Rue
Shit.
Rue ran with her metaphorical tail between her legs and a startling heat on her cheeks. Shit. Shit. Shit. That was not supposed to happen. Her heart was soaring, throbbing wildly within her chest like the hooves of a racing horse. She was not supposed to reverse fuck those aliens, wasn't supposed to kiss them. And now? Now, it felt as if they were all sharing a nasty secret. Her face burned, and she panted hard, air escaping her lungs.
Within days, she had seduced a poseidon, had an ares ball-gagged because of her tears, and then fucked two eros on their tentacles. What else could she do with her new powers? What could she do to the remaining members of the seven? She sank to her knees. God. Good God. But a smile stretched across her cheeks, a delirious confidence flooding her veins, a maniac sort of self-assurance expelled through her lungs.
The laughter that escaped her was freeing.
They were emperors, heirs directly on the throne, and rulers of the universe. Yet how willingly they played into the palm of her hands. It was glorious to know that her voice was not the only trump card sitting in her arsenal. Rue had talents— decent skills that had Altair weak-kneed and throbbing. The bad bitch Rue could twist their powers and eat it up as her own. She had the power to stand equal to them. What could they do to her now that she could take control?
What could they do to her if she could tug the reins of their powers? She just had to see if it was possible with all seven. And if it was? A grin was rising across her face, giggling muffled behind a palm. That baby-making shithole of a contract would be a fluke.
The point of that goddamn contract was to keep them thinking that the odds were in their favour. That Rue was just a friendly little Omega pet. It was a wall to keep her pockets full and the boys out of her space knowing that she was theirs for now. She'd been playing nice because of her fears. She had sat prettily in their home like a cute plaything because she wasn't sure if they would respect her boundaries. They were used to holding Omegas in cages after all. But now she could proceed onwards with her real plans. Plans that came from a Rue with massive confidence. Plans that would mean lots of fucking cash, no law enforcement on her ass, and no babies in her future.
Perhaps, she just needed the boys to obey her like puppies.
Perhaps, all she had to do was fuck them up so good that they'd listen to a bigger Alpha.
The thought sparked something in her, a smirk on her lips. She stared at her calendar, pulling it up on her device with a frown. She was already nearly done with the current semester, climbing her way up towards senior year. Things were progressing, and Rue had to be better to avoid the death trap at the end. She might have a monthly stipend from the boys that equated to the pay of a working professor, but it wouldn't be enough for an Omega on the run. That was if she had to run.
She paced, thinking, planning. Rue needed to be respected, and yet moderately disliked by the seven. She had to be powerful, and yet she couldn't be deemed as a national security threat. She had to prove that she was useful but not worthy of a kid. Quite frankly, she had to stand as their equal and they had to have a moderate ounce of fear of her. Enough for them to scratch off baby-making on the list, enough for them to reconsider her as the mother of their child. Enough for them to listen to her words. Enough for them to be on their knees begging for her at the end.
Rue paused. She did still want the cushy office job at the end of it all.
Fuck.
That did not sound easy but with powers? Her control? Her guiding abilities? There was a good chance she could make them listen. There was a good chance she could convince them to rethink her status as a mere incubator and look at her as a respected colleague. She stomped back to their dormitory like a good girl after school, pausing before the door where Kieran stood, leaning back against the door with sweaty curls and crossed arms. Déjà vu slammed into her like a truck when he turned to look at her with gold-spun eyes. The sudden appearance of the helios blocking her way had her startled, confusion rising in her throat.
"What?" she snapped, cheeks flushed, hoping he wouldn't mention the events that had transpired. She'd left them confused, jaw dropped and staring at their mates with semen crusting their thighs and their bodies puddling on the ground.
But Kieran moved, a frown tight on his brow and tension dancing in the air. He was always sun-swathed sort of gorgeous, but now a dark sleek skintight armour pressed to every curve of his muscular body, turtle-necked and long-sleeved. She blinked noticing that this was not an outfit issued by the school. It was top-tiered battle gear, drenched in illusion for camouflage and already mildly ink-stained. Had he been dressed like that in the garden? No, she frowned. This was new with belts, straps and gear. Kieran's gaze was sharp when he regarded her, intense as his stare seemed to dig into her, prying her open from surface to bone. A flicker and his eyes, curved into a softer dance of mirth.
"We need you," Kieran purred with a smile, adoringly puppy-eyed and feigned vocal cheer. He practised that, she knew it from the jerk of the corner of his lips. The tilt of his head. Her pulse quickened. "Take my hand we're going off planet." He put out his palm, skin already sparking with flecks of light, flushed a honeyed colour.
"What?"
"Guide duties," he said, tongue to cheek, a dangerous pout with big desolate eyes. His biceps flexed, she hated that she noticed the fullness of his pecs, the teasing swell of it, begging for teeth to be sunk in. Fuck. "Everyone's waiting." He paused, eyes flashed with a dart of impatience. "All seven of us."
She scowled, ignored her lust-filled brain, crossed her arms, and squinted at his palm. He was proposing travelling by light, in his arms. How coy. And all seven? Her hackles were raised, immediately on defence mode. "Can't you pick someone else?"
"This mission's difficult," Kieran said, pressing his hands together into an action of plea. His fingers were always long, with clean nails and sexy veins. Fuck. "Please don't make this hard. I'm being serious here, no tricks."
"Got the short end of the stick to convince me to go?" Rue narrowed her eyes at him.
"We don't have much time."
"Where's your army of veterans?"
"You're the only triple S guide," Kieran stated with a shrug. "And the only one I want to touch, to tell you the truth." He cleared his throat, and there was a bounce in his step, irritation growing in him with each second. "It's a mission on another planet, and we need to go now if we don't want the hive to explode and kill off some colonies."
"I'm a student and learning," Rue pointed out. But she was starting to believe him. Kieran was the more honest one of the pack. She could smell his bullshit from miles away, and the jerk of his feet tapping mercilessly on the tiles was already a telltale sign that there was truth in his words. He was on the edge, ready to explode.
"Where's the kindness in your heart?" he pouted, whine injected into his voice. "You'll be saving millions of lives."
"Huh." Rue cracked her fingers and raised a brow. It would be a good chance to try her skills on all seven. "Give me a better deal." The helios seemed to freeze for a moment, blinking rapidly as if his brain were firing off a thousand lines. He blew out a long steady breath, hands to temple.
"You'll get academic credits for it. Working for us will add to your internship semester."
"And?"
"And cash." Kieran's expression flickered towards the sun. "You'll be paid like one of our best."
"Details."
"10,000 as a basic rate. An extra 10 per guide. Injuries are compensated fairly." There was a pinch of stress on his brows now, lips pursed into a thin line. "We can talk after. Come on let's just go. We're late."
This had her eyes widening, her pulse racing faster. He was haloed by the falling sun now, the beams upon him like an angel. "Is there someone in danger?" He didn't answer, but the hard look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
"Come on."
He snatched her into his arms then, pulled her into a rush of light rays that swept over her skin with a palm to her eyes. She felt his spark, warm and fluttering upon her flesh, like the gentle brush of butterflies, like the shift of the sun on her skin. And his body enveloped hers, slotted dangerously across the expanse of her back, hands greedy as it swept over her hips, fingers splayed over her belly. She didn't miss the hitch in his breath, the way he seemed to grow only warmer by the second. Heartbeat pulsating behind her shoulder blades, throbbing to the dance of light behind her eyes.
His heart pounded like he was in love.