Page 126 of Unhinged Omega

My vision swims as I force my eyes open. The room gradually comes into focus. Concrete walls, dim fluorescent lighting, the lingering scent of antiseptic. Some kind of cell or holding area.

And there, across the room, is Raven.

He's slumped against the wall, golden hair falling in his face. He looks... wrong. Broken. The usual manic energy that radiates off him like sunlight is gone.

A metal collar gleams around his neck, chain trailing to a ring set into the wall behind him. The sight takes me back to the day I found him all those years ago. Has to be about a decade now, but I've never been the sentimental type who keeps track of that shit.

He wore a collar then, too. A flashier one, but the sight still pisses me the fuck off more than it has any right to.

All that running and this is where you ended up, huh, little bird?

I shift, trying to get a better look at him, and feel cold metal against my own throat. My hand flies up, fingers brushing against an identical collar. Except mine is covered in rust. Guess Geo was hoping if the gunshots didn't finish me off, the tetanus would do the job eventually.

That bastard collared us both. And he took my goddamn glasses.

"Your psycho boyfriend finally tied you up too, huh?" I croak, my voice rough from disuse. How long was I out?

Raven's lips twist into a bitter smile. "He's not my boyfriend. He's my Daddy."

I can't help the harsh laugh that escapes me, even though it sends fresh pain shooting through my back. "Is there a difference?"

"Yes." Raven's voice is sharp, brittle. "The latter is always a colossal fucking disappointment."

I snort, trying to push myself up again. This time, I manage, but my arms are still bound and I'm too fucking weak to do shit about it. It's not just the gunshots. I can tell I've been drugged. Probably by whatever quack Geo got to patch me up,

But that was a lifetime ago.

"How long have we been here?" I mutter.

Raven shrugs, the movement making his chain rattle. "Hard to tell. The doctor comes and goes. You were out for most of it."

Holy shit.

She's out there without me. Without protection.

With thatthing.

"She's not dead," Raven says as if he's reading my mind in that listless tone that makes his voice sound foreign and so unlike the one that mocks me in my dreams.

"And how would you fucking know?" I demand, propping myself against the wall behind me, ignoring the agony that burns through my chest.

"Because she's my mate," he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

I scoff, the sound harsh in the concrete cell. "Yourmate? Either the stress of living on your own in the Outer Reaches has finally cooked your egg, or you're an even bigger liar than you were before."

"I'm not lying," he snaps, some of that familiar fire finally returning to his voice. "I felt it the moment I saw her."

"Right. Just like you 'felt it' with the beta twins in Belvast. And that Reinmichian guard who?—"

"That was different!" Raven cuts me off, his chain rattling as he sits up straighter. "This is real. I know it is."

"Like I said. You're either delusional," I drawl, "or you're just using her as an excuse to get my attention again. Which is it, little bird?"

That sets him off. He lunges forward as far as his chain will allow, teeth bared in a snarl that would be more impressive if it was on literally anyone else's face. "Don't you dare call me that," he hisses. "And how are you so sure she isn't my mate? What makes you such a fucking expert, you soulless warlord?"

"Because she'smine!"

The words tear from my throat before I can stop them, echoing off the concrete walls. Silence instantly falls between us. Raven stares at me, his blue eyes wide with shock. I can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he processes what I've just said.

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