Page 64 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

"Honey, we're in a secret government facility being tortured and experimented on. If you weren't a little crazy by now, that would be way more concerning."

Despite everything, a laugh bubbles up in my throat.

It feels foreign, almost wrong in this place of pain and darkness, but somehow right at the same time.

"Besides," Riot continues, "maybe the shadows are real. Maybe they're part of whatever they did to you here. Who knows, but at the end of the day, this could just be your mind's way of processing all this fucked up shit endured throughsix long years. Either way, they've helped you survive this long. That's what matters. Can’t judge a trait that keeps you alive. No matter how cynical it is."

The voices hum in approval at her words, their song taking on a warmer tone. They like Riot, I realize. The quietness in my head gives me an odd sense of calm and approval. It’s beginning to dawn on me that I like Riot.

On first appearance, many would probably judge her. Whether it’s due to her skin tone that she expressed is used as a form of prejudice outside these walls or the anger she projects so easily that most assume it’s the only part of her personality they know, without interaction, you’d never know how smart, talented, and unique she is.

I like her honesty, resilience, and the way she seems to face horror with defiance rather than surrender.

She’s a powerhouse that won’t be easily tamed.

It makes me hope that she will get out of this with us.Whatever this challenge entails.Because as she hoped, she deserves to return to the limelight of the free world where one day, her mother will be forced to see her genuine happiness.

Surrounded by a pack that cherishes all of her.

Having such thoughts seems like a new experience for me, for I never thought of getting to know other Omegas, yet here I am, wishing prosperity for the ones I’ve known for a few hours and shared circumstances.

I don’t hate it…

"You know what's really messed up?" she asks after a moment of comfortable silence. "I think I prefer it here sometimes. At least the pain is honest. The people hurting us don't pretend to love us while they do it."

The truth of that statement settles heavily in my chest.

Physical torture, as horrible as it is, carries a certain purity of purpose. There's no betrayal in it, no manipulation of trust or twisting of love into weapons.

"Do you think we'll die here?" I ask, the question slipping out before I can stop it.

Riot is quiet for so long that I think she might have fallen asleep. When she finally speaks, her voice carries a steel I've come to associate with her core strength.

"Not tonight," she says firmly. "And not by our own hands. If they want us dead, they'll have to do it themselves. I won't give them the satisfaction of breaking me completely."

"Even if it means more pain?"

"Especially then." Her piercings glint as she turns to face me fully. "Pain means we're still alive and capable of feeling, even if it's just agony. The day we stop feeling is the day they truly win."

Isn’t that the real truth…

"Besides," she continues, "I made a promise to myself. If I ever get out of here, I'm going to find every single person who profits from places like this. Every family member who sells their omega relatives for monthly payments. Every official who looks the other way. Every doctor who justifies torture in the name of science." Her voice drops lower, carrying a predator's promise. "And I'm going to make them understand exactly what they've done to us. Give them the perfect taste of sweet brutality.”

It seems like the perfect challenge, and I wonder if they can do it. All of us somehow get out of this and when we’ve found our packs and secured our freedom, we work towards helping more Omegas escape the clutches of other laboratories.

Labs. Islands. Forced marriages.

Until laws are made to finally protect us.

The promise of revenge tames the final whispers in my head, inviting a lull of silence that makes me feel like this new hopeful plan could come to fruition one day.

That they’re the Omegas who can be capable of doing exactly that.

Start a revolution through the Fated M.U.S.E. they created.

"If we get out," I whisper, "I'll help you."

Riot turns her head once more, her eyes barely open but her smile further widening on her softened face.

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