Anarchy, p.34
Anarchy, page 34
If he was still here, I could hold on.
Karma pulled out a chair for Sin, and I noticed the way he nudged him, as if for comfort.
Sin was like a statue that might crack beneath the slightest breeze. A storm held together by sheer willpower as he lowered himself onto the seat stiffly.
It was strange seeing him without the blood red eyes…
So wrong.
The two men behind the glass weren't speaking as they stared at us and the crimson smears on our faces.
Would they send us back?
I tried to straighten my brain out around another heat pang. They were probably unhappy that we’d made their room smell like a fresh slaughter house.
Phantom cleared his throat. “We’re here for our appeal.”
Good.
He sounded solid. Sure. Not a fraction of the ferality I knew they’d be looking for.
I glanced at Karma. He hadn’t sat, protectively shadowing Sin. Phantom was on his other side, also still on his feet.
The betas exchanged a look, one of them clicking onto the computer, typing something rapidly after an exchange we didn’t hear. Then the other spoke into the microphone, his words not coming through to our side, and then looked up. He adjusted the headset, trying again, and his voice crackled to life through the speakers.
“Please uh… list the designations and names of your pack members.” His eyes were fixed on me.
“No…” I heard the other faintly through the speakers as he addressed his colleague, looking up from his computer where he’d been previously typing. “No record of a female alpha…”
“We have two omegas,” Vandle said. “Three alphas.”
“Two?” The colour drained from the faces of the betas, their eyes going wide. Maybe they’d guessed because of my eyes, but Sin’s didn’t give him away. “That’s impossible. Omegas aren’t permitted in Anarchy.”
I frowned, curiosity overtaking my discomfort. “There are lots—” I cut off as I felt Vandle’s hand tighten around my waist—a warning of sorts.
I shut my mouth, looking between the betas and Sin.
Why didn’t they know?
He was tense, jaw clenched, the suppressed sigma energy making the air around him feel heavy.
“Someone’s been doing it without permission, I would guess,” Vandle murmured in my ear.
I remembered when I’d been sent down by the High Priest, how he’d taken me from the Convent.
Everything had seemed secretive, but at the time, I’d thought it was just because they didn’t want me exposed to any other alphas, lest I destroy them…
But I knew, now, how so much of that had been made of lies.
It was at that moment that another wave of my heat hit and the tenuous strings of thought holding my sanity together snapped completely.
SIN
A wave of Crescent’s heat hit and sent the room into chaos.
I was on my feet as armed guards stepped into the room beyond the screen.
The beta spoke into the comms again. “The two omegas will come to the door. The alphas are to stand against the far wall.”
“She’s in heat!” Vandle snarled, Crescent held firmly against him. “She needs us with her.”
“Against the wall now! We need to confirm what you’re saying.”
My heart was slamming into my ribs as I watched a man in a lab coat step in after the guards. I felt Vandle destabilize in an instant.
He was wounded, on the edge of delirium, and I knew he’d come from a place of lab coats and experiments.
Shit.
If he lost it…
And Karma was on the edge, too.
I met Phantom’s gaze…
Would they send the alphas back down? Keep us apart from them?
It took almost everything left of my strength to shove down my instincts, the aura that had so recently surfaced in protection of her…
I reached Vandle, placing a hand on his arm.
“Let me take her. Let them see we are what we claim to be.”
Stupid fucking idiots. They could see her eyes, sense her heat.
But if we failed her, who knows what would happen?
Or if they looked too hard at me.
Crescent’s eyes were misty, her breathing heavy, but her fist curled at my shirt. “It’s okay, Alpha,” she whispered, just for him. I could almost see the panic in her eyes at the words, though, at the suggestion she might be taken from her alphas while in heat.
“I’ve got you, Firefly,” I told her, carefully prying her from Vandle’s grip and pulling her into my arms. She latched on like a barnacle, holding me close and burying her face in the crook of my neck.
Phantom helped Vandle to his feet, but he brushed it off, hand clutching his side, hormones clearly burning back the pain.
How bad were his wounds?
I was trying not to think about it, knowing if my aura came out, we were fucked.
“Come on.” At Phantom’s prompting, Vandle took one hesitant step back. I met Karma’s eyes, then nodded to the wall.
“We’ll be out soon,” I told him.
All I had to do was survive this fucking appeal with these contact lenses in, making everyone think I was just another omega.
The uncomfortable, too-dry contacts were making it really hard. The red heat was still thumping behind my eyes, a rhythmic demand for more blood that I was struggling to drown out.
I felt like a bomb on a hair-trigger.
I gritted my teeth, pulling myself together for the omega in my arms as I stepped toward the door.
As soon as I reached it, it opened. Armed men crashed in, weapons raised, not at me, but at the tense alphas at my back.
I thought I felt Karma almost crack, then.
The man in the lab coat stepped through. He was younger than I expected. He had white hair, but like Vandle, it was because he was a seer. Mismatched eyes slid between us curiously.
He seemed to be an omega seer, not an alpha, which was good because that might have been the last straw as he examined Crescent, who was still clutching me through shivers.
“Definitely omegas,” he said, perhaps to the betas still behind the glass. “Definitely in heat. What the hell is going on down there?” he muttered, pulling out a suspicious looking injection.
“What is that?” That was Vandle’s snarl.
“We don’t have heat facilities here,” the omega said. “Put it off until we’ve figured out what’s going on.”
“She’s already in the middle of it. That’s not good for her.”
“It’s… okay…” Crescent tugged at my shirt. “I want… I want you all when everything is… is safe.”
It felt like a stone was caught in my throat.
She gripped me closer, voice a whisper. “If they wanted to hurt us, they could just… open fire.” She let out a delirious little giggle.
I did not share her heat-haze humour, though, eyeing the all too close weapons that were pointing at my alphas.
We were, and always had been, at their mercy in this place.
I didn’t trust any of them.
Even the term ‘appeal’ was a stretch. It was a plea, and they could accept or reject us, and who would know any different?
I didn’t get a chance to look over at the others before the seer had removed the cap to the vial and I winced as he slid it into Crescent’s shoulder, injecting the whole thing.
It barely took a few seconds before Crescent went limp in my arms, the waves of her heat dimming in the air, even if her breaths were still rapid.
He looked from Crescent, then up to me, eyes narrowed as he took us in. “There isn’t supposed to be an omega in Anarchy,” he said, voice curious. “Not one… but certainly not two…”
KARMA
We were led into an office that smelled like lemon polish and old fear.
It was vile.
My omegas weren’t here with us.
Leverage. To make sure we behaved…
But we would see them again—if I didn’t believe that, I would lose it, and we would be sent back down.
I paced the length of the expensive rug, my boots sinking into the fibres. Every muscle in my body was a coiled spring, vibrating and on the brink of snapping.
They weren't here.
Sin.
Crescent.
My omegas were locked in a holding cell somewhere in this stone tomb, and I was stuck here, staring at a man in a crisp suit who thought a desk could protect him from me.
“My name is George. I’m one of the facility managers,” he said, though his voice wavered when I turned my head to snarl at him. “Have a seat.”
I didn’t move. Vandle was tense by the door, a massive, silent shadow, eyes darting around the photos on the wall like one might jump out. He looked sickly, but I could feel how alert he was in the bond—pure adrenaline keeping him awake.
I know me and Phantom had tried to take it from him a few times, but Vandle was a natural pack lead when shit hit the fan. He hadn’t devolved into ferality when he was being tortured, and I’d felt the resolve, as if he knew he couldn’t leave us. His presence right now, when we were all on the brink of snapping, was something to grip onto.
Phantom leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking for all the world like he was discussing the weather and not a prison break, but I could smell the sharp tang of adrenaline on him, too.
We were all on edge.
George shrugged, though he looked a little thrown as he glanced between us. “We’re here to figure out what’s gone wrong,” he continued, adjusting his tie. “Your assessors will be briefed, but—”
“Cut the shit,” Vandle rumbled. His voice was deep enough to rattle the glass in the frames on the wall. “We aren't doing interviews. We aren't doing assessments.”
George narrowed his eyes. “You have broken a number of rules bonding an omega down in Anarchy—two, in fact. You aren’t in a position to make demands.”
I froze.
Broken rules?
“We didn't break any rules,” Vandle growled. “We didn’t send the omegas down there. We just made sure they survived.”
“It’s… impossible,” George said, but his voice wavered.
Phantom stepped forward, picking up the thread. “Do you know how many are down there—”
“Enough.” I could see the bead of sweat on George’s brow. “This… it shouldn’t have happened. And two omegas?”
I cocked my head, trying to understand his nerves.
What did it mean?
My mind was fuzzy from hormones, and the war to keep my aura in control. I couldn’t fail my pack now…
But I don’t think he was the architect. Whoever was threatened by the knowledge of the omegas down in Anarchy, it wasn’t him. If it was, we’d be sent back down—or killed.
He was… caught in the middle?
Phantom and Vandle… they’d understand.
“We’ll sort your pack out,” George went on. “I’ll ensure there’s an investigation. But I must ask that you don’t mention any of this—”
“We want immediate release,” Vandle said. “No check-ins.”
George swallowed hard. “I can try to fast track you…” He looked flustered. “And… Well, you can’t skip the check-ins… But… if we get you out—it would be best if some of the guards heard you saying these were the only two omegas down… there…” He trailed off at the sudden crackle of static in the room as we all shifted, straightening.
My blood chilled.
Most of the guards didn’t know?
That explained the panic.
Vandle pushed himself straight, hand still on his side, but eyes burning. “No fast tracking. We’re leaving today.” He snarled. “No check-ins. No nothing. You wipe us from the records—and you’re going to get me in contact with a pack—they’ll pick us up. Otherwise every guard out there will know the truth—it’s that, or you put a bullet in our skulls, but that might just look worse for you.”
There was a long, long pause as George took us in.
Then he was standing from his desk, fiddling with his phone as his eyes darted between us. All he could do was spare us a nervous nod before hurrying past, muttering about getting the arrangements together.
Phantom dropped his voice, eyes fixed on Vandle. “Who are you contacting?”
“I’ll tell you after—though it’s a long shot.” Vandle murmured, so quiet even I barely heard. “Whoever sends those omegas down there is tight-lipped—” He winced for a moment, and I noticed he adjusted his hand on his side. “But they must be important. We need to be far out of their reach by the time they figure out what just happened.”
I didn’t like being split up from my pack lead, but the urgency I felt to get back to my omegas trumped that worry when the guards came to escort us back down the hall.
I nodded to Vandle, who we left in George’s room.
The walk to the holding cells was agony. Every step away from the office felt too slow, and the sterile white halls of the administrative wing made my skin crawl. It was too clean.
Too… orderly.
I wasn’t used to it.
Tension seeped through the whole bond as we stepped down the hallway in silence but for our footfalls.
I could still smell the tang of crimson blood that was drying on our clothing.
Finally, the guards pushed the door to a white-walled cell open—it wasn’t musty or damp like the ones in Anarchy, but it still itched at my senses to see them locked up.
The scent hit me first. The thick, cloying sweetness of Crescent’s heat, if more subdued now, mixed with the metallic tang of blood.
They were seated on the far bench, Crescent’s head resting on Sin’s chest as he stroked her hair.
I was in first, and as we entered, his head snapped up. Even with the contacts, the hollowness of his gaze was raw. “Karma?”
“Is she okay?” I crossed the room in two strides, dropping to my knees in front of them. She looked like she was half asleep.
“She’s been in and out, but that’s probably for the best,” Sin said. “Where’s Vandle?”
“Getting us out of here,” Phantom said from beside me. “We just have to keep it cool.”
Crescent’s eyes snapped to me. “We’re… getting out?”
“Yes.” Phantom promised, sitting down beside her and taking her hand in his. “Just have to hold on a bit more.
Her smile was bright, if weak, and she looked misty-eyed as if the drugs had slowed her mind to a crawl. “No more cages.”
“No more cages, Little Omega.”
53
VANDLE
I’d been clear on the phone call that I was in trouble.
The problem was, my history with the outside world wasn’t only limited because I was a victim of experiments. My memory was shot for almost all of it, from the experiments to the Vaults above Anarchy.
There was only one person—or pack—I remembered from before.
And they were part of the same experiments I had been. Luckily for me, they’d escaped, and their pack had quite a bit of prestige. That was clear, because after they’d spoken to George, we were freed of having to be in a cell, given coffee and jackets, and a few wipes so we could get rid of the most obvious stains of blood.
After a while, we were all escorted to the door to wait outside—away from the howls and cell walls. A guard still waited by the gate, but he was a distance away, and though I was sure he wasn’t alone, it felt like we could run.
Like we might be free of this place.
I stared, dazed, as the wind whipped Crescent’s hair into her eyes, Karma holding her close. Sin stared blankly through the trees to where we could hear the grey, churning ocean below. Phantom was watching the gap in the forest, through which we all knew a car would come.
One to take us away from here at last.
I was the only one who hadn’t put on a jacket. I needed the cold to keep me present. I knew, without a doubt, that without adrenaline, I would collapse. So I needed the icy wind, and the occasional pressure of my palm to the wounds on my torso, to keep me alert.
We weren’t safe yet, and I wouldn’t be going anywhere until we were.
It took an age before they arrived—or it felt like it, and we all waited in tense silence the whole time. The ancient stone of Anarchy loomed behind us, a jagged tooth against the grey clouds.
I’d tried on the phone—without being explicit, since George was in the room—to communicate that time was of the essence.
Any moment now, someone higher up might find out—someone who couldn’t allow us to escape with their secrets. I kept glancing back at the heavy iron doors leading back to the huge building that had been our prison for so long, half-expecting them to burst open.
For armed guards to spill out and sweep us back in… or worse.
Finally, we heard the crunch of wheels, and I squinted down the road to see a black van headed toward us.
It didn’t look too official…
At my side, Sin straightened, and Phantom blinked, craning his neck.
“Could be them?” he asked.
I nodded. “I think so.”
“Who are they again?”
“Just uh…” I wasn’t really sure how to explain. “Only visitors I had when I was up in the vaults.”
Phantom nodded absently as if that made sense, and I didn’t expand—or mention that those visits might not have been purely for the sake of camaraderie. Or that I might have once—a very long time ago, and for reasons that had made absolute and urgent sense at the time—tried to kill their omega.
But none of the others had contacts on the outside. George had only managed to get in touch with this pack because they had name recognition.
The van pulled up before us.
I recognized Umbra, a tall, brawny alpha who was first out the door. Another alpha, with jet black hair, and piercing yellow eyes, exited from the driver’s side. To my shock, the side door opened, and the last two members of the pack spilled out. One, an alpha with long auburn hair, and the other—
What the fuck?
The Kingsman pack had brought her here?
