Page 42 of Fever

“A Telean male stole Dreikx’s pod and took my Omega,” I say.

He glances at Dreikx, then back to me. “We will get her back.”

“Negative,” I say. “I will get her back.”

Kintar shakes his head. “Leah is not a bonded Omega.”

I lift my armor.

In response, Kintar lifts his.

“She’s bonded and seeded. Back off.”

“This is a horrible time for a challenge,” Dreikx says. “There are more pressing matters at hand.”

I smirk at Kintar. “Raven left me in command, or did you not get the memo?”

“I’m following Collector protocol, Alpha.”

“Follow it, then. Evacuate the Omegas so that another one doesn’t go missing. Dismissed.” I round him and approach Seer, who is crouching beside the hound. They’re both sniffing and snorting.

“Hold on,” he says. “I almost have him.” Seer stands and follows the scent all the way to my apartment, and I follow him. He’s rattling and snorting, likely attempting to identify the male. “The Omega is in heat.” Seer’s eyes widen. “Fucking coward.” Seer inhales deep and gurgles in the back of his throat, then flicks out his tongue as if tasting the scents. “Fucking Teleans think they can fool me.”

“Who is it?”

“Mike.”

I grab his face between my palms, and once his armor is up, I head-butt him. The armor on our foreheads clashes.

“Again,” he says.

I force our heads to clash again. “Let’s kill something,” I say.

Seer shows me his teeth. “Finally.”

We exit the apartment and find more males on my lawn and beyond, namely Collectors. I’m certain Arkin will be coming in any second now, and he’s gonna lose his mind. I am also certain the king will want in on the search. Once an Alpha Collector, always an Alpha Collector. He can’t have Omegas on the loose. It’s nearing three in the morning, so I only have a few hours of night left if I want to be stealthy.

Dreikx steps in front of me. “It could be a life-or-death situation for her. Or it could be she left of her own free will.”

I snarl. “Bad timing for your logic.”

He doesn’t blink an eye. “The intel is coming in. I will do everything I can to sort this out.”

I take him to the side. “It’s Mike who took her.” Either voluntarily or by force. It has not occurred to me she could’ve left me. My chest is hollow, and the rage is tempered because Dreikx has a point. Perhaps, just perhaps, she isn’t into me. Regardless, I can’t let her go. It’s just not in me to walk away, especially now, when I have no idea where she is. “I need to get the fuck out there and search for her.” While I still can. Transition, an event where I shed my armor and become immobile while my new red armor develops, is coming. I feel it in my bones. “The longer I wait, the farther she travels. And with a fucking pod, she could be in Nevada by now. Can you locate your pod?”

The sky lights up, and the massive Telean main ship comes into view, covering the entire sky above us. Dreikx listens to the com and nods. “Lift the ship as soon as the pod is located,” he says into the com and in Rahkan so I understand him clearly. To me he says. “Once they locate the pod, the com dies. The ship can’t linger this low.”

“Why?”

“Because Anna is on the ship, and I can’t put the ship at risk of ground artillery.”

Seer’s back, fully dressed, my uncle Loven trailing behind him, scrubbing his face. He steps next to Dreikx. “You lost your Omega, boy?”

I rattle out a warning.

He smiles. “What’s the holdup? Let’s go.” He walks toward the Stronghold gates.

“His brain continues to fail him,” Dreikx says. “He is going with no idea where to go.”

---