Page 16 of The First Omega Made
“Yes, it is in space…” I did not understand the male’s fixation with tacking space on to everything—but it was not my burden. And if I had my way, he’d be no one else’s burden. It was imperative to my nature to have the bomb neutralized and entered into stasis. It was clear that he’d been mentally chipped away at and had suffered. It was a kindness, really.
Besides, genetic material from him could undo me.
And then there was the matter of the other omega—the incomplete one. The potent genes that the bomb had imparted onto him made my glands swell and my teeth ache with want tobite into his flesh. Since he was a secondary omega, created from another species, I was free to breed him as I saw fit—ablated or not. Though I’d see to it he was ablated after I harvested a few dozen ovum. I’d incubate many children with him once I found a suitable beta. Unless I returned to Paradise, at least. There, they’d likely scold me for laying hands on a precious omega but praise me for ensuring his safety. Vil might even be put to death for making the gene bomb birth an egg. Toclaimhim. To cause an omega pain was unforgiveable. Would be better they never neared Paradise.
“Noel,” I said, curiosity piqued. Once I’d started my mission, I needed to get back to Paradise or at least wanted to. I’d been gone for millennia. “Ar—” I started to ask if he was happy, truly, but my attention drew to a scratching noise in the air vents. Not one connected to my chamber but alongside it.
Some mild scrambling and metal-shredding noises caught my attention before scents of the entire ship flooded my cell, amid them the scent ofyoung beta. Very young.
And beneath that… Colthraxian.Extinct? I think not.
I had a mission.
With little warning, the air vent in my cell burst open and a rounded face full of youth, potential, and power peeped out, eyes a solid blue. He was everything that could be promised in a young beta. He was blue—an ideal color, really. A step above my own orange.
“I believe my cell has been compromised.” I stared at the young one as Merriel swore over the speakers, his translations echoing about my ears.
I’d not known their young was a hatchling. He couldn’t have been more than three lunar cycles, and cold fear flooded my veins.
I backed away from the vent, plastering my hands behind my back, tail curling around my leg. Throat exposed, I tilted myhead upward just in time for the little one to unceremoniously jump from the vent.
I carefully cut my gaze toward the screen, noting an absence of the gene bomb. I counted down the seconds I had to breathe before the omega would descend on me in a craze. All my hard work for nothing.
We’d all be told an omega’s capabilities when bred—when not ablated. I’d not witnessed it, but I prepared. The healing would be agonizing.
The door to the cell crumpled in on itself, ripping from its hinges as Noel dashed into the quarantine chamber and went straight for—the child. Not me.
The little one jumped and struggled in the gene bomb’s arms before settling.
“I do not want to hurt your bay-bee!” I sounded out the words as Merriel seemed to be stuttering.
Noel hissed at me and grasped the small beta child in his arms tighter before backing away, tail flicking hard.
I swallowed, the lump in my throat, nearly cutting off airflow to two of my three lungs.
Vil, senseless to what an omega could be like with young, bolted in after and glanced from me to their little one, and to Noel, assessing things as calmly as a beta should.
Omegas were destructive, senseless things when with young. Noel somehow missed the genes for it. Instead, he fawned over the little one, retreating with his wings folding out through his shirt, bunching around himself and the little one.
The ship complained about how long it’d take to repair the vents, but I counted myself lucky that it was only the door and vents destroyed—not me. I would take equally long to repair, if I could be at all. A mated omega’s venom was not to be taken lightly.
“I see you met Nexus.” Vil stared at me and I dared not move. If my scales had a single chromatophore dilated, I’d be surprised. I was likely pale as a lyphinium.
“He is a very beautiful beta child.” I swallowed hard, still daring not to move. A sniff to the air told me the beta had incompatible genes with myself—waiting wasn’t an option.
“Only child we’ve ever seen.” Vil stared at the remnants of the door and sneered. “Merriel?”
“Three to five days if we have Gorm and Sannak on it.” Merriel said the latter name with a jealous sneer in his digital tones. “I’d rather not have Sannak up in my guts.”
“Fuck.” Vil pawed a hand down his face, muttering something about their ship gaining altitude,getting high. “You’ve passed quarantine and don’t look like you’re a risk. We’ll limit you to the crew side and everyone will have an eye on you. Got it?”
Perfect… Better than expected.
Vil escorted me from my cell and across the ship, leading me to a storage room. From amid rigid metal canisters, tangled wires, and old tech, he pulled an ancient collar out, proffering it to me like I was a mere omega needing my neck guarded from crazed alphas. “Put it on.”
Grudgingly, I did so, knowing it likely had more meaning than that. I snapped it into place and he had the ship’s system program it to do something. I was limited to a part of the ship—the translations came sparsely and stuttered, but I muddled through. After all, I was one of the most intelligent species in the universe.
“No going outside of bounds. When I give orders, you act. Touch my mate or child and there will be nothing left of you but a smear against a wall. Are we clear?” He waited for the translation to finish.
