“IndigoMountain.”
A smug grin stretched across his ugly features. Satisfied, he snatched up the pendulum and pocketed it. “That should do for now. What a good little omega you are.” He paused, then shot me a strangely wary glance. “Come here.Closer.”
I didn’t know what he wanted, but I couldn’t afford to break my act now. I shuffled closer to him, keeping my head low. With a growl, he pulled me to his chest. I felt sick. I hated being this close to him. My wolf cried out, wanting to fight, but I couldn’t.Notnow.
I tried not to shudder as Gunner stroked my hair with hiscoldhand.
“Once we attack Indigo Mountain and take them out for good, then I’ll figure out what to do with you,” Gunnermurmured.
Take them out?Ithought.
“Maybe we can find out how to fix that… infertility of yours,” he said with asmirk.
I barely contained a gasp of shock. He might as well have admitted to my face that he was lying about my infertility. The brainwashed version of me would have missed that - after all, Gunner had warped my point of view so badly that I would have believed anything that came out of his mouth withoutquestion.
Sliding a disgusting arm around my shoulder possessively, Gunner stomped on the candle and led me out of theshack.
*
Back at the omega compound, Delta was still guarding the door. I stared at the ground, pretending not to be aware of anything like a good littleomega.
“Are they gone?” Gunnerasked.
“Yes, sir,” Delta replied. “Virgil took David back to the alpha’squarters.”
“Good.” He pushed me towards the other alpha. “Put this one back in his cell. And don’t even think about laying a fingeronhim.”
“Ofcourse,sir.”
Gunner left, and Delta grabbed my arm to throw me back in my cell. I bit my tongue as his fingers dug into my skin. He pushed me in and sneered. “I don’t know what Gunner sees in you. You’re just a useless, barrenomega.”
“Yes, sir,” I saidquietly.
Encouraged by this, Delta laughed. “You even know it, too. That alpha was a dipshit for thinking he could come here and take you back to his stupid pack. You’re not even worth theeffort.”
This time I didn't reply. I just wanted him toleave.
“No answer this time?” Delta growled. “Answerme!”
“No, I’m not worth the effort,” I repeated. Why was he giving me such ahardtime?
He clicked his tongue and turned around, evidently bored with hassling me. He left the building and slammed the doorbehindhim.
I sighed, letting the fatigue overwhelm me as I slumped intomybed.
I almost screamed when I saw a black shape nexttome.
“Calm down,” it said in a voice that sounded echoed in my mind. It was using the shifter mind connection, and its voice sounded strangelyfamiliar.
Squinting through the darkness, I could barely make out the shape of a large bird, staring at me with soulfulblackeyes.
“Do not fret,” he said. “It’sme.”
I stared, confused, at the big black bird. I tried to put a face to the voice I’d heard. “Virgil…?”
“Indeed,” Virgil said. I noticed a glint of light as he spoke this time, and realized there was a silver key dangling fromhisbeak.
“Why are you here? What is that?” I stammered. “And why are youabird?”
