Dark lashes lifted and Claire looked at the man whose face hovered so near her own. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for an Omega to ignore the call of her Alpha? It’s torture. It physically makes one feel as if their skin is peeling off. Then there is the fear, not only of the searching mate but of oneself. You hear things... there are tactile hallucinations. Your mind rebels against your wishes. You become powerless.”

Heartbreak lay in her eyes. “The first time I escaped I would have sworn you were watching me from every shadow. I woke screaming each night. Every time you weren’t there, I felt betrayed, even though I had run from you. My second lapse of freedom, I wandered Thólos and felt nothing. There was no pain, there were no dreams. I was empty—that in its own way was hell. But, day in and day out, I was searching for something, and every day I would get a little closer to the Citadel.” Claire shook her head as the truth had only just dawned on her. “I did not even realize that until now.”

Shepherd’s eyes were glowing as he soaked in every word like it was vital, so still it would have frightened her in the early days.

Claire touched a slightly puckered scar on his cheek. “I cannot paint this expression. That right there is the enigma, isn’t it?”

Shepherd wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to the end of the seat so their bodies could be flush. “Tell me more, little one. I want to hear more.”

There was one more thing she could say that would affect him.

“I can’t live like this.” She studied his eyes, trying to capture the image in her mind. “I need to go outside. I need to taste fresh air.”

“No.” Shepherd let her go, stood, and moved away, dismissing the conversation, leaving her disappointed and awkward.

Already pulling out the handcuff, he waited near the door, silently signaling their time in the room was at an end.

“I give you my word I won’t try to escape,” she offered softly, seeing his head fractionally turn her way at the confession. “There are too many lives at stake.”

Cocking his head, he asked, “Is that the only reason you would stay?”

All warfare is based on deception. –Sun Tzu

Fisting her hands in her skirt, Claire stood and went to him so he might chain her. “No, it’s not the only reason.”

Shepherd watched her hold out her wrist for him, the man reaching out a hand to ever so softly run the back of his fingers over her delicate skin.

While she stood obediently, he spoke again, pocketing the handcuff and leaving her arm free. “You are asking for my trust when you have not earned it.”