by Riley Carver
I glare at her and say nothing. She hangs her head as she leaves the room.
I kneel in front of the Omega, trying to make her look at me. When I reach out and tilt her chin up, she winces. There’s hatred in her eyes.
“Remember when you said I’d be valued?” she spits at me. “It looks like I’m too valuable to resist.”
“Did they hurt you?” I ask, my hands curling into fists at my sides. I’m not sure I can handle her answer.
“No, they tore at my clothes, but then soldiers ran in and fought them off.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“And now I’ve had a crowd of aliens in my room speaking a language I don’t understand,” she says. “I want to go home. I hate all of you.”
From the tone of her voice, I can tell she means it. I want to reach out and take her into my arms. If I could lie down next to her and wrap myself around her, I could make her feel safe. I feel the electric desire crackle inside me. I wouldn’t be able to stop at holding her. I would need to possess her, tease her with my knot and make her beg. But the last thing she wants is to feel my touch. The other Alphas made sure of that.
“The Alphas who attacked you will be executed,” I say. “You’ll have round-the-clock guards posted to your door. And I’ll be assigning a new attendant to you,” I add. “One who will be better at her job.”
The Omega scoffs. She shrugs off the blanket, and I see that her uniform is missing a sleeve. “So your solution is to take away the one alien who is kind of okay?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amiran sidle out of the room. I don’t blame him. Being this close to the Omega without touching her is excruciating.
“You would like your Beta attendant to be reinstated?”
She nods, and I command one of the soldiers to find the attendant and bring her back at once.
The Omega is still glaring at me, though. “I don’t like that I can’t understand you, especially when I know that everyone is talking about me.”
“Don’t worry; your Beta attendant has a solution for that. In fact, don’t worry about anything. You are safe under my care. No one else will lay a finger on you.”
The look on her face is impossible to interpret. For a second she looks relieved, like she trusts me, but then her expression changes back to a mask of loathing.
“Right, no one will touch me until the collection center.”
I know the Omega is having trouble understanding her purpose. I admit it’s a lot to take in. I don’t challenge her snarky comment. Instead, I supervise the repair of her chamber door and then I leave along with everyone else in the room.
Out front, I interrogate each of the Beta guards who will now stand watch at her door. When I’m satisfied that they can handle what’s required of them, I start to head back to the control room. “One more thing,” I say, turning to face the guards. “If you let anyone unauthorized get to the little Omega, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
Chapter 5
Kira
Peggy is on my floor, cocooned in a blanket. I can’t sleep, and neither can she. I’m glad to have her here. I think I would have sat up all night watching the door if she hadn’t offered to stay with me.
“Peggy,” I whisper, and she rolls over toward me.
“Yes, Kira?”
“What did you say to the alien leader when you left the room? He looked so mad.”
“You mean Drax? Well, let me put it this way, what do you Earthborns say when you’re furious with someone and you don’t care about the consequences for telling them off?”
“Hmm, you say something like, ‘Bite me,’ or ‘Fuck you.’”
“Okay, I said, ‘Fuck you, Drax!’ and then I stormed out, planning to get a drink in the food bay.”
“Did you really? He’s such a scary guy,” I say, my eyes wide and incredulous.
“No!” Peggy answers, giggling madly. “Of course I didn’t. I probably said something like, ‘I’m sorry I let you down, sir.’ I don’t even remember! I was too upset to think straight.”
I giggle along with Peggy, and the sound surprises me. Why am I laughing at a time like this? But Peggy’s laughter is infectious, and soon I’m laughing so hard that tears are rolling down my cheeks. It’s really nice to cry from laughter instead of from all the sadness I’ve been carrying.
“Peggy, I have to ask you something,” I blurt out before I can even process the fact that my question is a humiliating one. “Something happens to me whenever Drax is in the room. I can’t stop it, but I want to stop it…”
“Are you talking about your slick?” Peggy asks.
My slick? That sounds like it’s exactly what I’m asking about. “Umm, I guess so. It’s really embarrassing.”
Even in the dark, I can feel the heat of my cheeks. And I’m starting to feel heat rising in my belly too. Just thinking about the wetness that floods my panties when Drax is around has my heart beating faster.
My nipples are straining against the T-shirt I wore to bed. I make sure my body is covered up by my blanket so that Peggy can’t see the desire that’s taking me over. This is shaping up to be an uncomfortable sleepover.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Kira. You can’t help it. It’s simple biology. Whenever you are in the presence of an Alpha, your body prepares itself for mating. It’s not something that you can control or stop. How have you been feeling lately? Are the urges getting stronger? Are you in any pain?”
Now that she’s asking, I realize that I’ve been having a lot of cramps, which is weird because I’ve already had my period this month.
“Uh, yeah, I think the urges are getting stronger, and I am in a little bit of pain.”
“I’m not surprised. Your estrous is about to happen for the first time. Omegas who are ready for mating go into heat on a regular cycle.”
“But why have I never gone into heat before?” I ask, and I can’t believe that this is a conversation I’m having so matter-of-factly.
All the questions I have are bubbling up now and crowding out all the shame and confusion I’ve been feeling since I got taken. I need to understand what’s happening to me, and that’s the only thing I can focus on. I’ll worry about everything else later.
“There’s two reasons that Omegas might skip their heat cycle: They’re on suppressants or they’ve never been in contact with an Alpha. For you, being in the presence of Fysians for the first time started your cycle. But there are strict rules in place. You’ll be given suppressants until we deliver you to the collection center. It’s for the best, and it’s important for you to take them.”
“Why?”
“Because estrous is agonizing until an Alpha gives you relief by mating with you. You’d be out of your mind with pain, happy to mate with any Alpha who walks by. And you’re not meant for any of the Alphas on board. The collection center already has a mate lined up for you based on the gene sequencing we sent them. Along with giving you your suppressant, I can implant your translation device tomorrow. That way, you’ll understand your mate if he doesn’t speak English. Not that you two will need to talk,” Peggy giggles.
This time, I don’t giggle too—I don’t like the turn this conversation has taken. This is all stuff I have to know, but I was happier before I heard that making contact with the Fysians will make me into a mindless slut on a regular basis.
The room is quiet for a long time. Finally, Peggy breaks the silence. “Try not to think about it, Kira. We’ll get you started on suppressants tomorrow. You know what they say, ‘Adapt to survive.’”
I’m too tired and overwhelmed to place where I’ve heard that expression before. I tell Peggy goodnight and thank her for being a good friend to me, and I then I drift off into a dream-filled sleep. I spend the whole night dreaming that I’m with Drax. He takes his uniform off slowly and pulls me down into bed with him. I ride him until our moans fill the room.
When I wake up, I’m covered in sweat—and slick.
Drax
&n
bsp; Amiran smirks at me as I press a series of buttons and pull up the live feed of the Omega’s room. I lean back in my chair and give him a quizzical look.
“I’m doing my duty, Amiran. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“Of course, boss. Whatever you say.”
Amiran knows I hate it when he calls me boss. I outrank him, but he’s like a brother to me, and I try to treat him like an equal as best I can.
“There’s no harm in admitting you’re drawn to her, Drax,” he says. “You’re an Alpha; it would be weird if you weren’t.”
Amiran spins around and around in his chair, and it’s making me dizzy. “Stop that!” I snap.
Amiran grabs hold of the control panel in front of him and jerks to a stop. Then he gives me a mock salute. He’s such a pain in the ass.
“It’s my job to deliver her safely, nothing more.”
“Fine. If you’re so in control of your Alpha urges and so much better than the rest of us, why don’t you inject her with her suppressant? The med bay radioed up that it’s been formulated, and it’s ready to go.”
The look on his face is too annoying. “That’s a great idea,” I say.
I stand up and aim straight for the med bay. I want to look back over my shoulder at Amiran, but I don’t. I can hear him making sounds of protest, and I know him well enough to intuit that he’s opening and closing his mouth like a fish. I can feel the smug smile that’s plastered on my face.
I won’t be alone with the Omega since her attendant has become her shadow. There are no risks here. And damn, it’ll be fun to prove Amiran wrong.
Kira
It’s strange how fast you get used to your environment. I don’t feel afraid of the Fysians anymore. The shock of the invasion must be wearing off.
Plus, I know I’m stuck on this spaceship—where else am I going to go? There’s a good chance that my planet has been destroyed, the Avekis are trying to kill any Omegas they can get their hands on—if they even have hands, and I’m starting to believe that Peggy has my best interest at heart, even if no one else does.
I hate it when Peggy leaves my room. There’s nothing to do when she’s gone. She always makes sure that I’m entertained in some way. We’ve spent hours playing games she says the Fysian developed long ago to pass the time in space.
With her on her way to collect my suppressant and translation implant, I scramble to block all the thoughts crowding together in my head. I might not be as freaked out about being on a spaceship, but I am gutted every time my thoughts turn to my family I left behind.
And I can’t even think for a second about the collection center. I’m in total denial about it. I won’t let Peggy say the words “collection center” to me. She’s given up trying to convince me going there is for the best.
There’s a knock on my chamber door, which is odd. Peggy comes and goes as she pleases, and I know there are guards who aren’t supposed to let anyone else in. I stay silent, hoping that whoever it is will go away. No such luck. The door slides open, and Drax barrels in.
As the door slides shut behind him, he looks around, and then looks around again like he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing.
“Where’s your attendant?” he barks at me.
“She went to get some things for me,” I say quietly. I hate the way he talks to me. Actually, I hate that he doesn’t talk to me. He only yells and commands.
“I’ve come to administer your suppressant,” he says, and he pulls a giant needle from the bag he’s carrying. I swear it’s the length of my forearm.
“No way,” I respond, putting my hands up and backing away from him. “You are most certainly not coming anywhere near me with that.”
But even as I protest, I feel something in me change. It’s like my feet are moving on their own. I’m inching closer to Drax.
He’s looking me up and down now, and he licks his lips. Then he tucks the needle back in the bag and drops the bag to the floor.
I’m not inching anymore. I sprint to close the space between us, and he reaches out to me. I put my hands in his open palms and he pulls me hard until my body is pressed against his.
He growls, and a torrent of wetness floods me instantly. The cramps I felt before have nothing on the ones taking me over ever since I touched his skin. If he weren’t holding me, I’d collapse to the floor. The pain makes everything around me blurry.
I hear whimpering, and then I realize it’s coming from me. The only thing that seems to help the unbearable pain is rubbing myself against Drax. He is rock hard and ready for me. I grind my hips against him, enjoying the brief respite from the agony that consumes me now.
The air is heavy with our desire. I have tunnel vision. There’s only me and Drax in the universe. I don’t even hear Peggy come into the room. I’m still frantically grinding against Drax when I register her voice say, “Sir? I can help you inject the suppressant, sir.”
All of a sudden, Drax’s strong arms are peeling me away from him. He holds me by the scruff of my neck as he bends down and rifles through the bag on the floor. Then he carries me to my chair, drops me face down, and stabs the needle into the fleshiest part of my thigh.
Peggy is trying to talk to him, but he wordlessly throws the syringe across the room and stomps outside. I am weeping piteously. I needed him inside me, and he’s gone.
“The suppressant will take an hour or two to take effect,” Peggy says. “I know you don’t like being sedated, but you’re going to feel worse and worse until the suppressant disrupts your estrous. Do you want to be sedated?” Peggy asks.
I shake my head, unable to form words through the pain. Something deep down tells me I can handle this. I slink down to the floor and crawl across the room. I bang on the locked door, clawing and screaming until the pain builds and builds and I lose consciousness on my own accord.
Drax
I stalk back to the control room, my eyes steely and my fury palpable. I slam myself into the captain’s chair. Amiran pretends that some switches on the farthest control panel need his absolute attention.
I promised myself I wouldn’t be alone with the Omega; why did I break that promise? It’s obvious I can’t stay away. I tug on one of my horns, scrambling to think of a way to have her. If I don’t breed her soon, I think it will be the end of me.
I don’t know why I’m wasting my time fantasizing about this. It’s not possible. One of the first things they teach at the children’s center is the rule about Omegas. Mating with an Omega without permission is forbidden. The punishment is decided by the Upper Council. It’s rare, but sometimes that punishment is death.
Chapter 6
Kira
Peggy brings me a tray of food, a basin of water, and a washcloth and sets everything next to the tray holding my translation device. I’ve refused to let her implant it. I don’t want anyone coming near me.
I grab the washcloth and do my best to wash my face and scrub the slick away, but it’s hard to get clean. Then I stare at the food she’s brought: a small salad and a cheeseburger. They brought Earth food just for me. Sometimes Peggy talks about all the preparations they made to make me feel comfortable.
It’s total bullshit. They must have known there was no way I could feel comfortable. I need to wash my hair and walk around. Everyone acts like I’m some kind of guest here, but I know what I really am.
I scoot the tray back toward Peggy and lie down on my chair. Pulling the blanket over my face, I ignore Peggy’s pleas for me to eat. I’ve been refusing to talk or eat ever since the suppressant went into effect.
These aliens have turned me into someone I don’t recognize, and I won’t forgive any of them for it, not even Peggy. As hard as I’ve tried to seal off thoughts about my family, I let myself wallow now. All I want to do is sleep. When I’m not sleeping, I cry and think about my mom, dad, sister, everyone I ever knew on Earth.
Peggy fusses over me and turns on the screen that shows the view outside of the ship. I don’t even look at the blac
k holes or quasars we pass. When I first got on board, I enjoyed looking at every celestial body and asking Peggy all about them. Now I swipe my hand so that the screen turns off.
“Do you need anything?” Peggy asks softly. She’s pacing around the room.
I don’t answer, and she exhales loudly. “Do you want me to go?” she says.
I speak for the first time in days. “Yes, I do.”
Peggy leaves wordlessly, but from her breathing, it sounds like she’s choking back tears. Good. I’m glad someone else feels as bad as I do.
