While I’m caught undecided, a third man arrives, and a hushed conversation takes place between the three of them. The newcomer is an alpha, but younger. He doesn’t have quite the same sickly undercurrent of the men who picked me up in the field, nor in those who have been appearing to drag omegas out of the cell. A deeper inspection tells me he’s newly awakened, if anyone can even use the term awakening about their kind. Maybe they’ve changed the virus since the alpha I met under Doctor Tsing’s watch, or maybe it takes years and time before they turn into abominations.
I probe his mind gently, familiarizing myself with him. He has authority over the other two despite his younger age, but he wears his authority unconvincingly. I release a very light tendril of arousal. His nostrils flare, and his eyes skim over the prisoners before they land on me.
“What are you doing?” Ashanti hisses in a low voice.
The young alpha’s posture stiffens, and he quickly looks away, only to lick his lips and snap his eyes to me once more.
Something the twitchy guard says to him draws his focus back to the other man.
But he’s interested. In me and not in the other omegas present.
Chapter Thirteen
Zeb
Infiltrations, and particularly off-script infiltrations, are not like in the movies. Sometimes you don’t have a clue what the fuck you’re doing. It’s easy to take the wrong turn, metaphorically speaking… and literally, as I follow the crowd of soldiers released from the hull, and into a… space canteen.
“Thought you’d be snagging an omega already, Jord.” someone pipes up from behind me, all fucking chipper.
I come to a complete standstill, blocking the entry to the said space canteen, and swing around to eyeball Chipper.
His smile drops.
It’s dog-eat-dog among the Uncorrupted. If you want to get ahead, you need to be mentally resilient, physically tough—better if you’re both. Aggressive pursuit of promotion is considered the norm. Killing someone to get that promotion? Not a problem. Among the soldiering ranks, physical challenges are encouraged where disputes occur, which means everyone is hyper aware of their place in the pecking order… and as you might guess, the alphas are at the top of that shit.
I grunt. Jord, as I now know myself to be, is a man mountain, and this body doesn’t feel like the kind to be verbose when it comes to communication.
Also, he mentioned omegas…
What are they doing with them? Divvying them up? Not mine and not on my fucking watch.
“Move aside, asshole!” someone calls from the back of the mass.
My sharp gaze shifts to the bottleneck I’ve created. The non-alpha soldiers, which is most of them, would be wearing exoskeletons in the field. They keep them racked while in transit, which leaves them disproportionately weak. Those standing closest to me swiftly part, offering a clear path between me and my heckler. I’m guessing Jord is a badass motherfucker… probably an asshole. This body is definitely giving me asshole vibes.
“You’re right. Food later.” I shove Chipper aside and make a line for my heckler who is not an alpha and is backpedaling into the rest of the bottleneck.
Watching the crowd scramble to get out of my way would be comical if my head wasn’t spinning, worrying what the fuck might be happening to Esme right now. My body must be in hyper-transition mode because I feel fucking pumped and the hand I wrap around the prick’s throat is like a shovel.
I get my face in his and growl.
He squeaks. The scent of urine hits my nose. I toss him away in disgust before swinging my eyes over the gathered soldiers collectively plastered against the wall of the corridor.
I crack my knuckles for effect.
“There might be a few unallocated,” someone says, thumbing in the direction we just came from. “If you hurry, you might snag one. Looks like you’re close to your limit, man. Better get that dealt with.”
Esme
Weaponizing my omega gift goes against every principle I have. The memories of what I did under Doctor Tsing’s directive still sicken me. Yet what room is there for such considerations when you find yourself in an enemy ship and your survival and soul are at risk? I only need to consider Ashanti and what they did to her for my purpose to sharpen.
I moan lightly and focus my mind on sending out another hint of arousal… laced with heat signals.
The young alpha’s eyes are glued to mine. He swallows thickly. His expression says he doesn’t know whether this is his lucky day or a nightmare because this is way more than he can handle.
My next moan is a little louder. I feel the collective eyes of my fellow prisoners turn my way—the alpha guard takes a step forward, then catches himself and stops. “Please, would you help me?”
“Fuck. We need to report this,” the twitchy guard says.
