Page 14 of The Hive

The sealed hatches loomed ahead of me. My task was clear. Check each cell and make note of the plaque above the hatch that led to his. Him. Their commander. Lex. The alpha whose name sparked faint memories of warm summer wind through golden oak leaves and a laughing child who I’d dreamed of marrying one day. Someone else’s dreams. Someone I hadn’t been in a long, long time.

I stared at the first airlock for longer than I probably should have. This was it, the reason I had come, but I was afraid of what I might find. Afraid of reawakening old memories. When I was young and still sleeping in the nursery pods, I remembered waking up at night in a panic, not knowing where I was. Iris had been there to soothe me back to sleep and tell me it was just a dream, but I think she lied. I think those dreams of men dragging me from my home were memories of the day Shadow lost his family. Memories the keepers wanted me to forget.

Logically, I knew there was nothing to be scared of and I couldn’t keep stalling. I grabbed the release and pulled the lever down. The door slid open, and I crawled through.

A high-powered fan buffeted me in the face as soon as I entered, and I scooted past it up to the vent. The drone cells were completely sealed, each with an independent intake and O2 scrubber. The pheromones from an omega’s heat could drive an alpha crazy, so it was best to keep that contained.

Dim light cast the black-walled cell in gloomy shadows. The room seemed empty at first, but movement caught my eye. An alpha reclining on a narrow bed sat up. His shaggy brown hair was tousled with sleep as his head turned methodically, his shadowed eyes scanning the cabin.

The sound of the airlock probably woke him up. I had better keep going. He wasn’t who I was looking for, anyway. I backed out and flipped the lever to close the door behind me.

That wasn’t so bad, just an alpha sleeping. One down, the rest of the cluster to go. The next two cells were empty. The ventilation system was off and the air stale and unmoving. I picked up my pace and popped open the next portal and slipped inside.

The scrubbers did their best, but the scent was overwhelming. A thick, cloying perfume of overripe melons that made my stomach turn. I had to know if this was the commander’s cell, though, so against my better judgment, I dragged myself to the vent and peered through. I slapped a hand over my mouth to cover a gasp. Not that the occupants would have noticed anyway, but the origin of the smell was clear.

Along the back wall of the dimly lit room was a spot of bright white in the form of a nest platform, just like the one from my decoy cell. A milky dome quickly receded into the base, leaving a slender woman with dark hair kneeling naked and panting in the center. I hadn’t noticed the alpha stalking in the shadows until the girl whimpered and he moved toward her.

“Please, Drax.” She let out a frustrated-sounding whine, as if he wasn’t moving fast enough for her. I could hear a low chuckle rumble from that wide bare chest as the alpha paused his approach. The omega seemed to know what he wanted and turned her back to him before bending over and presenting her swollen, dripping pussy.

I knew I shouldn’t watch, but I couldn’t look away. He growled as he moved onto the nest and her pussy clenched, spilling a trickle of slick down her thighs. His huge hands engulfed her hips as he lined up his massively engorged cock to her puffy folds. He slid his shaft along her slit, coating it with her copious wetness. She mewled and tried to rock back against him, but he held her still, just where he wanted her.

She gushed again, drenching his considerable length as he pressed the wide tip of his cock against her swollen core. I bit into the palm of my hand, staying as quiet as I could while a tightness grew in my belly and a dampness built between my legs.

I shouldn’t have watched. I should have left. This alpha had dark hair. The commander was blond. I had seen what I needed to see, but the image of his thick cock swallowed by those plump lips hypnotized me.

The muscles in the alpha’s back rippled and flexed as he drove into her more insistently, and she shrieked under him as he seated himself to the hilt. I rubbed my thighs together, watching in fascination as he drew his dripping cock from her and shoved himself back inside. The force of his thrusts battered the tiny omega, but she whimpered and rocked back against him with abandon. The wet slapping sounds were obscene, but my body responded to them nonetheless. Heat raced along my skin and my panties grew wetter. Stars!

The alpha pounded into her pliant body, forcing the thickening base of his cock into her tight folds. She screamed as slick gushed down her thighs, proving just how much she enjoyed his ever-swelling knot. My breaths came faster the longer I watched, but I couldn’t tear myself away. Wetness saturated my panties and coated my thighs. I needed to leave. If this triggered my emergence before we had a plan in place, we could lose our chance at escape.

The alpha’s roar focused my eyes on the pair’s joined bodies as he shoved his fully formed knot back into the omega one last time. Her squeals echoed off the domed glass ceiling as she came. Her muscles tightened and milked his shaft as he emptied himself inside her.

The strangest thing happened. His arms wrapped around her tiny body and he held her close, moving them into a more comfortable position while he waited for his knot to soften and he began to purr. A deep rolling purr. The omega whined and wriggled against him, clearly wanting more. He chuckled at her insistence. “Don’t worry, Revayah, there’s plenty of time for more.”

No one had ever purred for me before and the sound was intoxicating. My body was hot and needy, seeping slick, and begging to be filled. No, no, no. I had to go.

I dragged myself as quickly and quietly from the airlock as I could. Once out of the cell permeated with thick pheromones, my fever receded and my heart stopped pounding in my throat. That was too close. No more watching. Check the hair color and number on the uniform, and get out. I just hoped that the commander was decently clothed.

Chapter Fourteen

Saphyra

As I made my way around the rest of the cluster, many of the cabins were empty. But in the next one, there was a gorgeous alpha with blood red hair working out with a modular fitness machine that folded out of the wall. Sweat ran in rivers down his bare, scar-covered skin as he growled at nothing. The low, deep sound made my belly tighten in response. Unlike any of the other cells, his lacked furnishings and there were gouges in the metal where something sharp had been dragged. His cinnamon scent clung to the back of my throat as I wiggled my way out. That definitely wasn’t who I was looking for.

As soon as the second to last airlock opened, the scent of sun-warmed oak trees washed over me, something I remembered well from my childhood. It was as if a blanket surrounded me, wrapping me in its soothing embrace. I wanted to roll around in it, covering every inch of my skin with that smell. There was no need to see him to know who was in the cell, but I was compelled to anyway. I had to be sure.

I shimmied up to the vent and peeked through. And there he was, the embodiment of my recent fantasies, lying on his cot with his fingers laced behind his head and his bare chest on display. His golden hair was brushed back from forest green eyes as he watched the stars spin beyond the clear canopy enclosing his cell.

Not so long ago, like less than an hour ago, I’d been convinced that the smiling blond boy from my early childhood was fiction. A figment of my lonely imagination. But even all grown up, I recognized him from my dreams. He was real, and he was staring directly at the vent.

My breath caught. I panicked, not knowing what to do. They weren’t supposed to know I was here. No one was supposed to know.

“I can smell you, omega.”

Oh no! No, no, no. The smart thing to do would be to crawl right out the way I’d come and not look back, but I was far past the point of being rational.

“I’m, um… not an omega. At least not yet.” Why did I respond? Why did I open my stupid mouth?

“You are an omega. There is no yet. You haven’t matured into your nature, but betas don’t smell like warm honey on a summer afternoon.” He still lay on his bunk, but his eyes closed and he took a deep inhale of air. If the growing bulge in his pants was any sign, my presence was affecting him.

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