by L. V. Lane
“Shot him in the leg,” Hudson replied.
I nearly face-planted; they must be talking about the doctor. I wasn’t the only one paying attention; Eloise was also walking attentively close, and she looked—worried?
Hudson clamped his fingers around the scruff of my neck and pulled me in close to his side. “Nosy little kitten,” he muttered, before turning back to Logan. “It wasn’t a Controller, just some regular guard they deployed. I’d say his career is in ruins after he let her pull that stunt. There was damage to the tunnel-lock caused by one of the blasts and someone had to stay on the wrong side. The rest of the medical team had gotten through safely. She took the guards gun and shot him in the leg. Another doctor and her assistant were the only other people there. They didn’t know the lock was bust and were too shocked to realize what she was about to do. They helped her get the injured guard into the elevator. She stayed to operate the lock, and as the elevator door was closing she said—They’ll come for me, they won’t come for him and I can’t let him die.”
Logan chuckled. “Ballsy. I can’t believe her protection fell for that move. I’d shoot the fucktwit in the other leg.”
“I heard the general is spitting mad,” Hudson replied. “Apparently her daddy is someone important, and she got preferential treatment. They should have allocated her a Controller the moment the city came under attack. I think we can assume her ass is about to be controlled.”
Eloise looked at me, rolled her eyes and muttered, “I’d like to see someone try.”
I had to bite my lip not to laugh, I guess she knows the doctor.
Then my mind tumbled back a few steps…Controller? Was the doctor an Omega?
I felt Hudson give me a warning squeeze and a glare when I tried to get closer to Eloise so I could ask.
We stopped, allowing a line of troops to cross our path.
“I think this might be the catalyst for the law change,” Logan said. “Long overdue if you ask me.”
“I agree,” Hudson said.
What law?!
“That’s because you are a neanderthal,” Eloise said with vehemence.
Logan pulled her body flush against his. “You want me to fight for you again, baby?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped, and wriggled, earning herself a sharp swat on the bottom that made me flinch. “I just don’t think every Omega needs constant control whether it’s permanent or via rotation,” she said, her tone still heated. “We have few enough rights as it is!”
“Well, your wayward doctor’s actions have just instigated a major operation,” Logan said. “This is what happens when Omegas are left uncontrolled. And you would know all about wayward Omegas and the trouble they can get into. If she’d done as she was told, we wouldn’t be here.”
“Done as she was told! She was trying to save someone’s life! Her father promised her she would never be controlled—she’s not the kind of Omega you deploy.”
“You’re acting out, baby. I think someone is overdue their maintenance spank.”
He slapped her bottom again, hard, three times, and loud enough to draw the attention of the passing troops. A few catcalls followed. Logan lowered his head, lips close to her ear, and gloved fingers closed over her throat. I couldn’t hear what he said, but her face turned deathly white. He tapped her chin until she lifted her eyes and nodded. “You’re not impartial in this one, baby,” he said.
I held my breath during this exchange. I had heard that Singulars could be defiant, and while I was desperate to find out more about these proposed law changes—and was similarly alarmed after what she had just said—even I knew you did not speak to your Controller like that, at least not publicly. Still, I had learned a few nuggets about the doctor, and I filed them away.
Logan was holding Eloise close, and his dark eyes promised further punishment later. When I looked up, I found Hudson studying me as if daring me to make a comment. I knew what he would do if I defied him during this operation. I was almost glad for this sudden change to the deployment since it provided an interruption to his plans. He wanted to be the first one to fuck that place and was looking for an excuse.
The troops passed, and we continued on.
“You know what she is?” Logan asked, as if the little altercation hadn’t happened.
“Donor,” Hudson replied.
Donor? I had never heard of a Donor.
Logan whistled. “They allocated yet?”
One side of Hudson’s mouth tugged up in amusement. “Yeah.” It was his evil smirk, and I felt immediately sorry for this unknown woman. Whatever the allocation was, her life was about to take a downturn. “I think we can assume she won’t be given such freedom or the privilege to avoid control again.”
At the end of the long walk, we were shown into a huge tent. Here I met General Sherwin who was in charge of the operation. The Alpha was a great bear of a man whose moon face was set into a perpetual scowl. Sharp eyes inspected us critically.
The tent was bigger than I expected. Sparsely furnished, with a few seats, a desk, a field grid-link in the corner, and a huge interactive table in the center, currently displaying a three-dimensional map of the troubled city.
“I’ve got a shit-storm to deal with after we let one of your fellow Omegas run amok,” the general said. “Don’t give your Controllers any trouble.” His pale eyes shifted between us. “A new law is going through government now. By the time this operation is over, I expect big changes to control protocol. They’ll be accelerating training programs, too. No more grace period while you’re waiting for your first deployment. As soon as testing is confirmed, Omegas will be allocated a Controller—an Alpha Controller. Better if Omegas are familiar with control from the outset. There will still be rotations, but off-duty Controllers will be paired with off-duty Omegas where possible.”
At my gasp, Hudson’s fingers tightened in warning. All Controllers would be Alphas? And control allocated far more often—even when we were off duty. I felt the bite of injustice. I had only been a year into deployments, but I needed those short gaps of time to myself, out from under the intense control.
No, this could not be allowed. New Omegas would be barely given time to understand their dynamic before they would be handed over to an Alpha.
“That’s not right,” I whispered. “That’s not fair.”
General Sherwin’s eyes narrowed on me. “There’s a war, Omega. In case you hadn’t noticed,” he said brusquely. “Fair and right left town years ago. We all must make adjustments.”
“What about existing allocations?” Logan asked.
“They’ll be reviewed and monitored. You don’t need me to spell it out any plainer. This isn’t the first incident we’ve had to clean up. Any Omegas not already allocated to an Alpha will be reallocated. And if the Alpha Controller isn’t getting the job done, they’ll be replaced with someone who can. And if that doesn’t work then—” His smile was cold. “We have other avenues to explore. Some Controllers will lose their status.”
Logan’s energy paled. I wondered if he was thinking about Eloise’s disobedience as we were walking over. I’d been right about them, they had formed a permanent bond. And the law could threaten that if they did not prove to be effective. Every Controller would be twice as hard on their allocations.
“You have a job to do,” the general said. “Harper, you and the Singular will support Ryker directly.” He looked to Eloise. “Have you picked anything up yet?”
She nodded. “Yes. I can sense her. She’s frightened…and hurt, but enduring.”
The general nodded. “We have a man on the inside. He’ll be coordinating with Ryker. They’ll move as soon as the surrounding sectors have been secured. Hudson, you’re on the sector support—hold it at all costs. Dismissed.”
Snapping out confirmation, we filed out of the command tent and back into chaos. One of the general’s men escorted us to where the ground troops were preparing to move out. A long convoy of armored vehicles had bee
n assembled, and soldiers were loading up. It was here that I met Ryker.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from the man they would send in to collect this poor wayward doctor, guilty of nothing other than having the misfortune of testing Omega, and trying to save a man’s life, but I think I was expecting something more—intimidating.
Ryker was handsome, softly spoken and bestowed a dazzling smile on myself and Eloise that might have made me swoon had I not been so fixated on Hudson. “I see the rumors are true.” Grinning, he winked at Hudson who was still gripping my neck and tightened the hold with a warning grunt at Ryker.
He was a couple of inches shorter than Hudson, which did not exactly make him small since Hudson was a behemoth of a man. That they had allocated him on this mission told me he had to be an Alpha, and the way he filled his armor certainly backed this up. For all his size and apparent skill, he came across as extremely friendly.
Not bothered by Hudson’s glare, he gave Eloise and me a slow, appraising look. Much to my embarrassment, I blushed. With his hazel eyes and thick dark lashes, the man was handsome by any standard.
“How the fuck did you get point on this?” Logan asked. Punching Ryker on the shoulder when he continued to admire Eloise for longer than he should.
Ryker shook his head, still smirking. “Just messing with you, Harper.” He looked between Hudson and Logan again. “I was told you were both pussy-whipped and now I know it’s true. And we both know Hudson is a—” He cut himself off, held up both hands and offered a ridiculously fake, innocent expression when Hudson growled. “And I’m not on point alone. Ethan Black is going with me.”
One of Hudson’s team made a choking sound behind us.
Ryker shook his head in mock sadness. “Yeah, I know. The poor little Donor is in for a rough ride.”
“Fuck,” Hudson muttered gruffly. “Have you been…ah?” He made a strange gesture toward his face. “You know.”
Ryker nodded. “Yes.” He grinned, but this time the facade of charm slipped, and something dark took its place. “We both have. Like I said. It’s going to be rough on her. Tiny thing by all accounts. And you know Ethan’s a bit of a beast.” He shrugged. “But we’ve got to find her first.”
CHAPTER TEN
Anna
WE LEFT THE Deadball field and safety, and headed out into the city. Our armored vehicle rolled and bounced over the debris-strewn roads as part of a long convoy. Although my helmet muffled the deep engine rumble, I could feel the vibration through the soles of my feet.
Hudson sat on my left and one of his team members, Dano, sat on my right. There were a dozen people in the vehicle under Hudson’s temporary command, and other than me, every single one of them was covered in an arsenal of weapons. Omegas never carried a gun, and one of the reasons they were allocated Controllers was because acts of violence were not part of our nature. I was sure our governing council would not like losing any Omegas to the Uncorrupted, but the now infamous doctor appeared to have incited drastic measures to retrieve her, which she had used to her advantage. I felt a certain amount of shared pride in her defiance, although, I thought her actions misguided and even morally questionable, I could understand her protective instinct.
Hence the government controlled us, for our own good, apparently, and didn’t that make me want to scream and rail against the system. If I ever met the elusive doctor, I was going to high-five her, even if it cost me a punishment.
I laughed but managed to cover it in a cough, an impressive feat given I was dreadful at any kind of subterfuge. Hudson gave me a funny look, but I rubbed my throat and hoped the bastard was feeling guilty about what he’d done to me—and my throat.
His brow raised in question, while I privately gloated and took pleasure from him only thinking he’d won a round.
Then his hand rested on my knee, and my whole body froze. The black armored glove made it look huge. His fingers spanned my thigh…then traveled up. Stopping just short of the apex, he squeezed gently before withdrawing the touch.
“Control yourself, kitten. We’ll chat later about whatever deviant thoughts were going through your mind.”
I stared ahead. Hopefully, he would forget.
Something told me he wouldn’t.
Still, I had to get through the operation first. I’d never been deployed beyond the front line before, and here I was heading into the thick of it with a team of Alphas and Betas.
That thought brought my mental ramble back to the proposed law changes. Omegas of every kind were about to lose the last of their rights. I’d been lucky and had been given a chance to come to terms with my dynamic, but what about the new Omegas coming through? If this law was passed, they would be allocated to a Controller immediately after they revealed.
I shuddered and acknowledged that my control would be near relentless now, too. The general had been very sure that it would pass, even Logan and Hudson had seemed in favor of it…until the mention of stricter control. Well, Logan had been against some of the mentioned aspects of this proposed law, I didn’t know what Hudson thought.
I cut a glance his way and found him to be studying me as we bounced and jostled over the war-torn surface. Looking away, I stared out the tiny, toughened windows that did not offer much of a view. It was late afternoon, and the sun was dipping. I had seen cities destroyed before, but this one had been leveled. All I could make out were piles of rubble that provided no insight into the nature of the former buildings.
What was happening to this city was too close to what had happened to my home-world on that fateful night when I had first met Hudson.
I’d been reunited with my family later that day, first my mother and baby sister, and then my brother. My father was in a recovery cell, and we could not speak to him until the following day. My parents had wept tears of joy when I told them I was an Omega and that I thought I might be a Healer. They knew it had been my dream to help people through healing one way or another. Having witnessed the miracle of a Healer at work first hand, I felt like I had just been bestowed a magical gift. Back then, I didn’t know how Omegas were treated, or that protection was a fancy name for control.
Most citizens did not know because Omegas were taken away as soon as they revealed, for training or so we were told. Yes, there was training, just not the kind I expected.
What was about to happen should have been on the forefront of my mind, but here I was bouncing into a war zone, caught in a loop worrying about my future and ruminating about my past.
I needed to worry more about my present.
I really needed to work on my priorities. General Sherwin was right, there was a war, and we all must do our part, and perhaps if we did, this would one day be behind us.
I couldn’t see the end though, not in my lifetime; we had been fighting for so long it was all we knew. Stories circulated of a time before the war, and propaganda promised it would be over soon, that we just needed to do this one last push, one last operation.
Utopia was always around the corner, always just beyond our reach, a sweet promise that was never delivered upon.
Generations had lived and died under a cloud of war, hoping theirs would be the ones to escape the thick, suffocating blanket. I was still young, and I wanted desperately to hope, but I could see it had become our way and suspected many among us had no desire for change.
I wasn’t ready to hand my dreams of a better future over. If the power mongers thought they could take any more of my rights away, they would find themselves with a different fight on their hands.
We took an abrupt right. An explosion rocked the armored vehicle, nearly bouncing me out of the seat. Our vehicle screeched to a halt, the double doors at the back were flung open, and everyone hustled out.
There was no time to think. Jumping down out the back of the vehicle, I followed Hudson’s signal and shadowed him at a run as we took cover.
The buildings bracing this street were still partially whole—badly damaged but still recognizable a
s a building. The buzz of automatics unloading sent a spray of chipped debris flying.
Hudson threw his back against the wall beside me.
“We’ve got snipers on your left,” Dano shouted to Hudson. I peered over Hudson’s arm at Dano who had crouched behind the armored vehicle with another two men, returning cover fire.
Hudson’s helmet swung left, and he leaned out to look up. “I see them,” he replied. “We need to take them out. That building is strategic.” The order was issued, and within moments we were poised ready to go in. To me, he said, “Stay close.”
Six of the team went ahead, we followed, and the rest came in at the rear. Inside the broken door was a once smart apartment lobby. The black and white tiled floor was covered in a layer of dust and debris while a crystal chandelier hung drunkenly from an elaborate ceiling rose. A vintage cage-elevator sat to the right of the entrance; its door had been torn off and snapped cables spilled out. To the left, a spiral staircase led upward.
I imagined it had been a place of stylish beauty a few days ago. Today, it made me want to weep. I wondered where the residents had gone. I knew better than to ask.
Evacuated—I hoped.
Prisoners—possibly.
Dead—more likely.
Hudson signaled to Dano and another man, and they moved on ahead, up the winding staircase, weapons trained. When we reached the first floor, the firing began. A big brownish lump fell down the stair shaft through this cacophony. The firing stopped. I could not track the movement, and I didn’t realize what it was at first. Pain assaulted me in a sudden sickening blast as it hit the rubble-strewn, black and white tiled floor.
Blood splattered like juice from an overripe melon.
I gagged and clamped my fingers over my mouth and nose until I could contain my horror.
“Civilians!” the front man shouted. Another body fell with a wet thud, and more blood splattered the tiled floor.
“They were expecting us,” Dano called back.
Hudson nodded, fingers closing around my throat tight enough to bring me back from the brink of a meltdown.