"What a show-off. Is that really something that needs to be shown off? It looked as if he wanted to strangle her, instead of making love to her," Ryn muttered as they walked along the green path, shaking her head with a small frown on her face.
Emira did not respond. She did not even hear her friend’s muttering. Her mind had slipped somewhere else entirely.
Until now, she had always felt a quiet kind of relief that the three Alphas had never crossed that final line. She had told herself that it meant she still had some control and maybe even a measure of respect. Something that she had seen the Omegas were often denied.
After all, she had never truly been willing in her heart. She had only been pushed and cornered by the situation, by the rules of her body. She had convinced herself that keeping that one boundary meant her feelings were still her own and that they respected those.
Yet the moment she saw Ramona casually showing off those finger prints on her neck, laughing a little as if it were something beautiful, something to boast about, something to be proud of, Emira had felt her chest twist.
Jealousy had risen so sharply that it almost hurt her physically, making her want to throw up. That reaction alone had shaken her.
It made her realise that her relief had only been a lie she told herself. She had actually succeeded in fooling her own heart.
Only now, she remembered her own foolish thoughts of when she had stared at herself in the mirror, admiring the marks they had left on her. It had made her feel belonged.
That first time, by the time her head ended and then later, she’d had a large bite mark on her shoulder left by Zen. Kael, she had come to realise liked to nibble on her flesh and would often leave little marks all over her body and Lance...
Even Lance, though he had not touched her in that way, had left something on her. There had been that moment, between those heat filled nights when he had come all over her. She had seen the look in his eyes then. The look that told her he had marked her in his own way, claimed a piece of her without laying a hand on her.
She clenched her hands tighter without realising and stayed lost in the same loop of thoughts. A strange ache had settled in her chest, the thought that she would probably never feel that same warmth or intensity again making her weak on the inside..
It was why she did not even notice Ryn calling her name until the woman shook her shoulder, taking her by surprise.
Emira blinked and looked at her in confusion. Why was she shaking her? "What?"
Ryn stared at her and then gave a dramatic sigh. "I have been yapping this entire way and you haven’t heard a single word I’ve said, have you?"
Emira looked at her friend’s face and could not help but give a small smile. She shook her head at herself. Why was she feeling so heavy-hearted? She did not need the Princes to feel belonging. She already belonged to this pack. And Ryn was proof of that. She cared for her.
"I was just gathering wool. Sorry, sorry. What were you saying?"
Ryn narrowed her eyes and gave her a long look before letting out another disappointed sigh. "Emira, listen to me. Why not try and break the slave bond? You are hurting every time you see them together. It is eating at you. And Ramona has been coming to my office every day just to make you more miserable. She stands there ordering you to do things related to the wedding, even those that she should do things herself. It makes me angry. I don’t want to watch her do this to you anymore."
Emira shook her head and let out a slow breath. "Ryn, don’t be angry. I am fine. And you should not be angry at the future Luna. Things will only get more difficult for you if you show it. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me."
Ryn stopped walking and stared at her for a long second before scoffing and rolling her eyes in a big exaggerated manner. "Future Luna? Ughh! Don’t remind me! I would rather bury my head than think about this. Our poor Princes. They must have sinned greatly in their past life to have a fated Omega like her... " Ryn shook her head and then continued, "Forget talking about her. I’m already tired of thinking about that woman."
Before Emira could respond, Ryn suddenly brightened and looped her arm through hers. "Let’s not discuss all of this anymore. I have something to show you."
Emira blinked in confusion. "A surprise? Why out of the blue."
Ryn shrugged and tugged at her hand, "I wanted to. And don’t argue. Just walk."
They followed a smaller side path, one that Emira realized she had never taken. The trees grew thicker here, quieter, as if they were stepping away from the rest of the pack’s noise and routines.
They walked only a short while before Ryn stopped in front of a small house hidden beneath a tall spreading tree, almost merging with the tree, looking as if it had been built into that.
Emira frowned. She had never noticed the house before during the tour and the little exploration she had done on her own. "Where is this place? I’ve never been here in the past..."
"You wouldn’t have. No one does. This is the lost house. You have to know the exact mark of the trees to be able to find it...Only a few people know it from the pack. Even I came here by accident once and... But leave the house aside for now. The real surprise is inside."
Emira frowned at that as Ryn all but dragged her inside the house. What was this surprise about?