“What does that mean?” I whispered.
“It means,” Alpha said carefully, “that we may need to study you together. To observe how the connection manifests, how it can be disrupted.”
Together. With Omega.The thought sent ice through my veins.
But beneath the terror, something else stirred. Something shameful and undeniable. My pussy clenched beneath the blanket, and I felt moisture gathering there despite everything.
I looked at Beta—at his strong features, his concerned expression, the way he had carried me so carefully from that basement. The way he had praised me for my honesty rather than condemning me for my weakness.
Something warm unfurled in my chest. Something that felt dangerously like hope, or trust, or…
No. I couldn’t let myself think that way. This was just another form of the same corruption that had led me to summon Omega in the first place.
But the feeling persisted. Growing stronger with every moment I spent in Beta’s presence.
Had I summoned the wrong energy being? Or had Omega been necessary—a dark mirror to show me what I truly needed? Not cruelty and domination for their own sake, but strength tempered with care. Authority balanced by genuine concern.
I looked at Beta and felt my heart flutter in a way that had nothing to do with fear.
The transport shuddered slightly as we entered Magisteria’s atmosphere, descending through the thick cloud cover toward the ice below. Through the viewport, I saw the familiar white surface, the massive access port opening to receive us.
“Almost there,” Beta said, his eyes still on me. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, though I had no idea if that was true.
The transport landed with barely a bump. The ramp lowered, and Beta stood, then offered me his hand to help me stand. The blanket slipped slightly as I rose, but I caught it before it could fall away completely. My legs felt unsteady beneath me.
The ramp opened fully, revealing a white corridor beyond. Several Magisterian personnel in medical whites waited with what looked like a specialized gurney—maybe designed for transporting dangerous people or even animals, judging from the thing’s overbuilt construction and the many restraints attached to various parts of it.
Alpha and Beta concentrated on maintaining the stasis field, with its gently shimmering purple sheen, as six burly orderlies carried Omega out of the transport’s containment unit. They put the huge body, its face frozen into a snarl, onto the gurney carefully, the purple field crackling and humming a little as they settled Omega on the padded surface.
“Take Jendra here to the reception area, please,” Alpha instructed one of the attendants, gesturing to me. “We’ll process the entity first.”
I nodded, still clutching the blanket around myself and looking at the orderly Alpha had indicated, who gave me a reassuring smile. But as the rest of the orderlies began wheeling the gurney down the corridor, I felt something shift inside me. A pull, like invisible threads tugging at my chest, my belly, lower still.
My feet moved forward.
“Jendra.” Beta’s voice came from behind me, his voice sounding a bit strained, as if from the effort of maintaining the stasis field. “Wait in the reception area.”
But I couldn’t stop. The pull grew stronger with every step the gurney took away from me. My heart pounded as I followed, my bare feet padding on the cold floor.
“Jendra,” Beta said more firmly, moving to intercept me. “You need to wait?—”
“I have to go with him,” I heard myself say, my voice strange and distant. I realized at that point that I had dropped the blanket to the floor, as if something in me knew I had no use for it—that I should be naked for my master—and a hot blush filled my cheeks.
Beta’s large hand closed gently but firmly on my shoulder. “No. You need to stay here while we secure?—”
The moment he touched me, panic exploded through my system. I twisted violently as I fought against his restraining hand. My rational mind screamed that I was being insane, that Beta was trying to help me, but something deeper and more primal had taken control.
“Let me go!” I shrieked, clawing at his arm. “I need to be with my master!”
Beta’s grip tightened, clearly trying to keep me from injuring myself as I thrashed. I could feel his concern, his confusion, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except getting to Omega.
“Jendra, stop—you’re going to hurt yourself?—”
“Let me go with my master!” The words tore from my throat in a scream that echoed off the sterile walls. “Please! I have to—I need?—”
I struggled so violently that I felt something wrench in my shoulder. Pain shot through me, but even that didn’t stop the desperate need clawing through my chest.
