Page 52 of Alpha Hunger

A buzzing sound pierces the silence. I tilt my head. Bees? “Do you hear that?”

Raven’s breathing changes as he stares down at his males and matches the sound of swarming bees. I realize the Horde is rattling as one. It is the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard. “You’re scaring me.”

“Don’t be afraid. The law is simple. Omegas are mine to serve and protect. That was all humanity had to do for us. Allow us to breed willing females and get the fuck out of our way. Instead, they hid, deregistered, lied, and now have developed drugs, perhaps even amassed a new army, thinking they could strike at me, the one they themselves named after Famine, one of the holy creatures prophesized to deliver the Apocalypse. The time has come to remind your people why they chose the name.” He steps near the edge and bends to get the rope, then wraps it around his fist. Emerald armor plates erect on his body, and he smiles, showing me his powerful teeth. “Stay here, Omega. This will not be a good time for a stroll.”

“Where are you going?”

“Everywhere. We will swarm the city.”

They’re gonna raid. “You’re raiding as you did in the old days.”

“Yes.”

“House by house?”

“Yes, Omega.”

“My parents live down there.”

“Which is why I marked your home.”

I run a hand though my hair. “Don’t go,” I blurt.

“Don’t worry, Omega. I’ll return by the time your heat hits.”

Raven jumps.

Holy fuck.The rope extends and snaps him back up. Raven lets go and leaps onto the roof of the adjacent building, then rattles out a battle cry. The Horde on their hounds spills out of the Stronghold.

“Fear the Horde!” they shout. Fires ignite all around the city in a circular formation. Oh my God, this is really happening. The Horde is raiding the city. I step back and bump my knee on the massive throne. Sitting down, I stare into the distance, a single thought overriding all the chaos in my head.

I hope Raven returns.

Chapter 19

Raven

Seeing as I have shut down the tech, I can’t use it either. And that’s okay. My dad started training me at the age of three. I can endure seventeen hours of continuous Alpha male-to-male combat and survive using my claws and discipline. That is what it takes to lead the Regha Horde. If I cannot outperform all my Horde males, someone else will, and my bloodline loses the throne.

It will never happen.

Humans use the Telean-enhanced laser gun power, which is dependent on tech, and unless they’ve got old bullet toys like Anna’s dad still owns, they won’t engage. Even with those, the bullets do not immediately pierce our armor. They can make cracks in it, which is painful, and if a shooter aims for the same body plate of my armor, he or she can shatter it.

Melanie might have an old gun. I do not know.

Right after the encounter between the police and my Alphas at Anna’s uncle’s home, the mayor took Anna’s uncle off the column and fled her mansion. Clearly, she has something to hide, and clearly, she supports Betaren production, something Terror would be interested in, seeing as he believes in order to make a product such as Betaren, one would need Omegas for testing. As a Collector, he will find the unregistered Omegas, and I will clear the path for him with my Horde.

At the mayor’s mansion, Junior races past the gates, across the lawn, and barges inside the foyer. The terrified housekeeping staff kneels. Excellent.

“I am pleased,” I praise them and invite them to stay. I have plans for the large home on the beach. Reminds me of training days with my uncle Loven, a Horde Alpha on Regha. Junior climbs the winding staircase to the third floor, where he sniffs the ground and enters a bedroom. Clothes litter the floor and the large bed. Someone left in haste. I chuckle and dismount. Junior climbs the bed and sniffs, snorting, rattling off sounds for the other hounds in the Horde unit. They whine, understanding him.

Junior is the Horde hound Alpha, not because I ride him, but because he is the toughest among his peers. The hierarchy on Regha is simple. The hierarchy of humans? Not so much, and a difficult thing for Regha people to understand. Perhaps this is why I slipped and allowed the mayor many freedoms including the one uncovering the Betaren manufacturing. When I find her, and I will find her, I will make an example of her and Anna’s uncle.

Yes, I made a promise I would protect Anna’s family, but not at the expense of her well-being. Never at that length. The drug may have made my Omega forget her instinct, and nesting is one of the biggest instincts an Omega has. She should want to prepare for seeding someplace where it’s comfortable for her to endure her heat. Instead, my Omega shows up for work as if working is more important than her heat. Nothing is more important than an Omega in heat. See? Simple.

Satisfied, Junior hops off the bed and waits for me. I mount him, and we descend the steps, where the staff still kneels. At the exit, I get the tube of paint and mark the home with a white stripe. “Which one of you is head of the household staff?”

A middle-aged woman raises her hand.

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