“It is done,” Akoro said, his tone harsh and final. He began walking again. “I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks about it. You don’t need to like what I do, but you need to do your duties. We all knew she would sustain injuries. It’s nothing you can’t deal with. She’s agreed to give us information now. How long until we can leave?”

“We can’t move her right now. She needs⁠—”

“How long?” Akoro said sharply.

Oppo lowered his gaze in thought. “Tomorrow,” he said stiffly. “She needs rest before we can travel, but hydration, food, and medication I can give her on the way.”

Akoro nodded and said nothing more until they reached the command tent. Inside, his most trusted advisers gathered. The five of them plus Oppo made up the council of his dynasty, each heading an area of specialty with exceptional expertise and decades of experience, but more importantly, their loyalty was unshakable. Each were brutal in giving him the truth, unwavering in upholding his law, and every one of them would die for the Sy name.

Though in conversation, they stilled when he entered.

"She's agreed," Akoro said.

The council remained tense and silent. They’d all known the Omega was coming, but it was different now that she was here. The woman was a force that no one in this land had encountered before. Until he’d taken her, she was a myth to his army—one to excite over during meals and whisper about during training. Now she was here, and they could feel her power, it was terrifying for many. The council was unsettled. Even Nrommo, his battle chief, a ferocious and steadfast Alpha with years of experience, had been acting oddly. Akoro hadn’t seen him this nervous since the Battle of Sy.

But he needed his council to function as normal and remember that the princess was his prisoner, one who would push the boundaries.

“We need to handle this carefully, like we planned,” Akoro said. "Oppo said she'll be ready to travel tomorrow. I want everyone prepped to dismantle the camp at sunrise, and each team packed and ready to go within two hours of sunrise. Oppo, you and Prillu coordinate preparations for the Omega’s travel.”

Oppo nodded.

“Anything I need to know?” Akoro asked the group.

“The nnin-eellithi shouldn’t be able to catch up with us if we leave in the morning,” Tshel said. “But it will follow for a few days so we need to keep a good pace.”

“Good. Nrommo, make sure the camp is protected.”

Nrommo grunted, nodding his head. “It’s taken care of, my lord.”

Akoro surveyed them, looking for signs of fear or doubt but they were all resolute and alert. “You are dismissed.”

They swept passed him to the tent exit. Oppo turned and followed them. He slouched, his round and low head making him seem shorter. If he wasn’t as big as he was, he’d be mistaken for a Beta.

“Oppo,” Akoro called.

The other man stopped by the exit.

Akoro held his gaze, scrutinizing him until they were alone in the command tent. “Is it too soon for you to be doing this?”

Oppo moved his shoulders in a lazy shrug. “I am the best person to care for her. You cannot risk using anyone else.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Oppo drew in a long breath. “I know.” After a moment’s hesitation, he bowed and left.

Akoro shook his head. His brother used to be fearless, but the spiral of time had been particularly cruel to Oppo. He’d been broken. His anger over the treatment of the princess was the most passionate Akoro had seen him in over for three years. It felt good to argue with him again, like they used to. But Akoro couldn't let that get in the way of what needed to be done.

Oppo was right—no one in his council had agreed with the plan to take the Omega princess. They all presented reasons against the idea, but he stood firm. She was their best chance to secure the empire, and their objections came from fear not doubt. He did not want his reign in the new kingdom to be short-lived; the Sy Dynasty must endure.

Since childhood, he’d searched for the truth behind the whispers about the destroyers—the lush green world that had insidiously corrupted theirs. The world that denied him and his people the life they deserved. So he decided to take it from them. Decades of thought and planning had gone into this invasion. Taking a princess wasn’t any riskier than anything else he’d done to get to this point.

Except….

Something had happened in her tent just now.

Akoro exhaled slowly, moving to the stand at the table where he and his council did most of their planning. Standing over the princess, waiting for despair to bloom in those beautiful, brown, hooded eyes, an incredible scent had enveloped him; intensely sweet and spicy with a powerfully floral undercurrent. It made his mouth water and his cock harden. His mind drifted, focused on the Omega’s full mouth and her enticing slender neck. It’d drawn him closer to her, forcing steps he hadn’t intended to take to close the gap between them. She smelled like blissful, wicked sex, like warm nests and wild kisses and a wet, pounded cunt. His arousal built faster than it ever had before, but when he drew nearer, he saw signs of distress… and that jolted him; the quickness of her breath, the pulse of her heartbeat, and the sweat on her forehead. He’d blinked and remembered that he had caused that. He’d wanted to. Forcing that thought to sober him, he had to remember he still wanted to. She was his prisoner, not his next fuck. Taking one last inhale of that scent, he left her tent as fast as he could.

He’d pushed aside what happened until he was alone to think about it, but even now, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

For most of his life he’d fought to control the wildness of his Alpha instincts so he could direct them properly. It taken decades to hone his restraint—to not fuck every female, dominate every Beta or brawl with every Alpha. He’d been truly feral, but once he’d learned how to direct his instincts, it had made him deadly—more powerful than any other Alpha in his world. His people thought of him as cold and ruthless, but his efforts protected them and had single-handedly restored the Sy name from the ruins of history into a force of hope for his ssukkurian people. He never took action without intention and careful thought.

But what had happened in that tent wasn’t thought at all. It’d been pure instinct, building and raring to take over. He was still fucking hard. What would have happened if his trained mind didn’t pull him back? Akoro rubbed his face, annoyed. He’d been on the verge of destroying this whole mission.

Omegas were known to be beautiful and dangerous—everyone knew they smelled good and were incredibly pleasing to Alphas. But did they ever smell this good? He’d never known another woman so be pleasing to look at either. Curly copper hair, fawn skin, and a scowl that could bring an Alpha to his knees—it made sense that she’d smell as good as she looked. Something in the far depths of his memory prickled at him—something he should remember or was overlooking. Could she be using her scent as a weapon? No, Oppo would have made sure that couldn’t happen. Maybe he was overdue having a woman in his bed. When was the last time he’d fucked someone? He frowned in thought. He couldn’t even remember. Maybe that was his mistake—not making sure his balls had been drained thoroughly before capturing an Omega like the princess.

And what a capture it had been. The chase alone had been exhilarating. He knew she would fight, and he knew she would run, but her use of magic had been more skilled and fascinating than he’d thought possible. Within the blink of an eye she was shooting through the forest at a speed that actually made him wonder if he could keep up. But he’d caught her in the end like he knew he would, and no amount of sexy, delicious smells were going to force his hand to release her.