Love Before Dawn: An Omegaverse Story (Kindred Book 1)

by Claire Cullen

  Afterward, two staff escorted me out and along a different corridor. The top of my arm ached, just below my shoulder. They’d done something to it and it had hurt.

  The place seemed like a maze of rooms and I could only wonder what horror awaited me next. We stopped in front of a solid metal door, and one of them swiped their card. The door swung open. It was dark inside, the light from the corridor barely penetrating it, and a rush of cold air slipped out.

  Before I could speak or wonder, their hands were on my back, undoing the ties on the flimsy gown I wore. They pulled it down my arms and off. Then their hands were on my back and they shoved me forward into the room. I tripped and went down hard onto my knees with a cry. The door slammed shut behind me, throwing the room in inky blackness.

  I stayed on my knees, waiting and hoping that my eyes would adjust to whatever low level of light was in the room. Only the pitch blackness didn’t abate and no one turned on a light. The glow of my Omega mark stood out brightly but it wasn’t much help when it came to my surroundings.

  My knees felt shaky as I got to my feet, feeling my way carefully across the floor until I came to the wall. Walls had light switches, didn’t they? I just needed to find mine.

  I found the door and discovered there was no handle on this side. And though I scoured the wall the whole way around the room, there was no switch.

  Crawling into a corner, I curled up and tried to hold onto as much body warmth as I could. Why were they doing this to me? I’d come here willingly, I was ready to do my duty. What did they want from me?

  Chapter Five

  Jethro

  Roman, Blaise, and I sat up all night making plans. If I was going to make a move, it would need to be soon. Roman had an uncle who did business in the South, so he could come up with transit papers. I’d have to borrow his ID too. We were cousins and looked alike enough that it would pass a cursory inspection. There was no way I could travel on my own ID. Alphas with active marks weren’t allowed to cross the border. There had been incidents.

  “Are you sure one of us shouldn’t come with you?” Blaise asked. Us meaning him.

  “No. I’m safer alone. I’m not dragging you down with me if this goes South.” Blaise rolled his eyes at my pun.

  “I don’t know,” Roman said dryly. “I think you having my ID and a travel permit from my uncle’s business probably implicates me and the rest of the family.”

  “I’ll tell them I stole them. The authorities will believe that, especially if we leave no paper trail.”

  “Okay, so you cross the border, go to the Intake Center, and what, ask them nicely to give you your Omega?”

  “I’m going to break in and steal him.”

  “You’re going to break into a secure facility and smuggle someone out?”

  “Exactly.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to come?” That was Roman, playing Devil’s advocate as always.

  “Yeah, like there’s an Omega on the planet who wouldn’t jump at the chance to get out of a place like that,” Blaise said with a laugh.

  “Yes. The hard part will be getting in there, not getting out.”

  Even as I said it, there was a hint of doubt in the back of my mind. During his speech, he’d seemed so sure, so devoted. If he was a true believer in their cause, I wasn’t sure I could get him out.

  “The hard part will be getting back over the border with him. As soon as they realize he’s gone, they’ll be on high alert,” Roman said. “The whole country will be locked down tight.”

  “I’ll just have to get him back across before they realize he’s missing.” What could be simpler?

  It took another day to get everything in order, the ID, the transit papers, the visa. And, of course, to borrow the van from Roman’s uncle and get it ready.

  The border crossing went off without a hitch. I drove my van up, handed over Roman’s ID, tipped my cap, and smiled at the guard. We exchanged pleasantries, and I answered a few questions about my business down south.

  “Have a safe trip, sir,” the officer said and waved me on.

  The clock had started.

  There were no half-measures here. I couldn’t afford that. So I scoped out the area around the Intake Center and found a safe place to leave my vehicle, out of sight of the road and passersby. Then I returned to the Center on foot, armed with a set of binoculars, wire cutters, and my gun, and watched.

  I took note of everything; the number of exits, the windows, the parking lots, the guards and their shift changes. I’d only have one shot at this. It was ‘do it right the first time or die trying’. I knew the guards would have shoot-on-sight orders for anyone attempting to force entrance into the base. Of course, I had no intention of forcing my way in.

  It was the evening of the following day before I was ready to put my plan into action. I had found a parking lot some distance from the Center, for civilian employees. Medical staff, maybe. There was some sort of shift change at seven but that was too early for my needs, the day still too bright. At ten o’clock there was a smaller shift change and I watched carefully, keeping my eye on those that returned to the parking lot. The cars were clustered together, providing me with some cover. My mark chose themselves, rather than the other way around.

  A woman, wearing a white uniform, got as far as her car and stopped, throwing her keys and ID badge onto the roof as she rummaged through her bag. She pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, lighting one up. I was trying to work out a way to distract her, to get her away from the car, when another employee entered the lot.

  “Hey, Maggie. You got a light?”

  Maggie wandered over to him and they started chatting. It was the work of moments to get to her car and extract her ID card from the lanyard it was attached to. I left the plastic holder upside down, so she wouldn’t notice the card missing. With any luck, by the time she realized it was gone, it would be too late for anyone to do anything.

  I retreated back into the forest, waiting until the guard’s shift change at eleven. There’d be a ten-minute gap in the patrols. And another gap two hours later, owing, I guessed, to breaks or nighttime laziness. That would be our window for getting back out unnoticed.

  Eleven p.m. came and I jogged to the fence and climbed over it, careful to avoid the barbed wire wrapped around the top. The wire cutters were for the way out and only if we needed them. I couldn’t risk a gap in the fence being spotted while I was still inside.

  There was a side entrance I’d seen the civilian staff use and that would be my entry point. It was set at an angle and I hadn’t had a clear view of the door itself so there were two things I couldn’t check: the presence of a keypad, or a camera. There was one of both, the keypad recessed into the wall, the camera pointed at an angle.

  I snorted when I saw the technology they were using and pulled out my phone. The North had an app for that. Military grade, of course. And not something that I should officially have had access to outside of my work. But these were exceptional circumstances so I made an exception.

  It was the work of minutes to loop the camera feed. That was the easy part. The keypad wasn’t so easily fooled. It needed a six-digit code and I didn’t have one. There were a million possible permutations. I twirled the card between my fingers trying to decide what to do. If I started poking around with the electronics, there was a strong possibility I’d-

  Huh.

  There was a number scrawled on the back of the card, in permanent marker. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

  Swiping the card on the reader, I typed in the code. The red light turned to green and there was an audible click from the door. I was in.

  I had no idea what the layout of the Center was like, so I ducked into the first stairwell I saw. That was the helpful thing about stairwells. They tended to be quiet and full of useful information. Like fire escape maps of the building. I scanned the display on the wall, looking for one word. Processing.

  Basement. Of course.

 
I hoped no one was keeping a close eye on the card access through the building, otherwise they might start to wonder why the staff member who’d gone home two hours before was wandering around still. There were no cameras though. Either they were secure in their belief that the building was impenetrable or they didn’t want video evidence of what went on here. My bet was on the latter.

  There were people down on the basement floor; staff chatting quietly in an office at one end of a corridor. I wondered how often they did checks. There was an open computer terminal on the wall and I glanced at the screen. Three rooms were occupied on this floor. The first two were not of interest to me, I could only safely move one person. The third was Miles Benson, my Omega. There was an i next to his name. I clicked on it. An isolation protocol. Better and better. They weren’t doing checks. Only Alphas permitted in the room and only on a schedule. There was nothing I liked better than a schedule. Or, at least, running roughshod over one.

  Isolation room five was at the opposite end of the corridor. Checking on the staff again, confident they weren’t planning on going for a stroll anytime soon, I went in search of Miles.

  The door to room five was solid steel, no windows. I opened it, a burst of cold air hitting me as the weak light from the corridor snaked inside the pitch black room. I felt along the outside wall for a light switch before stepping inside and pulling the door over behind me but not letting it close. I didn’t want the light to be visible from the corridor. Neither did I want to lock myself in there with him.

  The room slowly filled with light. Huddled in one corner, naked and trembling, was the Omega I’d glimpsed on TV only days before. He was barely recognizable, his hair shorn, his face hidden behind his arms, bruises and dirt smudged across his body.

  “Miles?” My voice was a rough whisper.

  “No, no more, please,” he begged, his voice hoarse, the sound grating.

  “Miles, my name is Jethro. I’m… I’m your Alpha.” In for a penny, in for a pound, as they used to say.

  He didn’t look at me, curling tighter into himself. “Please, I can’t take anymore.”

  I didn’t think he could hear me. Was he delirious? I cross the room in two strides, dropping into a crouch beside him. We didn’t have time for this.

  “I’m your Alpha. I’ve come to get you out. But if we’re going to leave here, we have to go now.” Time was ticking away.

  He was still hiding his face from me.

  I grabbed his arm, pulling it away from his head and ignoring the whimper it provoked. Holding my arm next to his, I prompted him gently.

  “Look. See? We’re a match, a pair.”

  He glanced down at our arms, his eyes widening. “Who are you?”

  “I told you. Jethro, your Alpha. I’m from the North. I’ve come to take you out of here.”

  Another long moment passed as he stared at my face.

  “We’ve got to go,” I said, releasing my grip on his arm and getting to my feet. He had to be willing. There was no way I was getting out of here with him fighting me every step of the way.

  “I can’t,” he said, his voice full of misery. “This is my duty, my purpose. This is what I am.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the full force of his pain. Opening them, I held out my hand for him to take, my shining mark clearly visible.

  “You can be more.”

  He stared at me openly as everything else fell away. And then he placed his hand in mine.

  Chapter Six

  Miles

  There was no way to mark the passage of time. The room was always cold and dark, no hint of light seeping through. There was a hole in one corner for a toilet and every few hours a stream of water came down from the ceiling to wash that corner. Except it wasn’t water. I’d tried to drink it but it was some kind of scent neutral disinfectant.

  No water, no food, no light, no heat. Was I going to die in here?

  When the door did eventually open, I almost missed it, dozing in my corner, my body curled as tight as I could make it.

  The door closing again was what woke me and I could see the slightest glow around the room from lights high up on the walls. There was a figure standing there and I watched it. An Alpha, I was almost certain.

  He came closer until he was standing right over me. Then he simply reached out and dragged me out of my corner, setting me down on the floor in the center of the room. I was ice-cold, my muscles so stiff and sore that I could barely move. He flipped me onto my stomach and knelt next to me. I tried to speak, to get some words out, but then he leaned close to me and I felt his body heat. He was so warm, he felt almost hot against my chilled skin. I craved that heat.

  When he rested his hands on me, I pushed into them. Warmth. Yes, please.

  He moved closer and I had no objection, even as I felt him scent me. Alphas did that, there was nothing to worry about. Until I caught his scent. That… that wasn’t right.

  He smelled acrid, sour almost. Not like my body expected. The warmth was suddenly not so comforting and I tried to escape his hands. But he pressed down harder, holding me against the floor with ease, scenting me again, dragging his skin over mine. There was no escape to be had, and the feelings of wrongness grew until I was fighting to break his hold. But I was cold, tired, and weak. No match for the strong Alpha. I gave in, submitted to his hands, and lay there fighting that feeling of wrongness that threatened to overwhelm me.

  When the Alpha left, the lights faded to nothing, and I crawled back to my corner. I wished there was some way to wash the scent of him off of me. More time passed in the dark before the door opened again.

  Alpha. A different Alpha. But the routine was the same. He left and, after another reprieve, a third one took his place. Then a fourth, then a fifth. Each one did the same, scented me and held me down.

  By the time the sixth one dragged me across the floor, I was nearly out of my mind with all the scents on me. Their wrongness, their strangeness, haunting me. I fought this time, harder than I had before, finding strength from somewhere deep inside me. He tried to turn me face down on the floor and I resisted, kicking at him as I pushed myself up onto my hands. There was a sharp crack and pain blossomed across my right cheek as I slammed into the floor. Winded, I couldn’t do anything as the Alpha’s hands shoved me over onto my stomach. It was a relief when he left me to the darkness.

  Each day was the same. Were they days? I wasn’t even sure. The Alphas kept coming, the same six, with their scents that were so abhorrent to me. The second time they came, they each brought water, just a mouthful for me. I was parched, my mouth dry and sore, so I was grateful for even the smallest of drops.

  I started to notice the room was warmer when the Alphas were there, quickly growing colder once they’d left. The third time around, they brought food. Little pieces of fruit, sweet and juicy. I ate from their fingers, faint with the hunger and desperate for anything that would take the taste of their scents from my mouth.

  The fourth time they came, I was almost looking forward to their visits. What would they bring with them this time to make my nightmare just that little bit bearable? They’d brought me heat, water, food. All things I now lacked when they weren’t there.

  This time I went willingly to the center of the room, laying down at the press of the Alpha’s palms on my shoulders.

  He ran his hands down my body before focusing on my Omega mark. It was like we were back to square one as he laid his dark mark over mine, that sense of wrongness leaping to life inside me followed by an intense pain that wracked my whole body. He shifted, straddling me, his knees either side of my hips, and I reacted.

  The next few minutes were a blur. My body was bucking and fighting to get this monster off of me. It was all wrong; the scent, the feel, the taste. This wasn’t my Alpha. He pinned my hands to the floor but still I twisted and turned, kicking out at him. I could hear him snarling above me, shouting, cursing at me.

  And then the room was flooded with lights so bright I co
uldn’t see. Voices were everywhere, yelling loud enough to hurt my ears.

  “It’s too soon, Paul. He’s not ready. You’ll send him into bond shock.”

  The weight pinning me down was gone and the door slammed shut, silence falling as the lights flicked off, plunging the room into darkness.

  It was a while before I could move again, my body sore and aching as I crawled back to my corner and curled up as tightly as I could. Cold air flowed into the room and I shivered.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered aloud. “Please. What have I done to deserve this?”

  There was no answer, only the whistle of cold air in the silence.

  There followed a long stretch of dark and nothingness. So long that I was beginning to think they’d forgotten about me.

  Then the door opened and a figure stepped inside. I knew without needing to see that it was another Alpha. I couldn’t do that again. Not more wrongness, not more pain.

  The lights turned on, flooding the room with a brightness that hurt my eyes. I curled tighter and hid my face. Whatever was happening, I didn’t want any part of it.

  The Alpha said my name. No, that couldn’t be right. No one had called me by name since I walked through the Center’s doors. Except there it was again and now the Alpha was right next to me. I anticipated being dragged across the room as his hand found my arm but all he did was hold it out straight, side-by-side with his own. I looked down at it, at his urging. They were almost the same, our marks, with their matching bright glows.

  I asked him who he was, getting the strangest answer. And then he implored me to leave with him. But I couldn’t. This was my duty, to my country, to our Alphas. This was who I was.

  And then he said four words that changed everything.

  “You can be more.”

  Chapter Seven