Page 37 of Unhinged Alphas

Jace preens, his chest puffing out with pride. "I do my best, sir. These omegas, they need a firm hand. Someone to show them their place."

I think of the frail omega who was cowering next to him, her head bowed, dark hair fallen over her pale face, slender shoulders hunched. She was a far cry from Ivy with her fierce spirit and defiant eyes. Already broken.

"I see," I say, keeping my voice carefully neutral. "And what exactly are your methods, if you don't mind me asking?"

I try to sound curious. Interested. Not like I'm imagining sawing off his remaining fingers one by one with a rusty butter knife and then stuffing them down his throat.

Jace grins and I find myself wondering if I could knock out every one of his teeth in one punch, like a strike at the bowling alley. "Oh, you know. The usual. Isolation, sensory deprivation, a little physical correction here and there. It's all about breaking them down, making them dependent on us. You really have to have them eating out of your hand before they're fit to submit properly to an alpha."

And I know this sick fuck means that literally.

He says it so casually, as if he's discussing the weather or the latest reconstruction effort in the city. As if he's not talking about systematically destroying another human being's will to live.

All of a sudden, I understand why Ivy was so resistant to eating when she first came to us. The thought makes my stomach churn with disgust. The idea of this weak, cowardly little beta bitch forcingmyomega to eat from his grimy hands.

I wish she'd taken more than a finger.

But I'll make up for it when I feed him his own teeth.

I feel bile rising in my throat, but I force it back down, force myself to nod and smile and play along. Holy fuck, this is hard. Wish I'd brought Valek with me. Although he's so unhinged, I'm not sure he'd be able to stay calm.

"Fascinating," I say, my voice tight. "I'd love to hear more about your techniques sometime, especially now that I have an omega of my own to bring to heel. Maybe we could discuss it in more detail,off the record."

Jace's eyes light up, a greedy, hungry gleam that makes my skin crawl. "Of course, sir. I'd be honored to share my insights with you."

"Excellent," I say, already plotting the manyways I'll make him suffer for what he's done. "I look forward to it next time I'm in the Capital."

I turn to Emilia, my smile strained and brittle. "I'm afraid I must be going, Headmistress. Duty calls."

She nods, her own smile just as false. "Of course, Commander. Thank you for taking the time to visit us today. I hope you found it enlightening."

I take her hand and give it a shake, but just as she's about to pull away, my grip tightens. Just until I see the hint of pain in her expression as I think about all the different ways I'm going to have this hag punished, too. None of them come close to what she deserves, though.

Themalebetas, on the other hand…

"I certainly did," I say with a barely restrained smile. "Thank you for being so open and on such short notice. I got everything I came for."

If only the bitch knew.

As I stride out of the facility, it takes everything in my willpower not to march back in and rip those two apart limb by limb.

Soon, I tell myself.

But first, I need evidence. Enough of it to hang my father for his crimes. Enough of it to implicate the Council members who are involved, too. They'reall going to hang. All going to rot on ropes for everyone in the Capital to see. Otherwise, they'll just use him as a scapegoat and the rest will get off scot-free.

It will take time.

Resources.

Strategy.

But once all the dominoes are in place, they're all fucked.

Chapter

Ten

PLAGUE