Page 47 of Marked Omega

“You’re an outsider,” I gasp.

Now it’s my turn to blush, and I’m grateful that the shadows of this place at least partly conceal my embarrassment. Obviously I’m much more of an outsider than Hannah, since she has clearly been here for a while. I can’t believe how quickly my perspective has changed. I’m already talking as if I belong in this place, and I don’t even know where this place is.

Hannah seems to notice my slight twinge of embarrassment and gives me an empathetic smile that let’s me know no offense has been taken. She crouches beside me and presses her palm against my forehead.

“Your fever’s gone,” she says. “And your color has come back. How do you feel?”

“Weak,” I tell her, “but mostly okay. What happened to me?”

Hannah sighs. She glances around at the three Alphas standing over me protectively. I notice that her neck and shoulder bear three marks that look as though they were made by teeth. Suddenly I remember where Addom marked the crook of my neck with his fangs, and I touch myself there, feeling the scar.

Hannah turns back toward me.

“You gave us all quite a scare, Lily,” she says. “I need to ask you something, and please don’t take this the wrong way.”

I nod.

“Lily, are you a nihiloxin user?”

I cast my eyes down in shame. Even though the drug is not illegal in the city hives and its use is widespread, there is still a certain stigma attached to it.

“Yes,” I mutter.

Hannah smiles and squeezes my arm.

“Hey, don’t be ashamed,” she says. “I used to take that shit too. In fact, I had a similar reaction to yours when I first came here several weeks ago. You were experiencing withdrawals. The worst of it should be over now. Do you feel any nausea?”

I shake my head. The only thing I feel in my stomach is an intense, gnawing hunger, and right on cue my tummy growls irritably. Hannah frowns.

“You must be starving. We’ll get you some food.”

She turns to Addom on the other side of the bed.

“She should be able to keep food down now. Broth would be good, and maybe some eggs.”

Addom nods. He moves over to speak to Kadmon, and soon the younger Alpha is sprinting away, presumably to retrieve some food for me.

I groan as I sit up in the bed.

“What is this place?” I ask her, glancing around. “Are we in a hospital?”

Hannah shakes her head.

“No. We’re actually inside the SynerGen headquarters.

My body stiffens, and I sit up straight on my pallet.

“Don’t worry,” Hannah says, placing her hand on my shoulder. “We’re in the old SynerGen headquarters. From before the cataclysm. The facility is no longer in use. Well…actually it is, but not by the SynerGen people. It belongs to us now.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. After what Dr. Lucian did to me—the way that he betrayed my trust—the very mention of my former place of employment is enough to make my skin crawl.

Still, this has to be more than just some weird coincidence.

“But I don’t understand,” I say, looking around. “I mean, what am I doing in this place? Why SynerGen?”

This time it’s Addom who answers.

“We brought you here so you would be close to the Source. That is what healed you.”