Page 151 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

“I don’t know, but don’t you think it’s weird that we’re all omegas but you and Jay?”

She shrugs and reaches out, brushing some imaginary lint from my shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” I growl.

She laughs, her eyes cold, the smile not reaching them. “So sensitive.”

I huff.

She turns away, going back to her chair and sitting down.

With a silent signal that none of us hear, we all return to our seats and sit down.

“We need to go to him. Bring the fight to him,” I say succinctly. “We need to kill him this time!”

“He will be expecting it,” Kestrel says sadly. “He’s too smart. Maybe we could trap him.”

“Yes, but if we don’t go to him, he will come and take the alphas. You’ve seen what he does,” I insist. “Would you like to see Blaze hanging in that tree with a gaping wound in his chest?” My voice echoes, sharp and hard.

Jay makes a choked sound and squeezes the blade of his sword until blood drips from his palm.

“We have to protect them,” he says at last. “They don’t know what he’s like, but we do. We can survive him. If we have to…we can survive the pain again.”

Raven is sitting quietly, not saying a word, just watching us all talk.

“What do you think about all this?” I snarl at her.

She shrugs her delicate shoulders. “I think we should protect your alphas.”

I narrow my eyes. “Why haven’t you come out and met them yet?”

Raven affects an expression of deep surprise. “Do you want me to?”

I glare at her. Fuck these mind games! “Are you not part of us?”

She shrugs again, smiling down at her lap. “I guess so. Okay, I would like to meet them.”

“You guess so?” I snarl, my temper rising to the surface, igniting like the fire that now races down blue veins that colour my skin.

“I thought you might all enjoy time with them, without me. I know I upset you all. It seemed like a kind thing to do.” Raven sits all innocent with her horned halo on, and the others just fall for it.

I scoff.

“Raven, please,” Dove whispers. “We need you.”

Raven sits back, chastised. For some reason, where none of us can, Merle and Dove can drag the humanity back into that beast. Would that they could drive her back out into the shadows.

“All right, so our plan is to what? Go out there, run away, and hand ourselves in.”

“No, that won’t work,” Kestrel says. “We’re going to have to deceive them.”

“Deceive them?” I echo, looking around. In the dark, opposite my throne, I think I see the flicker of yellow that could be eyes reflecting light in the dark.Leave it alone. Do not go courting danger, Raptor.

“Yes, we’re going to have to lead them somewhere safe and leave them there while we go and meet up with Father, and Raptor will kill him. He won’t expect us to come to him.”

Merle whimpers and shrinks into her stone chair.

“Okay, so who is going to-”