Page 43 of Fever

“At least I’m fucking doing something,” Loven shouts, “while all you pussies are standing there.”

Seer follows his dad, and Dreikx rolls his eyes.

“How long before they locate the pod?” I ask, because I gotta fucking go even if I don’t know where, and we can’t search with hounds since the enemy is airborne.

Dreikx lifts a finger. “Now.”

“Where is it?”

Grave faced, Dreikx points to the sea at the same time as the ship deposits another pod for his use. He walks the few steps and opens the pod’s door. “We have limited power and capabilities. Unfortunately, all the rescue pods have been rendered useless and this is all I have. After you.”

I get into the copilot seat, and Dreikx fires up the pod. It kicks off with a sound worse than my late grandpa’s vacuum. I glance at Dreikx. “Very stealthy.”

“This pod is a decade old, an antique I keep for my collection. Mike forgot about it. While we’re on Mike, I remind you that he is my male, and I will punish him according to how I see fit.” Dreikx lifts the pod, and the thing wobbles and sets back down.

“Fuck,” I bark. “Let’s go on foot.”

Seer appears at the pod’s door. He knocks on the glass. I open it while Dreikx tries to fix the pod.

“Where are we going?” Seer asks.

“I’m going to retrieve my Omega. You’re staying.”

He points at Dreikx. “Why does he get to go?”

“He’ll drop me off,” I say.

“Where?” Seer grins.

Dreikx rattles off the coordinates and seals the door.

I throw up my hands. “My Omega is my fucking business. I will not be the male who couldn’t defend his Omega solo. I do not share!”

Dreikx sighs. “Seer and Loven are unpredictable. Mike doesn’t like unpredictability, and if he hears or sees them moving in, he’ll expend a lot of energy trying to predict their moves. I will take advantage of that. Also, I need tech. End the Silence.”

“No can do.”

“Mike is going live. If you want to watch the transmission on this screen, I need the power.”

I fire up my gate control.

Chapter 16

Leah

Four smaller yachts surround one large one. Mike hovers over the biggest one. Males step onto the deck and spread out to make room for a bigger male, who looks up and nods at Mike. “That’s the Swarm,” I say. I recognize them by their pale green coloring and the star tattoo over their right eye. They look like the Hordesmen more than the other Regha males as they have ears and noses, the more humanoid features.

“I will now start the negotiations. You will stay quiet for the duration of the transmission and speak when spoken to or when I signal you to speak. Any disobedience will result in your mother’s suffering.”

“Where is she?” Hope and fear rise at the same time. My lip trembles. This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I hate myself for putting my mom in this situation. I hate the Hordesmen. I hate Mike. I hate the Swarm, Silence, the Omega dynamic. I hate a great many things now.

“You will be united with your mother soon. If the Hordesman delivers the control, the Swarm will hand you both back to him. It is a fair exchange, one the prince wouldn’t make. He refused, thus here you are. If you blame anyone, you can blame the Regha prince.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, and I don’t care. I just want to see my mom and hug her. She’ll tell me everything is gonna be fine, and we’ll find a way out of this. She and I together are like two peas in a pod. We always made it. After Latisha died. After Daddy left. And now we can swim out of this. Maybe literally swim out of it. I glance at the shore. Not that far, but far enough. I imagine it’s fucking dark and spooky in the water. There’s sharks. Oh God, I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown.

As Mike commands the hologram screen, I notice a low power warning in the corner. Our faces show at the bottom, but the screen is blank. In the distance, the city lights up. We got the power back. On the hologram, a Telean crew comes into view. Dressed in black space suits with blue lines over the chest, they’re standing in a room with many screens. I have no idea where they are.

Mike leans back in his chair. “I have taken the Guardian’s Omega and disabled Dreikx’s gate control. The Guardian Alpha can bring his gate control and take the Omega back. She and her human mother. This is a fair exchange.”

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