Chapter 14 Daxen #2
He recites the words in a bored tone, like he’s heard them so many times they mean nothing to him now.
“Who is the gate? The Omega?” Vae leans over and places his ear closer to the girl’s mouth, listening intently.
The Omega starts thrashing on the bed, startling Vae enough that he jumps back. Her eyes are closed tight, her teeth are clenched, and her lips are pulled back in a snarl. Veins stand out on her neck and forehead, and she’s fisting the sheets in white-knuckled hands, her body arching off the bed.
An Omega whine rings through the room, and the jarring noise pierces my eardrums, doing its best to manipulate my Alpha instincts into fixing whatever’s causing the female distress.
The restraints rattle harder and louder the more she struggles. It looks like she’s having a seizure. I move forward on instinct, but Riv’s fingers latch onto my wrist, and he shakes his head, pulling me back.
The shaking stops, and when she finally opens her eyes, they’re glassy and crazed.
Riven sighs. “Ahhh. Here we are.”
Incredulously, I watch as Riven calmly slides a pair of designer sunglasses from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and puts them on.
“What the fuck are you—”
Bright light detonates through the room.
It’s not just a flare, or a flash, but a full-on explosion, as though the sun itself is making an appearance.
I’m not even looking directly at the female and still have to shield my eyes.
It’s like every inch of her body is infused with light, and she’s channeling it out of every pore.
It spills out of her skin, her eyes, her hair—thousands of bright, thick beams of pure light.
The illumination feels like it’s trying to press into me, like it’s somehow tangible.
I have the insane thought that I could run my fingers through it and feel it brushing against my skin.
It only lasts a few seconds before it dims enough that I can open my eyes again fully.
My breath catches as tendrils of the Omega’s hair rise, floating around her head like she’s underwater.
“Holy fucking shit,” Vae breaths. “Do you guys feel that?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, unable to look away. “I feel it.”
“It feels like raw power,” Gavran adds.
Even Riven, despite having witnessed this before, is clearly unsettled.
“It feels like I could reach out and gather it in my hands. It feels old,” Caelan mutters, his voice thick and full of gravel.
Vae nods enthusiastically. “Yeah. Old. That’s the word. It feels ancient.” He frowns. “How the fuck does light feel ancient?”
I can’t open my mouth to reply. Can’t pull my eyes away. The Omega is, of course, beautiful in her own right, but the light itself is far more mesmerizing.
Raw, primordial, powerful. It feels like I’m witnessing something not meant for my eyes. Yet, at the same time, the light feels like it belongs to me.
Like it’s mine.
The illumination begins to recede, seeping back into the Omega. An image pops in my head of little fairies with wings, gently gathering each shaft, spooling it back into her body. Then, her lashes flutter open, and she looks right at Vae, who’s still hovering over her.
“Hey, you’re alright,” He croons gently, flashing his dimples. “I’m Vae. What’s your name?”
The Omega stares at him for so long that I start to think we’ve lost her. I expect her to start mumbling again, but shockingly, she blinks rapidly, and a look of confusion crosses her face. “My name?” Her features scrunch in thought. “My name is…”
Something sparks in her eyes, and when she answers, her voice is much stronger.
“Daniella.”
She studies Vae’s face for another few breaths before her eyes glaze over, and she returns to her mutterings.
“Four became one. One became light. Light wakes the gate. She is the gate.” There’s a long pause, and she begins repeating the words. Except this time, her voice is louder and more frantic.
“She is the gate. She is the light, and the light, and the light, and the gate.” Her words trail off, and her voice is barely more than a breath by the end. Her gaze turns distant, causing a shudder of unease to work its way down my spine.
“Fuck. That was disturbing.” Vae mutters, joining us across the room. “We’ll have to check if there are any Omegas named Daniella missing, or if we’re dealing with another Chicago situation.”
He keeps talking, but I’m not paying attention. Something about what he just said caught my attention and won’t let go.
“You want to pull up the registry so that we can check for her, Dax? Dax? Dax!”
There’s a thread my mind is clinging to…something Vae said…. What was it? I curse, replaying his words.
It hits me like a lightning bolt to the chest.
“Daniella? She said her name is Daniella?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not the only one who heard her, right?” Vae looks confused, but Caelan and Gav are suddenly paying attention.
“I’ve heard that name before. Recently.” I mutter as I start to pace. “Or, I’ve seen it. Read it, maybe? Where…”
My steps stutter to a stop.
With fumbling fingers, I reach into my pocket and snag my phone, pull up my photos, and scroll until I find the picture I’m looking for.
The list Caelan found in Varenthrall’s desk drawer.
“Sam G. AB positive, Anna R. O negative, Daniella J. B positive, Drew M. O negative, Calla T. A negative.”
I recite the names out loud, and as I do, a few more pieces of the puzzle slot together. “This is it.” My voice rasps.
“This is where I saw it. I’d bet every fucking hour of sleep I’ve lost these past weeks that these names are Omegas.”
Scraping a hand through my hair, I exhale in frustration at my own stupidity. “I didn’t put it together. Two of the names are gender neutral.”
Fates, I’m so fucking dumb. How did I miss this?
“Get Ford on the phone.”
Gav’s already dialing, and Ford picks up after one ring.
“Yeah?” His tone is clipped. All business.
Gav doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. “The Omega. What did you say her name was?”
“I didn’t say.” There’s a heavy pause, then, “Her name is Calla. Why?”
A collective breath whooshes out of everyone in the room. Even Riven looks like he’s on the edge of his seat.
“Why?” Ford presses.
“Because we just found another Omega,” Gav explains. “Same situation. Riven’s got her at Redmark. Except this one’s worse.”
He recounts what happened, but it’s all background noise at this point. My mind keeps circling back to that list.
Five names on that paper. Five Omegas. We can cross-check the names with the Omega Registry nationally, but we’ll have no idea if their names were there before unless we get lucky like we did in Chicago.
Sighing, I lean against the wall next to Caelan, where Vae joins a moment later.
“So this is all related, then?” Vae asks, brows furrowed in concern.
“Seems like it. We know Varenthrall is working with the Severed. He’s got supposed magic blood hidden in his study, a list of Omegas, two of which showed up out of nowhere with random abilities. The same blood was in a warehouse crawling with Deadwalkers. The vials….”
My words trail off, and I turn the phone sideways to zoom in on the labels.
“Asset Z-1 // Sample 7B // O-Fem/NH // Assigned: A.R. That’s the one you brought home.”
I flick to another. “Asset Z-1 // Sample 7E //O-Fem/NJ // Assigned: S.G.”
My voice lowers as I flick to the next photo.
“Holy fuck.” Caelan’s eyes widen.
“They match,” I breathe in awe. “The last part matches the initials of the Omegas on the list.”
“But there are 10 vials of blood,” Vae points out.
“And only five names,” Gav adds, and with a start, I realize he’s standing right in front of us.
The implication settles like a stone.
We need to get the other half of that list.
“I’ll go back,” Caelan jumps to volunteer. His reaction is too quick, too eager. Without waiting for Gav’s response, I grip my packmate by the arm and haul him behind me and into the hall.
Caelan doesn’t fight me, but the moment the door snicks shut behind us, he wrenches his arm out of my hold and glares at me.
“Don’t fucking start, Daxen.”
“Are you insane?” I hiss, glancing around to make sure no one’s listening. “After what happened last time? I already covered for you once. You can’t go back in there, and we both know it.”
“You’re overreacting.” He tries to shoulder past me and open the door, but I throw out a hand to stop him.
“You disobeyed orders.” I glare at him, daring him to deny it. “I didn’t tell Gav because you’re my fucking brother, and I thought I could keep you in check without involving Gav. You muted me on comms. You spent over twenty minutes with no contact.”
He folds his arms over his chest.
“Don’t make me lie to him again, Caelan. I won’t do it.”
I take a step back to give us both some space. I am so fucking tired of having this same argument over and over. For reasons he’s refusing to talk about, he can’t—or won’t—admit that there’s more going on.
It doesn’t matter, though. I know what it is.
He’s obviously been lured in by an Omega. And he’s fallen for her act. Hook, line, and sinker.
Caelan doesn’t chase Omegas. None of us do, but Caelan especially has never shown an interest, content to wait for Fate to intervene eventually.
Because of that, he’s never even been alone with an Omega.
He’s never even dealt with one one-on-one.
Never felt that overwhelming sense of power that comes from being the Alpha who steps in to provide for an Omega in need outside of missions, but that doesn’t count.
Those are a group effort. He’s not the one person she’s turning to for safety in that situation.
It’s biology. She needs saving—supposedly—and he thinks he should be the one to save her.
And I know exactly how that fucking story ends.
“I think you should let Vae go this time,” I suggest, trying to keep my voice calm and my thoughts logical. “Please. Stay here. Get some rest and let Vae handle it.” His eyes flash with fury. “No.”
“Caelan—”