Page 12 of Desperate Omega

After that incident, Markus’s parents decided I was a bad influence. They forbade Markus from hanging out with me. Not long after, he was assigned to a pack and left the Central Ruins to begin his training in the wildlands—or so I heard. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see him again. I certainly never expected to run into him tonight of all nights. It’s pretty amazing that he showed up when he did, right when I needed saving from Delphine and her alphas. Either that was the world’s biggest coincidence, or else—

“Well, what are you waiting for, Syra?”

Markus’s voice shakes me out of my reverie. The alpha has already dropped down on the other side of the fence, and now he’s looking at me through the bars.

“Coming,” I say.

I pass my spear through the bars, then I start to climb. My body’s not as strong as the alpha’s, and my limbs are not as long, but I still manage to haul myself up the side of the fence with relative ease.

Getting over the top, however, poses more of a problem.

The bars of the fence are tipped with sharp points, like a row of iron spears pointing toward the sky. I have to be extra careful if I don’t want to end up impaled on one of those spikes. There’s a cross bar running horizontally near the top of the fence, and I’m able to brace against that as I fling my right leg across.

So far, so good.

But as I’m trying to bring my left leg over, my heat-weakened muscles fail me. I manage to get my leg clear of the spikes, but I’m off balance, and I lose my grip. I start to plummet toward the ground below.

“Syra!”

Markus lunges forward with incredible speed, and instead of crashing into the ground, I end up cradled in the alpha’s powerful arms.

My heat, which had ebbed somewhat during our hour-long run, comes surging back with a vengeance. My nipples go rigid beneath my top, and slick arousal leaks from between my legs, filling the air around us with the potent scent of animal desire.

“Put me down!” I snarl.

I’m a little surprised when Markus actually does what I ask, and I feel a pang of regret as I realize just how bitchy I’m acting. Markus just saved me from serious injury, and the best I can do is snap at him?

“Sorry,” I say, blushing. “And… thank you.”

Markus gives me an astonished look.

“I was wrong,” he says. “You have changed. That’s the first time you’ve ever thanked me for anything.”

“It’s the first time you’ve given me a reason to.”

Markus just shakes his head.

“Come on,” he says.

We move deeper into the graveyard. Near the center, atop a low hill, stands a building. The years have covered it in a thick cloak of a dark ivy, but as we get closer, I’m able to glimpse patches of stone underneath, as smooth and white as bone. There’s a big bronze door at the front of the building, and it lets out a low, metallic groan as Markus pulls it open. He pokes his head inside and sniffs the air, then motions for me to follow him in.

It’s dark inside, but the windows let in just enough moonlight for us to see by. There are two main corridors that intersect in the middle of the structure, forming a cross, with other smaller alcoves branching off to the sides. The air is warm, but there’s something about the place that makes me feel cold.

“What are these panels on the walls?” I whisper.

“Tombs,” Markus whispers back. “This building is a mausoleum.”

A chill runs up my spine. Being outside in the graveyard was bad enough, but in here we are completely surrounded by death. Part of me wants to flee this place, but then I think of the fate that awaits me outside these walls, and I decide to stay.

Ahead of me, Markus slows his pace, and I can see him studying the tombs along the wall, as if looking for one in particular. Finally he halts and crouches in front of one of the crypts. He starts to open it.

“Wait!” I gasp. “Markus, what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry,” he says. “There’s no body in this one. Just supplies.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“A few times, yes. I’ve got secret stashes all around the Zone.”