Her Broken Alpha - Isoellen Page 0,82

could make his own choices. He chose to trust Alreck.

Breathing in Naya's scent, he pressed his face against her neck behind her ear. She helped him remember why it was important to show mercy.

Corre, the beta’s father, would need to die, though. Rhineholth could give Darre that. Corre had plotted with Mac and his son, Louis. Corre had broken Rhineholth's breeder laws and endangered an omega breeder—tried to force a choice on her by throwing her to Darre's monster.

Darre wanted the man's hands and cock separated from his body, preferably with something dull and rusty.

Nixon left the room with Alreck, who put the female over his shoulder. Head wound or not, the younger man took Darre's declaration about the woman needing a new marriage contract seriously. He growled at Nixon when he reached out to help. She was his responsibility, and he clearly meant to handle his business.

Nixon grinned.

With the door open, Darre could smell the anxious drones in the hallway. He'd told them to have regular meals ready for his mate, and they'd been waiting. Naya smelled them too and tried to pull away so she could see to the drones. He grunted, giving her a hard kiss first.

Naya motioned them in, taking the food as she began telling them about their excitement in the pit. The young one touched her fingers to Naya's bruises, frowning. Naya assured her she would be fine.

Without direction from Darre, she warned the drones to take orders from no one but herself and the twelfth-floor guards. After, Naya asked them about their day. They shared that they had discovered a bathing tub, which made the youngest girls shake with pent-up glee at the news.

It was news Darre also enjoyed. He watched a pleased smile split Naya's lips, her hand going to the hair on the smallest girl's head in an affectionate touch that made the drone blush.

Naya interacted with them with care and confidence. If she had ever been breakable like Rachel claimed, Darre had never seen it. The bond had changed him, but he hadn't known her before and so couldn’t know how much their bond had changed her.

Picking up the food that Naya had set on the couch, he moved it to his desk. He studied the spread of meat, cheese, apple slices, and a pile of green leafy stuff with an oily dressing dribbled on it.

Darre couldn't remember having ever seen a meal prepared by Cook that looked anything like this. He tasted the greens and made a face at the verdant feel of them in his mouth. The sweet and sour vinegar of the dressing wasn't enough to make him want to eat grass.

Settling himself in his chair, he watched his woman interact with the drones. Three of the four were taller than her, with too-angular features that suggested they weren't being fed well enough. Perhaps he needed to talk to Cook about providing extra rations for the drones.

What was wrong with him? By the rod, why was he thinking about the condition of the drones, or that he'd forgotten to get a doctor for all the people in his tower who he’d taken from Tenbel and his devoted followers?

As an alpha, drones were nothing to him. Too weak to be a threat, he viewed them much like cattle—good for doing the grunt work breed didn't have the time or inclination to handle.

His education had taught him he owed his superior breed genetics to the humans, but he'd always found it humorous that they'd caused the downfall of their own race in trying to alter what nature had already done. Now they would always find themselves on the bottom of the food chain.

Darre's primal brain refused to believe they had much value outside their ability to complete tasks. Every alpha alive had the same issue. It was an inborn prejudice. It had always driven Darre crazy that his father had tried to act otherwise. Drones were less meaningful to him than the sliced beef on his plate.

Much less, because he had no use for them.

But as he watched his treasure look them in the eye, talk to them as equals, and show care for their feelings, she gave them value. She changed everything.

Years ago, Darre had told his father he thought omegas, betas, and drones should be represented on his father's council. Considering Rhineholth's wish to appear as though he held all citizens in equal regard, it made sense to have input from every caste under his control. While