Page 9 of Sidone

Nobody is coming for you.

I’ve got you now, female.

Tell me about that special gate. Where does it lead to? What’s on the other side? Who are your people?

A man dressed in a flowery shirt, beige shorts with big full pockets, and flip-flops makes his way to the small docking station and hops onto the boat. It's the shooter. He takes the boat to the yacht. As he approaches, women in various states of undress emerge on the deck. I glare at the Omega. “You’ll lose an eye,” stumbles out of my mouth.

The Omega smiles. “I like my eyes.”

Ready to hit myself over the head for that outburst, I grunt. But I said it, and I can’t unsay it. Besides, his forest-green eyes are striking, and I imagine they would be even prettier when his pupils dilate once I’m ready for breeding. Females go into heat, myself included. A male Omega responds and stays erect, producing semen for as long as an Alpha female needs him to. When I’m done with him, I can release him from service. Keeping this Omega would impair my hunting mission.

The women greet the man who climbs aboard the yacht, and they crawl all over him. I roll my eyes as he grabs their nude behinds and squeezes, kissing each one on the lips. He releases them and sits at the table with the male abomination, who wipes his mouth with a twitchy hand. It’s an unusual motion for an Alpha. I narrow my eyes, trying to sharpen my vision, but the sun glares my way and blocks the view. Not that I need to identify him. They all look the same or similar to their father, despite the presumption they come from different Omega eggs.

The two exchange words. The abomination never once locks eyes with the man who’s speaking with him. He is alert, watching past the man, scanning the surroundings. I duck down and pull the Omega with me so that we only peek beyond the roof as the male scans the hotel. His gaze lingers on the roof as if he sees us. I smirk, flexing my claws. “Come at me.”

“Bro,” the Omega says, correcting me. “Come at me, bro.”

“Come at me, bro,” I repeat and flex my claws again.

The Omega nudges my ribs. “Stay down, Sidone.”

“Don’t boss me.”

He rolls his eyes.

The shooter hands the male a wad of cash. The male doesn’t acknowledge the money, so the man puts it on the table and pushes it toward the male. The male flicks it back and says something. I try to read his lips, but he’s got some sort of twitch to his mouth, and I can’t make out what they’re saying. “Can you read lips?”

“Usually, yes,” the Omega answers. “But not from this distance.”

The male wipes his mouth. Is he drooling? Regha Alphas don’t drool. My nephews who have human Omega mothers don’t drool either, but this male produced saliva that spilled out of his mouth.

The shooter shakes his head, presumably refusing the money, and when he pushes it back across the table, I’m certain the abomination wants him to continue with the job and the man is refusing. The man is smart. He ought never to have accepted an assassination job on my nephew or his Omega. I’ll shred both of these idiots to pieces. Smiling, I sigh happily, thinking about my claws digging into the weak armor of a male abomination.

The man stands as if ready to go.

The male is faster. He grabs the shooter by the throat and swipes the money from the table. He tucks the money into the man’s pocket and speaks. The man pulls out a gun and rests the barrel on the male’s forehead.

They glare at each other, the male smirking, digging his claws into the shooter’s throat.

“I’ll make it painful just for killing my prey,” I whisper. “Let him go.”

“Shhhhh,” the Omega says and grabs my hand, squeezing. He is warm. I squeeze back.

The male knocks the shooter's weapon. It hits the floor and slides into the water. The male releases him. No words are exchanged, and the man gets back into the small boat, then makes his way to shore.

Chapter 5

Kade

The exchange is over, and I know two things. The “domestic aliens” Hordesmen call the Swarm males and which are spoken about all over the news are real. I just saw one, and I know I just saw one because they’re described as pale green with a star tattoo over their right eye. They’re large and bulky, with noses and ears, not ear flaps or flatter noses like Sidone. Their eyes are also more proportional to the rest of their features. Sidone’s eyes are large and slanted. I don’t know what to make of this new alien breed, but I’m sure Sidone does.

“Who was that on the yacht?” I ask as the yacht sails away.

Sidone crouches, gaze on the shooter, who’s walking down the beach. “Abomination.”

This tells me nothing. “The shooter’s leaving. I’ll follow him. Wait for me in the room.”

Sidone snaps her head my way. “Okay,” she says.

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