Page 20 of The Hive

He trailed off as if I was in on his conspiracy to watch the off-limits security feeds. I was not. The animated retelling only served to spark my temper. I couldn’t show my anger, but my fists clenched at my sides as I did my best to restrain myself.

If the rebels really were having intercourse with her, we had even less time than I hoped. Alphas could be like animals following their primal urges to procreate, and Saphyra was a beautiful young woman. I understood the draw. If she was an Altairan, I would have happily fallen in love with that soft, warm smile long ago. Fertile omegas were not for the surface, and despite my feelings for the sweet woman I knew, I had to let her go when she returned to her people.

“I’m sure she will enter estrus soon and be transferred to her assigned drone.” I kept my answer as neutral as possible, but if he continued running his mouth about Saphyra, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions.

“I can’t wait for that show,” he said, unaware of just how close I was to murdering him. Thankfully, at the next corridor he split off to attend duties in a different cluster.

I continued to one of the lesser used medical store rooms. It was a good thing he hadn’t followed me because I wasn’t sure how I would explain the vials of suppressant I was about to steal. I was rapidly finding that the things I would do for my ward had no limits. I just hoped I was smart enough to get out of this mess with my life intact.

Chapter Twenty

Greylan

“I was informed that you were very busy last night,” I said, stepping through the door into Saphyra’s quarters. It was hard keeping the edge out of my voice. After speaking to Corbin, the suffocating seed of spite and jealousy had been growing. Never before had I cared enough about anyone to feel this way, and I just risked my life stealing a highly controlled substance while they were in here, reversing any progress we had made in slowing Saphyra’s estrus. The sharp bitterness was a weight on my shoulders.

Her decoys reclined on the far edges of the nest, as if they were intentionally keeping their distance from her. They seemed tense as they both studied me. She blinked her curious, sleepy eyes from under a pile of blankets in the center.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Valyx asked, his leg dangling casually off the side of the platform.

“One of my coworkers was watching your security feed last night and regaled me with how enthusiastic you were about your decoy duties.” I couldn’t hide the obvious bitterness that laced my voice this time, and his dark brows rose in surprise.

Axion rolled toward the center of the bed, obscuring his face from the camera. “It looked believable, then? Good.” He grinned as if this was all a game.

His cheeky smile was annoying. This was not a game, but a weight lifted from my chest. Of course, it was an act for the cameras. They wouldn’t risk the operation for a quick roll in the sheets. I couldn’t blame them if their resolve cracked, but I was glad that it hadn’t.

Saphyra wriggled through the nest and popped out the bottom. “Really, Grey. We aren’t stupid.” She graced me with a honeyed smile as she brushed past on her way to the bathing room.

“No, you aren’t.” I wasn’t worried about her. It was the rebel alphas that I wasn’t so sure about. Remembering why I had come so early, I turned to catch her arm. “Wait. Before you go, I should do your daily checkup and I have some supplements based on your estrus progression.” I tried to give her a look that conveyed the true meaning of my words. It wasn’t safe to announce the contents of the syringe I had prepared, even if no one was listening.

I was lucky that the emergency suppressants were accessible and, surprisingly, not excessively expired. Marking them off as waste was easy. Carrying them around under the nose of the cameras was less so. Based on their age, they may have a diminished effect, but it was better than the alternative. Anything to slow the avalanche that was careening toward us.

My little omega huffed, “Fine,” and made her way back to the edge of the nest, flopping back down. “Do it, if you must.” She held out her arm.

I quickly worked through the standard tests, not letting my fingers linger on her silky skin. The results didn’t matter. I had been falsifying them for weeks already. The reason I needed her to wait was the syringe in my pocket. “I need you to sit up for this part.”

She sat up and I tried my best to keep my eyes off all the naked flesh on display, barely covered by the tiny black nightgown. I reminded myself that I had to remain professional for all of our sakes. If only she would stop looking at my lips like she wanted to devour them.

As quickly as I could, I uncapped the needle and pressed it into her shoulder. She squeaked at the sharp stab and the slight burn of the fluid entering her muscle. That would keep her estrus from triggering for a few more days—more if we were lucky—but when it wore off, I hoped they were a long way away from here because she wouldn’t be leaving her nest for a week or more. It was a necessary evil to ensure her safety. “That will probably sting for a while. Move it around, or it’ll get stiff and hurt worse later.”

She rubbed at her arm and gave me a pouty look like I had wronged her, and maybe I had. But my priority was her safety, not her comfort.

“All done. Go ahead and get ready,” I said and watched her make her way to the bathing room.

She gave me a last look before closing the door behind her.

After the water pump kicked on, Axion’s voice reached me from the confines of the nest. “You love her, don’t you?”

It wasn’t really a question, but I nodded anyway. “She’s easy to love.”

His observation confirmed what I had already begun to suspect. He was falling for her, too. I wondered how her betrothed would take that. But the affairs of her life, once she was free of this prison, were none of my business.

Chapter Twenty-One

Saphyra

The shot Grey had given me made me woozy, but I also felt more settled, grounded, and less agitated. It did nothing to dampen my desire for my decoys, or for my beta handler, and when I dreamed, I dreamed of the man Lex had become. I wondered if it was just my omega nature drawing me to all these men or something else. Fantasies of them seeing me through my emergence together were increasingly common. I could feel that lusty hunger buried inside my belly, pulsing and throbbing against the bindings that kept it caged. I knew once it broke free, our borrowed time would be over.

During the day, we followed my routine under the watchful gaze of the staff and cameras. At night, Ghost fiddled with the control panel while Shadow covered us in increasingly more interesting ways. If anyone was watching, I wondered what they thought of the positions we ended up in. It didn’t help that my nightdresses were getting smaller every day.

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