Vash got stuck on the hard blame. He had failed them. As a leader. As a brother. As a pack alpha. Those years in the prisons… things happened. He was beat, but not just busted up. They’d really broken him, as if they were trying to mold him like clay. They weren’t human. They were something else entirely. And worst of all, that’s exactly what he’d expected. So now, he’d sit and wipe the sweat off his face and smile, yes, smile because he got to have her.
Every now and then, Lucas would shoot him a worried glance, but he’d always straighten out his face and wink. Killian was on his own journey now. The pack… well, for some time, they had split. He knew he’d be forced to bear the brunt of his actions. He was the one who’d found her, brought her to them, and he’d be the first to lay down his life for the bitch who stowed the children he was forced to give up, yet again. It was her wishes, this time, and he would obey.
Collapsing, he muttered, “We created a power vacuum. How could we have been so stupid…”
He tried not to react with too much wistfulness, but damn was the sour strong, and damn were his eyelids weak. And fuck the dirt that life was made from, and pity the ones who held themselves back. Some things hurt. Life hurt. But he was built to last, and he’d do so until he was forced under.
The three alphas huddled together, crouching their bodies near the capsule. As far as they were concerned, the world was ready to go up in flames, but the pod stopped humming with uncontrollable power. Slowly, the light from within dimmed to a glowing orb near to the center of Rae’s chest. Was it possible the bomb had been shut down?
Killian grinned. “Fuck it all.”
But the physical chaos did not end, and the world above their heads rocked with what sounded like airstrikes and demolition blasts. A populist coup, perhaps. Or, maybe the war commanders had gotten their shit together enough to hold the cities. But most importantly, the militarized zones spread throughout the globe were probably under siege. Those weren’t too difficult to destabilize.
Either way, it must have been chaos up above. Severin helped design this end. After all, the new way wasn’t a world for men. It was a world of worship, a world of false fantasies and ideals. But what about the citizens and soldiers who expressed their loyalty to the New Republic? They were fighting against an unknown enemy.
As the structure crumbled, the space gave way to more intruders. Soldiers descended from above. The men and women who raided the city of Dagon years ago... They were instantly recognizable with their cybernetic eyepieces and immaculate leather outfits. Where were the soldiers when they ransacked the marble towers? The New Republic had always been weak, but their army was pathetically devoted to people who had forgotten about them and led them astray.
Even now, the crowd was sparser than usual. Where there should have been a strong groundswell, there were ragged packs barely able to follow orders. They were like lost puppies, only far less cute.
“Brace for some more bullshit,” Lucas muttered.
Their formation, at the very least, was prolifically organized when need be, and their aim was as any might expect. The red crosshairs from their arsenal aligned over the center of the alphas’ foreheads. It served as more of an annoyance than anything.
“Stand down.”
The voice was weak. The tone thrashed with emotion like a tumultuous wave, and it was quite clear that the speaker had been weeping. The voice came from a woman, a weak omega. It came from Ruby.
With her call, the guards parted. Heavy metal and straps of powerful ammo hugged their armored chests and shoulders. Spikes around the soldiers with the highest kill counts from the “old days.” The raid of Dagon. It was their one big accomplishment that time had already begun to write over.
Forcing her hand forward, she revealed Noah and the clone. Harsh cries from the children rang out as two soldiers brought forward the small bedding. “You can’t do this!” Noah screamed, but Ruby forced the butt of her gun against his head, slamming him to the floor. The clone stayed silent.
Sweat ran down Ruby’s forehead. “Anyone else?” Ruby asked, eyes scouring the room for the next one to harass.
With the power of the freshly gathered state armies on their side, they looked at Rae’s sleep state with hesitance. The sight of the submerged omega so tenderly inhabited by cables, tubes, and wiring… it didn’t sit right, especially after her face had been broadcast around the world for everyone to see. A few soldiers quivered.
Lucas stood, palms facing outward as if he had nothing to reveal. The lord knew he had more to reveal than most, for when he smiled, it surely meant the opposite. “How’s about we add to your kill list, honey. You ready? I’m inclined to tear you to pieces.”
“Convicts.” She trembled. “Lay down your arms.”
Chuckling he raised his fingers to comb through his hair, but stopped. Instead, he stared at her as if she were the most confusing specimen on the face of the planet. Still, he hoisted the rifle from his shoulder and tossed it to the side without any grace. “What else could you possibly want from us? The world is over. Didn’t you get the memo?”
Ruby opened fire near Lucas’ feet, forcing him back toward Rae’s capsule. Close to silent, she could have sworn he heard her heartbeat, and possibly the sound of a woodwind instrument, ancient and rotten in tone, as if the cruelest forces the universe had to offer played it, forces they had no idea existed.
Vash jerked his wrist and caught the cuffs against the metal railing. “You cunt! We let you survive.”
Ruby marched forward, but as soon as her eyes truly focused on Rae’s body, she fell in seething torment, growling from the center of her heart. Although it didn’t seem forced, there wasn’t a soul on the planet who should have had empathy for her pain. She had broken the bonds of family, and that went against everything an alpha stood for. Still, they allowed for her words because the time was falling into the arms of the creator. Soon, nothing would exist but darkness.
“I learned everything there was about despair while coiled in their arms. As they took me, night after night after fucking night, I fell deeper and deeper into a pit of darkness,” she said. “Alphas, hungry beasts, and vile agitators. I was so young, and I took it all in stride. With each thrust, I bowed my head and waited for her to find me, my sister, the woman who was worshipped and adored by our creator. As the last glimmer of light before my formative years of youth dimmed, she never came. I promised I would find a way out, and I vowed for my own revenge.”
At last, she found the right words to say. It was enough to force the alphas to subdue their anger. Slowly, she unclasped her helmet. The solid locks released from around the oddly thin neck. Beads of sweat rolled down from her temples, and she threw the last of her armor down.
“Rae,” she muttered, forcing her way through to get to her sleeping chamber. “What have they done to us, sister?”
Ruby’s life culminated at this moment. Her rule was at stake, and though she knew it was the end, she had one last chance to stop it from crumbling around her.
“I should have known I’d find you here,” Ruby said. “Should have known Severin would use us both. I spent a lifetime with that man, and though I didn’t trust him, I thought he’d finally leave me be.”
Tears scorched the white of her eyes until, finally, the salty liquid rolled down her cheeks like innocent streams from the peaceful world of the past. Grappling with the fact she would not get the chance to see her sister in her rightful state, she clenched her fists and turned toward Killian. “You… what you told me back in my chambers… tell me more about this hope,” she whispered.