He calmed down quickly, letting out a deep sigh. “I don’t want to see either of you get hurt from lack of planning. We can do this together. Just don’t rushahead.”
“Alright,” I saidsimply.
He gestured to the small wooded clearing surrounding us. “We only knew about this place because weknowthe pack. We know where they go, where they don’t. We know which areas are private, and which ones are crawling with guards. You’ll needourhelp.”
“Again, who iswe?” I asked, shooting a glance at the alpha in the hood, who just growledatme.
“We’ll explain everything in due time,” Virgil promised. “It’s getting late now. We should get back before Gunner decides to check the omegacompound.”
“Fine,” I grunted. I would go along with Virgil’s plan for now, but I didn’t have to like it. “Let’sgo.”
“I’m staying here,” the hooded alpha remarked,lookingaway.
“What?” I growled. I was instantly suspicious. This guy wouldn’t even tell me his name, and I didn’t like that he suddenly decided not to come with us. Was he with usornot?
“Don’t worry about him,” Virgil soothed me. “It will all make sense induetime.”
“Ugh, whatever,” Igrumbled.
I stood, holding Niko gently in my arms. I forgot all my frustration towards the hooded alpha after one look at Niko’s soft face, turned gaunt and sickly from his time in this pack. My chest hurt knowing that I was just going to put him back in a cell. But despite my anger, I knew Virgil was right. If I lost Niko because of my own arrogance and rash behavior, I could never live with myself. As much as I hated relying on others, I would trust Virgil to get Niko and I out of thisplace.
*
After leaving the weird hooded alpha behind, Virgil and I made our way back to the inner town. My arms should have been sore by this point from carrying Niko, but he was so thin that it was upsettingly easy tocarryhim.
The path back was winding and confusing. I didn’t even know such thick vegetation existed within this pack’s territory. I thought the entire place was full of ugly concrete buildings and barren landscapes. I guess it was a good thing that Virgil offered to help us, because I truly would have been utterly lost onmyown.
We travelled in silence until we reached the thinning tree line. Virgil paused and turnedtome.
“If anyone spots us, act confident,” he explained. “You’re with me, a high-ranking alpha. You’re also part of Gunner’s alpha army now, whether you like it or not. If anyone is suspicious of you, they’ll be inherently suspicious of Gunner byassociation.”
I nodded then asked, “WhataboutNiko?”
“I have an excuse for that,” he said simply withoutelaborating.
Being back in the dull concrete landscape after spending time in the thick wooded area was depressing. I wondered if anyone who lived here knew how much their barren surroundings were probably contributing to their badattitudes.
Soon Virgil led me back on the familiar path to the omega compound where Niko and the other “miscellaneous” omegas were kept. Just the concept of it made my blood boil. The sooner we got out of this place, the better. But at the same time, I couldn’t forget all the other omegas who lived in this pack who didn’t have a chance of escaping. My friends - Mason, Charlie and Wesley - they were all lucky. Not everybody was as fortunate as them. But what could I dotohelp?
My thoughts were interrupted when Virgil stopped suddenly. Immediately I saw why. In front of us, standing in front of the door to the omega compound, was another First Order alpha - Delta. I recognized him from when I was first introduced to the pack. I prickled warily, but at the back of my mind I wondered if he had some kind of secret agenda like Virgil did. I withheld my judgmentfornow.
But as we approached, I noticed Virgil’s posture had stiffened. As we got closer and I saw the wary expression on Delta’s face, I braced myself for the possible confrontation that I hoped wewouldn’thave.
“Virgil,” Delta said, nodding at him before turning to me. “David.”
His gaze turned none-too-subtly towards Niko, who was still unconscious inmyarms.
“Delta,” Virgil said calmly. “We’ll be returning the omega to hiscellnow.”
He was clearly waiting for Virgil to step aside and let us through, but the suspicious Delta had other plans. He crossedhisarms.
“And might I ask why he was removed from his cell in the first place?” Deltaasked.
My body went rigid as I anticipated a fight. I had no qualms about knocking this guy out if it meant success for my overall mission to save Niko. But Virgil’s warning still weighed heavily on my mind, and I forced myself to try andstaycalm.
“Yes, you may,” Virgil said. I had to appreciate his cool, collected manner - he didn’t act or sound any different when he was apparently lying straight to his pack mate’s face. “We were going through a training exercise for David that required the use of the omega. I’m sure you can understand that David needs all the help in his training for the army that hecanget.”
I was impressed with Virgil that he managed to lie without actually lying - I supposed itwasa training exercise insomeway.
