Page 7 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
I quickly tear my gaze away from him. Sure, he’s attractive, but he doesn’t measure up to my missing Prime Alpha. He doesn’t give me the fluttery feeling deep in my belly.
My Prime Alpha plays such a regular role in my sexual fantasies that I feel almost guilty for looking at other Alphas. It’s so stupid and such an Omega thing to get attached to someone I’ll never even meet.
Still, I often wonder if he’s okay.
Dazz’s eyebrows shoot up. “See something you like, Sparky?”
It’s not a creative nickname, seeing as my name is Halley Sparks.
“No need to be shy, Halley,” Ember says with a flippant wave of her manicured hand. “It’s not like you’re going to actually meet him.”
I place the binoculars on the picnic blanket beside me. Flicker lunges to catch them and eagerly takes another turn to stare at the unsuspecting Alphas. I wonder if they know they’re being watched. Alphas have scarily precise senses, heightened to be the pinnacle of human ability.
Or, I guess,inhumanability.
The technical term the scientists use for the genetic mutation behind our designations is ‘demi-human.’ It doesn’t matter to me that we’re different from humans, but apparently it’s worth waging a fifty-year war over. The humans want us and our mutated gene poolgone.
Fathim’s Military is all that stands between us and their hate.
Dazz dismisses the haughty Omega with a scrunch of his nose. “Ignore her. She’s always snarky right before her heat.”
We sit in silence while Dazz and Flicker take turns watching the Alphas work out. The drill instructors’ shouts continue and we add ‘shit-brick’ and ‘weapons-grade fuckup’ to the insult list.
The sun hovers on the horizon, threatening to disappear and end our mini-vacation.
Resting his elbow on the arm of his chair, Dazz cradles his head in his palm, his bronze curls glinting brightly.
“Do you ever wonder what you’d be doing if you lived in the real world?” he asks abruptly.
“No. Not at all,” Ember snaps, aggressively stabbing at the melting ice in her lemonade with her twirly straw.
I raise an eyebrow. “Why not?”
She puffs out a breath.
“Because it’s dangerous out there for Omegas like us. All the world sees is vulnerable and helpless and easy prey.” She looks pointedly at each of us and articulates her words clearly. “Which. We. Are.”
I scuff my flip-flop on the asphalt roof and roll a pebble under my foot.
Dazz grunts and frowns. “Thanks for the reminder. I love being reminded of how weak I am.”
Dazz is anything but weak. The male Omega spends an inappropriate amount of time at the gym building his muscles, and he gets more than enough cardio between the sheets with the Beta soldiers.
I narrow my eyes at Ember, but don’t say anything. Like Dazz said, she gets like this before every heat.
Heats are a sore subject for us in The Omega Division, a painful reminder that we’re unwanted and defective. Spending a heat alone with only toys or the occasional willing Beta to satisfyour clawing biological needs isn’t exactly a pleasant experience. Flicker prefers to be sedated for the entire event.
A shrill sound echoes across the base as the drill instructor blows his whistle. We all groan. Training is over and so is our vacation.
Time to return to reality.
Flicker shoves the binoculars into Dazz’s chest, slurps down the last of her lemonade, and bends to roll up her towel. We watch as the distant figures disappear into the cluster of buildings in the Alpha part of the base. Omegas are strictly forbidden from going anywhere near that side of the base.
“Go on then, answer the question, you lot. What kind of life do you think you’d have if you weren’t… you know,here?” Dazz presses, snapping his folding chair closed.
I stare off at the empty yard and frown. I can’t picture a life outside of The Omega Division. It’s been so long since I experienced the outside world. Even before I arrived, I didn’t have freedom.
“I’d be normal. Happy. Safe,” Flicker breathes. “I’d have an Alpha who loved me.”
