"What. Happened?" I demand, every syllable edged with steel.
Lex studies me for a long moment, calculation in her gaze. Finally, she gestures with her free hand, encompassing the devastation around us.
"What happened? We had what you might call an 'incident.'" She takes a stiff step closer, her gaze unflinching. "You see that pit over there? We had something in it. A literal monster Nicky was trying to tame. And it got out."
A monster? What kind of superstitious?—
Then it hits me. I've heard whispers, reports of experiments conducted in the shadows of the war. Failed attempts to create the perfect soldier. I've seen firsthand what happens when science pushes too far, crosses lines that should never be crossed.
My brother has one in his pack. Wraith. That beast with the cold blue eyes who attacked me like a fucking hellhound. I can see wastelanders thinking an alpha like him is a monster. The sailor certainly did. Ironically, most survivors aren't top minds.
Could she be talking about the same kind of experiment?
"Are you saying this...monster... took Cosima?" I struggle to keep my voice level, to hide the emotions threatening to tear me apart from within.
"I'm saying that during the chaos, your precious omega escaped. Haven't seen her, that traitorous bastard Nikolai, or the monster since. Could be they ran off together and became a happy throuple, could be the thing ate them both." She shrugs, her face twisting into a scarred sneer. "Don't give a shit either way."
I want to kill her for that alone. For her callous disregard. For speaking of Cosima being in danger as if she's discussing the weather. My finger twitches on the trigger, but I hold back. She still has information I need.
"This monster," I begin, the word tasting foul on my tongue. "What was it, exactly?"
Another shrug, this one accompanied by a grimace of pain as she shifts her weight to her other boot. "Some kind of mutated alpha. Big motherfucker, eight feet tall, maybe more. Fully feral, no sign of sentience. Had metal parts grafted onto him. Claws that could—and did—shred a man to ribbons. Wiped out a good number of our men before Vlakov managed to trap him in that pit. And when he got out..." She gestures around us. "Well, you can see what happened."
My blood runs cold.
And somewhere out there, it might be with Cosima. The idea fills me with a terror so profound it threatens to destroy me, to drown out every rational thought. Images of her running through the wasteland—hunted, cornered, terrified—flash through my mind.
But something still doesn't fit. Something tells me there's more to this story. Instinct, perhaps, or the bond between mates that transcends physical distance. Whatever the reason, I'm certain Cosima is still alive.
Still fighting.
Still waiting.
I would feel it if she were gone. I wouldknow.
She may be an omega, but she's more resourceful than any alpha I've known. Strong. Brave. Fierce. A survivor, through and through.
"Where would Nikolai go?" I ask, lowering my weapon slightly. "If he survived this 'incident.'"
Lex seems surprised by the question, or perhaps by my sudden shift in demeanor. "Nikolai is a rat," she says finally, venom dripping from every word. "And rats always scurry to the deepest, darkest hole they can find when they're wounded." A malicious smile splits her face. "Check the black market. That's where all the vermin congregate when they've got nowhere else to go."
A young, scrappy-looking soldier standing nearby looks nervous at Lex's words. "You sure you should be telling him that?" he asks, voice cracking.
Lex shoots him a withering glare. "Thought I told your boyfriend to keep you on a leash, Reese."
"I ain't a fucking babysitter!" A burly man with a sweat-dampened dark undercut emerges from behind a stack of crates, wiping grease from his hands onto his pants.
Reese's face flushes red. "At least I didn't blow up the entire fucking east hangar!"
"That was one time!" The brute throws his rag at Reese's face, hitting him square in the mouth. "And you were the one who left the detonator switch uncovered!"
"Eat shit, Mikey!"
"Already did. Your cooking last night, remember?"
Lex rolls her eyes. "Ladies, ladies. You're both pretty."
The dog at Lex's feet barks twice, as if adding its own opinion to the argument.
