“She’s a ghost,” he murmurs.
“Who knows if she’s even alive?” Lucas replies before biting down on a thin metal toothpick.
It devastates them. She showed them how to have a heart, but they are not prepared for any of this.
“It’s a whole new fucking world,” Vash says.
The screens above flash another image next, two towers piercing high into the sky. Marble cut. A beautiful palace for the new royal family.
Killian wags his head. “Cassian thought he could win. But those with genuine power always find a way to get it back,” he says.
Lucas nods. “We had a good year with her. It’s hard for me to even think about those days now.”
“We must be better than the rest by adapting,” Killian says.
Vash cuts through the conversation. “My brother failed because he was a greedy sack of cow shit. Can we stop talking about him? It causes great discomfort to think of him again,” he says.
He twists his head to face the gloom of the tunnel. At the end of the dark walkway, a ladder leads down to a door. Above it, a small CTV camera waits to catch anyone who dares open it.
Killian holds his hand up, and they each slow their steps.
“Got a plan,” Vash says.
He bends to pick up a rock, lugging it at the electronic eye. The screen shatters, and the light dies out. Running forward, he peers silently at a padlocked door.
Vash shakes his head, chuckling to himself. “I can’t believe it’s actually here,” he says.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Killian asks. “What’s behind this door?”
Killian and Lucas peer into the tunnel. A bright light shines through the cracks.
In silent haste, Vash climbs the ladder, heels dropping onto the front of the horizontal entrance. He hovers his hands through the light, cutting the golden light as if it was holy. “They call this place the Cathedral. It’s where they keep her,” he says.
Killian admires his pack brother’s tenacity for attention to detail.
“Here? Not so sure,” Killian says. “Seems too easy.”
Lucas agrees. “Who told you about this place? It’s newly built,” Lucas says.
“Coaxed the guards into giving me the key code,” Vash mutters, eyes fixed on the light below as if it was solid gold.
“How?” Lucas asks. “You said you didn’t have the coin.”
“They didn’t expect me to escape, did they?” Vash asks.
Lucas lowers his voice. “Translation: he sucked the guards off.”
“I’d watch your tongue if I were you,” Vash says, turning red.
Lucas makes a gagging noise but quickly falls silent as soon as Vash attempts to climb back up to thrash him. “If you must know, the blast killed most of the guards. I got the code from one straggler as he was gagging on his own scrotum. Don’t fuck with me, boys. I don’t have any patience left inside me.”
From inside, a voice echoes across some sort of speaker. “Specialist Helen Kurtfield, please report to Division One immediately. Helen Kurtfield to Division One.”
Killian swings down the ladder to get a better listen. “Both of you, stop arguing.”
“Divisions six through twelve have now been relieved. Ten minute refractory period will begin.”
“Helen? They have omega specialists now?” Lucas asks. “Jesus Christ…”
Vash punches in the code to get inside. “It’s a whole new world. Everything has changed. Even Rae. She is the world’s queen. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be to you.”
“I can’t make sense of anything anymore,” Killian remarks. “Maybe I’m getting old, but the only thing I give a fuck about is taking her from behind.”
Vash breathes. “Don’t get me started. I’m so horny I just might kill the next man I see.”
“Keep it together, brothers,” Lucas mutters. “We’ll find her soon enough. And when we do, we’ll get to worship her warm holes for as long as we wish.”
“Sounds like heaven,” Killian said.
The city above them is perfect; the people are less apt to violent confrontation, and the buildings are built to last. This is everything they ever dreamed of having, but they lack the one thing that gave them real, lasting happiness.
As the pack leader types in the last digits of the key code, his expression changes from excitement to fear. Instead of finishing the sequence, he pauses and exhales sharply.
“What is it?” Lucas asks.
“This will not be easy,” he says. “It’s been over two years. I just want to make sure your hearts are still in this fight.”
Killian swings his rifle over his shoulder and stands upright. He doesn’t feel like a soldier anymore, but that’s okay. He is Rae’s alpha, and that will never change.
Killian painfully recalls every moment alone in his cell. “I live to serve her.”
In the past, he would have kept this to himself, but now that he valued honesty, it was something he was ready to admit. If anyone disagrees with his emotional sentiments, he will shove a bullet up their ass.
Lucas bites his lips. “I can still smell her. I can taste the sweetness of her pussy. I can feel her tight walls give way to us. I need her now more than I ever have.”
Vash closes his eyes, whispering a prayer before punching in that last number. When the code is complete, a green light flashes, and a pleased tone replies, the inner mechanisms releasing.
Carefully, Vash opens the door, squinting through the near blinding bright light inside.
The first thing that hits Killian’s senses is an abhorrent smell. All three of them recoil, covering their noses with their shirts.
“Fuck,” Lucas hisses. “What do they keep down here, zoo animals?”
As their eyes adjust to the light, the men drop into the room.
Killian expects to see a vast sanctuary, a place where Rae can rest in peace. What he finds is the complete opposite.
There are endless rows of bodies, alpha beasts who gape in horror and shock. There are horrible noises, retching.
Hunched forward, the prisoners appear malnourished. Their wrists are bound with circular cuffs, and large spikes have been driven in to their palms, skin riddled with lesions and purulent boils.
Some alphas are dead, covered with writhing insects. There must be thousands of them. It is unclear, but the rows extend down into the ground.
This is not a sanctuary at all. It is Hell.
“I don’t think we should be here,” Killian mutters but can’t stop looking.
The emaciated alphas have been castrated. Not all, but many. Seed and blood lie in buckets, collected for God knows what purpose.
As soon as Killian realized what they’re looking at, he bends and vomits the last liquids inside his almost empty stomach.
Some alphas are connected to metallic prongs that hold their cocks in place. In rhythmic motion, the machine moves, draining their seed. Seemingly unending, the alphas twitch and beg for mercy.
The sights, the sounds, the smells cannot be forgotten. This is evil incarnate.
“My God…” Killian collapses onto the mud before them. “They’re using them for their seed.”
It is unclear for what purpose, but the reality is clearly darker than they could have imagined in their prison cells. Even Cassian, as evil as he was, would never engage in such torturous acts.
Vash takes Killian’s shoulder, but he keeps silent. There are not any words that can console him. The three of them back away from the sight, closing their eyes as if they can block the image out of their minds forever.
“We shouldn’t be here,” Vash says.
“And yet, you’re here,” a voice says.
The voice causes the alphas to turn with their rifles ready. Killian clicks the safety off and tightens his grip around the silver-tongued trigger. It might have been years since they fought in any genuine conflicts, but he still knows how to kill.
In front of them stands a tal
l and gangly man with retreating hair. His nose is fair and pointed, but his mouth twists with anger.
“I will waste you, scum,” Killian says.
But this monster is familiar, a gleam in his eye that brings him back to another time.
“It’s you,” Killian says. “What do you want?”
“You’re not in a position to be negotiating,” the beast says. “I wouldn’t waste your bullets if I were you. You and I have more in common than you want to admit.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m an Ouroboros, through and through,” Killian growls. “Doesn’t matter if I no longer have a home. I have a family. You’re just another shill for the New Republic, and that means my whole being stands against you. Long live the New Republic until I cut out your throat.”
“I’m not here to fight,” Severin says. “I’m here to make magic. To bring things together. To make sure the world connects properly. You must think I’m the devil. In a sense, I am, but I offer you more than Hell.”
There is an odd shortcoming to the man, but Killian forces himself to put it aside. He is dressed as a commander. Meaning, he holds an impressive deal of power.
“Two more seconds, and I’ll decorate your body with silver bullets. Start talking,” Killian says.
A speaker above them resounds: “Specialist Helen Kurtfield, please report to division three for cleanup.”
“Poor Helen. She’s been cleaning up the bodies for months now,” Severin says.
Killian feels his heart drop, and he nearly vomits again with aversion to the musky smell of death and seed. At once, it all sinks in. It has been years since they escaped the war-ravaged fields, and the barracks that housed his fellow pack-soldiers was long gone.
Nothing can take away Killian’s past, but he was a different alpha, a changed alpha.
Eyes widening with excitement, Severin steps away from the aim of their rifles. Instead, he stands with them, breathing in the fragrant air with an almost violent satisfaction. “My name is Severin. I’m here to tell you I have set you up.”
Killian’s hand shakes so much he has to hide it behind his back and let the rifle dangle against his chest. Through great anger comes only weakness and disappointment. Guilt. There will be no family without Rae, and now the journey seems fraught with peril.
“It was you who detonated the prison,” Killian says.
Severin chuckles, turning to gaze at his imprisoned alphas. “You know, I almost vetoed this place. I thought it was a crude display of excess,” he says. “But, as you know, when Ruby is set on an idea, she gets her way.”
“You are an insufferable little brute, aren’t you?” Lucas asks.
Severin does not acknowledge his insult. “The Cathedral does not exist. I left the information with the guard to lead you here, and you came scurrying like roaches looking for sugar,” he says.
Vash steps forward, digging his heels into the mud below. “Instead of boasting, keep your actual intentions on display. Why keep us alive when you could easily kill us?” Vash asks.
“Well, I won’t lie to you. Eventually, the queen will have to be killed,” he says. “But not for some time. Unfortunately, this tired population of betas needs more than death and tragedy to keep them satisfied. It wouldn’t be wise of me to murder the queen before she has given the speech to the New Republic.”
Killian scoffs at the man. “You’re going to use us as scapegoats. That’s your master plan,” he says.
“You’ll tell the public we are the queen’s killers. Three of Cassian’s men. It’s an easy sell,” Lucas says.
“That isn’t quite my plan,” Severin says.
Severin glances down the long passageway. From the top of the pyramid of muck and mechanically pumped alpha slaves, a specialist wearing a white lab coat runs with absolute haste, her clothes stained with blood and other bodily fluids. Her arms flail, giving the impression of a wild animal.
“Look, you need me to see her one last time. I need you for reasons I do not wish to reveal.” Severin steps deep into the mud, splashing some on their ankles. “Follow me. We need to talk.”
As they walk through the rows of prisoners, Killian recognizes some of the alphas’ tattoos. Some were Ouroboros traders from the barracks, but some came from other armies, most likely too small for them to know about.
Killian quickly understands what Severin is showing them. If they don’t play their cards right, this might become their fate. The stakes are at their highest.
“Now, I personally know this form of torture shouldn’t exist in any modern society, but it’s not as painful as it looks. It starts out as a very pleasurable experience for most males,” Severin says.
“I’m not putting my cock in a tube,” Lucas says.
Severin bends, laughing. “I don’t expect you to. You are some of the last alphas left. I will use you for other reasons.”
Lucas releases the metal toothpick from his mouth. “If we follow you, do you promise not to send us here?”
Severin keeps walking, stepping over bodies until he reaches a metal door. He places his palm against a pad and walks into a long hallway as soon as the door opens. “I will not cast you amongst the ranks of drained alpha soldiers. Fortunately, providing Ruby with three darling children is more than enough to please me.”
Killian can’t take hearing his smug voice anymore. He lunges, forcing Severin against the wall. He lifts the aging man’s body by his puny neck. Desperate cries of strangulation bubble from his closed air pipe, and the way his legs shake make Killian even more apt to follow through with the killing.
Vash takes his arm, but Killian forces all his weight forward. “He took our children. He doesn’t deserve fairness,” Killian says.
“Fine. Kill the moron,” Vash agrees. “But, once he’s dead, good luck getting us out of this place.”
“I know his eyes. They’re familiar. We are walking into a trap,” Killian argues.
He turns to see the door behind his counterparts. It’s closed. Locked from the other side.
Unfortunately, Vash is right. They have to follow the demon.
Severin clasps his neck, coughing and gasping for air. Falling to the floor, his body trembles like a dying insect, neck swelling up with each breath.
Killian presses his heel against the man’s chest. It would be so easy to crack his ribcage. “Know this.” Killian leans against him. “I could have ended you with pleasure.”
Lucas flicked the toothpick at Severin’s face. “If you act against us, I want you to remember this moment. We’re letting you breathe, maggot.”
Vash lifts him, slapping his cheek. “My brothers are far too lenient these days,” he says, grabbing Severin’s scrotum and twisting. “Imagine all the things we could do to you…”
Vash let go.
Face red and full of shame, Severin adjusts the collar of his suit and stands, wobbling as he tries to balance. “Settle your energies, alphas, for I come bearing gifts.”
“We’re waiting,” Killian mutters.
“If you want to see her, you must follow me,” he says.
The door opens in a flash to the darkness of a massive garage. Inside, a prisoner transport bus waits, engine rumbling. It is a design from the old world, back when they were the bastards in power.
Guards appear from each side of the doorway. “Sir. We are ready to leave when you are.”
Severin nods and holds his hand out. One guard hands him three dark hoods.
He turns around, tossing the masks at the alphas. “Put these on,” he says. “And give me your rifles. Where we’re going, you won’t be allowed any weapons.”
Killian tightens a heavy finger against the delicate trigger. “Like hell.”
“I know you don’t trust me, but you have no choice. If you come with me, you will know exactly what she has been through. You will get to see her again. Isn’t that what you want?”
“We want our family back, you son of a bitch,” Vash growls.
/> The commander traces the red palm prints around his throat with unsteady fingers. “It’s your choice.”
With no other options to choose, Killian removes the rifle from his shoulder, tossing it at the guards next to Severin. Picking up the black hood, he places it on, feeling much like a prisoner again.
What is Severin’s plan?
It doesn’t matter.
He would do anything to see Rae again.
Anything.
Chapter Five
Ruby watches politely as Rae walks through the tower’s front doors.
Lining the walkway through the courtyard, the guards kneel and offer words of praise to the new queen. She acts delighted. Too delighted for Ruby’s taste, but the point is to fool her. To make believe they are equals. Friends.
“When am I supposed to address the people?” she asks.
Ruby smiles and seems to weigh her thoughts heavily. She steps over the last of the marble steps and turns to peer at Severin’s office.
Upon seeing this, Rae wonders if her sister even loved him.
Rae knows the answer. Severin is missing, and it is no coincidence Ruby is taking her on a trip.
That beta fuck is planning something. But what?
“We have postponed your speech until things stabilize in the cities,” Ruby says. “You know Severin. Everything has to be perfect.”
“I suppose that’s decent,” Rae mutters. “I’ve been through enough as it is.”
“I’m very aware you’ve been through Hell and back, sister. But I want to make it up to you. I want to show you that this life is much easier than the one you were building with those… those thugs.”
Ruby spits on the green lawn. She uses the spike of her heel to drive the mess into the short blades of grass.
She pauses, possibly to see if her words harmed her sister, but Rae keeps her face blank. Instead, she admires the grounds.
The palace is exceptional. The complex itself is a bit of a maze, but the outside gardens are extraordinarily beautiful.
Someday this will be hers. She will wait for them to slip up. And then she will reunite her family.
Broken Angel: The Complete Collection: A Dark Omegaverse Romance Page 23
