by V T Bonds
Seeck and I annihilate them all, leaving none breathing.
Covered in ash and blood, we follow a sloping hallway further into the planet, the weight of the sand above our heads stifling. The walls scream of decades of misery, harsh disinfectant unable to cover the smell of blood and excrement.
Last time we were in this facility, Jumoke hid a device in one of the cells. We’ve been able to map the entire structure, which each of us has memorized.
These lower rooms radiate more horror than the ones we infiltrated during our last mission. It tries to invade my emotions, but I push through the unease and keep moving forward.
She’s in a room down the next hallway.
As I turn the corner, Seeck yells.
“Fuck!”
The crack of bodies colliding rings behind me. When I turn, Seeck’s rolled on top of the attacking Alpha, already recovered from being tackled. Three solid punches straight to the asshole’s nose, and a fountain of blood wells up from the man’s destroyed face.
I turn back to my searching, breaking the locks of every door on the right, even though I know they aren’t the ones I’m looking for. By the time I reach my goal, Seeck has broken almost every lock on the left.
Snapping the lock with a satisfying twist, the sound of metal creaking and breaking calms me.
I fling the door open, too eager to meet my mate to wait for Seeck.
For a soul-crushing moment, I think the room must be empty, but I spot the tiny lump under the sheet.
That can’t be her. My clothes would make a larger bump.
Yet my bond pulls me closer.
Lifting the edge of the sheet, a tiny foot comes into view. I note the odd scars twining up her toes, but keep folding back the scrap of material until I realize her state.
Moving the sheet has exposed her naked butt, her heels tucked against it since she’s in the fetal position.
Rage steals my ability to speak as I realize she’s been forced to go without clothes. Tucking the sheet back under her foot, I lean over the bed and peel it from the other corner. A tangled mass of golden hair hides her face, but when she doesn’t respond, I know she’s unconscious.
She’s almost pocket size.
An idea forms.
I holster my weapon and firm my resolve.
Loosening the harness carrying my extra ammunitions, I take inspiration from the working Omega mothers of Jaoli.
Once I guestimate how much slack I need in the harness, I turn to my little Omega and straighten her body, keeping the sheet as a barrier between our flesh.
I know without a doubt I’ll claim her as soon as our skin makes contact. Pushing my cock’s frustration away, I roll her until the sheet traps her arms to her torso. When I’m certain her arms are secure, I lift her, placing her stomach high on my shoulder, sliding her right leg between my body and the harness. Keeping her pinned to me, I use gentle hands to slip her left leg into the harness.
Making sure the bottom sections are crossed, I shift her lower down my torso until her face rests over my heart and her knees hug my waist. Before resting her rump on the bottom of the harness, I bunch the sheet so it pads her from the edges, making sure she’s still completely covered. I tighten the right strap, pulling her snug to my front, then do the same on the left. Loosening my belt, I stick her ankles inside the waistband of my pants. Once I tighten my belt again, she’s held safe to me, like a babe wrapped to their mother.
Her frigid form leaks cold into me, and I worry about frostbite. If I had another blanket, I’d wrap her up. As it is, I have no more time to linger. The heat of my body will have to do for now.
Reaching around her leg, I draw my laser blaster again and pivot to face the door.
Seeck stands guard, his body on alert as he scans the hall. He glances over his shoulder at me, his fiery eyebrow ticking up in surprise.
“Are you sure that’s not a child? Never mind, I won’t insult your Omega. I feel her too. We have to go. Point or tail?” he says, the rapid cadence of his voice displaying his urgency.
In response, I gesture for him to lead. With my lifemate strapped to my chest, I have no desire to barrel down these narrow hallways with no frontal protection.
He heads back the way we came, swinging the doors wide as he passes them. One opens before he touches it, and an ashen face appears.
An Omega with matted red hair turns pleading eyes to us, stepping into the hallway. She’s naked, but fear permeates so strongly from her neither Seeck nor I feel any arousal.
“Take me with you, please,” she lilts the last word up like a question.
“Can you run?” I ask, ushering her between Seeck and I. She nods, glancing down at her bare feet with trepidation.
“There are others,” her soft words hold sadness.
“Can they run?” I ask, knowing our chances of escape dwindle each second we don’t move towards an exit.
Tears fill her eyes, but she points at two rooms, her shaky fingers showing how scared she is.
I fling open one door while Seeck does the other. A woman stands in the far corner of mine, and I motion for her to join the Omega in the hall. She hugs her arms around her chest and darts forward, her scent alerting me to something wrong in her cells.
She holds no fragrance of disease or contagion, so if she can keep up, she can come with us. Her short spikey hair frames a round face, her figure holding more curves than the typical Omega. I realize she’s holding her arms around her to keep her breasts from bouncing as much as she is from terror.
A raven-haired Omega joins the others from the room Seeck opened, and it becomes obvious they’ve known each other for some time. They clasp hands and share a quiet moment, but we don’t have time for more.
My Omega’s heart thumps against my sternum, steady yet sluggish. I want to purr for her, but with other Omegas nearby, I dare not. Too frustrated to show my normal care, my words emerge curt.
“Move, follow him. No more than two feet between his heels and your toes. Go.”
Determination fills their faces, even as they glance toward me with a bit of uncertainty. The raven-haired Omega takes the center, holding the other’s hands and starting their trek. Their bare feet slap against the flooring as they chase after Seeck.
After we pass through the inclined passage, the females struggle to keep pace with Seeck. I warn him to slow, even though I know our time is limited.
He turns a corner, dodging a bullet and returning fire all in the same movement. The Omegas hesitate to turn the corner, but I keep moving forward, giving them the option to either continue or get run over.
My technique works. They dart around the turn, squeezing together to make a smaller target.
Seeck fires his weapon several more times before the telltale click announces his lack of charge. I call his name and toss mine to him, pulling my handgun from its holster at my lower back.
The movement makes my lifemate’s head shift against my pectoral, so I shift it back with my other palm, giving her a quick caress before I pull another laser blaster from my left hip.
We barrel down the corridors, leaving a trail of broken bodies behind us. To the tune of blaring alarms and violence, we wreck anything we come across that appears to be of value, whether it be monetary or scientific.
The female’s steps stay quick despite their labored breathing. Their will to live bolsters me, and I vow to see them to safety.
As we make it to the escape corridor, they miscalculate the turn. The woman on the left hits the corner, her shoulder smacking into the hard surface and making her head snap forward and feet fly out from under her. With her hand still in her friend’s grasp, she freefalls toward the ground. Cursing, I lunge forward and catch her with my left arm, yanking her away from her friend and tossing her over my left shoulder.
“Keep moving!” I yell as I holster my blaster midstride. Pinning her legs to my side, I pray she isn’t hurting my lifemate, but I can’t stop to resituate her. When she braces her hands on
my back to push up, I growl.
“Wrap your arms around me and hold tight. It’s going to be bumpy.”
She does as I say, hearing her friends running and gasping ahead of us.
The steep incline appears to be giving them difficulty. The short-haired Omega uses the wall to help her upward, tugging the other behind her. They make progress, but not nearly fast enough. I bolt up the passage, catching them both around the middle with my right arm, smushing them together as I lift them from the ground.
They grunt as I pin them to my side, propelling myself up the hallway. My thighs and calves burn, but I lunge upward with each step, demanding my body to carry the weight. My right arm threatens to cramp from the weird position, but I ignore the burn and keep pushing onward.
We burst into the night, the sky dark with sand. The explosions have caused their own dust storm, blocking out the stars and causing green and purple hues to dance along the burning ground.
“Hold on, females. Breathe.” I demand, their fingernails digging into my right arm. I must be holding them too tight, but we don’t have time to let them run on their own.
Our Sky-Flyer hovers two dunes away, a gaggle of forms racing toward it.
Seeck pauses, and when I’ve caught up with him, he yanks two round objects off his ammunition harness. As we speed over the nearest dune, he throws first one, then the other towards the ruined escape hatch.
A new explosion rends the air, this one lower in the facility, the two items bouncing down the corridor until they hit each other at the branching hallways below.
My feet sink deep in the sand with every step, the added weight pushing me down.
“Transfer,” Seeck demands, darting behind me until he’s on my right. I loosen my grip on the squished Omegas and let him snatch them up midstride. He hugs them to him, pulling them apart until he has one in each arm.
We fly down one dune, attack the next uphill slope, let gravity help us down another, then add more speed up the last incline. As we crest the next dune, we launch over the top, crossing the six feet of open air before landing in the cargo hold of our Sky-Flyer.
Our momentum carries us deeper into the craft, Vander mashing the button to close the ramp behind us. We screech to a halt, the soles of our boots squeaking along the smooth floor.
When I turn to check the room’s occupants, a quick glance has my hackles rising.
Adrenaline courses through me, the high of the mission demanding I keep moving.
The other group brought four other females back with them. One Alpha, two Omegas, and a Beta. The Alpha sits slumped against the wall, her head in her hands, huge tears streaming down her arms and dripping to the floor from her elbows.
One Omega stands beside the Alpha, her emaciated form looking like a walking skeleton. Her thin fingers clutch the Alpha’s shoulder, but she shakes so violently her bones rattle.
The other Omega stands rigid in the corner, keeping space between her and everyone else, the only sign of trauma her heaving breaths.
The Beta clings to Jumoke’s arm, babbling nonsense. His tormented eyes rile up my instincts, the desire to support my brother rushing through me.
The Omega over my shoulder taps my lower back, the tentative touch reminding me the mission isn’t complete. I lift her off then lower her to the floor, careful of the bundle strapped to my front.
Vander’s voice booms through the cargo hold, instructing everyone to follow Kwame down the hall.
Seeck rushes to the porthole and rips a box off the wall. As each person passes, he hands them a No-Smell, slapping one under his nose as an example.
The ship jerks around as it takes off, making the female Alpha elect to crawl instead of walk. The emaciated Omega plasters herself to the Alpha’s side, encouraging her with little uneven purrs, unperturbed by crawling along the hard floor.
They make quick work of the corridor despite their mode of transportation, and Kwame assigns each person a place according to their physical needs.
Despite my desperation to whisk my Omega to our den and hide away from the world, I step into the infirmary and assist the female Alpha into a bed. When I crouch down to pick her up, her Omega sidekick snarls at me, but shrinks away when I look at her.
“Climb up there. She needs you,” I say since its obvious these two have been through hell.
She swallows but scrambles up onto the bunk when she realizes I don’t intend to separate or hurt them. As gently as possible, I lift the Alpha and lay her as close to the center of the bed as I can. The Omega immediately covers her other side, halfway laying on her. After looking at them both with a critical eye, I pull two thick blankets from the cabinet and cover the couple. Snagging two bags and correlating IV supplies, I return to their side.
“Nutrition and hydration only. Tell me no, and I’ll put them away.”
My voice vibrates into my lifemate, and I feel a change in her. She’s been wrapped to my chest for about ten minutes now, if not a little more, and has been unresponsive the entire time. Her shoulder twitches, and I sense her beginning to come around.
The female Alpha turns her head and looks at her Omega, bursting into tears again. She frames the Omega’s face with her hands, communicating without words. Then she extends the Omegas arm toward me, adding her own in offering too.
Dousing my hands in a sanitizing cleanser, I swipe their inner elbows with a wipe and fit them each with an IV. Taping each site so the drips don’t shift around, I secure the bags to a hook on the wall.
“Might get turbulent,” I explain, tugging a strap from the underside of the bed and leaning over them to fasten it on the other side. When the Alpha’s lip pulls up, I grab her unoccupied wrist and set it over the release lever.
“Thank you,” she whispers before closing her eyes and leaning into her Omega.
My lifemate’s toes twitch against my hips, and my free hands rub her back as I walk to the next bed.
The redhead sits with a sour look on her face, her legs dangling over the side as though she’s ready to hop down. Her hand rubs her shoulder while she bends and straightens her elbow.
“Let me see your shoulder,” I demand, regretting the curt words before they finish leaving my mouth.
She swallows and aims huge eyes at me, but her fear turns to confusion.
“You didn’t… why can I choose to disobey you? Wasn’t that a command?” she asks.
Tiny calves jerk against my sides, making my impatience grow.
“The words were a command, but I meant them as a suggestion. I don’t want to steal your choice from you. Do you need medical care?” My gruff voice sounds lower than normal, a product of adrenaline and desire.
My Omega's scent wafts up, and I’m glad I refused a No-Smell. Her fragrance is divine.
“Ice? For swelling?” the redhead asks. I grab a cold pack and hand it to her before snagging a gown and offering it.
She slides into it on her own, wrapping it around her and snapping it closed.
“May I join my friends? I’ll take them clothes, if you have any.”
I find two more gowns and pass them to her, then lead her to her friends. After checking they’re properly seated and buckled, I check my Omega. Her heart beats with a bit more strength and her muscles grow twitchier as time passes. Having her tight against me alleviates more stress than I knew I held.
I search for Vander.
He’s in the cockpit, strapped into the driver’s seat.
“Got her?” he asks over his shoulder, eyes busy perusing the control panel and windows.
“Yes. Jumoke find his?” I ask, rubbing my Omega's back.
“Yep. That’s going to be terrible to watch. Go to your den, see to your Omega. Everyone else is taken care of. Keep mindful of our route. Stay buckled.”
I rest my hand on his shoulder, torn between wanting to scuttle away and meet my Omega or stay and commiserate with Vander.
His lifemate still eludes us.
Calm surrounds him, so I turn to
go to my den, but check his emotional state as I walk away.
I’m shocked to find his lifemating bond invisible. Like it was never there.
My Omega jerks and rubs her face against me, stealing my attention. I pause in the doorway to delve deeper into Vander’s psyche, but a little noise escapes my lifemate and a wet spot forms on my shirt.
Not a good wet spot. No slick scents the air.
Tears cascade from her eyes, even though she isn’t fully awake.
I send Vander a wave of support, letting him know I’ll follow him wherever he leads. He doesn’t respond, focusing on the trials ahead.
Wrapping my arms around my rousing Omega, I turn to walk down the hall and nearly barrel into Seeck and Nova.
After stepping back, I force my heart back into my chest, knowing I’d have crushed my lifemate had I run into Seeck. I step to the side, expecting them to make their way into the cockpit, but Nova refuses to move.
Her eyes fill as her hand tightens in Seeck’s.
“Oh, Dirk. She’s beautiful,” she sounds as though she’s about to cry.
Confusion raises my eyebrow, even as my instincts demand I snarl and warn her away.
Mine. I don’t want to share with anyone.
“Nova, you haven’t seen her yet. I haven’t seen her yet,” I say, fighting back my urge to growl.
“Not with my eyes, but… her soul… She needs someone as kind and gentle as you, and you deserve someone so pure and sweet. I’m happy for you… Dirk?” she asks, eyes flicking between Seeck and I.
I still don’t understand how Seeck ended up with such a fierce, amazing female. Now that I’ve held my tiny Omega, Nova seems less fragile, but she still needs to put on weight.
She stands looking between Seeck and I, apprehensive about something, waiting for my response.
“Yes, Nova?” I ask, my lifemate’s tears grating on my nerves.
“Take her to Britani the first chance you get. They’ve met before. Don’t ask me how I know, I just feel it. Okay?”
