The Rebellious Omega

King Braedon POV

"Lies and manipulation" I repeated softly "What lies would those be?" I asked challengingly.

He looked away from me, tightening his lips. I wanted to hit the bars in frustration. I had never met this man before, I was certain of it and yet, he spoke as if I had personally wronged him.

He seems to believe that you are a corrupt king for some reason Braedon. Yet I too, have never seen this man before in my life. What do you suppose might have happened to make this man hate you so much?

I honestly don't know I told my wolf silently I'm wracking my brains and coming up short. People have tried to kill me before, but I've always known the reason why. This guy is difficult to read. Maybe I offended him by killing the Alpha of this pack?

No, he would have announced his loyalty to the Alpha. It's not that. This almost seems like you did something to someone he loved or a family member. But you've only ever killed those that deserved it My wolf said slowly is it possible that his lineage is from a criminal line or that he used to be a rogue?

That seems even more absurd I said tiredly.

"Only a coward would try and kill a man while he's unable to fight back" Blair snapped, unable to help herself "let alone hurt a poor defenseless doctor and leave them unconscious."

He turned his head to look at her as I shot my mate a warning glance. "Perhaps it was cowardly, but the plan was basically foolproof. If it hadn't been for you and your father, it would have succeeded and King Braedon would not be standing here in front of me today, demanding answers to his infuriating questions" he said snidely.

"Why you little..." Blair started and then went silent as she saw the expression on my face.

Blair was proving to be a little impatient. I fought back a sigh. "Did I kill a family member of yours?" I asked bluntly "did one of them do something to get executed?" I was thinking out loud.

His jaw clenched. I stared at him hard. "Somebody got executed that you cared about" I guessed and he flinched. "Who was it?" I demanded.

"Somebody who was worth more than any precious jewel or diamond in the whole world" his voice was grave, sorrow in his eyes.

How poetic. It had to be a woman I thought, my wolf privately agreeing. Sister, mother, cousin, lover? I narrowed my eyes "You loved this woman."

He gave a bitter laugh "More than life itself King Braedon and you ruthlessly extinguished their life force without a second thought. How cruel you are" he said, turning to look away from me. "If she was killed it was for good reason."

He looked at me furious "Does that help you sleep at night? Let me ask you something" he said heatedly "Do you hear the screams of those you've murdered in your sleep at night? Do you see the blood you've shed on your hands? Do you cry tears for those that you've sentenced to a lifetime of t*****e and pain?"

I regarded him. "The blood I've shed has always been for the good of others. We have laws for a reason and punishments for those transgressions. I sleep soundly at night" I said without rancor "because I have murdered no one. I have merely continued to keep law and order in a world that would be pure chaos without it. I do what needs to be done, to keep this world safe and forever moving forward and evolving."

His lip curled "I wonder if that's the truth or a fairytale you tell yourself in order to sleep peacefully" he mocked.

"By all rights, for attempting to kill the Alpha King, you have forfeited your own life," I told him honestly "Does that not bother you? Have you nothing to say in your own defense that may sway me to change my mind or the punishment awaiting you?" I was curious.

"The second I chose to try and kill you, I accepted the consequences of my actions, be that as it may," he said gravely "I will not beg for forgiveness or act like a coward in order to prevent my punishment. I have no desire to ask for anything from you." "This woman must have been something special," I said quietly "for you to go to such lengths on her behalf."

"She was King Braedon. We had to see each other on the sly and in secret. Already mated to another, she and I fell in love, but she was fearful of the one she was mated to and could not bear to leave him, in case he tracked her down and killed her. We have had nothing but years together and now I have nothing but my memories of her to sustain me. I would have given her everything she wanted if she had only left her mate for me."

His voice was tinged with regret. "Even though she was older and wiser, I was enchanted by her beauty and her poise. She was graceful and composed. Mature."

A sultry temptress I thought, staring at the man whose eyes had softened as he spoke, who had bowled this poor bastard over and manipulated him greatly. Even now, David seemed oblivious to what the woman had done. I swallowed hard and coughed, gaining his attention. "David, she couldn't have been that wonderful if she was executed," I said, trying to get him to face reality.

"She made a simple mistake," he said bitterly "one damn mistake. First, you tarred her beauty, disfiguring her, then you saw fit to take her life."

Disfigure her? I was beginning to get an inkling of who this woman might be. It all made crazy sense. But part of me was skeptical. David was not exactly what most women would call handsome. I knew he was a recluse, knew he lived on the outskirts of the pack. I also knew that he was an excellent hunter and tracker and was well-connected to other packs who occasionally did some trading with him or used his skills. He would have known which packs were amenable to breaking the laws and which ones were firmly against it. He had been to so many of them and his own Alpha had loaned him out to various packs on occasion.

"She used you," I said, as he hit the bars of the cell and swore at me "this woman, she didn't care about you. She didn't give a damn about you or your feelings" I said unapologetically "all she cared about was what you could do for her. Don't you get it? You were her meal ticket. You let yourself be fooled by her. Get a damn hold of yourself and start seeing reality. A grown man with your skills? She deliberately sought you out."

"You lie" he roared, flinging himself at the bars and then cursing loudly and jumping back as the silver burned him.

"I speak the truth" I snarled "You're so lost in fantasy land that you don't want to hear it anymore."

"I don't understand" Blair whispered to me, looking uncertainly at a raging David who tried to fling himself back at the bars again "Do you know who the woman was?" she asked confused.

"I have a fairly good idea," I told her, shaking my head at David "it makes a sick kind of sense really. No wonder we had such trouble locating the trafficked women" I added underneath my breath.

She would have had David keeping a close tab on all the packs and using his connections to safely transfer them back and forth. I sighed and shook my head in disgust.

I opened my mouth.

"Don't you dare speak her name, not from those disgusting lips of yours" David roared at me "She deserves far better than that. You killed my lover, but I'll be reunited soon enough with her." "Who is this woman?" Blair said impatiently and David laughed, looking at her incredulously.

"He killed Luna Bianca, the woman I loved and wanted more than anything in this world to marry," he said, causing everybody to look at each other in shock.