Mercy
By: AndiKaneUnderwood
AU: Royalty, Alpha/Beta/Omega, Hybrid
"You can't help them now, dearest Princess." The man with the red eyes laughed harshly and delivered his "bad news", "They're beyond saving."
Zak looked at the man with calm posture, but blazing eyes. The knight next to her, her personal protector and one of her close friends (who would also double as a servant on days where Murphy's Law was put into play), and the British jester to her left, another personal friend and her personal jester (don't ask her she had no idea why her father did that, but she did get a loyal friend out of the deal), both looked absolutely furious.
"Melissa." Zak commanded.
The feral grin on the knight's face spoke much about her current mental state.
She disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing right behind the red eyed man with her sword drawn and against his neck while her other hand pulled his hair, forcing his head back and further exposing his neck for Melissa's exploits. The man didn't look afraid, but his widened eyes spoke of surprise that didn't show on his face.
Melissa leaned in, blue eyes dark as the storm within her raged on and fueled her rage. Her eyes spoke of bloodshed. She looked wild and feral and murderous.
Her lips where next to the red eyed man's ear, her voice lowered to a whisper and she spoke in a furious tone that would scare any sane man. "Your first mistake was targeting them." She snarled.
"Balthazar." Zak spoke again.
The British man stormed forward, wings beating furiously. He raked his nails down the man's face. "You're second was taking them from us." He snapped.
Zak merely watched as her friends went to work on the man, hitting, kicking, and raking claws down his face. Melissa even went so far as to bite down on his arm and legs. She held up her hand and the two Alphas stopped, wrestling the struggling man to his feet and keeping him there as Zak stepped forward, her riding boots clicking sharply on the stone floors.
Zak didn't kneel down to his level as one of Royalty would do to an injured person, for this man didn't deserve any mercy. He'd committed an Unspeakable Act. Her icy eyes met those of her captive and flashed, glowing a crimson red. Her wings flared, unfurling to their full length and spreading out behind her. "Your third mistake was taking Omegas from my court and thinking for even a moment they where unimportant. Your fourth mistake was thinking that because they where only Omegas no one would come looking for them and I don't know what era you where raised in, but in this day and age, Omegas are the most important of us all. The fifth mistake was assuming that because I am the Princess I would not care if a few servants went missing. The final mistake was thinking that I would not find you." Her voice blazed with anger unfamiliar to her, but for the current situation, it was fitting. "Allow me to enlighten you about the three you took."
The red eyed man finally had the good sense to look scared.
"The first is Milo Danger Murphy. He happens to have a condition called Murphy's Law, so taking him in the first place was a sign that you are very uneducated. Furthermore, he isn't just servant; he's my personal servant and not only that, but also Omega and Bonded to me. He's mine, so you truly are uneducated, because this not only makes him untouchable, but a member of the Royal Family and kidnapping Royalty is a death sentence in and of itself."
"The second is Bradley Thomas Nicholes. He doesn't have any sort of conditions or disorders that make his very dangerous, but there's another reason to brand you idiotic for taking him. He is Omega, yes, but he's one of the smartest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, making him a very valuable asset to the throne. We take threats against our people very seriously in the Royal Family. Not only that, but he's Bonded too, to Lady Melissa."
"The third is Vincent Michael Dakota. He's been with my father as an astrologer for longer than I've been alive, so not only is he invaluable to me as a friend, he's also very valuable to my father to read the stars and see if there are storms or floods for the next days. You're stupidity there is shown in taking one of the only people of the kingdom who can tell if we'll get rain or other storms that will kill us."
Zak took a moment to compose herself and calm down. "All three of them are important to me and to the kingdom. All three of them are under my personal protection."
The red eyed man gulped.
Zak tucked away her wings, her eyes fading back to their normal color. "Maxwell Hollen, you stand accused of breaking one of my father, the king's rules for the kingdom and have been found guilty of the charges. As such, you are to pay the price of your actions."
Zak thought but could find no worse punishment than spending life in isolation.
"Be grateful Maxwell, she's feeling generous." Melissa growled, seeing the look in Zak's eyes. Privately, she thought she'd have killed him multiple times already, but it wasn't her place to say so.
"You have been found guilty of kidnapping and attempted murder of three Omegas, including one of the Royal Family, life givers and bringers of the new generation. The penalty for this would usually be death. However, I have a far worse punishment in mind. You are hereby stripped of any rights you may have had as a citizen and are sentenced to isolation in the prisons. When you get out, you'll report to the knights' extensive training program. Perhaps a few lessons will teach you how to treat your fellow humans." Zak snapped her fingers and two other knights stepped forward and took Maxwell away in chains.
"Come now, Melissa, Balthazar. I believe we have friends to find." Zak turned on her heel and her cape flared dramatically behind her. Melissa and Balthazar glanced at each other before following her, both thinking the same thing.
She may be dressed in riding gear from her lesson before being interrupted, but Zak was a Princess and she would be treated as such.
Perhaps before meeting her Omega, she would've given the man the death penalty and moved on with her life. However, now, she was cold and merciless. A small taste of the person she could have become if she'd never met her sunshine bright Omega.
MML~MML~MML
After finally finding the correct door, Melissa was immediately drawing her dagger and picking the lock.
The growls hit the air first, then the screams. Balthazar looked confused. "Vinnie?"
Zak nodded to Melissa and she rushed in.
"Clear," She called after a moment, sounding shocked.
Zak and Balthazar exchanged a glance because anything that could shake Melissa had to be truly odd.
Zak led the way inside. What they found make them falter.
The snarls and growls had come Vinnie, who's eyes where flickering between their normal eyes color and a sunset orange. His teeth where bared and his nails had sharpened, if Zak had to describe him, she'd say Vinnie was wild.
The smell of old parchment, ink, and some kind of flowers mixed with the scent of arousal hit the air and for a split second, Zak's eyes flashed and she snarled and she wanted.
Zak shook her head harshly and growled at herself. This wasn't the wild and she didn't need to Mate every Omega she came across. She wasn't a slave to her biology. Not only that, if she Mated with the person attached to that smell, not only would she betray her SoulMate, but two very good friends too.
A spike of strawberries and almonds mixed with pure chaos hit Zak's nose and the Princess calmed significantly, able to assess the situation and make a calm decision.
The scent of Omega in Heat was Bradley; it was obvious what had happened there. He lay in Milo's arms, gasping and cheeks flushed and it was clear he was too far gone to be lucid.
Zak chanced a quick look at Melissa and that confirmed that she'd gone into a partial state of Alpha Mindset(1) and it seemed that Balthazar was too worried about Vinnie to notice or care about the Omega in Heat.
There were two guards in the cell as well, both with bludgeons and whips in hand. They'd been backed up into the walls of the cells and into a tiny corner by the aforementioned Omega.
Vinnie didn't seem to notice the new arrivals, too wrapped up in his intimidation of the guards, but the second he caught scent of the Princess, Jester, and Knight, his anger turned to them instead.
"Vinnie?" Balthazar asked quietly as he watched the scene cautiously.
The growling stopped and Vinnie looked confused as Melissa snuck around to help Bradley.
Milo smiled at the Knight in greeting as he surrendered her Mate to her.
Melissa made it back around and Zak nodded to her. "Get him out of here."
The ginger nodded back and was gone.
Once she was out the door, Zak silently moved around Vinnie and Balthazar who'd engaged him in what seemed to be a "come back to sanity before you lose it forever" conversation. The Princess moved as quickly as she dared to get to her Mate.
Milo helped by crawling towards her as Zak made her way over and Zak wasn't sure she wanted to know why just yet, so she didn't bother with it. She'd find out in a bit.
Zak hit her knees on the hard, stone floor, ignoring the pain it caused and pulled her Omega into her arms, winding them tightly around his waist and not letting go.
"Alpha." Milo murmured with a sigh of relief and the Bond was overwhelmed with the feeling of intense happiness. "Alpha."
"I'm here, Milo. It's okay, I'm here." Zak buried her nose in Milo's hair and breathed in his calming scent.
He was safe now.
MML~MML~MML
Zak decided to let Melissa and Balthazar take care of the rest of the gang, preferring instead to take her Mate up to bed. (Being that their Omegas(2) had been taken too and Zak already had her revenge in giving Maxwell Hollen the justice he'd deserved.)
After seeing how tired he was while Milo was getting his ankle casted (a bad sprain), Zak simply led her Mate up to their bedroom and proceeded to pull him to their Nest.
She pushed back the blankets and let him get comfortable before laying down herself and pulling a few blankets over them and cuddling him close.
Milo curled up close to her and sighed, eyes closed and dozing off.
Zak cuddled closer, as close as she possible could as she possibly could and smiled. She found him.
And despite the fact that she'd shown no mercy to Maxwell Hollen by her own standards, she thanked the Lord above for the small mercy He'd shown her.
(1) So a Mindset is the Alpha's version of Headspace. It's where the Alpha is at their most protective and dominant. It isn't uncommon for them to immediately remove themselves (and/or their Mate) from the situation.
(2) Bradley is Melissa's Mate, yes, but no Dakota doesn't/isn't going to Mate with Cavendish. Vinnie has just been Scent Marked (lingering touches, cuddling, and scenting regularly) by Balthazar to keep other Alphas from getting the wrong idea.
