There was still a part of me that felt that was only right. I’d done a terrible thing, one that didn’t just affect me and my Alpha team, but also the next generation of Omegas. If they learned I’d escaped, after everything I’d said and done, it would expose the Center and my father as liars. Who knew how bad an impact that would have on the Omega who came online after me? None of them would voluntarily walk into an Intake Center ever again. But there was a part of me that wondered if maybe that was a good thing.
Chapter Fourteen
Jethro
It was hard to wrap my head around how accepting Miles was of the South’s decision to treat him as less a person and more a useful tool. And the undercurrent in everything he said that suggested that when it came down to it, he might choose to go back. I knew it would be much easier to convince him to stay if either of us was feeling what we were meant to be feeling right then.
We stopped to eat some food around midday but not for long. In the distance, I heard a noise, like a plane or a chopper. Or a drone.
Miles didn’t seem to have noticed it, so I didn’t bring it to his attention but was mindful to keep us under the covers of the trees, the thicker the better. This had the benefit of keeping us in the shade and didn’t raise any questions from Miles.
It was late afternoon when we reached the base of the mountain. Getting up was going to be the toughest part of this journey. And if there was air support up in the sky searching for us, getting up there without being spotted might be next to impossible.
Before we started the climb, I checked Miles and his backpack to make sure there was nothing that would reflect the light and give away our position. I got him to do the same to me.
“This will be a tough climb. It’s not that steep but the trails are narrow and it’ll be slow going.”
There was only one path I knew of to the top of the mountain that didn’t involve climbing gear. What it did consist of, were a handful of narrow paths between sheer rock faces. Not a good place to be if you were claustrophobic. But I knew my way around them and was confident I’d get us through.
I positioned Miles in front of me for the climb, meaning I was there to catch him if he slipped or fell. Twice he lost his footing and windmilled backward. Both times he slammed into me and I caught hold of him. I noticed he was in no hurry to extricate himself from my arms. Was it a sign that things between us were taking a turn for the better?
He wasn’t too happy when we reached the first of the narrow passages. He’d walked right past the entrance and I called him back, pointing to it.
“We’re going through there?” he asked. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. It’s a tight squeeze and a bit of a climb, but it’ll bring us to the top of these cliffs,” I said, gesturing to the rock face jutting out above us.
In the distance, I heard the buzz of an engine getting closer.
“Come on, Miles. You don’t want to do this climb in the dark, believe me.”
That got him moving, and we were out of sight seconds later. I chatted to him to keep his mind off our surroundings.
“So do you study or work?”
“Father wouldn’t let me study past high school. I work at my uncle’s business, making copies, filing, that sort of thing.” Busywork to keep him from getting bored or restless while they waited for him to come online.
“What would you have studied, if you’d had the choice?”
He was silent for a moment as he climbed a difficult step, all his energy focused on getting over the obstacle in his path.
“You’ll laugh,” was all he said when he got past it.
“I won’t. I promise.”
He mumbled something I didn’t quite catch.
“Say again.”
Bracing himself against the rock wall, he turned to face me. “Early childhood education. I wanted to learn about how to teach young children.”
“Why would I laugh at you for that?”
He shrugged one shoulder but I could guess the answer well enough. If his father had such strong opinions on Alpha and Omega roles, he likely had equally strong opinions on gender roles.
“What made you interested in that?” I asked as I urged him to keep moving. That engine noise was nearer now, and I hoped our talking would distract him from realizing it was there.
“My younger brother and sisters. Watching them as babies and toddlers, how they grew, how they learned things. It was so fascinating to watch and to see how I could influence them, reading to them, playing games with them. I loved it. I thought, if I could do that for the rest of my life, I’d be content.”
He stopped again and turned back to me, a sad smile on his face. “I guess maybe I was always a traitor in my heart.”
“It’s not traitorous to want to choose a life that will make you happy, Miles.”
“But making that choice is.”
“Not all laws are equal. And neither are all crimes.”
“What happens to you if they find us?”
He still hadn’t noticed whatever it was that was circling the skies above us. I was starting to think that either he was a little deaf or my proximity to him was making my hearing unusually sensitive. That wasn’t something I’d expected to happen until after we bonded.
“That’s not something for you to worry about. Not now and not if it happens.”
I wasn’t going to guilt him into giving in to my way of thinking. He came willingly into a bond or not at all.
The craft above us came closer.
“Do you hear someth-” Miles started to ask, silenced by my hand across his mouth as my body pressed him into the wall of the cliff.
We both held our breaths as the noise grew echoingly loud, a shadow passing over us before disappearing. Helicopter.
“Did they see us?” he whispered as I took my hand away from his mouth.
“They can’t have, not with how narrow this passage is.”
Sure enough, the noise was moving away into the distance. I kept us there another few minutes, listening for the sound of the chopper turning around to do another pass, but it kept going.
“Let’s get moving.”
“If they see us, will they land and pick us up?”
“There’s nowhere to safely land on these mountains and the wind speed is too high to winch anyone down. They’ll send a ground team. Coming after an Alpha is no easy job, they won’t send fewer than a dozen officers.”
“Twelve people, just for you and me?”
I leaned in and whispered into his ear. “I stole you, right from under the South’s noses. This right here, you and me, is an international incident.” I pulled back and grinned. “And the most fun I’ve had in my whole life.”
He managed a bewildered smile and let me help him back onto the path.
“So, if you could study early childhood education, what would you do with what you’d learned?”
There was a point to my questioning. If I could get Miles to talk and think about having another life like it was a possibility and not the impossibility he’d been taught it was, it might help him come around to my way of thinking.
“I guess I’d work in or run a kindergarten, caring for and teaching little ones.”
“What if I told you that, as my Omega, you could do that?”
“But wouldn’t you need me, to fulfill my duty as your Omega?”
“Of course, but it’s not exactly onerous. It’d be like any married couple. We’d spend our evenings, nights, and weekends together and during the week we’d do our own thing.”
“But aren’t you military?”
I wasn’t too surprised Miles had picked up on that though I hadn’t made a point of telling him. Given his recent experiences with soldiers, I hadn’t wanted to freak him out.
“Not in a combat force. I’m part of a peacekeeping unit. The North isn’t as combative as the South, we’re more interested in making friends and allies and less into warmongering.” And maybe the South wouldn’t need t
o burn through Omegas like firecrackers if they spent a little more time on diplomacy and less on the use of military force.
“How often are you deployed?”
“Once every eighteen months for two to four months at a stretch. Our military likes to rotate us home frequently, they feel it keeps us all on an even keel and helps us keep the peace better than if we’re gone for long stretches of time. The distance and isolation can be quite trying.”
“Would I go with you, when you were deployed?”
“A bonded Alpha must have physical contact with their Omega for one week in every four while on deployment. They’ll fly you out to the base, we get to spend some time together, and then they fly you home.”
“Why not have us there all the time?”
“Oh, some Professor of something or other did studies and found that consistent Omega contact for one week produces improvements in senses and acuity that persist for about twenty-five days after contact ceases. So we can get away with a week every twenty-eight days. It’s less disruptive for everyone involved and safer for the most important people, namely you.”
“But Alphas are the primary concern. Omegas are secondary. We exist to allow you to fulfill your potential. We fulfill ours by being of use to you.”
That was a harder statement to refute. The position of Omegas in the North was certainly better than in the South but they didn’t have the same absolute and guaranteed freedoms of every other citizen. With Miles, it was even harder, because, as a citizen of the South, and an Omega, his rights and freedoms in the North were further curtailed.
“I know that’s what you’ve been taught at home, that’s what the South tells you, but it’s different up here. It’s not a perfect system and Omegas don’t have the exact same freedoms that other citizens have, but the Alpha-Omega relationship is considered a partnership. A marriage effectively. With rights and protections. Founded on love and respect.”
And lust, of course. Couldn’t forget that.
Chapter Fifteen
Jethro
We reached the end of the passage, the crevice opening out. I asked Miles to stay put while I scoped out the area, then led him to another passageway similar to the first one we’d traversed but a little wider.
“We’re almost there,” I assured. I could see he was tired, his energy flagging. “Here, eat something, have some water. You need to keep your strength up.”
He took the bag of trail mix from me and munched on a handful of it, washing it down with a gulp of water.
“So, if I stayed here with you, in the North, I’d be almost like a regular person? I could study or work or… I don’t know, join a band?”
I grinned. “What kind of band? Heavy metal?”
He smiled back at me, but I knew he was waiting for an answer.
“Yes, if you and I were bonded, you’d have those sorts of freedoms. I don’t know about a band though. I think all those groupies following you around would make me jealous.”
Miles blinked. “What would you be jealous of?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “What wouldn’t I be jealous of? Their eyes on you, their ears stealing whispers of your voice. I wouldn’t want them touching you or ogling you.”
“But why?” He really wasn’t getting it.
“Because you’d be mine. Mine to touch, mine to kiss, mine to stare at and drink in the absolute perfection of you.”
He blushed. “You think I’m… nice to look at?”
That was putting it mildly.
“I think you’re gorgeous. So hot.” I let one of my hands just rest on his waist, keen to see his reaction.
“Even with my hair?” His hand went to his head.
I cupped the back of his neck then moved my hand slowly upwards, running my palm across his scalp.
“Do you think a bad haircut could hide how beautiful you are?”
It felt like the end of a first date, as I tried to sweet talk a guy into coming back to my place. Except I wasn’t fishing for a one-night stand, I was looking for a partner in crime. The kind that lasted a lifetime.
Miles laid his head back against the rock wall. “What does lust feel like?” he asked, shifting so that my hand on his waist slipped down to his hip.
“I only know how it feels for me,” I said, letting my eyes roam his body.
“Tell me,” he begged.
“Well, I guess it’s a feeling. But not one that comes from here.” I tapped my finger against the side of my head. “But from somewhere… lower.”
I pressed my hand low on my stomach, just above my groin, Miles’ eyes following my every movement. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
“It feels like this intense need; to touch..” I let my hand on his hip drift idly up and down his flank. “To scent.” I leaned in, drinking in the taste of him in the air around us. “To kiss.”
I brought my mouth close to his and paused. His eyes were on mine, darting down, now and then, to my lips. His tongue peeked out, licked his bottom lip and retreated. He pushed away from the wall, closing in on me, his lips settling on mine. He was hesitant and uncertain until the moment our lips touched and then he seemed to melt against me as my hand on his hip slipped around to hold him against me.
He pulled back from the kiss almost as soon as it had begun, his nose nudging mine.
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“The trick,” I murmured, “is not to think. Give in to the feelings, don’t fight them.”
Swallowing again, he pushed closer to me. This time, knowing he wanted it, I helped, capturing his lips with mine. I was slow to deepen the kiss, not wanting to push too quickly. He did it all on his own, his hands cradling my head, his body pressed tight against me as he locked his lips on mine.
Breathless, he let go, taking a half-step back. My arm around him held him fast as I slowly took in his bee-stung lips and bright eyes.
“I want to do that again,” he said, and I laughed.
“First, let’s get to our destination. Then we can see about moving this forward.”
He considered for a moment then nodded as if satisfied with my answer. So far, I liked everything I’d seen. I didn’t want a meek, frightened mate. I wanted someone who’d give as good as they got. Who wasn’t afraid to take control.
It was still light out when we reached the plateau. Miles looked around and I could see he was less than impressed. We were surrounded on three sides by sharp, sheer drops. Miles glanced back to the gap we’d climbed up, but I directed his gaze to the bottom of the cliff wall behind us.
“You have to crouch down a bit,” I said, pointing to the gap in the rock. “But it opens out a few feet in.”
He knelt down and peered into the dark.
“Trust me,” I said.
“Can I have the flashlight?”
“You won’t need it.”
He gave me one last glance then crawled forward. I pulled off my pack before crouching next to the hole. Miles' voice carried through from the other side.
“Wow.”
I grinned as I climbed through after him. The tunnel did open out, into a large cave. The limestone rock had been worn away over time in part by rainwater which had left a large hole in the ceiling allowing light to find us. The spring that had carved out the rest of the cave formed a pool of water that the light reflected off.
As I stood up, Miles was turning in a circle, taking it all in.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It is something, isn’t it?”
Miles knelt next to the pool and splashed water over his face while I pulled out some food and unrolled our sleeping bags, zipping them together again. Maybe it was presumptuous of me but I wanted to be close to him.
As I watched, Miles yawned and stretched his arms toward the ceiling. Then a small grimace of pain crossed his face and his hand went to his upper arm.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked, moving toward him.
“It’s nothing.”
“Yeah? Let me see.”
Miles rolled his eyes but turned to show me his arm, pushing the sleeve of his T-shirt up.
“They did something to it, at the Center. It still hurts.”
I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to touch him, but what he said worried me. There was plenty of stuff they might have done at the Center and very little of it good.
It was on the opposite arm to his Omega mark and high up, close to his shoulder. There were three black dots on his skin. I ran my finger over them. There was something there, underneath the dots.
“Do you remember what they did?”
Miles made a face. “It hurt a lot. And it made a strange sound, hissing, like a snake.”
“I think it’s a dermal implant.”
“For what?”
“Two things I can think of. Contraception. Or GPS location. Possibly both.”
“So I can be tracked?”
“By the South, yeah. I suspect they haven’t shared intel with the North about how to track this. They’re too paranoid that we’d steal their Omegas.”
“It’s not paranoia when you really are stealing them,” Miles pointed out with a chuckle. It was the first time I’d heard him laugh. I liked the sound. I liked it a lot.
“We won’t touch it for now. I don’t know how deep it goes and I don’t want to go digging around with a knife when we’re this far from medical care.”
As I spoke, I was already concocting other ways to make Miles laugh. He struck me as a person who hadn’t had a lot to laugh about in his life so far. If I had any say in it, that was going to change. I really hoped I’d have a say.
Miles yawned again, leaning against me.
“Time to sleep, I think.”
“Together?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
I helped him up and over to the sleeping bags. The light was starting to fade, and the temperature was dropping. We lay side by side and Miles turned, curling into me.
Chapter Sixteen
Miles
I woke alone in the sleeping bag but the warmth of the spot beside me told me Jethro hadn’t been gone long. It seemed like a lot had happened the previous day. We’d walked and talked and touched and kissed. I wanted to do that again.
Love Before Dawn: An Omegaverse Story (Kindred Book 1) Page 7