“Let’s go, girls,” says a voice that brings some calm to me. Maggie is the head healer with wiry, red curly hair. It always frizzes out on the humid or rainy days, and it’s a symbol I didn’t expect to mean quite as much as it does right now.
She’s the one who took me in when she knew what I was. Who has taken usallin. Maggie ushers us both into the room with the stern dignity she’s known for, and Selene says from behind, “I’ll keep an eye out. I’ll start whistling if any of Dominion are here.”
“Thank you, Selene.” The other omegas seem just as skepticalas I, easing my paranoia. Sanity still reigns. “Now that we’re all present,” Maggie says, looking over the five of us as she lifts her chin, arms folded behind her back in that firm, unshakeable way. “Let’s just rip the bandage off. I’m sure it’s spread one way or another thattheJudge is being treated here.” She pauses as her words hang over us. “Given that Dominion has a violent reputation when they want to be, and that you are who you are, I wanted to give you all the permission to disappear into the night if you need to.” There’s a pause, like we’re chained dogs who just heard our collars hit the ground. “Or, to present yourselves to Dominion. It’s your choice, and I will do what I can to support it. Just know that come tomorrow, for the safety of others, I cannot hide you any further. I don’t plan to tell him, but it’s no secret that they’ve been sniffing outyourkind. It’s only a matter of time before Judge asks me.”
My head spins, and that sensation of feeling like I’ve lost too much blood makes me want to vomit. I place a hand on a support beam, knowing that if it gets worse, I need to lie down and put my feet up. LikehellI’m passing out during something like this.
“He’s been watching over this place,” one named Lenora finally says. “That’s why Dogma has been here. I bet he has everywhere covered.”
“Why not just come in and demand we show ourselves?” another asks.
Meanwhile, my throat feels like it’s closing up.
“Because,” Maggie calmly replies, “it’s the same reason no one touches us. We’re what keeps them all alive when they fight each other. No one wants to ask permission to come here if we’reownedby another.” She sighs heavily. “I think Judge wants me to offer our loyalty to Dominion. It’s what Dogma has hinted heavily at.”
My ass clenches so tight, pissed off that I didn’t have time to prepare for this. “I want to leave,” I say without thought. All mynormals here seem meaningless, survival kicking in like an old, necessary friend. And running away is sort of my M.O. at this point.
“Me too,” Lenora echoes. The other three stare at the floor.
“Okay, Ashley, Becca, and Sarah?” Maggie sighs when they don’t answer. “It’s okay, ladies. Take the night to think, if you need. I won’t be speaking with Judge until the morning. If you want to leave in the next hour or so, let me know, and I’ll try to create the best diversion. If that’s it, then let’s start leaving this room, one at a time.”
I nearly take off, but Maggie intercepts and instructs the rest to leave until it’s just her and me. My body starts buzzing like I might actually have a panic attack.Breathe. Hold your breath. Exhale. Hold that longer.“Diana, I need to speak with you.”
My heart’s pounding, and I’m already contemplating how to end myself in here rather than be captured. “I can’t take much more, Maggie,” I quickly state. The amber bulbs cast long shadows across her face, making the worry in her eyes appear heavier than usual.
“I have rather unfortunate news, but itisthe last.”
“What?” I ask, my brittle voice low. “Just get it over with.”
Maggie exhales slowly, her breath hitching with something she doesn’t want to say. “Judge asked, in particular, for you and Selene to visit him.”
I don’t remember the last time this much stress convoluted my world. “He doesn’t even know I exist,” I barely make out.
“He asked for the two Enclave nurses who visited Hozier’s. Don’t worry. I’ve already told him you two are frazzled after seeing the chaos at New Bunker, and for some reason, he agreed to being chained to the bed if it made you feel better when you entered.” She widens her eyes as if to ask if itdoesmake me feel better, to which I just continue to stare until she blinks and looks at the door. “I will handle most of his care, along withBeatrice and Alice. If you two just make separate, individual appearances, it will be better.”
She’s trying to soothe me like an alpha should, but there’s a tremor under her words. Like evensheisn’t entirely convinced we’re safe from whatever magnetic pull Judge carries with him. The air between us is filled with the hum of the generators straining to power the place. I’m even aware that allying with Judge might mean a significant increase in resources for the Enclave. This country is massive, and Dominion could connect us to even more resources.
This place shouldn’t avoid that because ofme.
“Butme,” I manage out, staring blankly at the floor. “I, of all people, can’t go in there. Because of what Iam. It’s not fair that I drew the smallest straw!”
“You can take an extra dose,” she offers quietly. “I can’t do more, Diana. He said if only one of you showed, the other would be hurt for it.”
I almost laugh. The sound that escapes is almost lethal.
That fucking asshole.
I think on that, because a part of me still begs to run. And yet I’d be abandoning Selene, leaving her to god knows what. I can’t do that. And Judgeknowsit. He’ll absolutely follow through on his threat.
Oh, I could skin him and turn him into a hide for the coming winter.
“Maggie, he’s going to know.” My voice is distant, like I’m about to read my own eulogy. “There’s no pretending he won’t. It’s actually insulting to my intelligence to suggest otherwise.”
“And if you don’t go in,” she counters with the firmness of an alpha, “then when he leaves, he will sendmoreDominion here to find you. Going in there now while he’s on pain medication and out of it is thebestalternative. It’s probably theonlyway youmightescape this.”
“Fuck.” My whimper practically echoes into the bones of the building. She has a point. “Is he alone?”
“Yes, he’s in the Emerald room. And again, he offered to be chained.” She leans in, like she doesn’t trust the shadows. “Listen, if I were you, I’d go back to your room and pack what you need. I’d bring it with you when you encounter Judge, and if the meeting goes poorly, I’d get out of here. Don’t tell me where you’re going. Take what you need and go.”
