Page 53 of Alpha Hunger

“Rise,” I tell her.

She stands, hands at her sides, head bowed.

“You may look up and speak at ease.”

Gulping, she gives me a side-eye, mainly looking at the column from which the ropes still hang since Randy’s departure.

“Where is Melanie?” I ask.

A man stands and holds the woman’s hand. “The mayor ordered us to take him down. My wife has tried to reach out to you for weeks, but you kept ignoring us. Thank you for coming today. We expected to meet with you at one o’clock.”

“You did?”

The woman nods. “You replied to my message on social media, and the mayor’s manager found out. They interrogated me, but I wasn’t gonna say anything, Alpha.” She rolls up her sleeves and shows me blistering wounds.

I dismount and stand in front of her. She is a tiny woman, even by human woman standards. Fewer than five of human feet measures, with slanted, almost black eyes, black hair pulled up in a bun, pale skin that shows scars and bruises easily. I hold her wrist and examine the burn marks.

“How did you get these?” I ask.

“Oven burns.”

“A torture tactic?”

She nods. “They held me there, trying to get me to tell them why I contacted you on social media.”

“Why did you?” Anna must’ve seen this contact among thousands of contacts on my social media sites. The man is right, I have ignored those. Anna hasn’t. I will compliment her on her work.

The woman licks her lips, eyes glazed over, her other hand coming up to stroke my cheek. I step back and pick up a strand of her hair, then inhale deeply.

“My wife is an Omega,” the man says.

I shake my head. “She isn’t an Omega.”

“After prolonged Betaren use,” the man says, “I think something happens. Plus, the…drive is absent.”

This is horror for Regha males. The inability to scent an Omega. If I cannot identify this woman, neither can they. I make a mental note to send Terror back here and see what he makes of the woman.

Tears spill out of her eyes. “I was single when I first took them. I changed my mind when I met my husband. I wanted to stop.” She cradles her face. “I did, but I couldn’t. If I stopped, my hands would shake, my jaw would clench, my muscles would lock, and I couldn’t work. If I can’t work, I can’t eat because I need the money, so I kept taking the pills.”

“How long have you been taking them?”

“About two years.”

A rattle rips out of my chest. Two years! “I only heard about it last year.”

“That’s because they went mass production recently. Before, it was just the few of us.”

“How many is a few?”

“Seven women that I know of.”

“Thank you. Regha Alphas will surround this home. Do not fear them. I will also send a human man named Christy. Follow whatever it is he wants you to do, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Yes?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“We will get to the bottom of this drug problem. Tell me where Melanie is. I can search for her, but I would count it as a personal favor if you would shorten my time spent searching.” Because I need to breed my Omega.

“District three, Alpha.” Another staff member stands. “She’s been going there in secrecy for over a year.”

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