Frantic (The Omegaborn Trilogy 2)

We made our way down the barren white hall and I stopped at the corner, listening for any indication that anyone was close. I heard nothing. Complete silence. Looking back at Ravick, I nodded when he pointed in the direction to the right.

Cautiously, I looked around the corner, but no one was there. The three of us were careful of our footsteps, our movements as noiseless as possible as we made our way through what appeared to be the hub of the janitorial and delivery staff. It wasn’t well guarded in the slightest. In fact, it was fairly well abandoned.

Eventually, we found the delivery truck entrance and escaped into the streets of Tharia. It was daytime, just like I’d estimated. It was about an hour past sunrise now and the city was just starting to come to life. It felt stale though. Not open and free like the wilds.

The longer I breathed the air here, the more I could feel the suppressant working through my system. It wasn’t quick by any means and I guessed it would take a day or so to take full effect, but I could still feel its effects all the same. Since the window had broken some hours ago, I’d been exposed to the drug pumped into the city air.

My senses felt slightly dulled, a metallic taste developing over my tongue. Even the bond felt just a tiny bit weaker.

Triss.

My little omega. I could feel her feistiness and her strength. The thread between us pulsed with her anger and a low growl rumbled in my throat.

I wanted to protect her.

“Is it possible the bond will lead us to her?” Ravick asked. I imagined he didn’t know much about the relationship between an omega and an alpha. The city did everything they could to suppress our natural instincts. It was immoral. I couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to not be my alpha self.

I shivered, the movement rushing down my spine. Quickly, I shook it off and gathered myself, pulling my shoulders back as I turned in Ravick’s direction.

“It will. She’s some distance away though and we’ll have to tread carefully. I imagine word of our escape isn’t long from becoming public knowledge,” Lothgar replied and I grunted in agreement.

“The three of us will really stand out. All they’d need to be searching for is the white-haired man with a sword and the wild savage with curved knives. I don’t know who you are, Ravick, but I’m guessing you’re not just a man from the city. The best course of action would be to stick to dark alleys along the way. Less traveled routes,” I added. Closing my eyes, I focused on the bond, feeling its pull and tried to gauge our mate’s location. When I felt it, I pointed and opened my eyes. She was north of us by a good three or four miles.

“You know the city. What’s in that direction, about three or four miles?” Lothgar asked Ravick.

“The omega sanctuary. It’s a place where known omegas are kept,” he answered.

“Kept?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. Omegas were rare, especially in the wilds. But the population of the city was so much bigger here, that the chances of finding one must be far greater. To think that Tharia had an entire section of the city devoted to keeping omegas was mind-boggling.

Ravick gritted his teeth and looked away, a guilty expression crossing his features.

“They’re held captive really. It’s kind of a prison. They’re forced to work in textile factories. They aren’t allowed to leave. It’s extremely well guarded because the city doesn’t want any of the omegas to escape out into the wilds and breed with more alphas. They don’t want any more omegas and alphas than there already are, especially out beyond the walls. They fear the wilds gaining any sort of advantage over them,” Ravick answered.

“How do you know this?” I asked, narrowing my eyes and studying his features. He sighed and pulled his shoulders back, before turning back to me.

“I was the head of security for the entire city. I was the military commander, in charge of the defense of the city. Should Tharia ever need an army, I would have been the one to lead it. Most of the guards in the city fell under my authority, except for those that controlled the omega sanctuary. Another branch of the government controlled it, but I was constantly kept informed. After my alpha emerged though, I’m lucky they didn’t banish me beyond the walls for the rest of my days,” he replied coldly.

“Why would they keep omegas and banish the alphas?” Lothgar asked.

“They believe that the alphas will regulate their own population. Their presence will lead to both conflict and death out there, that you only live to fight and kill each other,” Ravick added.

“Fucking idiots,” Lothgar scoffed.

“Yeah. I guess so,” Ravick snorted.

“I’m going to guess breaking into the omega sanctuary isn’t going to be a walk in the park then,” I pointed out and Ravick nodded in agreement.

“Not in the slightest. It’s probably the most well-guarded location in Tharia. Nothing gets in or out without the express permission of the city leader,” he added.

Lothgar looked up, watching the path of the sun.

“It’ll be difficult to make any moves on the sanctuary during daylight hours,” I suggested.

“Agreed. Let’s move and then we can observe the movements of the guards and map out an entry point. It’s likely we’re going to have to wait till nightfall to do anything, but at least we’ll be closer to Triss should anything go wrong,” I answered.

Ravick and Lothgar nodded and we set off then.

We’re coming, Triss. We’ll get you back.