Page 25 of Omega Alliance

Their peaks are capped with snow, promising colder days to come—and quickly, judging from the chill I feel in the air whenever I stop moving and take a moment to catch my breath. It would be foolish to turn back, so I keep going.

After a while longer of stumbling through the trees, I find a small cave tucked into the cliffside. The sun has finished its ascent, which means it’s time for me to hide myself away, and this cave will make the perfect refuge until I’m able to continue my journey by starlight.

I sleep in bits and spurts; every snap of a branch or rustle of the leaves startles me awake. Each new sound makes my heart race as I wait for the Alliance’s goons to catch up with me.

If failure is so inevitable, why do I continue to strive for victory? Maybe that’s something as innate to my biology as the omega hormones that caused this mess in the first place.

If I was different, I wouldn’t matter to them. If I'd been born beta, no one would have ever looked twice in my direction. If only I’d been granted the option to live my life unmolested by their concern.

I continue to drift in and out of sleep for much of the day. It’s already twilight when I’m startled awake by the sound of male voices.

“Shouldn’t be far from here,” one says. His voice, while deep, isn’t one I recognize.

“Shhh, keep it down,” a second man hisses. They crunch closer across the terrain, moving with all the grace of a wild stampede.

I cower in my cave, willing myself to disappear through the rock wall.

I attempt to still my breaths as they shuffle about, tromping their feet and kicking at leaves, then the first man calls, “Hey, over here. See that cave.”

Something beeps, and then their two bulky forms move into view. The first, a stout black-haired man with a thick beard covering the lower half of his face, moves closer to inspect the mouth of my hiding spot. He’s unshaven, and his teeth seem yellowed in the waning light.

The second man is tall, broad-shouldered, and bald. His neck bulges with muscles underneath his tight shirt as he passes something small and compact to his companion. Can they see me or not? My heart skips a beat and I dare not move, lest I draw their attention more closely.

It’s clear from the way they’re outfitted that they are members of the Alliance, probably low-ranking officials, sent to track me down. They both wear matching uniforms of gray andblack with helmets pushed up to reveal their ugly faces. Each has a handgun strapped to his hip and various tools holstered to his belt.

Their weapons glint in the dying light as they continue to search around my hiding place. I remain cemented to the darkness at their approach, keeping as quiet as possible while they poke around the mountainous terrain like two rambunctious hounds on a hunt for prey.

I’m the prey. Me. And I refuse to be captured.

The taller man steps right up to the mouth of my cave, squinting his eyes as he peers inside. Then stepping forward. Squinting some more. Stepping again…

My throat is dry. I want to scream, but there’s no one to come to my rescue. I already shunned the only people who wanted to help me.

And now I’m stuck in a trap of my own making, and all I have is the clothes on my back and an old photo of strangers clutched in my fingers.

As the man takes another tentative step into the cave, I realize I only have one option left, and that is to run. Even though they’re wielding guns, I doubt either will fire. The Alliance wants me back in one piece, after all.

And that's what I'm banking on as I scream and surge toward the men, hoping the element of surprise might help turn things in my favor.

But I am weak and unprepared. The man with the beard easily snatches hold of me and presses me into his chest with a laugh. “Where do you think you’re going, little omega?” he growls in my ear, then kisses my cheek with such force I'm sure it will leave a bruise.

The other man reaches down to brush a stray lock of hair from my face, leaning in close to study me. “Ms. Sin, live and inthe flesh. You know, even though we’ve devoted many faithful years of service to the OA, they never let us get this close before.”

“Do you think they’ll make good on the rewards? Let us have our way with her once a week like promised?” the one holding me says, then presses his nose against my neck and inhales deeply. “Ah, there’s nothing quite like the scent of a ripe omega. At least that’s what I’ve always heard. Seems true enough.”

“You know the OA is full of shit. They’re willing to say anything to get her back. If we want to have our fun, we better have it now.” One of the men begins to unbuckle his belt, eliciting a hearty laugh from his companion.

“Please, please just let me go.” I cry, wriggle, kick, and scream, but my protests only seem to excite them more.

“Hush. Be good, Sin. You’re the people’s omega, and the two of us here? We're the people. We’ve worked hard to find you and bring you home, and now you need to give us our due.”

The first man's pants fall to the ground, and now the second is working to free himself…

No, no, no. Not like this.

LEVI

I knew Sin would try to leave us after Kieran took things too far. He’s used to the rest of us bowing to his alpha command but doesn’t realize that Sin isn’t already under his spell.

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