Aggression had to be severely moderated.
Shepherd still made certain to enforce his domination, because that’s what she needed when she was scared, angry, or lost.
The first time they’d joined after reuniting, she’d been terrified. It wasn’t fear of Shepherd, it was just the unlanced poison stuck inside her from everything she’d survived and all that had been taken from her. After waking in the new nest—after the rules were broadcasted—he’d mounted her again, over and over, until she’d fallen into a dreamless sleep, voice hoarse from crying out his name.
Shepherd did not let her out of his sight for even a moment the first weeks. The routine deviated little from what had been theirs in the Thólos underground. If he could be inside her, he was. She hardly stepped outside, though she could if she wished to.
Claire had a studio to paint in, a COMscreen should she wish to read, and had been told—more times than she could count—that all she had to do was ask for something and it would be acquired.
“Are there other Omegas here?”
Shepherd was dead serious. “Would you like me to procure some?”
Her lip twitched. “Are you going to round up friends for me?”
“There is a team in place to see to your recovery and companionship. It can be augmented with Omegas if you need them.”
“No, Shepherd. You can’t just procure Omegas. That would not make me happy. It would make me angry.” A year, and in the most fundamental ways he hadn’t changed at all. Claire hesitated to ask, “What about the Omegas… from back home? The ones your men took as mates?”
The way the Alpha looked at her, Claire was not certain if he was intrigued she had asked after the females or angered. “Those who betrayed you will never be allowed near again. I would not even allow them to step foot in this palace. They are with their mates in another sector, they are not allowed free rein of the city. In a year or two my stance may be reconsidered.”
Palace?
She should have known better. After chewing her lip, she asked, “Are they well?”
“They are settled, content. Several have children.”
The conversation was over, Shepherd having used the one word that was guaranteed to shut her down. Before she could slip back into her medicated daze, Shepherd pushed a little more, “Would you like proof of my claim? Do you want assurance that they are happy?”
“No.” Maybe… “I believe you.”
“The children could be brought here.”
“You can’t separate babies from their mothers!” She was awake again and very angry he would even suggest such a thing. “Swear to me you won’t.”
Large arms crossed over his chest, Shepherd challenging, “Their fathers could escort them so you might meet them, but, yes, the mothers would be left behind.”
“Asking your men to come here so I can see their offspring is ridiculous.”
“I do not ask my Followers. I order and they obey.” Shepherd stepped closer, menacing. “Do you understand that, Claire? I could demand anything, anything at all, and they are bound to do it. You like children. You could learn their names, paint pictures for them.”
He was annoying her with his grandiosity. “You make yourself sound like a king—”
Shepherd growled, “I am greater than a king. Or have you forgotten? I brought ruin to the most corrupt city on the planet. It was easy…”
The words fell heavy on a dumb tongue. “Thólos still stands.”
“Limping and fractured. Those who survived have less than five years before famine and exposure kills them all. My point was made greater that way, so the lesson might continue for the world to see. And believe me, the world is watching.”
Claire didn’t even know what to do with his words, because there was something dark in the link she must not acknowledge. “Svana destroyed Thólos. It was all her doing.”
Shepherd made sure Claire heard every word. “Everything that was done was my machinations, my leadership.”
She felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “I was there. She did it.”
“You can’t pretend I am something I am not for the sake of your comforting delusion. I ruled Thólos; I now rule Greth. Under this Dome, I hold the position far more firmly than any before me. No one can challenge my authority. Those who could were removed. Claire, I crippled Thólos. Its citizens are rotting as we speak, and I will enjoy knowing that city suffers insidious harm until my dying breath. But I did leave it uninfected, enjoying the show of their scrambling pleas for mercy to other Domes who ignore them or face my wrath. I will assure other nations will avoid them, that they will refuse to buoy the infrastructure as it collapses. That city will be hell on earth no matter how loud they beg.”
She could feel a river of tears fall down her cheeks. “Why are you saying this?”