Broken Angel: The Complete Collection: A Dark Omegaverse Romance

by Penelope Woods

  “You don’t understand. I had to keep this secret,” Noah says.

  “You led me here because you wanted this bomb to go off,” she says, alarmed with horror.

  “No,” Noah says. “It’s not true.”

  “Don’t lie to me,” Rae pleads.

  Noah shuts his mouth. Shaking, he starts to climb. “This thing is going off, whether we want it to or not.”

  Forced to run, she pulls herself up the first bar. “Don’t come near me,” she screams.

  Endless pain.

  It’s not worse than losing her children. And it isn’t worse than having everyone in her entire family taken away from her.

  “We have to end this,” he says. “All of this. The past must be eradicated. That includes you.”

  Rae pulls herself up the second bar, far too slow for her liking. He’s gaining ground on her.

  “Rae, you need to think about what you’re doing. It is an honor to give yourself to the world,” he says.

  Before she can pull herself up, she stops, breathing. “You’ll never understand,” she says. “It’s an honor to love.”

  When she gets to the top, she finally has the upper hand. Noah places his palm around the last ring, but she steps on his fingers, threateningly.

  “Please, Rae. There’s a bunker underneath the water where we can survive. The explosive is on a timer. It’s the only way to safety.”

  Rae takes another deep breath and stares calmly at the man. “You were going to kill me,” she says.

  Truthfully, she didn’t wish him or any of their group an ounce of animosity, but not everything can be lined out like a simple card game. There are cracks within every story.

  Virgil didn’t account for this. She knows it.

  Still, where is Severin? By all accounts, he must be far away from this section of the world, perhaps gazing proudly at the burning city of Dagon, an effigy of a two-year reign. Perhaps he has locked himself in his quarters to prepare his national emergency speech.

  Or, maybe he is dead.

  One thing is for sure. He isn’t here to see her die.

  “I’ll give you one more chance,” she says. “Go to your bunker. I will meet you there.”

  Covered in sweat, the man hesitates. “This isn’t what he wanted,” he says.

  “No,” she says. “It is what I wanted.”

  The man’s eyes widen. Mouth open, he nods. “Okay,” he says. “We’ll do it your way. I’m going.”

  Rae watches the man slide down the rail. She collapses against the platform, each defining ridge pressed against her back, and though the pain is almost too much to push through, she has been through worse.

  Besides, when she turns her head, her heart nearly explodes with warmth.

  Her three toddlers are tightly tucked in a sizable wooden basket, reaching toward their mother. At first, all she can do is stare, but as her strength comes back to her, she crawls and gathers them in her arms.

  “My children,” she says. “My sweet, sweet children.”

  She can’t stop gazing at the two boys. Their eyes have already started to wander and search, and Rae wonders if they resent her for what happened to them all.

  Kissing each of their foreheads, feeling the softness of their skin against her lips, she whispers, “Someday, you’re going to take on the world’s sins. And when you do, please don’t forget about me. Don’t make the same mistake so many other alpha men have in the past. Allow yourself love. Strive for hope.”

  And then, taking the young girl into her arms, she runs her hand softly across her cheek. Her eyes do not fall away from her mother.

  Does she remember Rae? She hopes she does. “And you, my little bean. You’ll feel it the most, but you keep pushing, okay? The world needs more omegas with voices.”

  For what feels like minutes, she plays with her children. She kisses the tops of their eyelids, their plump and doughy cheeks, and every soft spot on their stomachs.

  But they aren’t babies anymore. She missed out on those crucial years. All because of Cassian. All because of her sister. All because the universe wanted to ruin real heroes.

  And that’s exactly what she is. She knows it as much as everyone else tries to tell her the opposite. She isn’t a victim. She is a fucking hero, and she will heal this world.

  Noah stops halfway, staring up at her. “Rae, you coming?”

  Standing, she peers at the center of the massive rocket-shaped bomb. There’s a metallic pad with a handprint scanner.

  She knows what to do. Placing her hand against the shape, a green light flashes. A door opens. A light pours out.

  And when she looks inside, she sees the vehicle she drowned inside, another pod to rest in. It rests on a track, pulled inside from the other room.

  Slowly, it begins to rise.

  “Rae,” Noah calls out, but she’s not listening.

  She feels her chest pump. Every inch of muscle clenches. She doesn’t want to have to do this, but it now feels like a necessity.

  Rae gives one last kiss to her darling children, crying harder than ever before. “Noah, climb back up. I need to give you my children,” she says.

  Noah chokes before responding. “What? But I thought…”

  Rae puts one foot into the bomb, ready to enter the glass chasm underneath. There is no time for weakness. Virgil’s plan was smart, but he hadn’t given them the full picture. If he had, none of them would have agreed to continue on with the clandestine rebellion.

  She understands everything now.

  “Hurry. We need to get you and my children out of here,” he says.

  “But—”

  “How big is this bunker? Are we talking a hundred square feet, or what?” she interrupts.

  Noah rushes to climb as Rae places her other foot inside the complex machine. The mechanics inside start to turn.

  “Big enough to fit our people and then some,” he says.

  Rae nods. “Good,” she says.

  Wiring twists over her body, pulling her inside the pod. She places her finger against the glass, tracing the cracked edges where Killian hit earlier.

  She wishes she could see him again. One last time.

  “Don’t do this,” Noah says.

  Rae chuckles, smiling softly. “I thought this is what Virgil wanted,” she says.

  “Who cares what he wanted,” he argues, tearing up. “There has to be another way.”

  But Rae knows there isn’t. “Please, keep the babies safe until my alphas come,” she says. “Make sure they all live.”

  “What if they don’t arrive?” he asks. “And if they do, don’t you want to hold them in your arms? In safety? Don’t you wish to be a family again?”

  Don’t you, Rae?

  She asks herself that question every single fucking night. Of course, she yearns for their touch, their hold, their scents. But Noah doesn’t realize a damn thing.

  She is the only one who can turn the bomb off. That’s why Virgil wanted her here.

  She’s the failsafe, the key to saving the world.

  Voice turning shaky, she cries, “I said, take them. Now, go.”

  Nothing more needs to be said. This is her wish.

  Noah backs away, startled. But he nods and quietly heads back down to the children. Meanwhile, Rae has a job to do.

  She turns her focus inward, closing her eyes, stretching both arms out until the synthetic embryonic cables coil around her arms, fastening around the wrists. They hold her in place, forcing her to become stationary.

  Her feet leave the ground. The pod closes. Soon, she is floating in the small space of the glass womb, suspended by cables. With her circulation tight, she loses sensation of her limbs. And as the machine lowers her into the center of the womb, the bomb closes off.

  Where all of society once saw her as a modern deity, she no longer can blame them. She is losing herself. And soon, liquid will fill to the brim, drowning her. For real, this time.

  The pod rolls upright until she can s
ee Noah and the clone, as well as the babies lying near their feet.

  She felt all of this before. When Severin first brought her out of her darkened room, he made sure to ease her into the new role of “Queen.” Like Cassian, he reconstructed her like building blocks. In the end, it wasn’t up to any alpha or beta or anything to put her back together.

  That was her job. Hers, alone.

  She knows what to do because she has lived this, time and time again. As she starts to grow weary, she manages to place her palm against the glass.

  “Turn the valve, Noah,” she says.

  “I won’t,” Noah states, standing strong.

  “Turn the valve or we all die,” she says.

  Shaking, Noah places his hand on the rusted valve. The auditorium is empty, but she hears Ruby’s voice repeat those fatal words from the past. “The queen is dead. Long live the queen.”

  “Turning the valve will not disarm the bomb,” he says.

  “Just do what I ask,” she says.

  “There is no way to disarm the bomb. We’ve studied it for years. We don’t know who made it. The mechanism that holds it together is exquisite.”

  Pushing forward, the clone leans against the wiring. Her shoulders pump into the air, and her sadness makes her entire body quiver. “The bomb will go off unless I am put inside. Unless—”

  Rae laughs angrily, appearing insane, but it feels impossible to accept the inevitable. Death. “Unless I give myself to it.”

  “To... who?” Noah asks, trembling.

  “Not who. What.”

  A group of footsteps echo nearby. The sounds grow into loud jeering. Three alphas appear. Three undeniably sexy and highly obsessive alphas.

  Rae recognizes their call, and the sinking of her heart only continues. She didn’t think she would have to sacrifice her life in front of the entire family.

  Killian stops them, chest pumping and shaking between breaths. “The womb,” he says, eyes tracing up the bomb. “The bomb…”

  Heavy tears are present in Rae’s eyes. They are the type of tears that roll down like perfect streams, tiny trickles of liquid that might as well have spelled out the history of her sadness. She has to give up everything again. But this time, she’ll really disappear.

  “It’s more than just a bomb. Isn’t it, Killian?” she wonders.

  Killian remains silent, but he wants to scream. As much as he has changed, it’s still hard to disclose his feelings.

  In a fit of emotional turmoil, Rae asks one more time, “Isn’t it, Killian?” she asks, choking on tears.

  She is already lost to them, already connected to her death.

  By now, the rest of the alphas have joined Noah, and they are all staring at him for answers. Lowering his rifle, Killian kneels against the ground, staring at the water nearby.

  “What happens to me after this?” she asks him.

  Killian swallows. “I don’t know.”

  Noah eagerly checks the time. “We have two minutes left, guys.”

  Killian steps forward, toward the pod.

  “Killian, don’t,” she growls with sharp worry.

  “Ruby said it was the third phase,” he says.

  But when he rests his forehead against his dirtied hands, it shows that he doesn’t have a clue.

  None of them do, and her trust in the world is dwindling.

  Her heart races, but the ache within her veins hurts the most. Strain. So much strain. She trusted him. Trusted all of them. What is happening to her?

  Why did the world need to consume her to survive?

  Even if this is what needs to happen, it doesn’t make it any easier. And as a set of red lights flash over their heads, she feels the urge to escape.

  “I can’t do this,” she says. “Am I really going to die?”

  Killian rocks his head in anguish, threading his fingers into his hair before trying to rip out every last strand. He lets out a horrifying roar and defies her cries for him to stand still.

  He runs toward Rae. The animalistic confusion in his eyes is startling but understandable.

  The glass will break; it has to break by his blows. He is stronger than a tank. He is her soldier.

  But even he cannot shatter the glass. Try as he might, he can’t break through the barrier.

  He pounds his fists until he bleeds, and he bleeds until he has nothing else left to give.

  Noah takes the kids to safety, but time’s deadly hand is counting down to the end.

  Rae drops her guard, allowing the machine to take her. There is obviously no key to stop the detonation, except for her.

  The special one. Their precious omega.

  She faces Killian with unforeseen confidence. “Go with your gut,” she says. “Don’t hesitate to make strong decisions. You’re a father now. I need you to be strong for the kids. For Vash and Lucas. You hear me?”

  As quickly as she says their names, the pack joins together and runs, smearing their hands and blood on the glass as if they can touch her one last time. She tries to do the same, but she is growing weaker by the second.

  “You taught me how to be free,” she says.

  Vash lowers his head to the glass. “You taught me how to forgive.”

  And Lucas kisses his palm before clenching it into a fist and bawling. “You taught me how to believe in myself.”

  “I love you. More than you might ever know, I was always faithful to you,” she says.

  “Don’t do this,” Killian cries. “Don’t leave us.”

  “Promise me one thing,” she says. “Please, tell the kids about me. Don’t let them believe the world is as bad as it seems. There are moments where it’s all worth it.”

  Noah releases the valve. As the water starts to rise within the capsule, she closes her eyes and smiles. This time, the rushing liquid isn’t even cold.

  She is numb to everything.

  “We planned for so much,” Killian mutters. Then, rolling his fists together, he lets out a frantic scream. “I killed my father. We gave everything for this family. Now, what do we have?”

  Vash grabs Killian’s arms, pinning them behind his back. He lets out a rushed lament. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret. Trust me. I went through what you’re feeling. It’s not worth it,” Vash says.

  “You’d know best,” Killian growls, pulling away. “My only regret is that I gave myself to something I knew never existed. I gave my entire being for a fight I thought I could endure.”

  Lucas winds back and smacks Killian’s face, ready to keep swinging. “We have children now. It stops here. With or without Rae, we need to be the fathers most children never have.”

  “And if it doesn’t work? If the world continues to spiral?” Killian asks.

  Lucas clenches his teeth against a metal toothpick, anxiously swaying it against his lips. “Then we did our best.”

  Instead of fighting back against her cables, Rae simply stares at her babies, feeling the most love anyone can ever feel, a burden that causes her heart to swell. Oddly enough, the pressure feels like drowning.

  “I love you,” she says, voice muffled by the glass. “All of you. I can’t separate myself from you now. No matter what happens, no matter where I go, I will be here, with you.”

  The water swells and swivels around her navel. Within a few seconds, her body will start to release air and sink under. But what will happen next? Death? She cannot say.

  The cables entwine, finally coursing over her mouth before the water can.

  For years, she tried to gain her freedom back. “Look at me now,” she says. “I am lost, always lost. Back in the womb.”

  Rae falls forward with a heavy sigh, but a thin smile presses against her fluid-covered face. Embryonic sac and bits of earth float around her.

  The alphas stand in front of her, shocked by what they must witness. They were a team, and anyone who stood in the way had to be annihilated. Only, this time, there are no clear enemies.

  Rae can feel the life drain from her, an
d pretty soon, she’ll be reduced to a floating specimen. She has one last thing to say, a few words for them to understand her story before she passes away.

  “I was born a captive whore, and I don’t give a shit what that makes me to the world,” she mutters, eyes facing the cold asphalt of the darkened road. “I turned my life into something meaningful.”

  “The next phase has begun,” the clone mutters.

  The pupils in her eyes seem to glow a different color. The air turns as hot as a pressure cooker.

  “What the fuck?” Killian grunts. “We have to save her.”

  Rifle outstretched, he takes aim and fires, but it is just like before. The bullets do no damage. Whoever engineered this giant weapon built it to last. It couldn’t have been Severin’s doing. He must have had help.

  The cables continue to twist inside the capsule, turning like strong tentacles. After just a few seconds, they seem to take up as much space as the water inside itself. Coiling around her mouth, they pry open her lips. They open her throat, expanding her esophagus. Each ripple of pliable cable forms the inside and outside of her body.

  Rae lets out a scream that is quickly cut short. It is the most awful sound in the world.

  “There’s no time. We need to get to the bunker, or we will all suffer the same fate,” Noah says.

  Soon, the blue takes over her eyes. Gently, the water engulfs her, while the cables provide her air, sustenance, and most importantly, an undeniable energy that she has never felt before.

  It is as if she has found the way into the heart of the omegaverse.

  Eyes closing, Rae gives in like a young babe near her mother. Her mother was not of the earth. Hers was unnatural and robotic. Her mother was a suffocating and deadly weapon.

  Just like clockwork, the machine begins to rumble. Pins, screws, and other metallic plates bend with pressure until they pop around her. The underground maze they have gotten so used to starts to fall apart. The floor cracks, dropping her lower as the sound of rusted metal pieces scraping fills the room.

  Noah takes the children, hopefully in good faith, and runs in a separate direction, toward the bunker.