I thought of the small group of women who had broken into the airborne suppressant building with me. They’d be best to start with and they were some of the strongest women I’d ever met. They’d show Damiyen what we were made of. He smiled back at me, his eyes analyzing me once more. It almost felt like he could reach into my soul and I didn’t like it. I came up with some sort of excuse to escape back into my office and he let me go, but I could feel his gaze on my back.
I shivered.
For the rest of the day, I busied myself by Ethan’s side. A few doctors had arrived and were treating many of the omegas for malnutrition and sickness and he and I worked together to distribute much needed medication and vitamins. Being around Ethan was comforting. His demeanor was strong, confident, and very protective. I watched out of the side of my eye the look on his face as he took in the wretched conditions of many of the women who lived here in the sanctuary and I saw how hard he tried to contain his fury.
It soon became very clear that he hated what was done to us, that he abhorred that we were kept here, living in squalor instead of living freely outside the city walls.
I felt his eyes on me sometimes, the protective growl if someone came to close to me, or the soft smile he gave me when he’d realized I’d noticed. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I felt comfortable with him.
Toward the end of the day, the line slowed as the omegas and the doctors went to dinner. Viktor and Alaric appeared with a bottle of whiskey, offering Ethan and me a shot.
“Where have you two been all day?” I began, taking a swig of the fiery liquid and gasping as it burned down my throat.
“Just sneaking in some more guns in through the tunnels,” Alaric answered nonchalantly. “It’s kind of a thrill knowing the guards are just feet above your head sometimes. I wish the rock wasn’t so thick so I could just shoot them through it.”
I smirked. The more I was around Alaric, the more I came to realize that he was clearly an adrenaline junkie.
Viktor huffed. He remained quiet and stoic, a mysterious package of a man. The dark tattoo around his eyes gave him a shadowy expression, which unnerved me just a little.
It was strange being around three alphas, especially ones as large as these men. In a bizarre, unexpected way, it was actually comforting. The four of us descended into the pit, where there were still a few omegas cooking in their stalls. With the increased food over the past few days, more and more women were returning to sell their wares in the underground, and it was feeling more like the old days.
Only now, there were three men by my side. Once entirely a world of women, it felt different down here in the underground with them. They were here out of necessity though. I realized that now.
We’d never break free without them.
Even now, the women in the pit already looked healthier, less gaunt and pale than they had in the past few weeks. They were smiling once again, and it was heartwarming to witness. I watched the alphas carefully though, still protective of the women under my care and I was overjoyed to see that the three of them never gawked at any of the omegas. Their demeanor was completely different from the guards and that made everyone who saw them infinitely more comfortable.
That, combined with an increasing number of sips of whiskey, finally forced me to relax. I asked the men about their experiences outside the wall and they regaled me with stories of ferocious beasts that breathed fire, giant birds that flew through the air, massive elephants and wild cats with pointed teeth as long as swords. I listened to them in disbelief the whole time.
“I’ve wanted to see such things since I was a little girl,” I admitted, my tongue loosened with the tingly sensation of alcohol.
“I’ll make sure you see them some day,” Ethan murmured, his small grin pulling up the right side of his lips. I smiled in return.
“Do you really think we can defeat them all? All those betas?” I whispered.
“They won’t know what’s coming for them,” Viktor scoffed, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the assured look on their faces. The three of them remained confident and that pulled me out of my moment of weakness.
Alaric remained aloof, just gazing over at me with a silly smirk.
“Don’t worry, omega. I live for battle. The betas haven’t seen anything like me,” he said, his cockiness obvious.
“The betas don’t have me either,” a gravelly voice said behind me. I turned, only to find Damiyen standing there, his hands clasped behind his back.
I took another shot of whiskey then.
* * *
The next morning, thefour men and I met and prepared to journey to the underground training center that Damiyen had readied for all of us. A small group of omegas gathered and followed us to the armory. I took a tranquilizer gun, as well as a number of other weapons to practice with. After a short amount of time, we headed out into the tunnels, following the men in silence.
After the massive influx of omegas into the sanctuary, there wasn’t enough work for all of us, so I just had to fill the seats in the factory, and no one would notice their absence. After mandatory counts in the morning, the only way someone noticed you were missing was if no one showed up to work in your place. I’d ensured that a number of omegas would work in the factory for them, so that they could train with me, the alphas, and Damiyen.
We headed deep underground, far deeper than I had ever ventured. After about forty-five minutes, we reached a massive cavern that appeared to be set up like a sort of indoor gun range. At one end, was a platform with a number of spaces where the omegas could stand and aim their fire toward the other side, where there was a massive pile of what appeared to be Styrofoam pellets or something to absorb the impact from the manufactured bullets we’d be practicing with.
Once we began to set up, Damiyen took over pretty quickly without even giving me the chance to lead. After that, I mostly ignored him. I knew how to put together and take apart a gun and I knew how to aim and shoot, especially with a dart gun. The other omegas gathered around him, but I went off on my own. I felt the alphas watching me, but I didn’t respond.
To be honest, I didn’t really feel like talking. My head was pounding and I was thirsty. For the first time in my life, I finally understood what it meant to be hungover and it was total shit. I groaned, tried to focus on the target hanging high on the other side of the cavern and squeezed the trigger. The gun had some sort of high-tech silencer on it that completely absorbed all semblance of sound, but the kickback hurt my shoulder enough to cause me to take a step back.
I’d missed the target entirely.