by P. Jameson
Once again, I was a little girl staring at a wall that had been freshly repaired, wondering why I’d been left behind.
“How are you feeling today, Rielle?” Nurse Kathryn asked.
“Good, but I’m still a little disoriented.” I sat up too fast, trying to be brave, and was rewarded with a dizzy spell. “I think it’s because I’ve been in this room for too long.”
She nodded. “I agree. How would you like to take a walk around the facility? I’ll be with you, of course, and we’ll have to keep you hooked up to the machine to monitor your vitals to make sure your body is ready to handle the increase in activity.”
What the hell had I gone through in the Keep? For years, I’d worked tirelessly in the castle kitchen, and when my shift ended, I’d worked in the Badlands, helping to build heat bunkers to keep female omegas safe. The ones we had were old and damaged by omega males who’d been overcome by our scent trying to break in. We had to protect ourselves against our own kind too. The new ones had to be bigger and better. For so long, I had to be strong to survive, and now this medical professional doubted I was ready to take a walk.
It scared me, but I wouldn’t let her know it.
“I’d love to.” I’d fight off any dizzy spell if it meant a little freedom. “After that, will you finally tell me what happened?”
“Yes, we will tell you soon.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. I hated that fear was its default setting. “Who is we?”
“The nursing staff, and General Evander. He supervises the clinic.”
The machines I was hooked up to betrayed me by beeping wildly. “I don’t want to see Evander.”
Kathryn frowned. “He’s been overseeing your care the entire time you’ve been with us. Is there a reason he makes you feel uncomfortable?”
I was still hallucinating. Had to be. No one ever asked omegas if something made them uncomfortable. Maybe I imagined the exchange I’d had with Evander, when he stormed out with my necklace…
I patted the sides of the mattress vigorously, and then my chest, in case it had been there all along and this was all some horrible, drug induced dream. “No, there isn’t. It’s fine.”
An orderly came in with a tray and placed it before me. I frowned at the container of thick liquid that tasted like chalk. Kathryn insisted I wasn’t ready for real food yet.
“I’ll get you ready while you have your breakfast,” Kathryn said.
If I didn’t need my strength, I would’ve dumped the gunk over the other side of the bed. It looked like it had already been digested. The only way to get through it was to imagine it was something else. Like oatmeal, topped with bananas and honey. I used to sneak bites of the sweet stuff when I worked in the kitchen. It was far less fancy than the meals I’d prepared for the king and his court, but it tasted like heaven to me. Fresh fruit was nonexistent in the Badlands.
After taking a few sips of the spicy tea that accompanied my liquid punishment, I pushed my tray away, anxious for my adventure.
“Swing your legs over the side of the mattress,” Kathryn instructed.
A wave of nausea roiled through me as I followed her instructions. Even the liquid meal replacements were hard for me to digest. “How long have I been here?”
“A little over a month. Your muscles will be weak, but you should recover quickly with regular activity.” She held her arms out to me. “Brace yourself on me to pull yourself up.”
My body shook with the exertion, but I was determined to get out of this room and back to my life. Something much bigger than the necklace had been stolen from me. The fine citizens of Luxoria might not consider their neighbors from the Badlands to have many freedoms, but I wanted what I had back. I was part of the queen’s court now, but my time in the castle hadn’t been any more peaceful than when I lived in a shack in the Badlands. There had been constant conflict. With a little taste of freedom, my friends wanted more.
But what did I want?
The machine would forever betray me, beeping wildly as I took my first wobbly steps. Kathryn held onto me, murmuring encouraging words as I struggled to do things I used to take for granted.
I hoped once I left the room I’d feel grounded. Normal. I wanted some sense of where I really was. Windowless and non-descript, the hallways didn’t give me the answers I craved. Which was just as well because I needed all my energy to put one foot in front of the other.
She eased me into a wheelchair when we reached room at the end of the hall. I was a shaking, breathless mess and it terrified me. I vowed revenge on whoever did this to me.
“Rielle!” Familiar squeals of delight brought me back to life and I opened my eyes to find Ashla, Tavia, Charolet, and Zelene rushing toward me.
“Careful,” Kathryn urged as they piled in to hug me.
“You all look so good.” In my drug induced sleep, my best friends and I had still been trapped, dirty and hungry, in the Badlands. But they had the same glow to their skin that Kathryn did. “Holy crap, you’re so pregnant.”
“Tell me about it.” Zelene sighed as she pulled away from me. “Any day now, a brand-new alpha will be unleashed into the world.”
I shook my head. “She’s an omega who finally will be born with the power she deserves.”
The other ladies whooped at my declaration.
“Good, they didn’t brainwash you,” Tavia said.
I didn’t need to show any surprise when that stupid machine told all my secrets for me.
“What are you talking about?”
The ladies looked at each other, no machine needed to see the concern plain on their faces.
“Why haven’t any of you come to visit me?” I didn’t mean to lead with that, but their absence hurt. These ladies were all I had. It had always been us against the world.
“We couldn’t,” Charolet said.
I was about to ask why, when I noticed their outfits. Everyone except for Zelene was dressed in the battle gear of the Luxorian army. Tavia had taken to it as soon as she arrived in the castle, but the rest of the ladies had dressed like they belonged in the queen’s court.
Shit. I hadn’t been brainwashed, but maybe they had. The alphas had seduced them and turned them into fighting machines…
No, I couldn’t jump to conclusions. There had to be a reason for this that wasn’t bad.
“Why not?” I asked.
The ladies looked at each other. Tavia took a step forward. “There’s been a beta uprising--”
“Rielle. Glad to see you out of your room.” A deep, familiar voice boomed, making the ladies turn their heads and forget all about the war. Evander approached wearing the same military leathers as my omegas. He held a digital clipboard in one hand as he smiled at me.
Oh, shut up, machine. I refused to believe the fluttering in my chest was anything but anger. The ladies nudged each other, murmuring and smiling.
I hated being at a disadvantage, and I usually did anything I could to keep myself out of this kind of situation. I should’ve never gone to the Human Keep with Charolet. Nothing but trouble waited for us there, but I couldn’t let her go alone. Because it could’ve been her lying comatose in a bed for a month instead of me, and I would’ve never forgiven myself for not protecting her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. The gasps of my audience were oddly satisfying.
Kathryn frowned. “Rielle, this is General Evander. He’s been in charge of your care--”
“I know who he is. I don’t want him here.”
More gasps. Seeing him was confirmation that I didn’t imagine that he was the one who’d stolen my pendant. And something told me he’d taken a lot more than that from me.
Chapter Five
Evander
I know who he is. I don’t want him here.
My omega’s words burned a path along my nape. She indeed might not want me here, but she didn’t have a clue who I really was. I had a feeling that when she found out… well, nothing good was going to come
of her knowing the truth right now. Not when she needed to recover from what was done to her at the Human Keep.
The truth could come later.
“Rielle, Evander is an ally. He’s been taking care of you.” Charolet rested her hand on Rielle’s shoulder as she spoke. The gesture was meant to be calming but it seemed to have the opposite effect. “If it weren’t for him, you might still be addicted to that shit they gave you—”
I cleared my throat to stop the conversation.
Rielle frowned at her friend. “What are you talking about?”
Charolet quickly looked at me and I scowled a warning. “Wait… you haven’t told her?”
“Told me what?”
I felt the air in the hall change as the five omegas glared, awaiting an answer. Kathryn, my most trusted nurse also watched me, but more out of curiosity, the way one might watch a mouse trapped in a pit of vipers.
“She’s been here a month,” Tavia huffed. “Why haven’t you told her?”
I could give them any excuse. She’d spent most of that time in a coma. She was too weak to stay awake long enough for me to explain. I was waiting until she felt better. But none of that was the truth and as an alpha, I didn’t need to explain myself.
“Why don’t we take this conversation outside? I’m sure the fresh air will do… well, something,” I muttered, turning on my heel. I knew they’d follow, and I knew how much Rielle wanted to see anything other than the blank walls of her room. If this went well, I would see about getting her a room with windows. And maybe some of the flowers from the courtyard garden. I had a feeling brightening the place up would automatically brighten her up too.
Or… at least that’s how things would have worked when we were children.
She’s not that person anymore, my wolf warned.
Even though it could speak to me and guide me, I didn’t have the ability to shift. No alpha did.
Correction: only alphas who had mated omegas did. The king, Dagger, and most recently, Cassian.
I knew the beast trapped inside me was right. It had never failed me before. Rielle wasn’t the Little Omega that I’d cared for so many years ago.
I pushed through a set of double doors that would take us to the main courtyard. It wasn’t as fancy as the castle’s, not nearly. But it was teeming with plant life and greenery, and in the center was a fountain made to resemble a small waterfall. It was as far away from the Badlands desert and the shitty memories as I could take her in her condition.
Holding the door open, I waited for the queen and each of her court to pass through before Kathryn wheeled Rielle across the threshold. She stared straight forward, her lips pressed into a thin line. She was most definitely angry that I’d kept her necklace, but how could I give it back without explaining why? What it meant. Who I was.
Shit.
One thing at a time.
Explain what I’d learned about the drugs the humans used to control omegas. Advise King Adalai on the beta uprising. Get Rielle healthy again, strong again. Then… well, then I would tell her the rest.
I swallowed hard, ignoring the boulder of dread in my gut as I let the door swing shut behind me.
Zelene stopped near the waterfall, turning to watch Rielle as Kathryn parked the wheelchair and readied the machines to go mobile. I watched her too. She couldn’t hide the awe in her expression, the way her eyes went wide at the beautiful scenery. Under the midday sun, her dark hair shone. She closed her eyes, tilting her face to the sky as if savoring it.
Emotion pounded at my sternum once again. I couldn’t believe I was looking at my omega… with no wall between us. And worse, I’d give almost anything for her to be someone else. Because I’d already come to terms with the idea that I would never see her again. That she was living her life, shitty or not, somewhere without me. Just like I’d been living mine.
Zelene cleared her throat delicately. “Let’s get you up and moving, shall we?”
Rielle opened her eyes, her gaze flicking to me. “I want answers more than I want to walk.”
“You need to walk. It will make you stronger,” I argued.
Rielle’s brow creased in confusion, but then ironed flat again. “Tell me why I’m here first.”
“You’re here because you needed medical help.”
She rolled her eyes.
“And aside from the castle doctors, this is the best place for medical help,” I added.
“Oh, cut the shit,” Tavia interrupted. “It’s time for—”
“Tav!” Zelene snapped.
Tavia huffed in exasperation and performed a mock curtsey. “Sorry. Cut the shit, sir.”
Zelene glared at her sister before lifting her chin to address me as my queen. “Forgive our frustrations, General Evander, but it’s time for Rielle to be brought up to date with what’s happened.”
The ladies of her court nodded in agreement, and my mind couldn’t help seeing each of them in a different light. These were the omegas Rielle told me stories about so long ago.
Tavia was the oldest. She would have gone to work at the castle just as I was closing the gap in the wall. Zelene and Ashla were the ones who’d made toys out of buttons and rocks for Rielle to play with. These women made sure she was taken care of all that time.
I was jealous of them. Of their bond with each other, but mostly of how they’d never had to say goodbye to her. Never had to betray her.
“Very well.” I passed the electronic clipboard to Kathryn and stepped forward to help Rielle from the chair. Except she jerked backward before I made contact.
“I told you,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere until you talk.”
I met her gaze with a challenge. “Show me you can walk, omega, and I’ll tell you how you got here.”
Charolet stepped forward with a huff. “Of course she can walk.” Somehow the omega managed to insert herself between us and Rielle sprang at the chance for her friend to help her stand.
Pressing my lips together, I stood back, waiting for her to get her footing. I noticed she let most of her weight fall on Charolet’s shoulders as she took a step closer to the fountain. Even though she didn’t want my assistance, I hovered near, in case she needed me.
“There. See?” Her words came between labored breaths. “Walking.”
“Yes,” I answered lamely. “I guess you could call whatever you’re doing walking.”
“Close enough. Now… please. For the love of…” She managed enough steps to close the distance between the chair and the fountain, and leaned against the edge. “Will you tell me what happened? Why I’ve been here for a month. Why a coma was induced? Why I can’t remember details and… and…”
I stood before her, towering over her. This time, none of the females were getting in between us. “What do you remember?”
“Not much. I remember going to the Human Keep to help Charolet and Cassian. I remember he was shot and we were…” A long blink, and a hopeless shake of her head. “I don’t know what happened after that.”
Charolet glanced at me, worried. “Nothing? You don’t remember Jacoby and his men attacking us and the… the… testing facility?”
Rielle looked at her friend in horror. “Testing facility? No. Char, what are you talking about?”
“Things at the Keep weren’t as you thought,” I explained. “It turns out the omegas who pledged allegiance to the humans might not have done so as willingly as we were led to believe.”
Rielle’s brow creased with doubt. “But Tavia and Dagger, Char and Cassian… they went to find out.” Her gaze jerked to Tavia. “Jacoby was happy there. So were others. You said that.”
Tavia nodded, her expression twisting into something disgusted and remorseful.
“We were deceived,” she said quietly.
Queen Zelene dropped a sympathetic hand to her sister’s shoulder. “So many omegas have been. There was nothing you could’ve done.”
Charolet squeezed Rielle’s hand. “Jacoby attacked us when we arrived
at the Keep. You remember Cassian being shot, yes?”
Rielle squinted as if trying to relive the moment. “Yes, but… it couldn’t have been Jacoby. He wouldn’t do something like that. He’s our friend.”
“Was our friend,” Charolet corrected. “He almost killed Cassian, and would have done worse to us if…” She let her words fall away as she looked at me.
“Cassian escaped the Keep with the help of some omegas who weren’t there willingly,” I continued. “When the king heard the truth of what was happening, he sent armies to infiltrate the Keep and recover you and Charolet, as well as the imprisoned omegas.”
Rielle shook her head frowning. “I… I don’t remember any of this.”
“It’s true,” Charolet assured her.
Rielle stared hard at her friend. “And you know for sure? You remember?”
Pressing her lips together, Charolet nodded.
“How is that possible? Maybe you’re all being deceived now.”
“No, Rielle.” Ashla was quieter than the others, but even she wouldn’t let these secrets lie still any longer. “It’s the truth.”
“But how do you know? How can you be sure?” Her gaze landed on each of the females in turn. “Isn’t it strange that everyone remembers what happened except me? And I’m the only one being held in his medical facility.” She flung her hand at me as if I was the enemy. And it was a fair assumption, as I’d been her enemy for far too long. “Maybe this is an alpha ploy to have us all doubting ourselves. Tell me, how…. why… would Jacoby turn against us, his friends? It makes no sense.”
“Yet, it is the hard truth,” I snapped, earning her glare again. Yes, female. Hate me, it will be easier if you do.
“Prove it.” In this moment she looked more lucid than I’d ever seen her. She looked like the strong, thoughtful woman her friends knew her to be. The thinker, that’s what Cassian liked to call her. “If it’s true, then somebody prove it.”
