The Omega Bond (Book Five in the Omega Game series)

Chapter 6

Didoka

The Yellow Islands

Present day...

Kotani had always seemed to be larger than life. Even sitting down he looked like a giant, a mountain of an Alpha and a true king. I’ve heard the generals talking about him whenever he wasn’t around, gossiping about my brother like a bunch of harlots. They all said the reason why every single soldier loved him was because Kotani was a king without a crown. He never dressed in formal regalias, he never wore a crown, never acted like a man above the law. He dressed like a foot soldier, ate what his army ate, fought without armor and used the same weapons the others used. And still he was more. Everyone had always been attracted to his power. I knew that some of his charm came from the predator lurking below his skin, but there was something about his personality that pulled everyone to him. A hypnotic strength that everyone wanted to share.

I watched him closely while I narrated our story to him. I told him everything, from the moment we left the Gray Harbors to the moment we realized Fair was the Neutralizer. I paid special attention to him when I said the name of the Omega and studied his face for any sign of recognition. Kotani had an impressive memory and never forgot a face. He knew things about a person that no other knew, so I expected him to say something about the fact that Fair was the Neutralizer. He had seen the Omega before and it had to surprise him the fact that such a child was a weapon as powerful as the Neutralizer itself. Instead of saying anything, Kotani got on his feet and walked to the large arches that oversaw the open sea. He stood quiet for the longest time, before turning to me, and staring to my very soul with those eyes that were so similar to mine.

“I’m not taking that girl under my protection,” he said at once, making me frown. Kotani had never denied help to a child before. Even less to a girl that was an Omega like me. This wasn’t like him at all. I pinched my chin, trying to understand his position. My brother had asked me to keep Fair away from him once, but that had been before, way before knowing who she was and what she could do. Things had changed and she needed his help. She needed everyone's help.

“She is just a child. An Omega child. What would have you done if that had been me? Let me without protection, for others to use me like a weapon? You know she is in danger, how could you deny her your help?” I asked with indignation, offended by his words.

“A child?” Kotani lifted an eyebrow at me, challenging my intelligence with that one movement of his brow, “You said the word child as if you are expecting her to be something different than what she is after she becomes taller. She is a weapon today and she will be one tomorrow. A weapon is a weapon, no matter how small it is.”

“You don’t want to listen,” I said, getting on my feet and frowning, “Why? Is this about that last time you saw her?”

“I’m not taking her under my protection,” he said again, clenching his jaw and making me groan in exasperation.

“Why? Just give me a valid explanation!”

“No, means no,” he said cuttingly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Is there something more about Fair that you are not telling me?” To my surprise Kotani and Kun looked at each other and shared a knowing gaze that had me feeling at loss. Those two had never liked each other and there they were, sharing a secretive look that I couldn’t analyze. Kotani finally looked back at me, his golden eyes seemed tired and older than before, but even then he nodded, and walked back and forward with the grace of an Alpha.

“I knew something about her was different,” he admitted, nodding and looking me in the eyes, “It could be dangerous for her to stay here. It was already hard to protect you, but another Omega in the palace…”

“I will conceal her scent,” I said right away and both Alphas tensed. I looked back at Kun and found him clenching his jaw and staring angrily at the wall behind me. It was a delicate topic to talk about with Kun, considering I’ve used potions to conceal my scent and dynamic from my own mate. I walked to his side and took his hand, gently caressing his palm until Kun looked down at me and caressed my cheek in a conciliatory gesture. Kotani’s expression was one of dark aggravation. Omegas were not as common as Betas and Alphas. Concealing an Omega dynamic was a personal affront for Alphas. Not to mention concealing an Omega identity always had unwanted side effects for said Omega.

“You want her to suffer the way you did?” asked Kotani and I shook my head fast.

“This time it will be different,” I assured him, “I will only use herbs to conceal her scent but I will not regulate her Heats. The side effects are too troublesome for such a young Omega like her. Besides, nobody knows when she will experience her first Heat and all books point out that an Omega shouldn’t mess with her first Heat or that could have horrible consequences to her Heat cycles.”

“You are saying a young, unmated Omega will be walking around my palace freely, and that she could enter her first Heat at any time,” Kotani ran a hand over his cornrow hair and shared a grave look with Kun, “I can’t keep my eyes on her all the damn time. I wouldn’t be able to protect her.”

“You would not need to,” I said, rolling my eyes at my twin, “Fair has been trained by all of us to know what to expect during her Heats. My potion will conceal her scent, but not the symptoms we experience as Omegas. I can assure you, she will be able to spend her Heats alone. She could spend them in my room. It has strong lockets that you can lock from the outside and nobody will ever dream to look for her there.”

“There are about a thousand of improbabilities to that solution of yours,” said Kotani, his golden eyes silently calculating all the possible scenarios that could go wrong. At least he was considering helping Fair when he had been reluctant to do so before. I had a chance to win.

“Yes, a lot of things can go wrong but at least she has a chance to grow up anonymously here. She doesn’t know how to control her powers yet, she needs time away from everyone and everything she knows. She needs to grow up, fast, and I think you can help her better than we can,” I added and Kotani’s face darkened. He didn’t believe me. He didn’t believe he could help this child like I knew he could. I walked to him, taking his hands between mine. I lowered my voice, talking to him in the Yellow Island dialect “Kotani, she hurt her best friend. This child is lost and thinks herself a monster. Doesn’t she remind you of someone we both know?”

“I’m a void without an end, blood of my blood,” murmured Kotani, staring back at me, “I can’t help her like you think I can. I’m more of a monster than a man. My humanity has abandoned me long ago. If she comes here I’m afraid she will end like me.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” I whispered and Kotani closed his eyes for a long time before opening them slowly. He looked ancient and otherworldly right then, unreachable, like the older brother he had always been to me.

A moment passed and then Kotani looked at me gravelly.

“If you are planning to make an Omega disappear then she needs a completely different identity. Her scent needs to change completely. Give me a week to make a cover up story for her and then send her over in a ship with the delegation of Yellow Islands diplomats that would go to the Dark Desert, asking about the explosion that happened a couple of days ago,” Kotani’s brilliant mind was already in movement, making a plan for us that I had no doubt it would be spotless. He nodded, accepting this, accepting to help Fair, “I will take care of her the best I can.”

I laughed, hugging myself to his neck and planting a kiss to his cheek. Kun growled behind us but I decided to ignore him in favor of smiling at my twin. Kotani didn’t smile back, those ancient eyes knew there were too many variables that could go wrong for him to smile easily. I ignored his broodiness and smiled at him again.

“Pray tell, twin brother, how are you planning on making Fair be accepted inside the royal palace of the Yellow Island?”

Kotani stared back at the ocean, frowning at the upcoming dawn, “A human girl died recently, leaving an open vacancy for a royal messenger position. I really hope this girl knows how to speak the Yellow Island dialect. She will need it for her job.”

“She does!”I assured him but my smile flattened a little, “Her accent might be a problem.”

“Everything about this Omega is a problem,” murmured Kotani, turning around and marching back to the arches, from where we all looked at the foggy sunset that promised trouble for the upcoming day.