Page 66 of Alpha Hunger

Thirsty as hell from the downers, I lick my dry lips. “This is how you got all these males. That’s why they all look like you. You grew them in a…lab.” Around the gate, Raven’s males are falling, the circle protecting the gate thinning. It’s only a matter of time before the Swarm breaks through the line. There’re so many of them.

“Technology is an asset, not a liability,” he says.

“Regha’s king will come after you. He will come after all of us.”

“Not if he doesn’t have the gate. Finally.”

A Telean pod, a steel sphere, hovers in the open space before us. The screen slides back, and a male appears behind the helm. I don’t see any lasers pointed at anyone, but I recognize the Telean male. General Dreikx himself. I guess I warrant an audience with all sorts of royal aliens. Aren’t I special?

“That will be all, Melanie,” the Hordesman says. One of the guards steps forward and pushes the mayor over the edge. She falls, her scream losing volume and then stopping abruptly. The guards take hold of my chair and move it forward. I stare ahead. They’re gonna tip me over the edge of the building.

Dreikx’s silver pupils dilate. “Who are you?”

“Domitay, the fifth.”

Mouth agape, Dreikx rears back. “Have you lost your mind, male?”

The male purrs. Downstairs, the buzzing of bees sounds. It’s so wrong, creepy and unnatural, almost as if the hounds are making it.

“I am a prince to you, Telean.”

Dreikx widens his eyes, silver pupils dilating more. “Youhavelost your mind.”

“Hand me the space gate.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I have your prince and his bonded Omega. She’s likely pregnant with a Sewa male, and I will give Tayseer his grandchild. In exchange, he will recognize me as Domins’s rightful grandchild.”

I recall Raven mentioning Domins, late king of Regha.

“Domins had no offspring,” Dreikx says.

“Yes, he did!”

“Temper, temper,” Dreikx says. “I am happy someone finally challenged the Boy with Armor. I’m sorry I missed it. How is it that I missed it? Ah,” Dreikx says and raises a finger. “There never was a challenge. So I ask again, where is the prince?”

“Detained.”

“If you believe you are the rightful prince of Regha, you should challenge Regha’s one prince. Maybe you stand a chance. Good luck. Now give me the poor girl and be on your way to train for the upcoming challenge.”

“Don’t play games with me, Telean!”

“Temper again. Unlike your people, I have an endless supply of patience. I could hover here all night and ask the same questions.”

The male pushes the throne forward. I scream and close my eyes.

“Stop it,” Dreikx says. “Let her go.”

My feet dangle over open space, the back half of the throne still on the office floor, the front half hovering.Don’t look. Don’t look.I look. “Oh my God.”

“Let the Omega go,” Dreikx says.

“The gate.” The male extends his hand.

Dreikx reaches into his pod and pulls out a crystal. I know the moment he decides not to give it to him because he looks at me and his silver pupils shrink into tiny dots. His eyes show sadness, and he says, “Tayseer has risked many lives for Earth’s throne. He sent his heir into battle.”

“It was a mistake. The humans in power swore allegiance to my father long before your prince took over.”

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