Chapter 13 #2
“Just woke up and already naughty.” Oberon slid his hands beneath Fenrir’s arms and lifted him, transferring him onto the metal chair.
“Koah got this for me. Said I needed something that didn’t look like a rich prick owned it.
Called me a pathetic mafia member. Who would have thought I’d actually find use for it? ”
Did he think putting Fen on a metal chair would prevent him from freezing the place?
“Do you even realize you’re running a high fever?
” Oberon tsked him as he pulled Fenrir’s arms through the chair's backing and chained them together with thick silver cuffs.
“Sit here and cool off while we wait for you to regain control of your tongue. Then you and I are going to have a long, illuminating chat.”
The anger from before had dissipated, but the alpha was still irritated. He moved away once he was confident Fenrir was fully secured, resting back against the wall. The multi-slate it was becoming obvious the guy hated, came out of his pocket, and he didn’t bother using the earbud attachment.
The device only rang a couple of times before whoever he’d called picked up.
“Purse, I’m in the middle of something,” a female stated in a matter-of-fact tone, the sound of clicking keys accompanying her.
“I only have a few quick questions,” Oberon replied. “Surely you can spare a little bit of time, Fiora.”
Fenrir’s stomach dropped, a fresh wave of dread settling over him. Why was the alpha calling the Butcher of the White Frost?
He couldn’t mean to hand Fen over for experimentation…could he?
As hard as he tried, Fenrir couldn’t even get his fingers to twitch.
He was able to blink every so often, just enough to keep his eyes from burning, but that was all he managed.
The unsettling truth was, even if he did regain control of his limbs, in his current state, he doubted he’d be able to defend himself successfully.
Oberon King was well-trained and could undoubtedly overpower him on a good day. The only thing Fen really had going for him was his ability, and he’d exhausted that avenue to the point he wasn’t sure he’d be able to summon a single snowflake, let alone enough ice to ward off the alpha.
A calm swept through him then, seeping in through his pores, easing the terror away before it could consume him. With a frown, Fenrir stared at Oberon, realizing with a start that the alpha was releasing soothing pheromones.
Why? Was he keeping his prisoner under control?
Had sleeping together meant nothing to the alpha?
Of course not. Fenrir felt pathetic for even wondering. Oberon had won him at auction. There was nothing real or romantic between the two of them—
Romantic.
…Why did something about that particular word stand out to Fenrir? Almost as though he’d heard it recently.
“You have two minutes,” Fiora said, “and only because you introduced my sister to her future husband at the White Hunt.”
“Poor guy,” Oberon drawled.
“I’m hanging up.”
“I’m joking. I’m joking.”
“You’re down to sixty seconds, Purse.”
“I need a list of all known species that can control the elements and are genetically compatible with our kind,” Oberon told her in a rush. “If you could message me—”
“No need,” she interrupted. “It’s a short list. That type of power has mostly died off or phased out through evolution as societies advanced. On their own, there weren’t many to begin with, but when you factor in that you’re looking for species that can procreate with us, things dwindle further.”
“Tell me.” Oberon stared at Fenrir.
“The Ilnac. The Blithe. Setoris. Some Connects. Shouts—”
“Stop.” The alpha’s eyes flashed triumphantly. “That one. That’s the one.”
Had he noted something on Fenrir’s face? How?
“You’re trying to bag a Shout? That’s ill-advised.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Shouts are considered a dominant species originating from a planet called Ignite. In their prime, their setup was similar to ours. A strong Shout fought others for the chance to mate with a Whisper—sort of like their version of an omega, to put it in layman’s terms. The blood of a Whisper could supposedly boost a Shout’s power, especially if a bond was created between them. ”
“Bond?”
“Exactly like ours,” Fiora explained. “The Shout bit the Whisper during copulation, tying their energy patterns together. Unlike with us, they could apparently feel this connection on some level, and the bite had to be accepted.”
“Sounds like what happens between Connects,” Oberon surmised.
“You know about Connects?” she hummed, clearly impressed and completely forgetting about the original timeline she’d given him now that the topic interested her.
“You aren’t incorrect. We have pheromones, whereas species like the Connect and the Shouts/Whispers function through energy control.
The bond between my omega and me is very real, but I can’t physically feel it as a separate entity or rope linking us together.
Shouts and Connects can, and describe it as an awareness of a sudden pull securing them to another lifeforce or source of energy. ”
Oberon tipped his head, but Fenrir could no longer place his expression.
He didn’t understand why they were discussing this so thoroughly. He also couldn’t figure out how Oberon had known he was a Shout. Fen couldn’t move a single muscle; there was no way he’d given himself away.
“You don’t have an omega, Fiora,” Oberon drawled.
“It was an example.”
“Okay, but I’m still failing to see where the warning was necessary.”
“Energy control isn’t like pheromone control,” she said. “In theory, yes, a Shout could mate with an omega, however—”
“What about an alpha?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking if a Shout could mate with an alpha.”
There was a pause while she seriously considered, and then, “A female Shout could potentially procreate with a male alpha.”
“What about a male Shout?”
“Male Shouts are like male alphas. They lack the proper equipment, so to speak.”
“That means his parents had to have had Shout lineage somewhere in their line, mixed that with ours, and now there’s a Shout/omega hybrid in the universe?”
“It’s highly unlikely any Shout would be born an omega, Purse. I told you, they’re the dominant of their kind. A Shout would be born an alpha, while a Whisper might be born an omega. To be honest, in regard to the latter, I don’t see why a Whisper couldn’t also be born alpha.”
“So it’s just Shouts that are boxed in.”
“That is correct.”
“Is this all in theory?”
“No, I’m confident in my assessment,” she replied. “The main point is any child born of our two species would struggle with self-control. They’d need rigorous training to learn how to balance their internal energy and practice how to do so alongside regulating their pheromones.”
“And if an alpha Shout was turned omega?”
There was another moment of silence, and when Fiora spoke again, there was an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before. “Are you telling me someone used an illegal substance like Rebirth to forcibly alter the presentation of an alpha-Shout hybrid, Oberon?”
Fenrir felt his eye twitch, but if Oberon noticed, he didn’t let on.
Though how he could miss it while staring so intensely at Fen was beyond him.
“If I am?” the alpha asked.
“I’d say that’s even more of a reason to stay away from them,” Fiora answered. “Rebirth hasn’t even been around for a full decade yet. There’s not nearly enough data for me to pull to give you satisfactory hypotheses on the matter. Depending on their ability—”
“Snow,” Oberon cut in, then pursed his lips and reconsidered. “Or ice, maybe.”
“Cryokinesis. What you’re insinuating is that you have an extremely dangerous person on your hands. If this is more than hyperbole, the Leviathan should be informed immediately.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Oberon. Cryokinesis is one of the two most powerful Shout abilities documented. This person can alter the kinetic energy of atoms in the air and—”
“That isn’t pertinent. Go back to explaining the part about energy. If a person like this did exist, and they’d successfully learned control over their Shout abilities and their pheromones, but then had their—”
“Genetic makeup completely fucked and rearranged?” Fiora huffed. “It would take years for this person to regain sanity, meaning whoever forced this experimentation would most likely call off the project and exterminate the test subject. If they didn’t, it can only mean one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Their end goal was to create a weapon. If they didn’t kill this person, that insinuates whoever is responsible found a way to control them.”
“Any ideas how?”
“Considering where we are currently and the line of questioning, I think it’s safe to assume we’re talking about illegal experimentation conducted by the Wardrobe.
If that’s the case, then the logical answer is their mistress, who is a dominant alpha, used her pheromones in contained and continued doses to condition and tame the subject. ”
Oberon’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying she manipulated him through pheromone exchange?”
“Rebirth has never resulted in a dominant omega, meaning anyone who’d been altered with it would be at a disadvantage against her pheromones.
If she strategically used this, forcing him to take them in whenever his energy and pheromones both fluctuated, she could train his subconscious into associating her presence with safety. If she claimed him, she could—”
“She didn’t. He doesn’t have the bite.”
“You’re positive?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then either she was overly confident in her pheromones or…She planned on using him to form an alliance.”
“As in, she planned on marrying him off to the highest bidder?” A threatening rumble released from Oberon’s chest.
“Think about it. You and I are both fascinated with curiosities. What’s more interesting than a hybrid who can control the weather and be made beholden to their alpha?
Michelle could use her success with her pheromones to prove it can be done.
A transfer would then be made as soon as a true bond was formed through the bite.
It’s an enticing offer. If this bidder was lucky, she’d warn him beforehand. ”
“Warn him?”
“About the energy? Didn’t I make that clear?”
“No.” Oberon frowned.
“Giving a Shout turned omega a mating bite would send his system back into fluctuation, or influx, as it’s called. Basically, his energy and pheromone levels would rise to dangerous levels. I can’t say for certain he’d be returned to the same frenzied state as when he was freshly altered, however—”
“Are you suggesting it could make him lose his mind?”
“I’m telling you that not only will that happen, but he’ll also turn into a ticking time bomb that automatically resets itself to explode. They’d need careful care and serious regulating otherwise—”
“Hold on. Species with heightened energy tend to burn through chemical compounds at a faster rate, don’t they?” Oberon’s look turned suspicious, and he silently tried to question Fenrir.
Fen felt the change almost immediately.
Fiora didn’t get the chance to answer.
Energy swelled and burst, the chains instantly freezing and shattering. His body unlocked and with one hard shove, Fenrir leapt for the alpha.