A dictator.
Victor pushed his thoughts aside and diverted his attention to the task at hand: the omega pendant. He recalled both his excitement and greed as he’d watched Emery unearth the pendant from the hallway in Dormance. His eyes had practically glazed over at the sight of it.
It was the last piece of the puzzle, and it was the majority of the reason he’d created Dormance instead of leaving half of mankind to waste away in a comatose state. He’d searched and searched the 7S world for both the ring and the pendant to no avail. It made sense that they’d be in the one place he refused to access. He could have retrieved them himself, but that would have meant putting himself in Dormance and relinquishing control of everything, if only for a few brief hours—a risk he hadn’t been willing to take.
Fortunately, he’d been able to track Emery’s every movement through her microchip. When she’d found the pendant, his heart had swelled with joy, but he’d also felt a stitch of fear. Even though she knew nothing of him—what he looked like, how his voice sounded, what his plans were—he couldn’t help but feel like, somehow, she was onto him. And if she wasn’t, there was no doubt in his mind that she would be soon.
After watching her day in and day out for almost a year, it was no secret that she was a clever girl, one who was unnervingly fast at piecing things together. Even more frightening was the fact that he’d completely lost tabs on her after the explosion in downtown Chicago. The portal between Dormance and the 7S world had somehow been disconnected and, despite his countless efforts, he hadn’t been able to get in contact with Naia to reopen it. He was walking blind in a world where he was supposed to have complete control.
Victor reached into his suit pocket, his fingers running over the screen of his phone. He closed his eyes and murmured a plea before attempting to dial Naia yet again. When the call failed, Victor flung his phone at the wall, seething as it sank into the far corner of the room.
Even though Emery had an embedded microchip, the technology was useless. The main control station in Dormance had been disconnected, meaning that his control station in the 7S world wasn’t connected to anything. Both stations had to be in an active state in order to work. And with the portal being closed, there was no way he could gain control over the microchips; however, there was a way around it. And it involved both the alpha ring and the omega pendant.
Some time ago, he’d learned from the leader of 7S that the ring and the pendant were required to activate both machines in a case such as this. Well, he hadn’t so much learned this information as he’d forced it out.
Ten years ago. That’s when it’d all started. He’d spent years interviewing and gathering members for his organization, the Federal Commonwealth. Recruits were to be taken by force from their homes due to their knowledge of Alpha One, a simulation program to train soldiers. Despite technology having been halted for years, Alpha One had received private funding, which had allowed it to keep its operations afloat. The technology within Alpha One was truly remarkable, and could give him the power to fulfill his dreams of building a world-class society. The leader of 7S had plenty of inside information about Alpha One, so Victor had ordered he be removed from his home at once to join the Federal Commonwealth.
But getting him to voluntarily offer information was much more difficult than Victor had imagined. At first he’d wondered why, but after doing some digging, he’d discovered that the man’s wife had been the creator of Alpha One. Going after her proved to be even more difficult, so Victor had stuck with what he had. Plus, threatening the man’s family was a much better tactic than trying to force information out of someone who would never give in.
There were a few times where he’d had no choice but to resort to physical means to get answers. In one particular instance, he’d left a nasty scar etched in the man’s left cheek. Regardless, he’d gotten the information he needed.
Back then, he was the one in power, the one in complete control. This was the first time in a long time he’d felt helpless.
There has to be another way to get the pendant from her.
Victor paced back and forth across the room, racking his brain for an idea—any idea—that might solve his predicament. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes landed on the bottom drawer of his desk. With a grunt, he knelt down and placed his hand on the drawer’s scanner, watching as a green ray of light analyzed his fingerprints.
The drawer immediately popped open, the contents making him shiver with delight. Victor pulled the items out—one self-embedding microchip and one remote with the capability to control up to five hundred microchips. Too bad the remaining microchips were in Theo’s office in Dormance. Fortunately, all he needed at the present moment was one. Years ago, he’d stored these items in case of an emergency and, needless to say, this certainly counted as one.
Now for the difficult part. Trying to embed a second microchip into Emery’s neck wasn’t only highly unlikely, it wasn’t at all feasible. He’d have to capture her, remove the old microchip, and implant the new one. Too messy.
He could target one of her close friends—the hacker, perhaps—but that would likely raise suspicion. Plus, he’d be in need of said hacker’s assistance at a later time. What use would the boy’s mind be if Victor had control of his every thought? No, if he was going to get that pendant, he’d have to be discreet. He’d have to make her trust him. I have to gain access to her inner circle.
The idea hit him like a bolt of lightning on a stormy night. There was only one other organization that knew about Dormance besides the Federal Commonwealth.
The Seventh Sanctum.
Once Emery realized she hadn’t completely deactivated Dormance, she’d undoubtedly enlist 7S for their help and resources. And what better way to make her trust him than to gain access through the leader of 7S?
5
“How many days has it been?”
Mason looked up from his desk with a somber expression, his lips barely parting as he spoke. “Eight.”
Warren raised an eyebrow. “Have you tried calling her?” he asked as he wandered over to the aquarium in the middle of the room. He tapped on the glass, smiling as the colorful fish darted in panicked patterns throughout the water.
The 7S administration had been gracious enough to let both Mason and Warren camp out at headquarters for the time being, seeing as they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They couldn’t get back into Dormance, nor would they want to, and Mason was wary of teleporting back to Arizona since he’d never done it before. Plus, he wanted to go back to his hometown with Emery—together—but she’d made her intentions perfectly clear when she’d chosen Torin to go with her instead.
Mason had gone back and forth between calling her and not calling her more times than he could count, but every time he picked up the phone, his pride managed to get in the way.
“If she wants to talk, she’ll call,” Mason replied as he spun his phone on the desk, watching it twirl round and round. Before he could say another word, Warren was standing beside him, his hand halting the phone mid-spin.
“Listen to me. You haven’t talked to her in eight days. Not to mention, she’s off with another guy doing god knows what. Yeah, she turned you down, but you guys clearly have some kind of connection. You need to call her,” he commanded, stuffing the phone in Mason’s face.
Mason pushed his friend’s hand away, his irritation growing. “It’s fine. Like I said, if she wants to talk, she’ll call.”
Warren ran his fingers through his neatly combed hair. “Man, I’m just looking out for you. Can you honestly say that you’re not even the slightest bit concerned?”
Truthfully, Mason was concerned. Emery was all he could think about for the past one hundred and ninety-two hours. He constantly wondered where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, why she hadn’t called. Or maybe she had called and he’d missed it? He scrolled through his phone again, just to be sure, then sighed.
Nope. Wishf
ul thinking.
It was hard to wrap his head around why she’d picked Torin to join her, someone who, in his opinion, was a complete stranger, especially considering everything he and Emery had been through as of late. He’d almost been killed and yet, she’d still flocked to Torin. It didn’t make any sense.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Warren began as he fidgeted with a button on his shirt, “what do you think of Torin?”
Mason shrugged. “I don’t really have an opinion of him,” he lied. “Why?”
Warren rolled his eyes. “I guess what I’m really asking is whether or not you think he’s harmless.”
Mason furrowed his eyebrows. “What exactly are you getting at?”
Warren walked along the outer edge of the desk, his fingers trailing the smooth titanium. “You very well know what I’m getting at. What if Torin isn’t who he says he is? What if he’s the bad guy?”
“He’s not the bad guy,” Mason sighed. “Don’t fill my head with that garbage. You’re better than that.”
“Or what if,” Warren continued, ignoring his plea, “Torin’s fallen for Emery and is trying to win her over?”
Mason shifted in his chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Sure, the thought had occurred to him, but hearing it out loud made it feel like an actual possibility.
“So, I’ll ask again. Do you think he likes her?” Warren pressed.
“How would I know? It’s not like I’m friends with him—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Warren interrupted. “Think about it.” His expression turned serious. “Do you think he likes her?”
“Of course he likes her,” Mason blurted out. “How could he not? How could anyone not?” He slammed his hand on the desk, the coolness of the metal lessening the sting.
Warren jumped at his sudden outburst. The tension between them was palpable, but still, he continued to pry. “So you’re telling me that you’re just going to stand by and let this happen? You’re not going to go after Emery?”
Mason rose from his chair, his hair disheveled, eyes bewildered. He was trying to keep his temper at bay, but Warren was making it difficult. His friend had a tendency to poke and prod until, eventually, no stone was left unturned. Mason decided to cut him off right then and there. “Stop putting these ideas in my head. I’ve got enough on my plate already.”
Warren shook his head, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “These ideas were already there, my friend. I’m just bringing them to the surface.”
“Well, I wish you’d stop,” Mason snapped. He’d spent so much time over the past week reassuring himself that everything with Emery was fine. Yet here was Warren, unraveling each and every thread of that reassurance.
“You have to do something and you know it.”
Mason wrinkled his forehead as he made eye contact. “I know I’ll regret asking this, but I’m going to do it anyway.” He let out a long sigh. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
Warren’s eyes gleamed with malicious intent. “Stop him before he takes the one thing that is precious to you. It’s time for you to take Torin down.”
6
Emery awoke in her old room to the sound of dishes clanking and the smell of coffee brewing downstairs. She rolled out of bed, glancing briefly at the full-length mirror to make sure she wasn’t completely unpresentable. Her crimson hair was frizzy and unkempt. She smoothed it down to calm the flyways and fashioned it into a low ponytail. Stifling a yawn, she walked out of her bedroom, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight beaming through the windows.
She and Torin had been in Arizona for a little over a week and they still hadn’t found anything. They’d searched her house inside and out, including the garage, or in this world, the greenhouse, the attic, and the backyard, and yet, they’d still come up empty-handed. She felt just as clueless now as she had when they’d first arrived.
What was even more concerning was that no one had shown up at her house in the time they’d been there. She had no idea where her mom and sister were, let alone how to get ahold of them. She hadn’t heard from her best friend, Riley, either, which was strange. It was like everyone from her past was missing.
Like they’d disappeared into thin air.
And even though she was convinced that Dormance was only temporarily deactivated, it was strange that she was here, in the real world, and her family wasn’t.
Where could they be?
Bile rose in her throat as thoughts of her family and friends trapped, tortured, and dead flooded her mind. Emery knew she needed to get back to Chicago to sort everything out, but something was keeping her from leaving. Maybe it was the hope that her mom, sister, or Riley would burst through the front door and things would go back to the way they once were. Or maybe it was the nagging feeling that she was missing a huge piece of the puzzle and the only way to solve it was to stay. Regardless, her patience was nearing the end of its rope, and she could tell that Torin was starting to feel the same way.
“Morning, sunshine,” Torin chirped as he slid a mug of coffee across the kitchen counter. “A dash of cream and two packets of sugar, just the way you like it.”
“How thoughtful,” Emery replied with a smirk as she tightened her robe and slid onto the barstool. “No name-brand coffee today?”
Torin gestured toward SmartMeal. “Trust me, it is name-brand. I just wanted to add a special touch by pouring it into one of your homemade mugs.”
Emery looked down at her mug to examine it more closely. Pink and white ceramic stared back at her with large block letters that spelled out: BEST MOM EVER. It was the mug she’d handcrafted for Mother’s Day in second grade.
She knew her mom treasured everything she and her sister had made while they were growing up, from popsicle-stick figurines to paper Christmas ornaments, but she was a little surprised that the mug had been sitting in their kitchen cabinet instead of in storage. A longing smile touched her lips at the memory of her childhood, but the feeling was quickly replaced by a sense of sadness.
Where are they? Why haven’t they come home?
She traced the shape of the pendant from the outside of her robe, and that’s when an idea hit her. She’d been able to go back in time and see her family in Prescott at the campsite, if only for a brief time. Maybe it was possible to do that again.
She jumped up from her chair, taking her mug of coffee with her. “Be right back,” she said as she hurried toward her mom’s room.
“Okay,” Torin called after her, waving absent-mindedly as he bit into a slice of toast.
Emery shut the door quietly behind her and turned the lock in place. She unclasped the omega pendant from around her neck and held it in both hands like she had before. “Okay, you can do this. You can figure this out.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping that it was enough to jumpstart the pendant’s . . . abilities. But when she opened her eyes, the same lavender bedspread stared back at her.
Why isn’t it working?
Emery closed her eyes again and squeezed them shut as tightly as humanly possible. After waiting a few seconds, she peeked through one eye. Still nothing. Same lavender bedspread.
A wave of uneasiness washed over her. What am I doing wrong? She thought back to her first flashback and retraced her steps throughout the room. Feeling stumped, she took a seat on the bed. As she gazed at the pendant, a memory resurfaced. I said something.
A small ray of hope illuminated within her. With the pendant tight in her grip, Emery closed her eyes and, in a voice that was barely audible, said what she thought were the magic words. “Alpha and Omega.”
She was right. Those were the magic words. Her eyes fluttered open. Once again, she was standing in a place that was immediately recognizable. Pleasanton Beach.
Her family had taken many trips to the quaint beach town in Rhode Island where the days were filled with bicycle rides along the coasts, stops at ice cream parlors, and evening bonfi
res roasting marshmallows. Emery’s favorite part had always been early in the morning when she’d go hunting for seashells with her mother. Pleasanton Beach was known for having rare species of fish, birds, and aquatic life. Emery would pick up any shell she could get her hands on to add to her collection, but her mother seemed particularly interested in one type: a beautiful deep green and fan-shaped shell.
Emery could see her mother and sister down the coast less than half a mile away. Her gaze shifted to the ground, and she noticed her feet were small, the size of children’s feet, and adorned with pink jelly sandals. Wavy auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders. There was no question about it. I’m the kid version of myself.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Emery swiped the nearest seashell from the sand and darted over to where her mother and sister were splashing in the waves. “Mom!” she heard her squeaky non-adult voice call out. “Look what I found!”
Her mother flashed her a bright smile as she scooped Alexis out of the water and placed her on her hip. Her sister squealed with delight. “What’d you find, princess?” her mom asked as she strode toward her.
Emery could feel herself blush. It was strange to hear her mother talk to her with such affection. It dawned on her that she hadn’t seen her mother in over six months. She opened her mouth, desperately wanting to ask the same questions plaguing her mind as of late. Where are you? When are you coming back? Are you safe?
Emery swallowed her sadness as she held her hand out for her mother to see. In her palm just so happened to be a fan-shaped seashell in a deep shade of green, the same kind her mother was so fond of.
Her mother let out a small exhale as she set Alexis on the ground, then knelt down so that she was eye-level with Emery. “Did you pick this one out just for me?”
Emery bobbed her head up and down.
“That’s my smart girl,” Sandra said as she traced the outline of the shell with the tip of her finger. “You know, this is a very special kind of seashell. Do you know why?”
The Order of Omega (The Alpha Drive Book 2) Page 3
