Page 25 of Feral Omega

I sigh, the sound heavy in the sterile air. "Then... I'm going to have to place her in a medically induced coma."

His eyes widen, shock and disbelief warring across his features. "A coma? Is it really that bad?"

I set the syringe down, bracing my hands on the edge of the bed. "Her body is in a state of severe malnutrition, Thane. Her systems are shutting down. If we don't give her body a chance to recover, to heal..." I trail off, the implication hanging heavy between us.

"Fuck," Thane breathes, dragging a hand over his face. "And the coma will help?"

"It will give her body a chance to rest, to divert all its energy toward healing. I'll place a feeding tube as well, to provide a controlled, steady stream of nutrients." I pick up the syringe again. "Even if she were willing to eat now, anything more than the most gradual introduction of food could send her into shock."

Thane is silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the unconscious omega. I can practically see the gears turning in his head, the anger and horror at what has been done to her warring with the need to do whatever it takes to save her.

Finally, he looks up at me, his expression grim. "Do it. Whatever you have to do, Plague. Just... save her."

I nod, a solemn acknowledgment of the trust he's placing in me. "I will."

With that, I turn back to my patient, my focus narrowing to the task at hand. The injection is administered, the thin tubing placed through her nose and down her throat with careful precision. I double-check her vitals, adjust the drip of the IV.

And all the while, a quiet rage simmers beneath my skin, a cold fury at the cruelty that has been inflicted upon this woman. This omega. She's little more than skin and bones, her small body pushed to the very brink of collapse.

A guard having to restrain her after an attack might explain a few bruises, if he was particularly inept and careless, but not the roadmap of abuse drawn across her skin.

What monsters would do this? What twisted justification could they possibly have for starving an omega, for beating her until her skin is mottled with bruises?

The Center.

We've been lied to. Clearly.

And something has to be done about it, but now…

Now, she comes first.

For now, my focus is here, on the rise and fall of her chest, on the weak but stubborn beat of her heart.

She's a fighter. That much was always clear.

Chapter

Eleven

WRAITH

The scent.

Her scent.

Invades my every thought.

My every breath.

Need to taste it on my tongue.

Pace outside the clinic door.

Clench and unclench my fists.

They're keeping her in there.

Away from me.

---