Eyes sad, she confessed, “I have tried to tally them, over and over. I always lose count…”

He wanted her cuddly and content, not frightened and eager to quarrel. “This is tradition underground. You have traditions, too. Most men are in the Undercroft for a few years, maybe a decade if they are strong. I was born there. Before I gave prisoners purpose and will to survive, few lived long enough for Da’rin to spread as extensively as mine. My marks were hope to many that they, too, might endure.”

For men who had been thrown into darkness in innocence, for men who had been cast down there for small infractions… for Maryanne… Claire could let herself understand. “The Dome is not what I thought it was, but it’s not what you think it is, either.”

Running his fingers through her hair, he teased, “You know so little, yet talk so big.”

“Don’t minimize my life.” She ran a hand over her eyes. “An Alpha cannot imagine what it’s like growing up Omega. Of course, dynamic is not confirmed until twelve or thirteen, but that fear, to know all your childhood prayers to be Beta went unanswered. To know you would never amount to more than an Alpha’s prized possession. I had broken that circle. I’d taken such care.”

The man slid his arms around her, as if they were sharing a tender moment. He even kissed her forehead. “Someday, you will thank me—surrounded by our children, happy in the life I’ve provided.”

“You want my thanks? Well, there is something I want.”

Wary, pinching down her spine vertebrae by vertebrae, he made the question a warning. “Yes?”

Hand to his chest, her warm breath at his neck, she sighed. “When I wandered Thólos, I saw Lilian and the other Omegas dangling outside the Citadel. Would you bury them properly if I asked you to?”

The tilt of his head let her know he was intrigued, that he was weighing the pros of performing such a thing for her. Turning her chin, Shepherd’s eyes glittered, his strategy to get the upper hand developing. “I would be willing to grant your concession, if one was made for me in return.”

Claire had been disillusioned by this man long ago. Of course he’d want something. “What do you want?”

His gaze grew liquid, like molten iron. “I think we both know what I want.”

“I am not going to be tricked into something. Either be exact, or forget my request.”

A soft chuckle and Shepherd said, “You have grown even cleverer, my little Omega. Kiss me and I will give you what you want.”