A knock came to the door. One of his lieutenants entered to hand him something far more disturbing than anything else he had faced in the last grueling twenty-four hours.
Shepherd held a wretched piece of paper in his hand, unable to look away.
Even with the consuming sadness of Claire's expression, even with the arrogant tilt of her chin and judgment in her eyes, she was beautiful. But it was the marks on her neck, the split lip… wounds created when Svana had forced Claire to spread, that held Shepherd's attention.
Look at me. I am what you have done to yourselves.
"Sir," the Follower began, "these are blowing all over Thólos. Reports say they were discovered scattered at six locations so far. They have already been seen by the citizens lining up for rations."
Shepherd's unresolved anger, the long hours of poisonous rage, vanished at the realization of what her actions could mean. His silver eyes darted all over the page, absorbed every curve of a body that was only for his eyes… read her words… and could not look away from the complicated pain.
He wanted nothing more in the world than to hold her, to touch that naked skin, to do anything necessary to remove that expression from her face.
I was pair-bonded to Shepherd against my will. I carry his child.
Her message to the world, the exposed expression of her spirit—it was the final rebellion. Death was coming for her, and she was going to feed herself to the city in an attempt to show them all the truth of what they had become. The foolish, brave little Omega.
Do not make me stand alone.
There would be no sanctuary for Claire after this. She would not live long enough to know the pain of Red Consumption. Thólos would slaughter her; rip her apart like dogs fighting over a bone if he did not get to her first.
Knowing the Beta Corday had been with Svana and under surveillance all evening meant the man could not have known the Omega had done this. If the Enforcer did care for her, even a little, he too would know exactly what that flyer meant. Banking that once Corday saw the image he would impulsively run straight to Claire, Shepherd grabbed his coat and organized a team to make sure the Beta stumbled on that very flyer the second he stepped out his door.
The hulk addressed his soldiers, resolute and indomitable, with a mind as still as a frozen river. "A team must keep visual contact on Svana. Should she attempt to interfere or leave the Enforcer's domicile, I authorize interception and detainment."
"Yes, sir."
Not one man questioned him.How could one female cause such havoc? Corday was furious, looking down with a scowl at the suggestive image. At first he saw only rubbish on the ground; most of it wet from the sludge, and then he saw familiar eyes.
Naked, she looked out at him from the page, marred and damaged, but so fucking proud. Then there was her message… her goddamn message! What the hell was she thinking?
As he made his way to her, Corday passed people on the street who had their own copy, whispering the name 'Claire' amongst themselves.
Corday moved as cautiously as he could through the city until the mid-level byways spread out before him. The flyer crushed in his hand, past pissed off, he found the Processing Plant shut up, desolate and lifeless, just as the Omegas intended it to look. But a careful eye could see the sentry with one of the Omegas' acquired automatic rifles guarding from the chute hatch. The way was opened for him and he went inside, barreling through the space to find Claire and shake some sense into her.
"Corday has made contact with the Omegas. No visual on O'Donnell."
Shepherd and a team of twenty had already surrounded the clever home Claire had found for her pack. There was little view within. Even so, from Shepherd's invisible perch on the building opposite, he and Jules could see the females mulling about in the dim space… but just like the Beta Enforcer scanning the room, they saw no sign of Claire's raven hair amongst the herd.Chapter 7Nona had been expecting the young Enforcer, and walked forward to greet him. "When you did not return I was worried you'd been killed. Claire assured me you were not—said she could feel you still lived."
There had been no chance to sneak off with Leslie demanding so much of his time. Three days he'd worked on translating the Followers' written language. Every hour they learned more, but at the cost of time he needed to be with Claire. Had he been here, he could have stopped Claire's lunacy. "Do you know what she did?"
Nodding, Nona gave a tired smile. "I do."
Corday held up the crumpled flyer. "How could you allow it, Nona?"