Page 34 of The Hive

“Shouldn’t we search her first?” one of them asked.

Corbin scoffed like it was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “What’s she going to do, stab him to death? Not likely. It might even be more fun for him if she puts up a fight.”

Under Corbin’s instruction, the beta guards’ clammy hands clamped down on my arms. I shrank away from their touch. The cramps came again, ripping a pitiful moan from my chest. My legs shook, unable to support my weight, and I stumbled to my knees so they dragged me through the hallways, leaving my soft blankets in a heap on the floor.

“It’s really too bad about 6667. He’s a fucking maniac. If she makes it out with less than a few broken bones, I’ll be surprised. Who wants to wager?” Corbin addressed the guards who were dragging me. They looked uncomfortable. “I’d say two broken bones and a concussion,” he continued.

They mumbled something vaguely agreeable, unwilling to fully commit to a bet like that, but not wanting to argue with this man who was obviously in the Imperatrix’s favor. Even knowing what went on behind closed doors, these guards must know that omegas were valuable and should be handled with care. The handler’s blatant disregard for my safety must have come as a surprise, judging by their reaction. Welcome to reality, boys.

Even with the cramps, pain, and blooming, desperate lust, I wasn’t completely gone. I fought against the fog clouding my thoughts, and stopped struggling against the guards. I stayed calm when they wrapped a foul-smelling blanket around me, and saved my strength for the moment they lost focus and turned complacent.

My pulse sped up and perspiration popped along my brow as the doors to the drone cells loomed ahead of us. I had waited too long. The airlock swished open, and they tossed me inside.

Time was up.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Alexi

Much of the Hive was built for show, gold trimmed and opulent. But when my eyes cracked open, that was not at all what I saw. The ceiling was flat gray, not the crystal dome that even the drone cells were afforded. I groaned as I was jostled and the hands holding my wrists and ankles heaved me into a holding cell with thick barred walls. As soon as I hit the rough metal floor, another heavy body slammed into me, knocking the breath from my lungs.

I ached everywhere and my eyes felt like they were nearly swollen shut. As an alpha, that would heal, but it was painful as fuck until it did. More thudding sounds followed, but I couldn’t see past the wall of meat that had landed on me. Thankfully, they started to come around.

“Get off me,” I said, growling and trying to dislodge the half-conscious man sprawled across my body.

“My head,” Ax croaked before finally rolling to the side with the aid of a helpful shove.

The ringing in my ears faded as I took stock of the situation. Ax lay on the floor next to where I’d been tossed, flexing his fingers like something might have been broken. Valyx was crumbled in a ball of black and blue bruises against the opposite wall. After a moment, he groaned and rubbed the back of his head, untangling himself from the heap he had landed in, thankfully still in one piece. Grey looked to be in better shape as he got to his feet and dusted his slacks and coat off in the cell beside ours.

We were all here except our girl. I needed to find her, but where the fuck was she?

In the open area beyond the barred door, several guards were arguing amongst themselves. I stumbled to my feet to get a better view. That lazy, self-indulgent alpha who had delivered me to the drone cell on my first day was at the center of the group, red-faced and perspiring.

“Does it look like I give a crap about protocol, 5947? The Imperatrix herself put me in charge,” he said, spittle flying from his pudgy lips.

“But 3187, protocol states they should be searched immediately, and confined separately so they can’t hurt one another.” This must be 5947 arguing. He was younger than 3187 and in better physical condition, but he was clearly outranked.

He glanced around, looking for someone to back him up, but the other guards kept their mouths shut and filed out, their job done. With any hope of support gone, his shoulders sagged. “Fine, but if anything happens, it’s on you.”

3187 must have found this funny because his belly wobbled as he chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, 5947. I will make sure the Imperatrix knows exactly who the most valuable assets are in my report.” He patted the younger man on the back, dismissing him without another look.

Once the last of the guards disappeared, and the thick metal door sealed behind them, 3187 turned toward us with a slimy grin on his worm-like mouth. “You really thought you could outsmart me? Fools.” He approached the bars, the only thing separating him from his imminent death, and banged the end of his baton against them. The sound echoed like a gong through the hexagonal chamber.

“Once I’ve dealt with you, the Imperatrix promised to promote me to head of security. I can fuck the omegas whenever I want, even keep them chained in my cabin and use all their little holes however I want to. And you three will rot in the arena’s blood-soaked dirt.” He spat in our direction before waddling his way over to the doctor’s cell. “And as for you… You won’t even get that much consideration. You’re gonna float through dead space, a frozen husk, not even fit for worms to eat.” He sniffed the air, inhaling a lungful, and holding it. “That omega of yours smells ripe. 6667 is going to have a field day with that one.” He clanged his baton against the bars again. “Just the thought of her dripping hole is making me hungry. Be good boys, now, and don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

We had been silent during his tirade, but as he walked out of the prison unit, we shared a look.

Axion was the first to break the silence. “What in the ever-loving fuck?”

I scrubbed my fingers through my hair, trying to assess our position. “I don’t fucking know. What the fuck happened? Were you not careful? Were you talking in front of the cameras? Didn’t you fucking check?”

Shadow growled and turned to pace along the bared wall.

“Of course we fucking looked, Lex. When we searched the room, there were no cameras in the bathrooms or anywhere else. Did you fucking look? What about the time Saphyra came back to us dripping with slick and smothered in your pheromones? How did you manage that?”

I didn’t appreciate the accusation in his tone, and I rounded on my lifelong friend. “The fuck you say?” My fist flew from out of nowhere, slamming into his jaw.

He staggered and spit a wad of blood on the floor. His eyes had gone white with rage as he launched himself at me, taking me to the ground. The snarl from Valyx was my only warning as he threw himself into the fray. Blood sprayed in a frenzy of flying fists and elbows. My lungs burned with the effort of dragging in the honey- and blood-laced air. The scent of ripe slick wiped all rational thought from my mind. Only instinct remained. Remove any obstacle between myself and my omega. I would kill them all if they opposed me. She was MINE.

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