Chapter 6
Blood coats the inside of my mouth, my teeth clenched hard enough to pierce my cheek as I watch Marcus’ men drag my Omega away. Every instinct in my body riots, demanding I break free from this cage and tear them apart before they can lay their hands on her.
But there isn’t anything I can do to save her.
I’ve tried to escape. To break the door open or strain the joints of the cage to their breaking point, but being underfed and injured, I don’t have the strength to accomplish more than surviving.
Minutes. That’s how long I’ve known my Omega, and already I am failing her.
Pain pierces my ankle, sharp and stabbing, as the sounds of her fighting carry back into the room. A small spark of pride swells in my chest knowing she isn’t going to let them take her easily, though it diminishes quickly when I remember what they are going to do in retaliation.
Seconds feel like hours as I brace myself to feel all of her torment. I will memorize every second of her agony, and when I find a way out of this cage, I will destroy every single jackass who dares to put a hand on her.
My breath catches, bile rising in my throat when her pain starts. What the fuck is happening in there? Did they fucking stab her ?!
“Creed?”
Shit. I hold my breath, closing my eyes and focusing on slow, shallow breaths. Marcus and his men cannot realize I am connected to the pretty Omega with the stunning blue eyes. What they are doing to her now will be nothing compared to what he will subject her to if he finds out.
A deluge of pain batters against my soul, piercing to the deepest parts of me and trying to lure my Alpha to the surface. When my head gets light from the sheer overwhelming amount of agony, I lean against the bars at the back of the cage and allow unconsciousness to claim me.
Whatever they are doing to her, I don’t think it’s the same thing the other Omegas experienced here. This is much, much worse.
Something jabs me in the side, startling me awake. The Omega in the cell next to mine, Lia, tilts her head toward the door where two men drag my clearly unconscious mate into the room. Lingering remnants of her distress fill the air, tainted by the metallic scent of blood.
The already quiet room seems to freeze, all eyes glued to her as they drop her roughly into her cage.
Horror clogs my throat when Lia leans back, giving me an unhindered view of my mate. Wounds cover her body, hastily stitched incisions that remain uncovered and at risk of infection.
“Creed…” Lia says, barely a whisper in the room’s silence. “That’s… They took her scent glands, didn’t they?” Her voice shakes, betraying the fear I can feel rippling through the cages as we all realize what fresh hell we’ve found ourselves in.
I focus on my mate’s face, too afraid I will lose control if I search her naked form and find other wounds beyond those on her neck and wrist. A voice niggles at the back of my mind, drowned out by the anger and grief threatening my barely maintained self-control.
When the door creaks open again, Lia shifts forward, blocking my view and pulling my attention away from my mate.
Silently thanking her for stepping in to help hide my Fated connection, I watch with narrowed eyes as they pull a terrified Omega from a cage on the opposite side of the room. Her sobs echo down the hall as they drag her out of the room.
Swallowing against the bile threatening to spill from my lips, I try to focus on what my instincts are telling me. Aside from the innate need to protect my mate, there is something I am missing. Why would Marcus and his men take an Omega’s scent glands? They don’t have any use outside of-
Motherfucker! Rage races through my veins as I put the pieces together.
Doctor Harrison, the scientist behind the Montgomery cult in New Hampshire, was illegally harvesting scent glands and using them to create a weaponized anti-bark drug.
When the cult was raided by a joint FCDA and DAU task force, the Doctor escaped.
Lex and his roommate Ridley have been assisting with tracking him down, but their efforts have been largely unsuccessful.
Because that madman is here . Hiding behind the breeding ring and using the people they’ve abducted to restart his drug experiments.
I really need to get out of here and contact Porter. The FCDA should have sent someone to check on me after they benched me during the raid in Alabama. The investigation into my disappearance should already be underway, and my relation to Marcus should lead them here.
If my boss at the FCDA has realized I’m missing. If he hasn’t… we’re doomed.
“What are we going to do?” Lia asks. My eyes crack open, and I see her hugging her arms tighter around herself, staring vacantly at the empty doorway.
I get it. The Doctor’s arrival changes everything. What was already a dangerous situation has now gone nuclear.
“I don’t know,” I admit with a barely audible sigh.
My eyes flicker to my unconscious mate, still blood-covered and sprawled in her cage.
Whatever it takes, I’m going to get us out of here.
They won’t touch her again. Even if I have to lose myself to an Alpha rage and hurt every innocent person in this room.
The doors open, but it isn’t the Omega returning to her cage. Marcus leans against the frame while several of his men amble in and leer through the cages. “Oh, big brother, you look like shit.”
Narrowing a hard look his way, I remain silent. He wants my reaction, my pleading, more than anything. His smile slips a fraction, but quickly stretches into a smirk. “Looks like there’s still some fire in you. I’ll have to work harder to extinguish it.”
With a nod, several of his men surround my cage and force me out.
I keep my eyes trained on Marcus, hoping he isn’t cruel enough to force an unconscious Omega into his rape chamber.
When they pull one of the newer Omegas from across the room, my heart ceases its frantic racing, returning to a slower rhythm.
Snarling, I jerk against their hold as they drag me out of the room, keeping up my defiant act long enough to get into the room and hear the lock click behind me. Two haggard, lifeless Alphas join me, standing and staring at nothing.
This place fucks with your head, tearing apart all the pieces of you that are good, and slowly rots them until the unredeemable acts you’re forced to commit are the only thing left.
The tenacity trained into my soul by the military and FCDA is the only thing that has saved me from the same hopeless Fate.
A second door opens, and they shove the Omega inside.
Her strawberry scent is cloying, but the notes of forced heat still have my cock hardening.
It’s in an Alpha’s biological nature to react to an Omega in heat.
Our bodies are built to cater to their need to breed, regardless of whether we are willing.
Growls fill the room as her pheromones hit the other Alphas, awakening their baser selves and forcing their instincts to take control. I can feel the same fog threatening to pull me under, but I fight against it. Digging my nails into my palm, I center myself with the small bite of pain.
One shallow breath, then two. As my resolve strengthens, I step between the two of them and the Omega.
Their growls take a vicious turn, rattling louder.
The first lunges toward me, but he’s weak and off balance, so I sidestep and twist, sending him careening into the wall.
He falls to the floor with a loud thud , unconscious and no longer a threat.
The second Alpha hasn’t been in the cages as long, so he still has strength left. I widen my stance when he moves in an arc, eyes narrowed and flitting between me and the Omega whimpering behind me.
His jaw clenches, and he dives forward, swinging wildly.
One hit catches my broken ribs, sending a wave of agony through my midsection, but I bite back the pain and catch his other fist in my grip.
Twisting his arm behind his back, I slam him face down on the hard floor.
He struggles, kicking and fighting against me as I wrap my arm around his throat, cutting off his oxygen.
Later, when the fake heat perfume isn’t influencing him, he will be grateful for my intervention.
When he falls limp, eyes rolling back into his head, I gently lay him down and climb to my feet. My body aches with pain, old and new. It’s time to find a way out of this hellhole.
Closing my eyes, I block out the Omega’s soft noises of distress and run back through everything I’ve noticed during my captivity. The cages are too sturdy to break through, so whatever plan I come up with has to be executed when I’m outside of it.
“Thank you.”
Glancing at the teary-eyed Omega still huddled in the corner, an idea forms in my mind. It’s dangerous, not just for me, but for her, too. Can I live with putting her at risk if it means saving my Omega?
Clenching my jaw, I nod and cross my arms over my chest. Normally, when I am locked in here, I hide in a corner and jerk off, giving them my cum to coat the inside of their thighs to make it look as though their attempts to force us to breed were successful, but this time I just wait.
Not only will my instincts not allow me to consider offering this Omega something that belongs to my mate, but I need Marcus to know I’ve been faking the breedings the entire time I’ve been here. I need him to snap and try something reckless to hurt me.
When the door opens an hour later, I glare at the assholes waiting to take us back to the cages. They immediately notice the difference between the scene before them and what they usually find, their eyes widening in shock. One of them turns on his heel and darts down the hall.
Two guards with cattle prods back me against the wall, sneering but much more cautious than they previously had been.
The rest of the group picks up the unconscious Alphas and drags them back to their cages.
I narrow a hard look at the asshole who grabs the Omega, his grip hard enough to make her yelp in pain.
This asshole can’t even meet my eyes. Apparently, my Fate-matched mate’s nearness is exactly what I needed to beat whatever drug they keep pumping into the cage room to weaken our Alpha presences.
“You’ve been playing me, big brother,” Marcus growls from the doorway. Hatred fills his eyes, but he refuses to step fully into the room.
Be afraid, dickhead. Soon, I’m going to be exacting revenge for every single captive in the other room. He’ll be lucky if he survives the hell I plan to unleash on him.
“Why reveal your cards now?”
“Partnering with Harrison is going too far.”
Several of his men glance at Marcus when I mention the Doctor’s name, but my half-brother doesn’t react. He knew I would recognize that madman’s work. There isn’t a single federal agent in the field who isn’t up to date on Harrison’s wanted status.
“So, what? You think refusing to take part in the breedings will get us to stop his operations?” Marcus shifts, leaning against the wall. His lips stretch into a smirk that immediately puts me on guard. “Or is it someone who has triggered your newfound bravery?”
Biting my tongue, I meet his stare with a blank face. No way in hell will I be revealing my connection to the pretty new Omega.
“If he’s strong enough to withstand the drugs we’ve been using, we should give him to the Doctor. He’s ready to harvest Alphas,” one man suggests, eyeing me warily.
“No, Harrison can have his pick from the others. I have a better plan for my dear big brother. Dose him with Morph and throw him in the pit.” Marcus shifts his attention to me, his smile growing manic as he steps back into the hallway.
“Let’s see if you can protect our broken new toy when you’re forced into a real rut. ”
The guards jump into action, using their weapons to knock me out. I fight back, slamming my fist into a few jaws and noses, but it’s pointless when I’m so outnumbered. All I can do now is hope I’m making the right call.