I hated it.
I had expected the bond between me and my alphas to fade faster, but it hadn’t. In fact, the longer we were apart, the more it hurt. It was like someone was digging into my chest with a jagged edge and slowly pulling my heart out, fiber by excruciating fiber. Everything had started to hurt. Every muscle felt weary and a crushing sadness had begun to emerge from deep in my soul.
As the minutes passed, it began to feel worse. I turned my focus back to the square then. The bond hurt a little less when I didn’t think about it.
The count continued below in the square as each woman was scanned in by her fingerprint. The mistreatment and abuse continued, but I forced myself to watch it all. The more I watched, the more furious I became.
The omegas were never going to be free. Even if they were genetically modified to beta status, they’d still remain here for study purposes. I knew that. The genetic divide within the city would never allow them to take their rightful place beside those who had been born as betas. Additionally, the city would want to ensure there was no chance of a reversion back to their omega foundations since this genetic modification development was so new and not fully understood. Even if the omegas were ever allowed back into the city, men and women alike held certain stigmas. These women would never be equal to the ones outside the sanctuary. They’d always be looked down on and judged for what they were born as: omegas.
The city was at fault. They’d let this place deteriorate into its current awful state. They allowed this terrible treatment of the omegas here, women who I was quickly considering my friends. They’d also been the ones who had decided to turn me into a science experiment, without my knowledge or consent.
I snarled, the sound as low and terrifying as an alpha’s would be. My bond pulsed, my alphas feeling my fury and responding in kind. I knew then that they’d come for me. They’d always come for me and I would find them.
But I had a mission to complete first.
Tonight, I was going to accompany Nikki on her quest to free the omegas. I was going to show her exactly what to do in order to hijack the city’s airborne suppressant system and we were going to show the city what omegas were made of. I was going to help Nikki, Ellie, and the rest of the imprisoned omegas of the sanctuary to escape into the wilds.
I was going to help save them all.
* * *
Ellie returned aboutan hour later. The redness from the guard’s slaps had started to darken considerably, a deep bruise already emerging beneath her pale skin. With a sad shake of my head, I went to her freezer and gathered some ice with a towel.
“Here, put this against your face and hold it there. It’ll help with the swelling,” I whispered, and she nodded as she took it from my hands, her eyes still damp with tears.
“Is it always like that?” I asked.
“Every day. We have to attend a mandatory count each morning. Today wasn’t that bad because we didn’t have to stay to see anyone beaten on the whipping pole,” she answered, her voice shaking with emotion.
“Do the guards stick around after counts?”
“No. Not usually. After counts, they go back to the wall. Then they get drunk and piss off the walls into the sanctuary, yelling about everything they want to do to us,” she answered.
“Gross. They really do that?”
She just nodded, shifting the ice so that it lay flat against her cheek. She dropped her eyes and looked about ready to cry again, so I decided to change the subject. I’d seen more than enough that morning to make my choice about helping the women of the Omegaborn, but I knew Ellie’s role was to show me even more.
“Do you work here? How do they have you pay for things?” I asked.
“There’s a few factories that most of us work in. Only a handful work in the market, where we can buy more regulation clothing, food, and other things to get by. I’ll show you those today,” she answered.
“What kind of factories?”
“Sewing mostly. We cut and sew luxury clothing for those on the outside. That’s where Gemma got the cotton bra. She made an extra with fabric scraps for herself. It’s also where a lot of the Omegaborn make their combat gear,” she replied with soft smile. “Nikki herself made the leather vest and black pants you were wearing last night. I’ve made lab coats for some of the other scientists that worked to develop the anti-suppressant down here.”
“Resourceful little omegas you are,” I said, and her smile grew.
“Yeah. I guess we are,” she replied, her grin lighting up her face.
We chatted for a while longer until her ice melted, talking about our pasts and where we both came from. The more time I spent with her, the more I came to adore her sweet nature and the more I needed to ensure that she get out of this terrible place. She deserved so much more than this.
“How does your cheek feel?” I asked, taking the towel from her and laying it flat on the table to dry. I leaned in toward her face and saw that it looked like the swelling had gone down quite a bit, which I was happy to see.
“Better. Thank you,” she said, smiling kindly in return.
“Let’s go explore the sanctuary, then. Show me your home. I want to see more of it,” I suggested, beaming. She nodded, grabbing the headscarf we’d taken to cover my hair. Ellie helped me put it on and secured it carefully with a pin. When she was finished, she stepped back and looked me up and down, ensuring that I would fit in when we ventured outside.
“You look just like an omega sanctuary prisoner. Lucky for you, we don’t have to work today. It’s our one day off,” she said with a wink. “Come on. Let’s go.”