The front door opens, and everyone looks at it like they’re waiting for a verdict; even Mira, who gets Alicia’s attention so she’s the last to look up, her dark eyes scanning the room like she’s searching for a threat. A plumper woman with short brown hair gelled back struts in, her face gently lined with wrinkles, but not enough to look too aged. Her black eyes slide over the room and fix on me the way someone checks the price tag.
“Hello, ladies,” she says, voice like a bell. “Omega bonfire at sundown; a swelling moon, to be precise! One of them was just confirmed as expecting, so we’re throwing a celebration.”
“Woo,” Juno says, with no enthusiasm. Mira dips her head lower into her book, writing something on paper that Alicia looks down to read.
“Who’s expecting?” Cassandra slowly inhales with closed eyes. “As long as the alphas stay away from us, I agree to go.”
The woman’s glare finally leaves me. “It’s Amy, which gives hope forallof you. And Cassandra, you know that’s not how these gatherings go. Be ready by sundown.” Those dark eyes return to me, and my back stiffens. “Diana,” she says, smiling, but I don’t trust an inch of her. And this time, I’m listening to that intuition. “The newest omega. How is everything so far?”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ravina. I oversee the omegas at Dominion. I thought to let you wake on your own so the omegas could show you around. I’m so pleased to see you awake and about.”
Always a hierarchy. She doesn’t smell like an alpha either. “I just woke up, so, I guess whatever that means,” I reply.
“No worries, the bonfire is a perfect place to stretch your legs and understand us better. There’s food in the fridge and pantry, and it already smells like coffee is brewing. If you need anything at all, just let the men outside the front door know. I’ll leave you be with the others. I take it one of them has steppedup to help you? Ah, you have, Juno? Perfect. I’ll see you all shortly.” She leaves with the same intensity she entered with, like she’s a messenger pigeon herself, not before looking over the other omegas like they better help me understand how this place works.
“What’s a bonfire for omegas?” I ask, watching her walk away, aware I’m like a walking question mark with all the concerns I have.Don’t act too needy.“And is she really in charge of us here?”
Juno snorts. “Yes, she is, unfortunately, in charge of us. Rather harmless, really, but justweird.Also, the bonfire is an excuse to get us near alphas. They’re always trying. Swelling moon just means it’s to celebrate one of us getting fat for nine months.” Juno looks at the others. “I can’t believe Amy ispregnant! She at least wants babies!”
My stomach sinks.
Great.
Fucking great. Parade myself in front of them—already I can feel their eyes dissecting me, probably all aware that Judge used me. Does that make me usable in their eyes, too? My heart races, and I glance back at Mira, whose eyes are far from mute as she keeps glancing up. There’s an edge in there that makes me feel like she’s someone who has seen a lot and is quite smart. Perhaps there’s pity in her eyes as she looks at me before burrowing herself back in her book.
I refuse to let my panic sink in, knowing this is all temporary. Iwillget to the Witch Doctor on the Black Mirage, and I’ll force my body into menopause and remove my identity as an omega.
Then, I’m finding Selene and burying this identity for good.
JUDGE
I can’t focus.
I’m in a room surrounded by alphas, and yet my attention is far from here. There’s usually humming engines outside, but once it gets too cold for the bikes, we bring out the refurbished cages. Another sign that winter will soon barricade us here, and so much still needs to be done.
Sitting around a scarred table bolted to the floor are a dozen other alphas, candles fluttering in jars, incense from a suppressant flower curling into elegant coils. The alphas in this room smell like spent gunpowder and leather; the betas smell like medication. There are four betas to every alpha tonight, each with tranqs slotted at their belts.
The Iron Maw is our gathering room made of metal—a collection of shipping crates welded into a meeting hall, the exterior shaped like a wolf, the doors in the throat of an open, snarling mouth. Large windows are the eyes, letting in the only natural light.
This conversation is important, but I can’t stop thinking about the omega that’s in the wrong place.
Diana might be safe within my walls, butwhat are the other omegas doing? What are they telling her? That particular selection of omegas aren’t the best influence for her.
Is Diana scrubbing her skin raw, trying to get rid of me? The instincts of an alpha calling to his omega are louder than I’ve ever felt, telling me that she was taken in heat, used, and now she’s abandoned. What other fucking option did I have, though?
I need to see her. Alone. Somewhere the noise of a dozen alphas won’t draw attention. Or—no—no, she needs to remain where she is. It’s imperative she rests her head whereIcan control the narrative and craft her trust into something that belongs to me, because what I plan to do will ruineverythingif she learns of it.
The larger omega group is far too involved. Plus, sending her there would insinuate she’savailable.
Nothingabout her is. She belongs to me, even if she doesn’t appreciate that yet.
“Titan plans to go west during the winter,” Rook says. His voice is roughened by tobacco, and cuts through my thread of concentration as I lift my gaze to him. “Can’t go past the marsh without running into the Reapers. He’s skirting the mountains.”
I keep my face still, but the words linger in my mind.Refocus.
Aside from fearing a dark bond, Titan is the second largest reason I didn’t bite Diana’s neck when I so easily could have. Being with me is one of the safest things to happen to her, and also one of the most dangerous with the shitty timing of it all. There are too many loose ends thatneedtightening. “Arkansas is barren,” I say, slowly, holding a chipped cup of torchwater and sipping to buy time. The taste is hot and thin. “All Titan’s doing is posturing.”
