the soul, it breaks the soul apart," the emperor explained. "Those that are not strong enough to withstand it die and become their thralls, the Lonely." Altair's mind darted to Valentino his eyes growing hot with tears. His soul was clearly infected.
Seraphim shook his head. "Then why do you insist that we break our bonds with Rue? If what you say is true, then we should not dismiss her soul bond. If she is our missing soulmate, then she will save us. We must find her and save her, we must claim her as pack so that she can save Valentino and Halcyon—"
"FOOL. Don't you understand? It is too late. He has made her a conduit," Dante's father shouted. He paced now, hands in his hair as if he had gone insane. And he did seem insane with an angry smile. "He was not supposed to poison you. He was not supposed to be able to summon you. The Titan was supposed to try to find her to save her, and weaken himself in the process! Cetus was necessary to kill them both!"
He screamed then, roaring as he swung to face them.
"Through her, he summoned himself. Through her, he has somehow managed to summon your mates. Through her, he escalated your Rampage. Through her, he poisoned you." The retired emperor was standing now. "We have no choice; you must sever the bond to survive—"
"SHE IS OUR SOULMATE!" Altair screamed, standing tall.
He was panting now, panting as he stared incredulously at the man. The information was nauseating; it burned in his head. How could he say that? How could he have planned this from the beginning? How did he know and let her go?
"If what you are saying is true, that ink weakens our souls, that Rampage is that weakness. Then she is the only way we can survive the ink that corrupts our souls. She is the only one who can guide us completely. She is supposed to be our mate, our pack, our love," Altair snarled. "You must be joking, why the fuck did you put her there?"
"What could you do?" the old man said. "Tell me what could you have done?" The emperor emeritus let out a laugh, a crazed laugh. "I could not have you mate an Omega completely. I could not allow that to happen. An Omega in power? And an Elder God of all things? It sickened me. It sickens us all!"
Altair's blood was boiling, boiling as he stood, tails whipping the ground. It was all because of fucking prejudice, of misogyny, of idiocy. His mates seemed just as surprised, the horror sharp in their eyes. They were all fucked because the fucking Council didn't want an Omega as empress.
"Besides," the old man beseeched with raised hands. "She's controlled, you see? Seraphim could not see her soul thread. So I knew that she would be used by the Titans. You would all have been brainwashed just as our forefathers were! I did you a great service!"
The old man spat on the ground.
"Pack mates with the Titan? Impossible! It would have backfired. With Cetus, no one was meant to leave the island. She was supposed to die with the Titan, as she should. It would have solved all our problems!" The malice grew in his voice. "But now, they're all going to die, slowly or quickly. It doesn't matter."
Dante's father let out another ugly, nasty laugh.
"My boys, we must cut our losses; a rotting limb must be amputated before it takes you all. You are all alive. We cannot let them have you. Who will deal with the hives then?" He shook his head, clucked his tongue. "We will all perish! I couldn't say this before, knowing you would never have agreed." His beady eyes darted to them. "But now that you know. If we can't kill her, then you must destroy the planet. You must kill them all."
*
Rue
The outrage burned.
She didn't know how the fuck she'd summoned the emperors, she did not understand the mechanics of it, of how her emotions seemed to bend time and space. But she understood one thing with an almost brutal sort of clarity. And what followed was the trickle of something colder, quieter, and too honest.
It settled heavily in her chest as the world seemed to cave in.
She knew that Edmund needed her.
He needed her to trap and kill the seven for his stupid fucking undead army. Somehow, she was just a mere portal in his calculations, a device to force them to their knees. And it had worked; here they were against their will. The thought burned through her mind, fury tearing through her veins, white-hot, almost blinding.
It was her emotional state that unlocked the doors.
It was her ability.
Lie or not, that was the truth.
A part of her cackled. The irony. It was their determination to put her in a fucking cell that led them to this situation. They fucked up. The elders must be in great panic. And that was the only thing that brought her great satisfaction. So right now? She was determined to destroy his plans. Her lashes fluttered, understanding welling up within her.
Her life, balanced against billions.
The math was obscene and also too simple.
She felt small, not heroic, not noble. Tiny in the grand scheme of things. And her thoughts drifted to stupid things: coffee, rain, good stews. Her aunts. Her mother. Kieran laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. Levi hissing at her with tease. Valentino with his boxy grin. Altair teasing her with a wink. Seraphim with his godly food. Halcyon and his puppy eyes.
Dante and his motherfucking dimples.
They were assholes.
Fucking assholes.
God damn it.
She sighed.
She felt the defiance rise in her. She was determined to stop Edmund. The need to destroy his plans pulsed through her, and she lifted her chin. Rue could be a little insane, and if insanity was what gave her courage, she would use it. She would not dwell on the fear that pulsed in her throat; what she knew was that she'd spent a week on the edge of death. She had spent a week in utter destitute, hope had long disappeared from her brain. There was no way she could live happily as an Omega now.
There was no way in hell she could live in Edmund's zombie world.
At least, the fucker spoke too much and that was going to be his downfall.
She erupted with a snarl.
"I won't allow it," she hissed, every word soaked in venom. "You can fucking try, but I won't let you get in my head. I won't let you use me to summon them. Not anymore."
She watched as the black ink seemed to pulse beneath Halcyon's skin. He stared at her, confused, blinking at her.
"Fuck being a damsel in distress," she spat. "I'm done being a tool. There's no way I'd just sit around and watch the world go to shit just because of me." Her voice broke a little then, not with weakness, but with resolve. "If it's me or this godforsaken, stupid world?" she smiled then. "I know exactly what to pick."
She moved, driving her knee straight into Edmund's crotch with every ounce of fury she possessed. Halcyon's poor dick was pulverised by her bones. He croaked, and she was surprised really, to see him bend over as all normal men should. He seemed a little too inhumane to be real. But he hissed, actually hissed, grip loosening.
And she pushed herself forward, rushing towards the lance. The damn floating lance that Kieran had left hovering out in the air. The only weapon that remained. The golden light sharpened instinctively with her approach, condensed into a narrowed lethal point. Her heart pounded as she ran forward. One step. Two. It would be clean. It would be quick.
"RUE!"
Levi's response was immediate. Violent. His roar seemed to shatter the air. The shadows snapped against her ankles, whips to her flesh, not to strike, but this time, to restrain. They wrapped tightly, dragging her backwards with brutal force. Another sprang before her in a wave of protection. She screamed in frustration just as the weapon exploded into fragments of light, dissolving into harmless sparks. Kieran staggered as if he'd been struck himself.
She hit the ground hard and stared at them.
Confused.
Angry.
Fucking desperate.
"You crazy fucking girl," Levi snarled. But his shadows had collapsed to the floor, rippling as if struck. His body steamed. The bloody tears poured. "You will not trade your life for this—"
Kieran's light flared in agreement. "That is the last fucking thing you will ever do."
She stared at them; brows furrowed in confusion, shock rippling through her. Her despair was growing within her; she choked out a laugh to stop the tears. Hysteria bubbling.
"What are you talking about?" she choked out. "It's me or the world. This is exactly what everyone wanted—"
The words were trapped in her throat. The Titan would definitely lose his leverage. It would hurt. It would end. But it would save the entire goddamn world. But the realization didn't feel noble.
It felt devastating.
It felt shitty.
Her chest ached from the weight of it. From the crushing awareness that her existence had become a liability. And she was always a liability. Omegas were always just currency, tools, pawns…Useless. Her expression crumpled. And Kieran and Levi were thinking of it too. Not because they wanted to. Because they had to, she could see it in their eyes. Levi's jaw flexed. His eyes were dark, calculating. Kieran was tearing through the outcomes, mind flying through the solutions.
There were none.
No fucking solutions.
"You don't need me," she said. "It's obvious. If I'm dead, he can't use you. He can't use me. They put me here because of that. I was supposed to die."
"BUT I WANT YOU."
Kieran's voice tore through the room, shattering the weight of it. His eyes were wet, tears on his lashes. And Levi nodded just as frantically.
The lights and the shadows were still.
"We'll find another way," Levi begged. "I promise."
"Don't be stupid," she whispered, but it lacked bite now. "There's no other way."
"You'd believe him over us?" Levi said, tried a small smile. "You know he's just fucking with you, you said so yourself."
But Levi didn't understand.
He didn't understand that she was looking at him burn before her eyes. That he was bleeding all over. That Kieran's hands were melting. That Halcyon must be suffering in the hands of that monster. He didn't understand what she felt when she looked at them.
She was just a big fat fucking idiot.
She smiled then.
A stupid loving idiot.
Love and sorrow collided so violently within her that she felt dizzy from it all. Her eyes were hot then, the weight of the choice pressing against her lungs. They had refused the easy solution, and for that she was thankful. Her eyes darted then to the knife.
It lay on the ground where she had once held it to Halcyon's throat.
"Thank you," she said, waiting as Levi's shadows dissolved, and Kieran's light moved. Both powers were used as a shield braced behind her back to protected her from Edmund's reach. They protected her from Edmund.
She spun, reaching for the knife on the ground, the knife that she had used to threaten Halcyon, to almost kill him. If they couldn't do it. She could. She lunged for it.
"NO!"
The scream did not belong to Edmund.
It belonged to Halcyon.
And the world detonated in gold and fire.
A/N- Read 9 chapters ahead on
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