Omega Magic

by Maggie Hemlock

  A bright light flickered to life above our heads illuminating the room and showing us crude and dirty medical equipment complete with an ancient ultrasound machine.

  “Untie the pregnant one,” Jeb’s voice cut through my still-pounding head.

  “Alpha will eat him. Calm. Calm until it’s time. Reserve energy,” my wolf urged me.

  “What if he tries something again?” One of the betas asked.

  “How far do you think he can get? There’s fifty of us here. One omega against me and forty-nine betas? Is he some sort of magical chosen one I don’t know about, Alex?”

  “Fuck, with these Hemlocks you never know.”

  “I’m a Fox,” I growled.

  “He’s a dumb one,” Alex laughed. “A wolf who thinks he’s a fox.”

  “We move quickly. He’s dead tonight if they don’t make the trade,” Jeb said.

  “Dumb enough to die,” Alex laughed.

  “He’s a Fox,” the other beta said. “Don’t be dense. He’s a Fox! Kin to that psycho Jayden.”

  “Uh… Jayden Fox?” Alex blinked. “The one who gutted our last headquarters?”

  “The one and only,” the other beta said.

  “Maybe we should just put that one out. I don’t want to be fillet today,” Alex said.

  “Shut up and untie him,” Jeb spat and walked over to where Zoey and I lay helpless.

  “If you try anything funny, dog boy, I’ll kill her,” his red eyes flickered to Zoey for a second. I swallowed down a growl and bit my tongue as the braver beta cut my ropes.

  “Scream all you like. This room is soundproof,” Jeb laughed. “No one will hear you.”

  I lay prone on the floor dead weight and made the beta carry me across the room.

  “Where do you want him, boss?” the beta asked struggling with my weight. I tensed ready to catch myself if he dropped me.

  “Careful!” Jeb warned him. “Drop that pregnant omega and I’ll feed you to the others for dinner.”

  “Sorry, boss, he’s heavy.”

  “Put him on the table! Carefully!” Jeb growled.

  The beta laid me on the table and I didn’t move.

  “Why do you care if he’s careful?” I asked trying to distract him from whatever he was thinking about doing.

  “Because it’s a baby. The baby has no part in this.”

  “I think the baby has a big part in this,” I said calmly. “You kidnapped all three of us tonight.”

  “Let’s see how they’re doing. Do you know the sex yet?” Jeb asked turning on an ancient ultrasound machine.

  “No,” I shook my head.

  “Multiples?” he asked.

  “Just one.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. What did he plan to do once he saw the baby? What would he do when he discovered I carried a Hemlock dragon within my belly?

  Zoey sobbed, and he turned with a grimace.

  “I’ll let you look, Jeb,” I reached out and touched his arm. “But don’t hurt her. She’s a pup too. Really, I know she looks all grown up, but teenagers are still kids. She’s a pup.”

  I knew better than to try to reason with a mad man, but logic was all I had left. Zoey was trapped on the floor still tied up and with two of them in the room I couldn’t help her if one of them tried something.

  “I know. So, it’s important you don’t do anything stupid and get her hurt,” Jeb said.

  “Perfectly logical in the mind of a mad man,” my wolf sighed.

  “Could she have a drink of water? She’s been crying a lot. She might be dehydrated,” I continued.

  “Get her water!” He waved off the betas.

  “Do you have any kids?” I asked.

  The monitor roared to life but displayed gray dancing static. Jeb slapped its top several times before he came to an old, but familiar display.

  “No, my husband is a vampire,” he said. “Vampires have trouble procreating together. Our biology is faulty.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Had this Alpha wanted children so badly that it drove him crazy? Had he not heard of adoption or foster care or anything other than being a mad man? Did he wake up one day and just decide that he was king of the world and could take whatever he wanted from whoever he wanted to take it from?

  “So, I’ve been trying to find a suitable surrogate, but none of them come out vampires like Lee and myself. We keep trying, though. If you don’t try you’ll never have what you want. Let’s take a look, shall we?”

  “Alright,” I nodded and blinked back tears as he slid up my shirt to expose my round baby bump. Zoey sobbed again. The betas hadn’t returned with the water yet.

  Unlike Doctor Bane, Jeb didn’t warn me the ultrasound gel would be cold. I gritted my teeth and fought against a river of tears. I stared at the ceiling when the whooshing started. If I looked at the screen and saw my healthy egg helpless under the hands of this mad man I’d fall apart. Kidnapping victims who fall apart are more likely to die.

  One of the betas came back with a bottle of water before he could put the wand to my belly.

  “Can she sit up to drink? I don’t want her to choke,” I managed to say without crying. I needed them to free Zoey before I made a move. I couldn’t escape and leave her alone with a crazy vampire and his henchmen.

  “Sit her up and untie her hands. Not her feet, though,” Jeb said.

  “Boss, why are you listening to an omega?”

  “Alex, why aren’t you listening to me?” Jeb snapped.

  I squeezed my eyes shut not wanting to see him kill another beta.

  “Sorry, boss,” Alex mumbled. “You’ve never listened to any omega before. So, I don’t know why you’d start now.”

  “You aren’t fighting me, now,” Jeb said to me. “You fought at first, but that’s okay, because you were afraid. You’re not afraid of me now, right?”

  “No,” I lied.

  I was terrified of him and we both knew it. I felt it as a constant string of chills up my back and he could smell it. People on Mars could smell exactly how afraid of him I was.

  “Good,” Jeb patted my hand. “As long as you listen to me there’s no need to be afraid.”

  “Jeb,” I whispered.

  “Yes, omega?” He asked picking up the wand again.

  “Alex still hasn’t given Zoey her water. Dehydration at a young age can mess with a wolf omega’s future fertility,” I said.

  It was a lie, but angry men were easier to escape. If he was mad at his henchman maybe we’d get our chance to get away.

  “Jessie, if you can hear me, please come quickly! I don’t know how much longer I can keep it together!”

  There was still no answer on the pack link.

  “Alpha!”

  I wanted to rewind time and be back in Jessie’s arms safe before the call that it was time to move.

  “Alex!” Jeb laid down the ultrasound wand again and I took a deep breath. Jeb had a plan and the first step was to perform an ultrasound. I didn’t like how the plan started and doubted I’d like what came next. The longer I put off this step the better.

  “I was getting to it! Go suck face with the tattle-tale omega,” Alex grumbled.

  “Water the girl!” Jeb raised a clawed hand and Alex set to work. I held my breath as he cut loose her hands and handed her the bottle of water. She shook and fumbled with the cap, but eventually managed to get it off. We all watched as she drained the bottle.

  “Get out of my way and go get her another,” Jeb ordered Alex.

  Alex left the room and Jeb sat back down.

  “Now, let’s see this pup,” he placed the ultrasound wand to my belly. I fought the urge to cringe away from his touch.

  “Well, that’s different,” he looked on the screen. “Is that a dragon egg, omega?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  “Well, if I can’t give Lee a vampire baby, maybe he’ll enjoy raising a hatchling. It could prove to be challenging, but they would definitely be a special ch
ild.”

  My baby isn’t going anywhere. You’ll have to kill me to get to them.

  “Jessie!” I howled on the pack link, but there was still no answer.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Jessie

  It didn’t take long to catch the Alpha vampire’s scent. The cocky bastard didn’t even bother to use a pheromone blocker while running away from the camp and the omegas left behind to fend for themselves or die.

  The others moved further behind me, but I didn’t wait for them. They were pack. They’d catch up when they did.

  “DARIAN!” It was Zoey’s shriek I heard first on the pack link. Then it fell quiet. None of the hunters spoke in case she said something else. We didn’t want to miss it.

  The building was a large abandoned warehouse that smelled like blood and other less pleasant bodily fluids. Outside were two betas taking drags from cigarettes. They didn’t see me until I was on them. Neither had time to howl, growl, or call for help as I tore into their throats slashing their flesh and vocal cords leaving them twitching for dead.

  My wolf took over for a second. Sniffing the area out. Losing my head and doing something stupid could fuck up everything and cost more than I was willing to pay. I dragged the dead twitching bodies away from the door and into some nearby bushes. I couldn’t do anything about the blood, but in the dark most betas wouldn’t notice it unless they slipped in it.

  Shifting into my human form, I retrieved the bottled flashlight from my bag and a couple of glowsticks I stashed just in case. Ryan was a dumbass, but his level of stupidity might not be expected tonight. Jeb had fought Hemlocks before and we didn’t do stupid things. We didn’t make childish mistakes, but this wasn’t a mistake. This was a plan I played out in my head before.

  A building full of weaker hostiles. There was power in their numbers and maybe their weaponry. Innocents inside needing a distraction. Needing a way out. Waiting to be saved.

  Logan.

  I swallowed down the pain of knowing he was in danger and set to work. With a claw I sliced into the first glowstick and started counting down in my head. I had about forty-five seconds to get the second in and the makeshift explosive tossed. When it was ready I took a deep breath and aimed for a few yards beyond the door. I didn’t want our entrance and Logan and Zoey’s possible exit blocked by the sticky tar it produced.

  “Here’s to a young Alpha’s stupidity and an omega’s magic,” I said and tossed it.

  It landed with a thud and hissed. Nothing happened, but I waited hunkered in the bushes. Getting burnt by my own trap wasn’t in my plans tonight.

  Another beta came out for a smoke. He lit his cigarette, took a long drag, and let out a happy sigh. He sniffed the air and looked for the source of the hiss. I grinned. He’d be the first one down if he kept heading that way and he did.

  The explosion lit up the sky and shook the ground. Unlike Ryan, I used jumbo glowsticks and gave the bottle a good shake before tossing it off to explode from inside the bottle and burst under pressure.

  “What the?” he never finished his thought as the explosion shot him back and the gunk rained down from the sky. Others ran out of the building to help only to be rained on by the acid tarry potion too.

  “Eight down. Nine if I kill the one still crying. Then we go in,” my wolf said.

  “Jessie.”

  It was Darian on the pack link this time.

  “Bushes. Tarred them. Bring the feathers.”

  Paws hit the ground nearby, but gunk still rained from the sky. The pack stopped short of the gooey rain, but betas kept coming out.

  It was time to go in and take back what was mine.

  I left the stream of beta guards to the others and slipped inside the building. A beta in wolf form charged me. We clashed in the air. By the time our paws touched down he was dead, and blood sprayed the already dirty floor.

  “Jessie! Help! Alpha!” Logan’s panicked cries reached out over the pack link.

  “I’m coming, mate!”

  A howl tore through my chest. The explosion already sounded the alarms there was no need to be quiet.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Logan

  “You’re in trouble now! Our pack is here, fang face!” Zoey growled from her spot on the floor.

  “What are you doing, pup? Shut up! Shut up, right now! Don’t antagonize the mad man!” My wolf growled, but from on top of the table I was powerless to stop her.

  “Jessie! JESSIE!” I howled over the pack link begging him to hurry before Zoey got us both killed at the last second.

  “What’s wrong with you, pup?” Jeb asked. “I’ve been kind to you.”

  “You kidnapped me! You dragged me into this stinky building and tied me up and knocked me out!” Zoey growled.

  “As soon as your pack returns Lee you can go home,” Jeb said.

  “Lee left you! He left you because you’re sick and demented! You make him do despicable things you bastard!” Zoey growled.

  “Lee didn’t leave. He was taken by one of yours,” Jeb said.

  His red eyes glowed brighter and his hands curled into claws at his side.

  “No, he marched up to our gates and begged for help! I was there! I saw him!” Zoey screeched like a banshee.

  “NO! PUP! NO!”

  “That’s it,” Jeb picked me up and Zoey sprang to her feet. Somewhere in all the growling and sobbing she managed to free her feet.

  “I’m cutting this egg out! If you guys have taken what’s mine, I’ll not be left empty handed!”

  Panic shot through me and I kicked and flailed in his arms. Zoey landed a kick between his legs and he misstepped. I landed on all fours and scurried to my feet. That would slow a lot of people down, but not an enraged Alpha vampire.

  Zoey ran to my side and took my hand.

  “STUPID PUP! THE DOOR IS THE OTHER WAY!” My wolf growled. “DON’T STAY AND DIE WITH ME!”

  “Um… Boss, something blew up outside. I’m gonna go see why no one’s came back,” Alex appeared in the door way looking dumbstruck and holding a bat.

  “Scramble that egg if he’s not going to give it to me!” Jeb roared.

  I scrambled back pulling Zoey with me, but there was nowhere to go. Our backs were against the literal wall. Between us and the door was a very mad Alpha vampire and a beta wielding a metal baseball bat.

  “Shift,” I whispered to Zoey on the pack link. “Shift when they come after us and run. Your brothers are here. Run to them. I’ll be fine.”

  It was a lie. I wasn’t fine. I couldn’t fight both of them and win, but I could make sure she got her teenage ass out of here and had a chance to live life.

  “I’m not leaving you!” She squeezed my hand.

  “GO!” I growled on the pack link.

  Letting go of Zoey’s hand I lunged at Jeb. It was crazy, but crazy was all we had left. Alex swung the bat as my feet left the floor. I twisted in the air trying to escape the blow or at least have it land anywhere besides my belly.

  “NOO!” Zoey howled diving between me and the bat.

  The crunch of bone filled the air as the bat slammed into the back of her skull. Her howl of pain cut through me as her body hit the floor. She let out a quiet distressed whimper as darkness overtook her.

  My wolf howled crying out for help as rage overtook us both.

  “It’s important to keep your head in a crisis,” Jayden told me again and again, but this was beyond a crisis. This had turned from a crime spree into war. Alex swung the bat again, but I’d already given into my primal nature. I shifted low to the ground and his bat hit empty air.

  I lunged up knocking the bat across the room. It landed with a clanking thud of metal against concrete. Jeb grabbed my scruff, but not before my teeth sank into his minion’s throat. He yanked me away with a mouth full of flesh and blood that I spat in his face. Alex stumbled, fell to his knees next to Zoey and twitched out the last seconds of his pitiful life.

  “ALPHA! ALPHA! HELP ME!” I how
led on the pack link as I snarled and bit into Jeb’s forearm and wherever else my muzzle landed.

  “I’m coming, mate! Hold on!”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Jessie

  “I’m coming, Logan! I’m coming!”

  I pushed my way through a group of betas snarling and shoving. They gave chase, but the others cut them down as I pushed forward into the room where the bone cracking and howling came from.

  The world slowed to a crawl. Logan pinned, in wolf-form, against the grimy wall by the only Alpha I saw in this place. Logan’s muzzled came down hard, biting into his arm, but his jagged fingernails extended on his hand as he swung upwards towards his belly.

  Shifting, I charged. He stopped mid-swing to look over his shoulder. Logan fell to the floor scrambling for his feet next to my unconscious baby sister. Rage twisted my stomach as I nudged her, and she didn’t move. Jeb was gone.

  “GO! GET HIM!” Bane growled.

  Where had he come from? Had he been on my heels the whole time?

  “Think I’m going to let you guys charge in without a healer. Just because I’m a doctor doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing or two about taking out an asshole! I have them! Go! Get him! None of you better come back until he’s crow food!”

  I nuzzled Logan and let my wolf sniff his belly. The threat was still alive, but I needed to know he and our baby were okay. Dragon eggs are tough, but most dragon eggs never have to face down an enraged vampire.

  “I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay,” Logan said again and again through the pack link.

  “GO!” Bane shouted dropping to his knees next to Zoey to examine the extent of her injuries.

  “If we lose him now Alpha all of this would have been for nothing,” Logan said still nuzzling me.

  Snarls, growls, and howls filled the abandoned warehouse, but the others were still busy with betas. I had to go. I had to leave him, our unborn baby, and Zoey even though I’d only found them. It wasn’t even about my job as a tracker anymore. This was about the good of the pack.

  “I’m okay, Alpha,” Logan whined.

  His scent was still tinged with fear and panic. He glanced at Zoey worried, but I had to go. If I didn’t put paw to the ground and catch up to Jeb he’d move on and start this whole mess over.