RAGNAR #2
I slowly lift my head. The room’s dimly lit, but I’ve got night vision. Everything’s monochrome, still I can see clearly.
There are four other cages around me. Only two are occupied.
Bodies lie motionless on the floors of both.
I know who they are instantly. I don’t even need to look closely. And I don’t even want to, because just one glance tells me they’re in bad shape.
Blood. Bruises. Scrapes. Swelling.
Sun and Summer.
Summer’s hooked up to some kind of IV.
Anger flares in my chest, but it’s not the kind that gives me power, it’s the kind that hollows me out. All it does is deepen the helplessness.
Did I fail? I did.
I sit there for a while, trying to piece together my thoughts, trying to come up with a backup plan, searching for a scenario that doesn’t end in disaster. But nothing’s coming.
Minutes pass in a strange fog. I don’t know if it’s still the sedatives wearing off, but my thoughts are like a storm of black crows circling above, aimless and loud, like something out of a bad horror movie.
My gaze flicks between Sun and Summer. They’ll probably need medical help, soon.
Then I catch it, a small movement from Sun. His fingers twitch slightly, and I dare to whisper:
"Sun?"
He turns his head toward me, his eyes barely visible under half-lowered lids. He looks half-conscious at best.
"Ragnar… finally. You’ve been out for over a day."
His voice is only a whisper, each word cracking like it hurts to say.
A whole day? That explains why my lips are so dry. I haven’t had a single drop to drink.
"What about Summer?" I mumble.
Sun closes his eyes. There’s a pause, a silence so heavy it weighs on my chest before he finally answers:
"Anzo has been dosing him with something since we got here. I don’t know what it is, some kind of drug, maybe a psychotropic, but he’s completely out of it. No response at all."
I curse under my breath.
Sun must be reading my mind, because he adds:
"I’m pretty sure Anzo suspects more than we think."
The way he says it, so quiet that it’s barely the sound of breath, makes me realize he’s worried we’re being listened to. No beta, no standard mic would pick up something this low in volume. Even most alphas would miss it.
I answer just as quietly, praying he hears me.
"Did he say something?"
"In a way. I think he’s picked up on all the little things, how Summer acts, how we react. And I think Moon might’ve told him a bit."
Unfortunately, I’m thinking the same thing. Moon, back when he was deep in his addiction, probably had moments of dangerous honesty.
As a family, we all agreed to keep Summer’s secret a long time ago, no matter what, but who knows what Moon said when he was high, or how Anzo tricked him. He might’ve been too far gone to think straight and just let something slip.
Before I can ask anything else, the door opens and here we go…
Anzo walks in.
Which means someone’s definitely been watching us. They knew I was awake.
The dim light in the room brightens.
Anzo glances at Sun like he’s checking if he’s still alive, then walks over to Summer’s cage and inspects the IV. He leaves the door open there.
After that, he slowly turns toward me.
That’s when it hits me, I’m not wearing my contacts. He’s looking into my real eyes.
There’s no doubt anymore.
He smiles.
"You three really are something. It’s amazing what can come from a union between True Mates. Scientists say these pairs tend to produce children with a higher percentage of alien DNA. So, often purple alphas or rose omegas are born. But every now and then… anomalies happen. Ever heard that term?"
Neither of us reacts. We stay completely still. I’m trying to shake off the last of whatever Anzo drugged me with, trying to get my head clear.
Anzo strolls around like he’s giving a college lecture, totally relaxed.
"You all know our species’ history. We were created by aliens after the epidemic wiped out all women. The idea was for us all to be hermaphrodites, but that didn’t exactly pan out. That’s how we ended up with the three sub-genders."
He chuckles softly to himself as he passes by my cage.
"The aliens whose DNA runs through our cells lived underwater, in the oceans of Europa, Jupiter’s moon.
No one really knows what they looked like.
They didn’t want to be photographed. Maybe they were humanoids.
Maybe they were like sea creatures, forms we can’t even picture. Jellyfish? Octopuses? Mermaids? Fish?"
Anzo walks over to Sun’s cage and studies him for a moment. His expression is totally neutral.
"One thing we do know, their society wasn’t split by gender, since they were all hermaphrodites, but by caste.
Or so the ones who met them claimed. There were common workers, drones, like bees in a hive.
But there were also magical warriors. They called them the Purple Warriors.
And even within that class, there were different ranks and types. No one knows the full breakdown."
Anzo sends me a hostile, wry smile, as if this part of his story includes me.
"Yeah, maybe even a silver variety. But there was one more caste… the rarest of aliens. They were called Sorcerers."
He slowly turns to look at Summer.
"That’s my personal theory. It’s hard to find solid proof in scientific literature, it’s more like a working hypothesis. But a lot of people seem to think it’s plausible, based on what I’ve dug up online."
While Anzo paces around, I study the metal clasps locking my limbs in place. They’re solid, sure… but the bolts fixing them to the floor of the cage look a lot thinner. Small. That might be their weak point.
"From time to time, people are born who reflect our ancestors’ DNA more closely.
That’s where purple alphas and their rose omega halves come from.
They’re like the two split parts of ancient magical warriors.
Purple alphas inherit the strength, rose omegas the magic, or both have the mix of it.
Did you know rose omegas have the same bones as purple alphas?
They’re not so easy to break. On top of it, both have some kind of specialized ability, usually combat-oriented, but not always.
It can be electricity, control over water, fire, air, all sorts of elemental stuff.
Of course, the power varies. Some are weaker, some stronger, some very subtle.
But no matter how magical, neither purple alphas nor rose omegas can match the power of the sorcerers. "
Anzo actually seems pleased to have an audience for his half-baked theories, a captiv ating one, literally.
There’s a kind of ease on his face, even a flicker of delight as he walks with his hands clasped behind his back.
Is he genuinely into this stuff? Maybe Moon sparked that interest. He used to read a lot about alien powers too.
"Sorcerers don’t look like anything special.
They can blend in with regular people. They don’t stand out like purple alphas or even rose omegas.
They look just like… like our Summer here.
" He gestures toward him. "They tend to show up more in families where the parents are True Mates. " He glances at Sun again.
"I’d wager there’s one in your family too," Anzo says, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket and flashing it in my direction.
"Your brother, Snow, right? Says you’ll be able to leave this place safely in two days. Ha. We’ll see about that. We’ll test the sorcerer’s power."
He smirks darkly.
"As you can tell, it’s all pretty damn complicated.
Hard to keep track of. But I’ve been trying for years, because I know you people are sitting on a goldmine of potential…
that could be very useful to someone like me.
My empire needs a bit of help." He spreads his arms in a mocking, helpless gesture.
I exchange a glance with Sun. Yeah. That’s what this is really about. Anzo really wants to exploit Summer’s power for whatever illegal shit he’s into.
The capo keeps going. "Moon was a rose omega. He had some small gift for glimpsing the future, but it was shaky, unstable, like he was missing a piece of the gene. He wasn’t a sorcerer, after all, so naturally his power wasn’t on that kind of epic level.
But he still had his moments. I had special stuff brought in just for him, things that helped clear up his visions a bit.
I spent the last three years coaxing valuable information out of him, bit by bit.
Getting him to map out paths that might lead to an outcome…
that would give back what was taken from me. "
His face tightens as he says it, eyes drifting up toward the ceiling for a moment. Then he looks back down.
Straight at me.
"And it turns out… dear Moon was right all along! Those years weren’t wasted. He always said, ‘The paths I show you will lead to happiness.’ I chose to believe that. But before we get there, there’s still a little more suffering ahead."
And again, the ugly smirk.
Then Anzo steps up to Sun’s cage and slams both palms hard against the bars.
The impact makes Sun’s body jolt slightly. My beautiful True Mate turns toward him, sharp and wary, like a trapped animal.
"So come on, Sun! Tell me the secret I’ve been waiting all this time to hear."
Sun scoffs weakly, still defiant. My bratty mate.
"You spent three years working on Moon and couldn’t get the secret of Summer’s power out of him? Yeah… I wouldn’t exactly call you effective."
Anzo bursts out laughing. "So you think I’m an idiot, kitten? Let me tell you something. Playing you people is like playing with toddlers. You’re clueless."
Then he glances at me, sharply, narrowing his eyes.
"Do you think I got this far by being… stupid?"
I exchange gazes with Sun, and then I reply, "Who knows? Maybe. You know what they say. Fortune favors fools."
Anzo is not bothered by my insolence. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at something on the screen.
"Check these out, and decide if fortune favored a fool this time."