Everything can be taken, little one.
Aria's POV
I looked up, my heart sinking. Rylan.
He stood there, imposing and silent, his arms crossed over his massive chest. His amber eyes, usually so intense, seemed to hold a flicker of something unreadable. His scent, spicy and earthy, filled the small space around me, making my omega instincts coil defensively.
"Still hiding?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.
I closed my book, my fingers tightening around the spine. "I'm studying, Rylan. What do you want?"
He didn't move, just continued to stare at me, his gaze unsettlingly steady. "Killian doesn't usually bother with strays."
The mention of Killian sent a fresh wave of confusion through me. "I don't know why he did."
"He doesn't do anything without a reason," Rylan continued, ignoring my protest. "He's the strategist. The one who sees the angles no one else does."
"What are you implying?" I asked, a tremor in my voice.
"I'm not implying anything, little omega," he said, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. "I'm stating a fact. Killian acted. He protected you. That means something. It means you're important to him, in some way."
"I'm not," I insisted, shaking my head. "He barely knows I exist."
Rylan chuckled, a deep, resonant sound. "Oh, he knows you exist. We all do. And believe me, when a Blackthorn acknowledges you, it's not a casual thing. It's a declaration."
"A declaration of what?" I asked, my voice rising slightly. "That I'm a target? A toy? A distraction?"
His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I thought I'd pushed too far. But then the intensity in his gaze softened, just a fraction. "A declaration that you're ours."
My breath hitched. "I am not yours!"
"You will be," he said, his voice firm, unwavering. "It's only a matter of time. You have a scent, a unique pull that none of us can ignore. It's a raw, untamed omega scent, unlike anything we've encountered." He took a step closer, his scent intensifying, swirling around me. "It calls to our Alpha. And when an Alpha finds what he's looking for, he takes it."
"I'm not something to be taken!" I practically hissed, my frustration warring with my fear.
"Everything can be taken, little one," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips, just as Zayne’s had. This time, however, there was no hint of cruelty, only a profound, almost primal hunger in his amber eyes. "Especially when it's meant to be ours."
He leaned closer, and I instinctively recoiled, hitting the bookshelf behind me. His large hand came up, pressing against the shelf beside my head, trapping me. His scent, rich and dominant, was overpowering, and my omega instincts screamed for submission, even as my mind fought back.
"You're fighting it, aren't you?" he whispered, his voice a low thrum against my ear. "The pull. The instinct to just… lean into us. To let us take care of you. Protect you."
"I don't need protection," I lied, my voice trembling.
"Every omega needs protection, Aria," he countered, his voice gentle but firm. "Especially one as vulnerable and… tempting as you. And we are the only ones who can truly give it to you."
"Tempting?" I scoffed, trying to sound dismissive, but my voice wavered. "You think I'm tempting because your instincts are screaming at you to dominate me. That's all it is."
He pulled back slightly, his eyes holding mine. "Perhaps, initially. But there's more to it than that. There's a fire in you, a spirit that refuses to be extinguished. It's captivating. And yes, it makes you incredibly tempting." His gaze held mine, intense and unyielding. "You're a wild thing, Aria. And we're the only ones who can tame you."
My mind reeled. Tame me? Was that what this was about? To break me, to mold me into their perfect, compliant omega? The thought sent a fresh wave of defiance through me.
"I won't be tamed," I said, my voice firmer this time, though a knot of fear still churned in my stomach.
Rylan's lips quirked into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "We'll see. The Blackthorns are nothing if not patient. And when we set our sights on something, we always achieve it." He paused, his gaze dropping to my mouth again, lingering there for a long moment before he straightened. "Just know, Aria, that resisting us will only make the inevitable more… interesting."
With that cryptic warning, he turned and walked away, his broad shoulders disappearing between the towering bookshelves. I was left alone again, my heart pounding, my mind a chaotic mess of fear, anger, and a bewildering sense of being utterly, irrevocably trapped.
I couldn't shake the feeling that the academy itself was conspiring against me. Every corner I turned, every quiet hallway, seemed to hum with their presence. I felt their eyes on me in the dining hall, in the common rooms, even during my solitary walks through the campus gardens. It was a constant, suffocating awareness that chipped away at my already fragile sense of security.
Later that afternoon, after my last class, I decided to take a longer, more circuitous route back to the dorms, hoping to avoid any further encounters. I chose the path that wound through the oldest part of the campus, where ancient, gnarled trees formed a dense canopy overhead, casting long, shifting shadows even in the late afternoon sun.
The air here was cooler, tinged with the scent of damp earth and old leaves. It was usually a peaceful, solitary path, a place where I could breathe and think. But today, the silence felt heavy, pregnant with unspoken threats.
I heard him before I saw him. The soft rustle of leaves, the faint scent of something cold and sharp, like winter air and ancient stone.
Cassian.
He emerged from behind a massive oak, his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark trousers, his posture relaxed, almost deceptively so. His eyes, the color of moss after a rain, were fixed on me, unblinking. There was a quiet intensity about him, a stillness that was somehow more unnerving than Zayne's overt aggression or Rylan's dominant presence.
"Lost, little stray?" he asked, his voice soft, almost a whisper, yet it carried an undeniable weight.
I stopped, bracing myself. Of course. Of course he was here. "I'm just taking a walk, Cassian."
He stepped closer, his movements fluid and silent. "Are you?" He tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing. "Or are you trying to escape?"
My breath hitched. "Escape what?"
He smiled then, a slow, gentle curve of his lips that was almost mesmerizing, utterly at odds with the predatory glint in his eyes. "Us, perhaps? You seem to be doing a rather poor job of it."
"I don't know what you want from me," I said, my voice barely audible.
"Don't you?" he murmured, his gaze sweeping over me, lingering for a moment on my neck, then my wrists, before returning to my eyes. "We want what's ours."
"I am not yours," I repeated, the familiar defiance rising, though it felt weaker with each encounter.
"Such a fierce little thing," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "It makes you even more intriguing. Most omegas, when faced with the Blackthorns, either cower or fawn. You, on the other hand, fight."
"Because I'm not a possession," I retorted. "I'm a person."