The Archer: Lost Omegas Book 1

Broken

DEIMOS

With her cries, Deimos felt agonizing pain seize the Bond like a vise. Breathing was difficult, but he refused to show any outward sign of his discomfort. The Berserker inside him demanded he go to his mate. He stood firm. This was the decided punishment. She would have to learn her place as his mate, and it was not as a soldier.

When she had called to him, there was something in her eyes he had not seen before as she begged him to stop the Quitar. He did not recognize the look and did not respond to it. Her pain and desperation had filled the Bond, tightening the vise inside him further, until suddenly, it broke. He felt a shattering in the Bond, like a kick in the gut that sucked the air from his chest. He knew the Bond had somehow been damaged, but he did not move. His duty demanded he finish this.

CYRENE

Hours passed, eventually her tears dried and her voice went hoarse, the ants continuing to crawl over her skin, their soft bites eating her Marks. Only about half of the warriors still remained, many growing bored and wandering off as the hours ticked by. None of the omegas had attempted to leave. She could hear their whimpering and sniffling around her. She could not meet their eyes to reassure them- she was not okay and would not be able to fake strength she did not feel. She stared up into the night, looking at the stars that freckled the night sky.

"The Marks have been removed, the punishment has been met," King Laran announced. "Release her."

Cyrene wondered if they were going to remove the ants from her body before touching her. The insects were still swarming over her chest and legs. She closed her eyes as she felt someone untie her limbs one by one. She did not move. She had no energy left. It was taking everything she had just to pull air into her lungs. She flinched when familiar arms lifted her. She was surprised that Deimos would risk the ants transferring to his skin. But as she opened her eyes to look at her body, she saw none of the insects, though she could still feel their feet and mouths on her. She lifted her right arm, staring at the pink skin where her Marks had once been. The sense of loss was profound.

Tears welled anew, but she refused to let them fall. Deimos carried her from the clearing, saying nothing. He passed his tent and headed toward the stream. He did not stop to undress, simply carrying her into the slow moving water still wearing his tunic and leggings. Reaching the middle of the stream, he sank to his knees so that the water rushed over her chest and shoulders. The cool water helped ease the crawling sensation that had not left her skin.

Deimos started to purr for her, but she felt nothing. It did not calm her or soothe her. It was just a low growl, meaningless. The Bond fluttered weakly, the broken pieces seeming to quiver under her sternum. She felt nothing from his side of it, thankfully. She did not want to feel any of his emotions- she wanted nothing from him, or between them, and soon there would be. The Bond was dying. She had not known such a thing was possible, but she had felt it fracture apart when she had begged him for help and he denied her. At least, if her Marks were to be taken from her, the Gods took some pity on her and did not keep her Bonded to this man.

DEIMOS

Deimos purred louder, but it had no effect on the woman in his arms. She was silent, her muscles tight, her eyes downcast. He felt her anguish in the fractured Bond, pulling at his insides. It wrapped around his heart and squeezed, disrupting the steady rhythm.

"Cyrene," he whispered into her hair. "Look at me." She did not raise her eyes to his. He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head back. She seemed to look right through him. Her eyes were full of unshed tears. The despair and loss he saw in them made the broken Bond clench around his heart again. "This will pass, dvasia. Your life with the Skulk, as a soldier, is gone, let it go. You are my mate- this is your life now, with me." He knew this punishment would be difficult for her, as it was meant to be, but she would recover. She would settle. Her old life was gone. Her new life was with him, and her Marks had no place there. She would learn to treasure other things, new things, when they reached the north- their mating, their home, their children.