Page 75 of Shared Omega

A collective gasp rushes through the gathered crowd of Alphas, but I notice a knowing smile on Lily’s face.

Addom looks at me sternly, and it takes everything I’ve got not to wilt under his intense glare. But after a moment, he tosses his head back and the cathedral fills with laughter that seems to shake the foundations of the building.

“Kane, old friend, it seems you’ve found yourself an omega whose toughness matches your own. She reminds me of another intractable omega I know.”

Behind him, a light blush touches Lily’s smiling face.

“All right, Outsider,” Addom says, taking a few slow strides forward. “Speak your business then. Why have you come here to our homeland?”

I take a deep breath.

This is the moment I’ve been planning for. The whole mission depends on what happens next. But now I find myself at a loss for words.

I decide to just come right out with it.

“Lily, I’m Lance Corporal Sloane. I’ve been sent her by SynerGen to rescue you.”

Lily laughs.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she says. “I’m sure you’ve gone through a great deal of trouble to get here. But I’m not in need of saving. I’m happy here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Shit. I figured that would happen. Even Dr. Frostgrave mentioned that the target would harbor delusions of wanting to stay. A kind of advanced Stockholm syndrome.

Now that I can see her face to face, however, I’m wondering if it really is a delusion. She seems genuinely happy in this place.

And she looks like a very different person from the one shown in her corporate ID photograph. Sure, all of the same facial features are there, along with her distinctive auburn hair. But now her face and body are decorated with tribal piercings to match her Alphas, and she’s dressed just like one of them, wearing nothing but a simple loincloth, and apparently unashamed of her naked breasts.

She begins to step forward, but one of the Alphas stops her. He’s the youngest looking one with long, raven-black hair and skin as pale as marble.

“Lily, be careful.”

She touches his hand with a loving smile.

“It’s okay, Kadmon,” she says. “She’s not going to hurt me. Besides, she’s unarmed. And I have something important to ask her.”

Addom nods, and the young Alpha, Kadmon, reluctantly releases his grip. Lily steps forward with an imploring look.

“Sloane, you’ve come here from the city hive. What has been happening there? Has anyone received my messages about this place? About the coverup? Is anyone doing anything about it?”

She’s speaking so quickly I can barely keep up. I don’t know what the heck she’s talking about, but it’s clearly very important to her.

“Your messages?” I ask, shaking my head. “What messages?”

Lily’s face drops, and for an instant she almost looks like she’s going to cry, but she recovers herself. She takes another step forward. She is now several paces ahead of her Alphas.

When she speaks again, her voice is on the verge of cracking.

“You mean nobody has been receiving my transmissions? About the Cataclysm? About Seraph and the suppression field?”

I shrug and shake my head again.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re—“

I gasp as a sudden, unexpected tension seizes my muscles. My voice catches in my throat. For a split second, my body grows rigid, and a searing pain stabs at the base of my skull.

Lily stares at me with a concerned look.

“Sloane?”