Noah’s POV
I’ve spent all my life in front of an audience.
I’ve met presidents,religious leaders, law makers, popstars and even the people we call the ordinary masses, but nothing prepared me for this.
The Deus family, all five of them are here.
"Move, they’re waiting for you" Lucas whispers behind me, but I don’t move.
I just can’t move.
Meeting Siren all by myself was one thing, but meeting the entire family is another thing.
I’m just an omega who has been thrown into a room full of publicly known arsonists, murderers, war inciters, and national enemies.
Dad...please save me.
"How long are we going to wait. Isn’t he supposed to have impeccable manners?" Darius Deus drawls, and Siren gives him an unreadable look.
"Eli, fetch your pet" Kai says dryly.
"He’s not a pet" Elias matches his tone.
"Eli, fetch your rock" Damien says with a smirk and Elias only gives him a flat look.
"I will ground you, Damien" Siren warns with quiet authority and Damien groans.
"I’m a twenty-six years old man...fine" he mumbles.
Elias leaves his seat and walks over to me. His face is blank as always when he holds out his hand for me to take.
I want to slap it and tell him to get lost with his family of psychopaths, but I don’t. No matter how much I want to hate him, he’s the only safety I have in this place.
Kai Deus hates me, Damien Deus haunts me, and Siren...Siren unnerves me.
I slide my hand into Elias’s cold one and he takes me to the table.
The alpha pulls out the chair for me, and I take my seat. I’m surprised that he’s treating me with the respect of a gentleman after talking to me like a lowlife in the room.
"Breakfast can start" Siren says with the soft sigh of a tired mother.
Everyone’s attention shifts from me to their individual meal. They all start to eat quietly, and even Lucas, a castrated guard, sits at the table with his own food.
I stare at the food in front of me, but instead of eating, I take a moment to glance at my captors.
Darius Deus is not looking at me, he’s wearing a deep scowl as he uses a fork and a knife to butcher his bacon harshly.
The man is a murderer at his dining table too.
My eyes go over his features. His lips are downturned, and his eyes are on the plate. He and his oldest son look so much alike.
I peek at Damien, and the resemblance is even stronger.
They share the same handsome and strong features, the only difference between them is that Damien is wearing his long dark hair in a man bun, while his father’s shorter hair is starting to gray.
I look at Darius again, this time he’s cutting more aggressively, and I’m getting more scared.
And just seconds before I would start to sob at the table, Siren slaps his husband’s hand and takes the utensils from him.
The long haired omega mutters something to his husband and swaps their plates, giving Darius his own food.
It’s strange but...Darius’s eyes look starry as he thanks Siren.
What is going on here?
Everyone else is eating quietly, but I can see Elias and Damien exchanging glares, and Kai...is Kai playing video game under the table with one hand?
"Eat" Elias mutters to me and I mechanically obey.
I don’t want to cause a scene. These people are making me uncomfortable. The disguise of normalcy they’re wearing feels too real.
I wonder whose family they tore apart and stole this atmosphere from.
It’s hard to eat, but I force the eggs, bacon and waffles down my throat, chasing it down with the cup of coffee.
I watch everyone carefully, noticing and timing them. When I see they are done, I take the last bit of waffle.
"See you later" Damien gets up first, and Elias follows. Confused and scared of being left behind, I copy Elias by getting up too, and Darius puts down his cup.
"Goldsmith" he calls firmly and I freeze, half-standing, half-sitting.
"Y-yes?" I ask in a small voice.
"Sit" he says, turning his attention to his sons. "The rest of you can go" he says and Kai gets up, following his brothers out of the room.
My eyes follow Elias as he walks out. My omega is begging him to look at me, pleading for him to get me out.
The door shuts firmly when Lucas walks out of it and I look at Siren.
At least I have someone familiar...right?
Wrong.
The omega wipes his mouth with his white napkin, pushes his plate away, kisses his husband on the cheek and walks out.
No. No. No. No.
"I can smell your discomfort from here" the older alpha says once the door shuts. He leans back in the chair, watching me with calm but predator-like eyes.
"You make me uncomfortable" I confess.
"And you’ve only met me for...how long again, Goldsmith?" he asks, and I don’t answer, I just keep my head down.
He’s blind in one eye from what I’ve heard, yet I can feel his eyes seeing through me.
"Why did you choose my son?" he asks and my head snaps up.
"What?"
"Nevermind" he says, looking very much like an older version of his oldest son as he eyes me, "don’t answer that question. I have a better one, why did my son chose you?" he asks.
His voice is chilling.
It’s not deep...it’s just...unsettling.
"If I knew why Elias chose me, do you think I’ll be stuck here?" I ask with a whisper.
"Eli is the closest replica of my mate. They have very similar thought patterns and would never make a choice without a reason" Darius Deus says, lifting his cup to take a sip.
"You should know your son better" I say, sounding stronger than intended, and instead of getting angry...he smirks at me.
"You should know your husband better" he throws back at me and I smack the table.
"He’s not my husband"
"Of course not" Darius says, unbothered by my tantrum or my behavior. "A dignified modern day prince shouldn’t be caught being married to a...killer" he chuckles deeply.
He’s playing with me, just like Damien that day.
I’m sick of it!
"How can you be proud of raising that anomaly? You’re a psychopath!" I yell, getting to my feet and heading for door.
I almost make it out of the room, but I’m completely stopped by a bullet flying over my head. The metal lodges itself into the wall in front of me.
He shot at me...Darius Deus shot at me.
A whimper slips past my throat as I turn around slowly, ears ringing from the gunshot, and heart threatening to burst out of my chest.
Darius is still slouched in his seat.
He has a mocking smile on his face and his gun is smoking. He tips it towards himself and blows the smoke away before speaking, while I shake like a leaf.
"I’ll tell you this, and I’ll say it only once. You will never address me or my son like this again" he says, and I nod with immediate acceptance.
"Good. You’ll make a good husband for my son. Now get lost" he waves me out with his gun and I run for my life.
As I run down the hallway, I bump into a maid with red hair and a strong grip.
"Are you alright?" she asks with an accent as she steadies me with her hands on my arms and I blink rapidly to force myself out of my daze.
My father-in-law just shot at me.
"S-sorry" I stutter, still in complete shock.
"Mr. Goldsmith...oh the goddess has answered my prayers, it’s me...Freya the priestess" the maid whispers, and I fall completely into her arm.
Home.
The priestess. It’s the priestess...I’m not going to die here like a dog.