Page 81 of Stray Omega

There was a pause as the young alpha scanned his body.

“I think I’m good. No injuries, boss. Just kinda groggy, like I’ve had too much wine. But I can’t move. Some kind of metal restraints holding me in place.”

“Yeah, same here.”

Leros growled fiercely.

“Calm down,” Ark commanded. “Conserve your energy. There’s no point in going into a rage. We need to keep our minds clear if we’re going to figure out how to escape.”

But deep in his heart, Ark knew it was going to take a hell of a lot more than a clear head to get them out of this situation. It was going to take a Source-damned miracle. They were well and truly trapped. Whoever their captors were, they had taken great care to make sure they could not escape.

As these thoughts were running through Ark’s mind, there was a loud snap, and the room was bathed in blinding light that stung the alpha’s eyes. He winced and squinted until his vision had a chance to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Gradually, Ark’s surroundings came into focus.

Just as he had sensed, the room’s layout was a perfect equilateral triangle. The floor was formed of polished metal, but the walls were formed of thick, tinted glass behind which lay some kind of shadowy control room with blinking lights and computer terminals. Ark had no knowledge of how such equipment operated, but he had seen similar machinery in the Chamber of the Source.

Now Ark could see his companions too, Embla and Leros. All three of them were naked, and their bodies were clamped to vertical metal slabs arranged in a triangular configuration in the center of the room.

A pneumatic door hissed open at one side of the room, and a man stepped through.

“Greetings, my esteemed guests. I do hope the accommodations have not proven too uncomfortable for you.”

The man was young and thin, with smooth, unblemished skin and perfectly groomed black hair combed back over his head. He was dressed in a simple, white uniform with long sleeves and a high collar. The man made his way around the room with slow, precise movements, carefully appraising the three captives.

Ark remained calm, conserving his energy. But young hot-headed Leros struggled uselessly against his restraints. Veins branched across his neck and arms.

“Who are you?” Leros snarled.

The thin man smiled pleasantly.

“My name is Dr. Toth, and I work for the government of the city hive Galadon-1 in the Department of Defense Research. And with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

Leros curled back his lips and snarled.

Toth was undaunted. He looked at Ark and then at Embla, but none of them answered.

“Very well. Names are not a necessity. For the purposes of my research I will refer to you by the names Alpha One, Alpha Two, and Omega.”

“What do you want from us?” Ark asked.

“Your offspring,” Toth answered matter-of-factly. “I intend to breed you. With your alpha genes, I’ll be able to create an unstoppable army of super soldiers.”

Ark smirked.

“It won’t work, Toth. We alphas are strong, but we have our limitations. We cannot survive for long outside of the Zone. Without the power of the Source to replenish our energy, we will begin to wither and die.”

Ark was not certain if this was actually true, but he had heard rumors.

Dr. Toth gave a smirk of his own.

“Oh yes, I’m well aware of this problem. You see, before I worked for the government, my previous employer was a little company called SynerGen. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. No? Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Toth strolled as he talked, leisurely weaving in and out of the metal planks to which Ark and his companions were restrained.

“You see, SynerGen attempted a similar alpha-omega breeding project. However, as you might have guessed, it met with failure. There were a number of reasons for this, including the problem you just mentioned—the inability of alphas to survive away from the so-called “Source.” Fortunately, we have come up with a solution."

Smiling, Toth dipped a delicate, finely manicured hand into the pocket of his white jacket and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a metallic fluid.

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