Page 49 of Stray Omega

“What is this?” she asked, pointing to the collar. “Did you put this on her?”

“She can be quite…unruly,” Ark answered. “We needed a way to restrain her.”

The fire of Hines’s anger grew. She stepped to Ark and glared at him, looking surprisingly intimidating considering that she was half his size and pregnant. Hines stuck a scolding finger in his face.

“Now listen to me,” Hines growled. “You had better take good care of Embla. If I find out you or your buddies have done anything to hurt her, you’re gonna be sorry.”

Unsurprisingly, the alphas were not fazed by her aggression. But Ark did seem to take her seriously. When he answered, his tone was quiet and respectful.

“Look at her, Hines.” He said. “We have been taking good care of her.”

Hines looked at Embla again. The little omega seemed a bit perplexed about what was going on. But Hines had to admit, Embla did look much better than when she had seen her last time. She appeared to be well fed, the dirt and grime had been washed from her skin, and even her hair looked cleaner, though it was still quite matted and tangled.

Hines placed her hands on Embla’s shoulders and asked in a quiet voice, “Are these alphas being good to you?”

Embla had to think for a minute. Was she unsure how to answer? Or maybe she didn’t even understand the question. Hines couldn’t tell exactly how much language Embla understood.

After another moment, the blonde omega nodded. “Yes. Good alphas.”

“Good.”

Hines turned to Ark again.

“Has she told you anything else? Like where she came from or how she came to be living so far out in the woods?”

Ark shook his head.

“Very little. At first we thought she could be a Farlander omega, but I don’t think that’s the case. She doesn’t have the Farlander look or scent to her.”

The brutal looking alpha scratched his bearded chin and gazed up at the huge sphere of the Source.

“Actually, I was hoping you might be able to help us find out.”

“You mean by talking with Seraph?” Hines asked. “I’m sure he could give us some answers about her. I think he knows pretty much everything that goes on in the Zone. Unfortunately, Seraph is not talking these days. He seems to have gone into some kind of hibernative state.”

“Huh,” Ark grunted, still scratching his chin. “A pity.”

Hines wondered if Embla was unwilling to answer or simply didn’t have the linguistic skill to do so. Either way, it was a moot point. If Embla didn’t want to talk about her past, they would all have to respect that. And if the wild omega simply wasn’t able to talk about it well…Hines didn’t know what they would do about that.

She guessed they would just have to be patient and wait until Embla had learned a little more of the language. Maybe then she could tell them about her origins.

As Hines was contemplating these thoughts, another alpha came running up to them in a great hurry.

“Ark! There you are,” the runner said, pausing briefly to catch his breath. “Addom and the alphas of the Council sent me to find you…” His eyes turned toward Embla. “They wish to talk with you about your, uh…omega guest.”

The alpha named Ark looked at his companions, then he turned back to the messenger and nodded.

“I expected they would require an introduction. Very well then, lead the way.”

The pack of alphas began to move away, taking Embla with them. The young omega cast a glance over her shoulder at Hines, and suddenly Hines found herself automatically striding after them.

“Wait for me. I’m coming too.”

Embla grinned when she saw that Hines was coming too, and Ark and his pack brothers seemed to have no problem with her tagging along. The messenger, however, turned toward her with an annoyed look.

“The Council does not require your presence, omega.”

Not so long ago, Hines would have immediately backed down from that kind of dickishness. Before arriving here in the Quarantine Zone, she had often been described as meek and mousy. Even now, she still felt that old impulse to shy away from confrontation. But she had changed a lot over the past months. She had been to hell and back, and with the help of her alpha mates, she had grown stronger and more confident.

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