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How fucking stupid could she be? It was that scorch of outrage that had her confidence boosted, her body giddy with the adrenaline of the dying. And her ears rang, tinnitus blaring, blood and oxygen—a violent cacophony.

"Let me out," she snarled, jaws clenched painfully. "Let me OUT!"

"Omega…" Seraphim called, eyes soft, body glowing softly like the moon, rippling like a lake.

The emperor of planet three, Seraphim was a body of pure poison. The poseidon could transform into anything, could slip into living beings and possess their bodies as his own. But the emperor was said to be capable of much more, could control all fluids, bend the water in his enemies and command their every move with his voice. For life existed only with water. Seraphim could snap his fingers and make her fuck them if he truly wanted to.

"Don't call me that," she snapped, despair dripping from her, breaking her. "Don't fucking call me that."

"Alright." His palms were up, acting as if she were a spooked animal in a cage as if she were the one acting crazy. They were a diabolical cocktail of gas lighting Alphas. "Let's just talk about this, please."

"In this fucking cage? I'm not a pet that you trap and feed—"

"But you'll run," Kieran murmured from her left, appearing like a star. "And we'll have to catch you again, and you might hurt yourself."

Levi hummed a raspy purr that boiled from behind, vibrating across her skin. "We're not awful Alphas, Rue. You know us. We're the same as before. Nothing has changed." Oh, everything had changed, he just didn't know it. Or maybe he did.

Halcyon's hands were raised, voice shaking with a plea. "I can vouch for my mates. Surely this extra little information—"

"Extra?" Rue laughed, crawled out of Levi's grasp and stumbled to her feet. "You're emperors in a pack of seven. That changes everything. You wanted me as Alpha, respected me as Alpha." Her gaze swept over them now, gestured to herself with a laugh. "Now that you know what I am. And you hate what I am. You—"

"You're still my soulmate," Altair snapped, then his lips curled, bottom lip jutted out into an almost pout. "You can't push me away."

"And mine." Valentino rushed his words, toppling through each syllable. "It doesn't change a thing, we're destined. You're ours, Rue, ours. It doesn't matter to me what you are." He stepped forward, tentacles reaching, already drenched in her scent, her claim. "I'm yours." He beseeched with beautiful eyes, with the warmest blue. "I've been yours forever." Her breath hitched then, caught in her throat pathetic for an Alpha she'd just fucked, heart catapulting into the sky.

"Valentino," her voice was weak from her lips, "you've only ever wanted to suck my cock."

"I'll suck anything that's yours," he begged, brazen, bold. "You know we'll protect you, we won't let them hurt you. The three of us—"

"You don't have to, Rue's my true mate," Seraphim interrupted, flushed pink when she stared. "Perhaps, even my soulmate. I just didn't think to look for an Omega, I never dreamed that what connected us all could be of a lesser gender. It's unheard of, but now perhaps I simply was not looking for an Omega—"

Her mind snapped then, escaped the fantasy and returned to level-headed consciousness. Alphas as misogynistic as the seven would never treat an Omega well. And in Seraphim's dreams, Seraphim's premonitions, there was a pregnant Omega, one so full of kids she was almost bursting. "Just let me go, let me think about it—"

"You were the one that lied to us." Dante stepped forward then, crackling and burning petrichor, a ghost of emotions drenching his handsome face, an irritated clench ticking away at his jaw. He was a zone of pure, unbridled power, and seething rage darkened his eyes. "I could have marked you, claimed you as pack without knowing the truth."

Dante was the emperor of planet one. He was untouchable, for only his mates were capable of caressing him, of touching him. He killed all that entered his path and was pack Alpha because of his strength. No Omega should even be capable of standing before him, let alone enduring his power. And yet Rue did, had survived a jolt of his electricity skating across her skin. And that seemed to reflect in his eyes, an irritation that burned her, weighed on her throat. And suddenly her palms were clammy, moisture beading on her forehead.

"Your insolence is incredible," Dante said slowly, voice curling velvet and thick, commanding.

"Dante," Levi murmured. "She did everything she had to do to survive." And Rue noted now the truth of the situation, the concern that now drenched their faces as if one wrong move could ruin the arrangement. Dante had the final say as pack Alpha, he was their leader, and it seemed her place in their pack was at risk.

"She played with the hearts of our mates," Dante answered, and she was captured by the tension. The heat that rolled off him, the sudden turmoil in her chest as her Omega whined and begged for her to bare her neck for him in submission. "Turned them weak, turned them against us. This is not safe."

"We are all merely intrigued."

"It's unbecoming for an Alpha of our calibre."

"Rue is unique." Levi bit back. "Extraordinary. Useful in battle. A guide made for us. "

"And dangerous."

Halcyon spoke then, a pitch in his voice. "Dante."

The zeus smiled. "Hush, dear heart, I'm merely suggesting that we collar her for a while in a safe place until we're sure of what to do with her. Our court will not be happy with her appearance, and we need to decide what to do next. It is not safe for her to frolic in our castle with Alphas all around, nor is it safe for her to travel with us into the battlefield, don't you agree?" Halcyon was silent then, a quiet nod of agreement that had her eyes widening. What the fuck?

Seraphim hummed. "I do need to look into my waters and check our futures again with this new information in mind."

Kieran sighed. "We have to prepare for her arrival, my people will not rejoice. We'll have to work on the media, the public's acceptance of an Omega consort before they will even allow such a union."

"Perhaps we can leave her here until things are ready." Dante nodded thoughtfully. Rue gaped at them then, horror blooming. He must be fucking joking.

"Dante, this is no place for an Omega. They need sunshine and nature, pleasant things or their minds break in this darkness." Levi sighed, and as if she were truly just a pet. "And her pre-Heat has barely even begun…"

"We'll take turns to care for her," Dante shrugged. "Besides, we needed heirs—"

Rue snapped, "no."

Dante turned to her then, eyes narrowing. "What?"

"I won't be your fucking Omega, trapped in this hell hole as your broodmare, I'd rather die."

"Omega," Dante smiled, smiled at her as if she were a fool, "this is for your protection—"

A skittish laugh had her spluttering. "My protection? You just want to own me, like all the fucking Alphas in my life."