The Omega Fire (Book Three of the Omega Game Series)

Chapter 13

Aros

City of Naccara

Present Day

    Apparently, Nira couldn’t understand the common tongue. 

    I told her specifically not to provoke me and then she went and blew a kiss to that bag of stinky flesh by the name of Hashish. She had never blown me a kiss. She had never even tried to kiss me and there I was, cleaning up her messes. The undeserving Omega had me wrapped around her little finger. What was even worse than being owned by a vicious creature like Nira was the fact she didn’t even understand the extent of her control over me.

    I gave her a side eye while she rushed to keep my wide steps, pushing herself closer to me when we entered big crowds. She silently held my cloak to not get separated from me. Some of my aggression and anger dimmed at the gentle touch of her small hand. I moved faster then, trying not to get dragged into the spiraling vortex that was Nira’s chaotic world. I focused on the vendor that I’ve seen crying his goods on the street before and turned to my left, following his wagon.

    “Can you walk slower ?” asked Nira behind my back. I clenched my jaw, ignoring her. Nira sighed, “Oh come on. Don’t be mad at me...Wait, why are you even mad at me?”

    I ignored her and walked around the vendor, stopping him before he could reach the end of the street. The old Beta winced when the full strength of my enraged scent hit him. He took two steps back and then moved his nervous eyes from me to Nira. I tried not to think in the intrinsic impulse to separate his head from his body for daring to look at my Omega. Instead I opened my mouth to speak but a deep growl was the only sound that escaped from my lips. I tried again and this time my growl echoed with the undertones of the God inside of me. He was also angry and running wild. If I didn’t control myself I would end up exploding in a mix of blue flames and thunder.

    Nira interceded then, placing a hand over my chest and smiling softly at the vendor.

    “Don’t mind my Alpha, he can be scary when he forgets to buy…” Nira’s smile morphed into a frown when she inspected the goods in the man’s wagon, “ coal? Yes, right, we will like three bags of coal please.”

    I was still shocked at hearing Nira refer to me as her Alpha. That was why it took me a moment to shake my head and then gestured for the vendor to give me four bags instead of three. I paid the man, took the bags and then scowled down at Nira, who was already eyeing the bags of coal with curiosity. 

    “What are we doing with that?” she asked me, pointing at the bags. I growled down at her and then turned around, going for the one place in the city where I knew nobody would bother us. Nira followed me with a frown, probably disliking the fact I wasn’t fighting her back like she wanted me to do so badly. 

    I knew Nira. I knew Nira better than she knew herself. She not only enjoyed our fights, f**k no, her excitement was born of reaching dangerous limits. It was thrilling for her to push me to my limits and get off of my reactions. It was maddening to see her smiling, her blue eyes brightened with fear and hunger every time she pushed me. I knew what she actually wanted. I knew that underneath all the pretenses and whatever shallow excuses she used to understand her own behavior she wanted me to break her. To control her and free her of all the faking smiles she armed herself with. She didn’t even know what she wanted. Because she trusted me enough to give her just that without having to say anything.

    So I kept my silence, done with her acting and her need to play dangerous games. She followed me altogether, staring at my back with a frown that revealed her inner struggle. I could tell that a part of her was afraid of my silence and the other half was dying to finally find out what could anger me enough to get what she needed from me.

    I walked to the end of the city, passing old buildings from when the city was first erected and then entering the forgotten pantheon of the old gods. There were several destroyed buildings, many corroded statues of naked goddesses and ancient symbols of power. I turned to the back and then descended the blackened steps to the temple of Aros, the God of Fire.

    Nira turned still, her hand freed my cloak and fell softly to her side, while she watched the temple in front of us. I looked at the temple too, trying to see what Nira was seeing in the old, dilapidated white stones and the tall columns that had been desecrated by thieves and criminals years ago. The floors had been burned and some columns spotted black patches from some fire that hadn’t been stopped in time. Mercifully there weren’t any statues of my true form. Nobody had known my true image back then and thankfully nobody had tried to be creative and made me look like a pig with wings as if it was the case of Kun’s horrible statue. 

    I smirked, looking over my shoulder at the temple of Kun, where some sculptor had created a horrifying statue that looked like some sort of wild hog with wings that had nothing to do with my brother’s true image. I inspected the empty streets one last time and then started descending the steps, walking inside the temple. Nira didn’t take long before following.

    “What are we doing here?” she asked in a whisper, as if she was afraid to anger the God of Fire. The god laughed at that idea inside of my head. We would never be mad at Nira. As a matter of fact we were both too concerned about all the things we wanted to do to her at the moment. I stared at her while she pushed her hood back and looked around the temple. Her wild hair bounced with every step she took and not for the first time I watched it, thinking it looked like pure fire. Pretty hair...pretty Omega...bite her...make her ours….whispered the god inside of my mind and I growled back at it. The fire raging in my stomach spiked and soon it was right under my skin, ready to be freed into the world. 

    “We are looking for a quiet place,” I said and Nira nodded by my side, still inspecting the tall columns and the altars full of dried food and objects that had long lost their value. Nira moved closer to me, lifting a delicate eyebrow while deep in thought. I wanted to kiss that eyebrow, and then pin her to the column she was watching, before caressing her tight, little body over and over. I growled, angry at myself when my semi erect c**k started to harden at that idea. 

    I focused on the task at hand, doing my best to ignore Nira’s presence by my side. I put the coal bags on the floor and started working on loosening the opening of the first bag, before spilling the black coal over the dirty floor. Then I opened a palm and directed my powers to the coals, focusing on putting the right amount of heat and pressure in the ray of blue fire that emerged from my hand. I’ve done this trick a thousand times, mostly when Baltus had needed currency to save his own ass while we were in between missions. The bastard liked betting probably as much as Nira. Although Nira had never been caught cheating like Baltus had.

    I discovered I could change a stone’s structure almost by mistake, a long time ago.  The knack of the trick was to put as much heat as pressure in my fire and not overcook the coals. After the right amount of time and heat the coals would start changing in form, creating a completely different stone.

    I heard Nira gasp and then laugh when she realized what I was doing. The moment I was done she ran to the gems now lying on the floor and inspected them closely. By some mercy of the skies she didn’t touch the gigantic rocks and burn herself, but I could see the intent to do so in her shiny eyes. I shook my head, already working on the second bag while Nira got her fill of watching the gigantic diamonds I’ve made.

    “This is awesome! Imagine all the gems you can create!” she laughed again, rubbing her hands and humming happily while she watched the diamonds. Nira liked big shiny rocks, and gold, and everything that was pretty. I feel an apathetic admiration for it all. The only reason I’ve started creating gems in the first place-apart from doing it to save Baltus’s ass- was to create pretty things that Nira would probably like.

    I knew she was curious about my powers. I could see all the questions in her eyes while she looked at the diamonds with a frown. I’d been ready for any question coming from her, except for the one that she actually asked me.

    “Is that how you made my gift?” she asked me softly, not even raising her icy, blue eyes from the diamonds. It took me a moment to understand her meaning, but then Nira turned to me and slowly pushed a golden chain from underneath her stola, before showing me the gem that I’ve created for her years ago. I remembered it all now, staying awake at my father’s forge, designing and building what I thought it would be the perfect gift for my Omega. I narrowed my eyes, studying the red gem that I’ve built out of dried embers and red resin. I’ve been just a kid when I’ve done it and I recognized some of the imperfection I’ve left in the stone. I growled, shaking my head at hers.

    “That’s one of my worst jobs to this day,” I said and then looked away from Nira, “you can take it off and throw it in the trash for all that is worth.”

    “Nonsense, this is my favorite gift,” she said with a scowl and then she seemed to realize what she had just said and she blushed, puckering her lips, “ And I will never please you by following your orders so this little gift stays with me.”

    “Suit yourself,” I barked back and she rolled her eyes.

    There was silence for a moment and then she cleared her throat.

    “I always knew there was something different about you,” she said in almost a whisper. I tensed at her words and scowled. I forced myself to act normal, focusing on finishing my work and turning the second bag of coals into diamonds, before opening the third bag and throwing the coals over the floor. Nira sighed and started talking again, “You probably don’t remember but I saw you covered in red flames the very first time we met. And over the years there were times when I thought I saw...strange things happening around you. Flames that never burned you. Fires that started too fast when you were the one making it. I’m not scared of...what you are Aros. I never was.”

    “What are you scared of, Nira?” I asked her slowly, not looking at her, giving her as much privacy as I could. For a while she stayed silent and finally she sighed.

    “I’m scared of cages,” she said and there was a tremor in her voice that made me look at her even if I tried my best not to. She was sitting on her haunches while she picked the diamonds and put them inside of the bags, “I’m scared of the cages I’ve been in and the ones I fabricate for myself. I’m scared of opening my eyes one day and seeing that I was always inside of a cage. That what I tasted was an illusion of what freedom actually is. And more importantly, I’m scared of getting inside a cage with open doors and being afraid of getting out.”

    For a long time neither of us spoke and then I asked her the one question I needed to know.

    “Are you scared of being with me?” 

    She sucked in her breath and turned still. Her blue eyes darted to the side and zeroed on me, watching me with a guarded expression. Nira stared at me for what it felt like a very, very long time and then she looked away, picking diamonds off the dirty floor.

    “You are that cage with open doors I was referring to,” she said softly, “and I’m one decision away from sealing myself inside a trap or closing those damned doors at my back. Either way, we both know how I end.”

    “And how is that?”

    She looked at me with a sad smile in her sinful lips.

    “Fucked.”

    That’s all she said, before turning around in silence.