Page 113 of Glass Omega

Andrey hummed under his breath for a moment as his eyes flicked over to the screens monitoring my heartbeat as they started to beep wildly. He then pulled a different syringe off of the little metal tray next to him along with a long rubber tube.

“But that girl over there is perfect,” he whispered in my ear, nodding to Luscinia. “A beta through and through, even if her father wishes she was anything but different.”

“What are you going to do to her?” I asked through gritted teeth, crying out as another wash of fire flowed through me.

I wanted my alphas more than anything else in the world right now, but they were nowhere to be seen. They didn’t even know where I was. A pitiful sob leaked from between my lips, making the man’s grin widen even more.

“It’s a bit of a roulette this time, I’m afraid. But I can assure it’s all in the name of scientific exploration.”

A stinging prick in my arm slipped in between heat cramps and I glanced down to find him taking some of my blood.

“Over on the other side you’ll see my little bird. She’s been with me for a long time—an alpha of course. I stimulated her hormones with some of your pheromone, bringing on a rut so that I could get the most potent of her genetic material. Only thebest for my beta.” Andrey reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of blood, waving it in my face.

I watched in horror as he started to mix my blood with the alpha woman’s realizing that I had no idea what was about to happen to Luscinia.

At least with Vladimir Volkov, I knew his motives had something to do with power and money—motives that I could understand. But Andrey Volkov? The man was insane, pure and simple.

“Why are you doing this?”

Andrey’s head shot up as if he’d forgotten I was still here. “Why? Why not? Science is all about pushing the envelope my dear, ethics be damned!”

He wagged the new, bigger vial in my face before placing it in some kind of machine that began to spin.

I’d never regretted being a photography major more than I did now as I watched with confusion as the machine beeped and he pulled the vial out again, grinning at the layer of yellowy material that had collected towards the top.

“I’d explain how all of this works, but I’m afraid it may be too much for you, my dear. Time for you to take another nap.”

He reached for the IV line and twisted a knob, sending the cool fluids from the hanging bag and something else down the line and into my hand.

My eyes started to grow heavy as the force of my heat was dulled slightly by the medicine.

Andrey turned away from me and back to Luscinia. The last thing I heard as my eyes started to drift shut was a garbled scream—the first noise I’d ever heard from the woman—and then everything went black.

“Luscinia!” A familiar roar woke me up from my medically induced sleep and I opened my heavy eyes just in time to see Andrey Volkov slump to the floor with three bullet holes in his chest and his blue eyes open and unseeing.

Pack Ricci stomped into the little operating room that was now brightly lit, giving me a full view of the space. In the distance I could hear the shriek of an alarm and the sounds of shouting.

The alpha woman’s table had been overturned at some point and I could hear her sobbing and moaning as she tried to free herself from her bonds while the four alphas surrounded the table with the unconscious beta.

Her skin was so pale that I was vaguely worried that she’d died from whatever Andrey had injected her with.

Elio was already fumbling with her bonds and pulling her from the surface. The man looked terrified as he gave Luscinia a shake. “Cini, wake up,” he said out loud even though he knew the woman couldn’t hear him.

“Come on, El, we’ve got to hurry. The FBI is going to swarm this place any minute,” Dante growled nudging the alpha towards the door.

“Wait—” I called, my voice barely more than a rasp. All four men jerked in my direction, their eyes wide as their nostrils flared.

I’d almost forgotten I was in heat.

“We can’t leave her here. Not after those two helped us find this place,” Ranieri said, taking a step towards me but Dante reached forward and snagged his wrist before he could come any closer.

“She’s in heat. You can’t get anywhere near her,” he hissed at his pack mate, dragging him towards the door.

“We’re sorry,” Elio apologized, still looking down at Luscinia. “But we’ve got to get her out of here.”

I understood even if it hurt. We’d never liked each other, but we had almost been married.

“At least help get her out of her bonds.” I nodded to the alpha who was starting to cry as she struggled to get herself free.

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