Gage pauses in the midst of his drying, as if caught off-guard. “Well, I mean, some packs take on omegas that aren’t actually mated to them. Or maybe there was a lovers’ spat, and that’s why she ran off.”
I shake my head. “That still doesn’t make sense. A good pack takes care of their omega, spat or no. She shouldn’t have had any reason to run.”
He sighs and hangs up his towel. “These are questions for after. I don’t have any good answers for them right now. Without the omega to interrogate, and with the Orions being so tight-lipped about the details of her escape, we’re stuck in limbo.”
After a quick squeeze of my shoulder, Gage wanders off towards the dorms, presumably to get dressed. I should do the same, I suppose, but the growing enigma surrounding our target plagues me, slowing my steps. I don’t understand her reluctance to follow a pack of alphas telling her to come with them, especially not when the scent of her arousal was so strong on the cliff. She wanted Gage, but she still fought back. She still resisted, and that doesn’t track.
A spicy omega with a spicy attitude. She sounds morebrujathan bride, like a witch sent to bespell us.
By the time I throw on some loose pajama pants and a hoodie and head for the mess hall, Emmett already has dinner ready. Since I’m not cooking, the pickings are slim: pizza and, well, more pizza. I’d take a slice, but I’m not particularly in the mood for it. We failed today; we haven’t really earned food.
I’m not the only one picking at my food. Gage and Emmett both seem equally distracted, though I note that Olly dives in with gusto and maintains the entire conversation by himself.
“...So, I was thinking we could maybe keep the omega here for a few days before we hand her over to the Orions. You know, run some tests. Find out why she smells the way she does, why she acted the way she did.”
I freeze with my fork halfway to my mouth. Emmett and I exchange a glance, and Gage sighs.
“Let’s stop that for now, Olly,” Gage says, rubbing his temple. “First, we have to find her again–if she survived that fall. Then we’ve got to capture her, andthenmaybe we can investigate her strange nature. Just remember this: She already escaped one pack. If we can’t keep her once we’ve got her, it’s all moot. I doubt the Orions will give us another chance. We lose her again, and they’ll hire another pack.”
“Yeah, Olly. Let’s not put the cart beforeel caballo, eh?”
Olly’s face falls, and he clamps his mouth shut.
Great. I triggered a nonverbal episode in the poor guy. Once he’s like this, he doesn’t talk for hours, maybe days even.
I hope for his sake that we find Auryn again, and that we can catch her.
Chapter 4
Auryn
My lungs feel like they’re going to explode by the time I reach the surface. The waves are heavy, knocking me around like I’m nothing more than a damn rag doll. But then again, I practically am at this point. The drugs they pumped me full of are wearing off, which means I feel everything— including the sharp, stinging chill of the icy waves embedding themselves into my fucking skin.
I look back on the cliff, but there are no signs of the mercenaries who chased me. Who pushed me off that cliff.
I know they didn’t push me,per se, but looking into the eyes of the head alpha, Mr. Blue Eyes, I knew I had no choice but to jump if I wanted to survive.
Not only because he was chasing me, but…
Because the minute I looked into his eyes, I felt thispullin my chest. It was…different than all the other times an alpha was in my presence. I saw several alphas a day at the facility. The ones who pumped me with chemicals, who cornered me with their feral gazes.
The ones who tried to breed me…
I always felt that instinct to cower, to obey, topleasethe alphas in my presence because that’s an omega’s nature.
But I didn’t just want to please Mr. Blue Eyes, no. I wanted to feel his bite.
I wanted to beclaimed.I’ve never felt that before, and it was as terrifying as his sharp gaze.
Wherever he is now, he’s gone, and that’s all that matters. With him gone, I’m finally free.
I swim against the choppy waves, and when I get to the beach, I collapse onto the rough stones and sand. I try my hardest to catch my breath, but I’m fucking exhausted. Still, I know I need to move. I can’t trust that Mr. Blue Eyes and his band of alphas won’t come back. For all I know, they could be going out and around in order to flank me and push me into capture.
No, I cannot waste a second. So, I force my legs to stand, as wobbly as they are, and I push myself to move despite the exhaustion.
I walk and wander deliriously through the woods, shivering from the icy chill of the water and the harsh wind, until I find a suitable cave that will do for the night. It’s deeper than it appears, which I am thankful for. If they do circle back, I’ll hear them. I take my time and arrange the ferns and shrubbery as best I can to hide the entrance, and as I step back to take a look at my handiwork, my omega whines.
I know enough about my nature to understand my omega instincts. She wants him. Mr. Blue Eyes. She’s a backstabbing bitch.
