Page 13 of Rivers and Roads

“Am I,” I started, then touched the edge of my eye. “Are they…?”

“They are.”

My heart stuttered, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Omega eyes. I had Omega eyes. Fear gripped me in ways I hadn’t expected. “I…”

Danyal touched the back of my hand, his fingers warm and soft. “If it’s too much, we can stop,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

It took me a moment to find my tongue, but the answer was waiting for me when I did. “No. It’s… I just wasn’t expecting it to feel like this.”

“I don’t think anyone could have prepared for it. Maybe a younger Beta,” he added with a shrug, his lips turned up in a grin.

A younger Beta—because that was the way most of us began and most of us ended. The few who gained Alpha eyes already knew long before the change that it was coming. The color was almost a formality. But even when Kor and I had matched each other in basic training, I had never assumed I would present as anything other than myself: a blue-eyed soldier happy to serve those on either side of me.

“I’d like to see them,” I said after a beat.

Danyal nodded and stepped back so I could ease off the bed. My legs trembled, struggling to hold my weight as I shuffled toward the little door that led to the bathroom, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the others felt like this. Or did it not faze them at all, knowing they would only look like this for a moment?

I winced when Danyal turned the light on, and it took me a second to find my courage to glance in the mirror. When I did, I was more startled to find my face hadn’t changed at all—apart from the soft orange flash in my eyes beneath my brows. I was still as large as ever, my beard slightly more than a five o’clock shadow. I reached up and ran the tips of my fingers over my brows, blinking before touching my chin.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Danyal asked, leaning on the door behind me.

I stared at him through the mirror, then shook my head. “Do you honestly think I’ll pass?”

“You’re muscular, but you’re not particularly tall,” he mused, and he was right. I had maybe an inch on him, if that. He leaned a little closer, sniffed, then eased back with a small smile. “Your scent is changing. I think by the time you reach DC, you’d be able to pass a genetic scan without an issue.”

I knew it was a triumph for him, but I wasn’t sure what it meant for me. I ran my fingers down the front of my throat and felt a shiver—an almost ache to submit, though I couldn’t sense an Alpha anywhere near us. It would only get worse, I knew. If I ran into any other Wolves, I would have to fight these new instincts.

“What now?” I asked, turning away from the strange, orange gaze.

Danyal gave me a once over, then walked backward into the room as I headed back for the bed. My clothes were waiting, and I was damn-near desperate to get out of this fucking gown. “I want to do some strength and reflex assessments.”

I groaned, humiliated by what might happen, but I knew Danyal needed this. Not just for his research, but to prepare me for what I might face once I left the city. With a deep breath, I reached for my shirt, then turned to him. “Alright. As long as I can change, I’m ready to do whatever you need.”

We made it to the physical therapy floor, which was completely empty, but I knew that wasn’t likely to remain that way once we started bringing our people home. Kor had ordered an entire wing be dedicated to recovery for the injured Wolves, though I didn’t think any of us knew what we were in store for. Zane would be the second Wolf ever rescued from the labs, and I could only imagine what they had put him through.

If we were lucky, I’d get to him before any permanent damage set in, but I didn’t think they were going take their time with him the way they’d done with Kor. We were all operating on theory, and it felt like navigating a room full of broken glass, blindfolded, with our hands tied behind our backs.

“Where do you want me?” I asked, turning in a half circle. There were mats on the floor, a boxing dummy by the window, and a couple of parallel bars.

Danyal hummed in thought. “Let me turn the dummy on, and I want to measure the strength of your punches. After that, I want to test your shift.”

My brows rose, but I gave him a short nod before toeing off my shoes and stepping onto the edge of the mat. “Anything else?”

“I’d like to test your responses in wolf form when I bring in an Alpha and Beta.”

A sudden wave of humiliation rippled through me, and I turned away, though I could hear Danyal sucking in a breath to say something. I held up my hand, my head shaking. “Don’t.”

He took a step closer, but said nothing.

After a second, I could breathe again, but I couldn’t bring myself to look over at him. I knew that testing how powerful the change had been was necessary. And having some Omega instincts would only strengthen my cover as I masqueraded as an Omega. But it felt too close to debasing myself in front of Wolves and soldiers who likely ranked below me, and I wasn’t sure I could handle it.

“Orion,” Danyal said softly.

I turned my head and forced myself to look at him. “I’m uncomfortable with this,” I admitted, knowing there wasn’t any point in lying to him. “I don’t know if I can handle feeling like I need to submit.”

Danyal let out a small puff of air, his gaze roaming the room, then he stalked off and returned with two chairs. It was a relief to sit for a moment, even if it was a little too close to him than I wanted to be. But his presence was still grounding.

“Would it help if I told you what it was like for me?” he asked. “Every Omega reacts differently. A lot of us aren’t as natural at submitting as others, and I can at least offer you some idea of how it feels.”

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