Page 3 of Untamed Omega

“Doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to come, I’ll get someone else.”

“What do I have to lose?”

“Let’s go. And quietly.”

I pushed myself to my feet and let the male, whoever he was, lead me through the darkness. He didn’t have a flashlight or anything, probably because it would give us away. We didn’t speak any more, and after long minutes of traversing the building, we were outside in a big parking lot. There were a few cars, so someone else was in the building, and as we moved around the edge of the lot, keeping to the shadows, I could see that most of the windows in other wings glowed with light.

What happened to the one we’d left? The stranger guiding me to the gate wore a hoodie pulled close around his face, shadowing his features. He took me out to the highway and pointed in the direction he wanted me to go then melted back into the shadows. I began to run, keeping to the trees and following the road until my poor health and whatever had been done to me sapped the last of my strength and I fell to the ground. This time, the blackness was behind my eyelids.

Chapter Three

Markus

Days later, I was still tangled in knots. It seemed to get worse lately. I’d run my bear into the ground until I passed out night after night. That way, I had no time to mull over things that were or things that never would be.

I was on my way for another one of those exercises in strength and speed when Zeph stopped me. “Markus. I’ve been looking for you. Meeting at the big house. Locke asked me to get everyone gathered.”

I looked out at the forest behind our property and sighed. “Yeah, okay?”

“What? Do you have a boyfriend out there? Come on.”

Not a boyfriend, but I had a small obsession with running now. It gave me a sliver of peace. I didn’t know why my bear was so damned unruly but he was.

“I’m coming.”

I followed Zeph to the house where the others had already gathered. Locke was still in his office with the door ajar, and I could hear someone else on the phone or on video chat. He used both.

“What’s this about?”

Rob shrugged. “We know as much as you do, Doc.” Rob had nicknames for everyone. He put up a front with the others as a tough smart-ass but in his sessions, I learned he’d gone through things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

We waited for Locke to get off the call, which didn’t take long. It wouldn’t have taken a lot for me to listen in and find out what he was talking about, but I focused on the conversation going on around me.

Eavesdropping wasn’t my thing.

“Everyone here?” Locke said, coming out of his office a few moments later. “Yes. Everyone.”

“What’s going on?” Zeph asked.

“That was Reggie on the phone. His pack has picked up a survivor from the recent breakout. They had no problem getting him to shift, but when he did…” Locke trailed off, scrubbing his hand over his face.

“What is it?” I asked. My stomach went sour as I awaited his answer. Shifters who came to us had gone through experiments and torture in the name of science. Some were worse than others but if it upset Locke, it couldn’t have been good.

“He’s in really bad shape. He’s skin and bones. He was bloody and is still deeply bruised. He’s…he’s not doing well. But they are on their way and should arrive in a few hours. We need to make sure everything is ready. I don’t know a lot of details. He might be feral or sick. I’m not sure about his mental state. Markus, you probably will have to treat him for all kinds of things.”

“We’ve got it,” I replied when everyone else stood there, shocked. Didn’t blame them, of course. A hurt shifter wasn’t first on my list, but we didn’t have time to stand around. We had to get ready. We pretty much stayed prepared for these types of situations, but it helped that Locke told us early.

We parted ways. Everyone knew their responsibilities except Kellan, the most recent victim of the humans and their science to arrive. He offered to help, but Locke drew the line. Kellan and Elise would stay in their alpha quarters until we knew the new person was safe to be around.

None of us wanted to see the alpha’s omega hurt.

He’d become a friend to us.

Of course, Kellan refused to obey. He handed Elise over to Rob to keep her safe.

Locke wasn’t pleased but as he turned, there was a look of pride about him.

I stopped by the kitchen for some food and water for my patient then hurried to the cottage, AKA the clinic, to prepare for the shifter’s arrival. There were many things to ascertain about his health and wellness, but first, we had to make sure he wasn’t bleeding internally and that he had no life-threatening wounds. I brought out the IV pole and hung some bags of saline on it, along with some pain medication and another of a medicine that would knock out a rhinoceros if needed. Some came here wild and violent. We didn’t blame them, of course. They had every reason in the world not to trust another living soul.

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