These back hallways interest me most. They're the veins and arteries of the building. The places ordinary people never see. Where the real secrets hide. Where I can move undetected if necessary.
I'm halfway down a particularly dim passage when it hits me.
A scent.
Faint. Almost buried beneath industrial cleaners, mildew, and the bitter chemical notes of scent suppressants. But unmistakable.
Omega.
My nostrils flare as I inhale deeply, trying to capture more of that elusive fragrance. Not just any omega scent. This one is honeysuckle and summer rain, instantly pulling at me, but the undercurrent of something medicinal mutes its delicious notes.
Fever sweat. Illness.
A sick omega?
Here, hidden away in the bowels of the arena?
Curiosity prickles along my spine. I follow the scent like a bloodhound, each step bringing me closer to its source. The trail leads me through a series of increasingly narrow corridors, some barely lit by flickering emergency lights.
Most would turn back. Most would feel the primitive fear that dark, confined spaces trigger in the human brain.
I am not most people.
The scent grows stronger as I turn down another corridor. At the end of it is an abandoned locker room, the door hanging slightlyajar, and from within comes the unmistakable sound of running water.
A shower.
Steam billows from the gap, carrying with it that delicious scent, stronger now without the chemical overlay I detected earlier. Pure omega. Female.
And something else.
Something that alerts my alpha instincts like soldiers snapping to parade rest.
I freeze, surprised by my own reaction. I've encountered omegas before. Plenty of them. But never has one's mere scent affected me this way.
And then the air shifts.
A new scent fills the corridor.
Alpha.
A massive shadow detaches itself from the darkness at the far end of the hall. A hulking figure with a black mask covering the lower half of his face moves toward me with surprising grace for a giant, eating up the distance between us with long, purposeful strides. Like a lion given human form.
My lips curl into a smile.
This must be Wraith. My new teammate.
How convenient.
"Ah, perfect timing," I call out. "I was hoping to meet you before the formal introductions. I'm Valek. Your new winger. I believe I'll be occupying the locker beside yours."
No response. Just the steady approach of seven feet of violence incarnate. He's close enough now that I can see the feral rage burning in his cold blue eyes.
Someone doesn't play well with others.
"Just getting the lay of the land," I continue, gesturing lazily around us. "And I picked up the most interesting scent down here." I tap my nose, grinning wider. "Omega. You caught it too, I see."
His fist cracks against my jaw before I register the movement. The blow rocks my head back, my vision exploding white as blood gushes into my mouth.
