“You did not mention it, Alpha.” Derrick grew quiet.
“Do not engage the Omega force. Any Marine engaging the Omegas will face me as I will consider it a challenge to my authority. Give them their head and provide cover only and backup support as required until we get there. Chances are you will never see them, but if you do, cover only,” The Alpha shouted calmly at the strong Beta he chose to guard the Eastern front.
“Warrior Omegas?” he asked again, and The Alpha crushed his Comlink in his hand, turning it to dust.
Jason slipped him another one and disappeared into the surrounding woods. No one questioned the Alpha’s directive as they followed him deep into the mountains of the Seventh.
An hour into their march, the sound of gunfire began to echo in the distance. Rapid bursts followed by responding fire sounded and caused them to move faster. Though it was growing dark, the sound of the firefight did not lessen, and The Alpha and his Marines wondered how they could see to shoot.
Darkness so black blanketed the area that they were forced to stop or risk falling off one of the many cliffs and rock faces they came across. With no city for miles, the sky was unnaturally dark, allowing the stars to shine through the thick canopy of the trees. They made their camp beside a rolling river that would be suicide to cross without daylight.
Around him, the troops settled, eating from their packs and talking softly. Gunfire continued to sound off the mountains and echo down the hollows. The scent of Omega drifted on the wind, mixing with the faint smell of sweat but not fear. He never caught a faint trace of that on the breeze.
The Alpha sat alone leaning against the tree and allowing the cord between him and Eve soothe him. It was unbroken, and he knew she lived. Beyond that, he knew nothing. Her heart was steady, as always. In battle, a man’s heartbeat rises but not hers. Through the bond, he smelled what she smelled, gunpowder, and blood, but still, her pulse was calm. Had he claimed her and the marks been completed, he would have known more, but as it was, he couldn’t feel much, but he did feel that.
He closed his eyes and forced himself into a deep calm. He might not be able to sleep, but he needed rest, and Eve needed not to be distracted by his worry over her. Using discipline instilled in him during boot camp, he slowed his breathing and entered a meditative state, giving her the peace and freedom to slay her enemies.
She felt him drift off and smiled as she fired her old Glock19 into the face of the man swinging from a tree at her. The rope pulled tautly, and his body hit the ground well after his heart stopped. Slipping the antique firearm back into the holster at her hip, she dusted herself off and hopped left foot-right foot up the rocks leading to the top of the cliff from which the man had jumped and disappeared into the night.
The Alpha awoke with a start, surprised he slept at all. Rising, he called for his troops and readied to move out. Sometime during the night, the gunfire ceased, and an eerie calm settled over the valley below. The smell of gunpowder and Omega was thick in the still morning air, and he reached for his chest with his hand, rubbing the sore spot where Eve had tethered him to her. The cord was quiet but ever steady.
He and his troops made good time down the steep face of the mountain and into the valley below. Using nothing but hand signals, they moved through the trees in complete silence, stepping lightly over the bodies they encountered along the way. They had been stripped of their weapons already. The Alpha approved of his allies' training.
They followed the army of Omegas and were always just behind them and not able to catch up. The going was rough, and the only enemy they could fight was the environment. More and more comments filtered up from the ranks about the skill of not only their enemy but their allies.
Marines were well versed in urban warfare and fighting city to city, but Guerilla warfare was no longer common, and the Marines had not practiced it much. Shots rang out ahead, and The Alpha raised his arm into a fist, stopping his warriors wordlessly.
Answering shots sounded, and the Marines shifted into a higher gear, slipping from cover to cover in a near run. In front of them, a man dressed head to toe in multi-scale camo heavy on the black dropped where he stood with his antique AK bearing down on the Marines. The Alpha stepped over his body, grabbing the AK as he went and slinging it over his shoulder. He looked up and caught a flash of long blonde hair that was gone before he could focus on it.
Crouching, his men crawled forward. The Alpha raised his Laser Glock71, taking out a figure hidden in the limbs of a tree ahead. The man dropped to the ground and rose as if to run but was felled by an arrow loosed from an outcropping of rocks, and The Alpha saw the beauty of the way they fought and switched his laser firearm for his 1911. Lasers would prove untrustworthy here, and he should have known that.
A flash of dark skin was all he saw as the archer disappeared into a crag on the hill above. The Alpha’s troops made a quick change to their antique guns and crept forward. One of his took out two insurgents to their left and stripped them of their weapons. All of the fallen wore the dark multi-scale that he was beginning to get an eye for. They flowed up the hollow, taking out enemy combatants as they went and hearing gunfire to their left, over the hill where the Omegas vanished.
“Beta,” The Alpha growled into his Comlink. Drone in ammo to my location, old-style .45 cal, 9mm, 7mm, and 39mm rounds plus anything else you’ve got. Lose your laser sidearms and pick up whatever old-style weapons you can get your hands on. Push the eastern front but watch for friendlies. Contact Alpha Taylor and tell him to push the northern front on my orders. Alpha out,” He whispered, keeping his eyes on his surroundings.
“Copy” was the only response, and within minutes the high-speed drones caught them, dropping packages onto the ground before speeding away.
An arrow sang by him, thudding into the man with a knife who edged through the trees almost within reach of him. The Alpha grabbed a throwing knife and plowed it into the chest of another fighter that slipped through the mask of trees. Ammunition was scooped up, and the fight was on.
Men descended on them from the trees above and the rocks below. They streamed from the thick cover and came at them unabated. They took heavy fire, found cover, and returned round after round. Arrows flew from above, taking out those the archer sighted, every shot lethal. Not one round, arrow, or knife thrown did not find its intended target, and both sides thrilled in the fight. A few of The Alpha’s men and one woman fell under the onslaught, but enemy bodies piled up at a faster rate, and the line advanced, pushing the enemy in front of it.
Lukas learned their methods quickly, and he did not take down a friendly. None of them did. They developed a feel for the enemy and gave them the fight they wanted. They advanced and showed the Seventh’s Seditionists why they could not win and showed the loyalists why they were the Marines of the New South. No enemy combatant lived as their line pushed forward, and soon, they turned and ran, trying to dissolve into the woods around them, but the Omegas were on them fast. Bird calls sang through the trees as they communicated with chirps and trills in a way The Alpha could never hope to understand and didn’t try to.
Camo shielded the lines of them, but he caught glimpses through the trees as they ran, chasing and taking down those who fled. An hour, a day, or a month later, he couldn’t be sure, but the northern, eastern, and southern lines converged, penning the last few combatants still fighting and taking them down. Nearly a thousand insurgents fell, and with them died the hopes of tearing down the New South.
He knew that Eve had not lied. About anything. The population of the Seventh was far greater than Census projected, and despite the losses during this conflict, the Seventh was still the most populated area of the New South by far. She’d been right, and she had come to him in good faith and loyalty. Somehow, he had to make it right with her. He couldn’t allow her to just disappear after this fight.
At no time had he seen her. He had heard her screams and felt her wrath through the cord, but he had not laid eyes on her. She
was smoke, just like his old friend said. Not one Marine had seen an Omega, just flashes, scents, and the mists of them. Not one Omega body was recovered. Their training was incredible and, not for the first time, did he think it might be wise to add them to his elites if only his elites would not murder him in his sleep for it.
They fought in ways Alphas and Betas could not, and he saw the utility of it. Just as Eve knew he would. She shadowed him through the hillside as he went to his fire, just in case his confidence in his surroundings proved unfounded. Gone were the nights when they couldn’t make fires since the flames might lead their enemies to their base, and campfires dotted the grassy meadow they had chosen. The enemy was gone. Scattered. Defeated. Or so he thought. She smiled as she watched him sit next to her Uncle, taking a bottle of moonshine the older man offered and tipping it back.
“Eve?” The Alpha asked, rubbing the tender flesh on his neck.
“No word. Have you seen her?” Taylor asked.
“She’s smoke, just like you said.” Taking another swig, he passed the bottle back to his friend. “Casualties?”
“We lost five Alpha males, ten Beta males, and three Alpha Females. No Omega bodies have been found,” he reported.
“Would we find them, or would the land simply swallow them up?” The Alpha asked with a bitter laugh.
“That’s not a bad question, and I don’t know the answer. They may tend to their dead,” he answered.
Eve listened with a smile. Not one of her Omegas had perished in this fight, and it made her proud. They had been prepared to die, and she was glad it had not come to that. She wished the fight was over and that she could breathe easy knowing they were all safe, but the fight wasn’t done, not nearly.
“They aren’t normal, you know.” Lukas grabbed the moonshine and took two swigs before passing it back.
“You’re just now figuring that out, Alpha?” Taylor laughed, slapping his hand across his knee. “I told you, Sir, things are different here.”
“That you did, friend, that you did.” Lukas felt Eve and knew she was close. His eyes scanned the darkness around him, and he could feel her touch on the light breeze that ruffled his hair.
“Does Eve know about NS304?” Taylor asked. “Ingenious, that, by the way. I knew you had it in you, Son.” He laughed again, softer this time, and reached for the younger man’s shoulder, gripping it in his hand. “You did the right thing. This can only make us better.”
“I don’t know what she knows,” Lukas said, his eyes scanning the dark again and passing right over where she sat covered head to toe in midnight.
“Hmmm. Well. She’ll come forward when she wants to. She marked you for a reason, and I don’t believe she wants to die. Not now.” At her uncle’s words, she slipped up the hill and into the night, her thoughts heavy with his words.
Chapter 18
Dawn came early, as dawn always does. The Alpha rolled over and smelled the distinct scent of Omega. His Omega. The tent was empty, but he knew she’d been there. His water bottles were all empty, leaving only her cloying scent. She was sending him a message.
Had she wanted to, she could have killed him while he slept the exhausted sleep of the triumphant, but she had not. She came in and out of his camp despite the guards and despite the sensors. Maybe she was waving a flag of truce, although, if she were serious about it, she would have snuggled with him and let him feel her heartbeat against his back. He needed her. Fucking Alpha instincts. There was no freedom from them.
Dressed and ready, he walked to meet his Marines and plan the next step. “According to drone surveillance, there is one more pocket of insurgents half a day’s hike from here. We’ve taken out most of the soft targets, and this should be the only hard target we face,” he started, taking the cup of camp coffee offered to him by his second in command. “We will clean that enclave then return to the Capital. Keep your heads down and your eyes peeled.”
“Sir.” One of his Marines stepped up then seemed to hesitate. “The local fighters outnumber us by double, are we working with them again, Sir? They seem to have left.”
“Yes, we will work with them until this rebellion is quelled, then we will leave this area to the locals to manage. They’ll show up to fight when we need them,” The Alpha said, turning the full weight of his glare onto his soldier.
“Will we be leaving a contingent to monitor this situation?” he asked, daring to meet his Alpha’s eyes.
“No. We will not be leaving a contingent. The locals, in conjunction with Alpha Taylor, can manage. The cities north of here have enough trained New South soldiers to handle their own.” He narrowed his eyes, raising an eyebrow.
“That seems a bit unorthodox,” the other man said, unable to help himself.
“There is nothing orthodox about any of this, Soldier, my suggestion to you is to throw your concept of orthodox out the window when dealing with this region. This is something I’ve learned fast, the hard way. Things are different here. Surely, you’ve noticed. Omegas are fighting on your side and have better archery skills than you. In case you missed it, bullets, actual projectiles, have been flying by your head. Maybe one hit you, and that’s why you’re so brazen. I suggest you shut it, or my goodwill and desire to explain things will run out. No more questions. I am Alpha. This is how it is. Move out.” He left the soldiers, his Alpha falling into step next to him. “Jason, get the drones up. I want to know about this enclave before we get there. Get me everything. And find the Omegas. I want to parley.” Turning, he left, returning to his tent to finish preparing to leave.
From her perch high in the tree, Eve listened, knowing she had missed some significant happenings. Without a sound, she slid through the thick foliage, landing in the soft dirt below. She scurried back to her Omegas, and they prepared to head north, deep into the mountains.
Lukas might be getting it, but he couldn’t possibly understand just how dangerous the compound housing the straggling Secessionists was. He called it a hard target, and it would be hard in more ways than one. She’d been there before. She’d fought her way out of the place after killing the strong Beta who thought himself Alpha enough to mate her. She’d been held against her will there for over a week, and as awful as that had been, escaping had been worse.
The area was littered with improvised explosive devices, and trained fighting dogs ran free within the high fence surrounding the giant manor house and smaller quarters that dotted the farm around it. Superfiring turrets lined the razor wire-topped fence, and, with enough people to man them, they were nearly invincible. If you didn’t know your way around it, the place was a deathtrap, and she assumed that the remaining insurgent fighters would head there and hole up to make a last stand.
As many Sevenths that had died, she knew there were hundreds more waiting there. Loyalist fighters were excellent, and with the added marines from the New South, they had a shot, but victory wasn’t a given. Lukas might think this war was won, but she knew it was far from it. She wished she had time to circle back and fill her belly with him once more, but time wasn’t on her side. The Omegas had stuffed themselves the night before on venison grilled over the fire and quickweed cooked with wild mustard and dandelion, topped with a dash of vinegar.
What was left of the three fat does two of the Omegas had hunted had been dried over the flames and now filled their packs, but as filling as it was, she craved what addicted every Omega ever to taste an alpha, but there was nothing to do for it. She couldn’t risk getting snagged in The Alpha’s net, and something within her was weakening to him. She couldn’t afford to be weak. The fight was almost over, and her people needed her for the hardest parts ahead. With a deep sigh and heavy thoughts, she crept along the tree line and back to her Omegas.
Chapter 19
Eve mounted her horse bareback, and the others followed. Kicking their horses into a fast trot, surefooted West Virginia bred beasts picked their way through crags and by narrow rock faces until they met clear meadows and streams where the
y moved into a faster gait that flowed like the blowing grass around them. The Omegas rode effortlessly and made good time. It would take the horde of marines double the time to reach the Seditionist stronghold near a town called Davis.
Their pace slowed as the elevation increased, and the terrain became tougher. Davis sat at about three thousand feet above sea level, and she knew The Alpha and his troops would slow as they climbed it. They might be better trained and more experienced fighters, but the oxygen was thinner up here, and they would slow naturally, unused to the harsh topography.
They could have taken the many side roads and old highways that led to the town and gotten there quicker, as The Alpha probably did, but she wanted to slide in undetected. The ranks of Seditionists might be thinned, but their network at large was probably intact, and she didn’t want the compound getting advance warning. She knew Lukas would be fighting smaller skirmishes along the way that would also slow him down, but she was grateful to him for that. He would keep them busy while the Omegas slipped in from behind and took them by surprise.
Hopefully, her people would have the compound mostly neutralized before the marines got there and took heavier losses. He was doing his job, exactly the way she would have asked him to do it had he strategized with her. He would never have knowingly allowed her to plan this, though. He’d have blown in there guns blazing and not known what he was getting into. Eve guessed that the entire compound was wired to blow and that in the event of a full-frontal assault, they would not hesitate to pull the pin on it. Especially if it meant they could take the elite forces of the New South out with them when they died.
She knew that. He didn’t. So, she rode her horse, and the Omegas followed. They were armed with old RPGs, mortars, and enough smaller hand-launched grenades to trigger the IEDs on the perimeters. She hoped that when they showed themselves, the insurgents would take them on head to head. They had antiquated ideas about Omegas and their place in the world. Like Lukas, they thought an Omega belonged to Alphas or Betas, but unlike Lukas, they believed that the Omega belonged under the heel of their owner, for that’s what they thought an Omega should be, owned like slaves. Lukas at least thought of her as a mate and wanted to protect her. The men and women in the compound believed that Omegas were theirs to use as they wished, not unlike the way Omegas were treated in the New North, where breeding facilities and pleasure houses encouraged the rough and constant use of Omega males and females, and it couldn’t be allowed to stand.
The Omega Rule (Omegas of the New South Book 1) Page 13