Page 132 of Unhinged Omega

Those pills are non-negotiable.

First priority.

The Knight follows my lead as I start gathering what little we have. He moves with surprising grace for someone so massive, though I notice he keeps his distance now. Almost like he's afraid to touch me.

Like he thinks I'll shatter if he gets too close.

We need clothes. The remnants of my robe barely qualify as fabric at this point, and the Knight's tattered pants aren't much better.

Plus, his face...

He keeps turning away whenever I look at him directly, obviously uncomfortable with that, but I don’t have to see his face again to remember he doesn’t exactly look human.

I scan our surroundings, trying to get my bearings. The river flows north to south, and I remember hearing that the black market lies somewhere to the northeast. If we follow the river north for a while, we should be able to find it.

Assuming we don't get killed first.

We've been walking for maybe an hour when I hear them. Engines. The rumble of motorcycles approaching fast. The Knight tenses beside me, a low growl building in his chest.

"Hide," I hiss, already looking for cover.

But it's too late.

Three bikes burst through the trees, their riders whooping and hollering as they circle us. Raiders. Because of fucking course. The Knight moves in front of me, his growl deepening until my bones vibrate.

"Well, well," one of the raiders calls out, cutting his engine. "What do we have here?"

His companions kill their engines too, dismounting with predatory grins and whistles. They're all alphas, of course. Big, ugly brutes with more muscle than sense. Guess that's why they don't realize all those leather straps and spikes make them look like they just stepped out of the world's worst BDSM club.

I take a step back, behind the Knight. My heart's hammering instinctively in my chest even though I doubt I'm in danger from three shitty raiders. Not after what I saw the Knight do to Nikolai's men.

A second raider, a huge guy with a tacky leather trench coat, does a double take when he tears his gaze away from my tits and sees the Knight's face for what's clearly the first time. "Is that a giant fucking zombie?" he asks in a weak voice, blanching.

The Knight's growl intensifies.

"Zombies ain't real," sneers the third raider, the one with a bald eagle tattooed over the entire upper left quadrant of his face. "Kill it and take the bitch."

"Who are you calling a bitch, bird brain?" I growl, ready to claw his eyes out if he even tries, but the Knight explodes into action first. He moves faster than an alpha his size should be able to, crossing the distance to the first raider in two massivestrides. His metal hand closes around the man's throat and... squeezes.

The wet crunch of bone and cartilage being pulverized makes me gag.

The other raiders open fire, but their bullets might as well be raindrops for all the good they do. The Knight throws the first man's corpse aside and lunges for the second, metal claws raking across his chest. Blood sprays in an arc as the raider screams.

I've never seen the inside of a ribcage before.

Neat.

Hope it's the last time.

The third raider turns to run, but he doesn't make it three steps before those claws punch through his back and out his chest. The Knight lifts him off his feet, studying him for a moment before ripping him in half like he's tearing a piece of paper.

It's over in seconds.

The forest falls silent except for the Knight's heavy breathing and the drip of blood from his claws. He glances back at me over his shoulder, his white hair obscuring his face, but I catch a glimpse of his blue gaze.

"Thank you," I say quietly.

He doesn't move or acknowledge me, but I swear he dips his head a little.

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