Reborn (Alpha's Claim 3)

Another series of blasts went off in the distance, small little pops that made Maryanne jump.

So, who the hell was attacking the Dome? Who else did she have to contend with?

That prick, Corday, had said the resistance was going to attack the Citadel. That made sense, even if it was pointless. Why bring down the glass encasement that kept them all alive instead?

This would lead to more than a coup. The entire city would panic, there would be riots.

Shepherd would be blamed. Whoever had done this wanted to start a war that no one could win.

Between the icy wind and the unmitigated violence, between the possibility Shepherd would release the virus, everyone would die.

Wrapping her arms around her body, her knees tucked under her chin, there was a strange internal stirring Maryanne wanted to ignore. A smattering of shame knocked about in her breast.

She knew what the panicking city did not. The only thing in store for those who rose up against Shepherd was a bloodbath.

Unless...

No. It was not possible, and she owed this city nothing. The only soul she gave two fucks about was Claire. Her friend had told her to hide; Maryanne was going to listen to her.

But, maybe she could just fiddle around, take down that message, and reopen the communications network. After that, she was done, no more. Screw Thólos.

It took time to unravel the mess, to outthink whoever was responsible for hijacking the networks, the more Maryanne disrupted their work, the more she understood what they were really doing.

It was fucking horrible, sloppy even, as if there was no concern for the consequences. For that reason alone, Maryanne continued to ghost her cyber-attack right against their gates. Sneaking behind their firewall, she found something she could not wrap her head around.

The rebels were the party responsible for ruining the Dome; it was their chatter back and forth that showed units spread all over the city working in unison to stir up riots. They were using the very civilians they claimed to be fighting for as human war fodder.

For all her flaws and selfishness, even Maryanne was disgusted.

Because she felt like a salty bitch, and because she could, Maryanne seized control of the networks completely and shut the whole fucking thing down. She might not be able to save the idiots of Thólos, she didn’t even really want to, but she could offer an alternative.

She set up a new message to stream over and over.

The only safe place is underground.

Knowing what was down there, what was up here, Maryanne was not sure if she had offered mercy at all.A nausea inducing feeling of vertigo broke through Claire’s stupor the instant a hard smack landed against her cheek. Blinking, confused at the circles of lime deposits she saw on an unfamiliar ceiling, she tried to touch her head and found her hands bound together, stretched above her body and fixed to something she could not pull away from. As she struggled, a beautiful face came into view—a beautiful face belonging to an incredibly evil woman.

Even with the drugs in her system, a feeling of terror brought ice to Claire’s veins from one simple sight of those psychotic eyes looming over her again. Careful to keep her face blank, to not give the woman the pleasure of feeding off her fear, Claire nodded and said, “Hello again, Svana.”

“Hello, pretty one.” Svana gave a small, knowing smile, a facsimile of the smile that had played on her lips when her hands had circled Claire’s throat months ago. “I see you’ve been studying Jules’s art of expression.”

Claire felt a chill creep over her skin, and it was not only brought on by fear. She was cold because all her clothing had been removed, and the cot Svana had put her on was bare of blankets. Instead, it was covered in blood stains and stank of foulness.

“I can’t play with you for too long. You see I have plans to visit someone I am very much looking forward to seeing.” A long fingernail traced lightly from the valley between Claire’s breasts and down her belly, Svana insincerely admiring what was beneath her. “But the gods gave me this time with you, and I will not waste it. Martin, the others, did not even question when the elevator doors parted on the fourth floor. Why would they question their savior? I shot them so quickly, I am surprised there is not more blood on you… but, it won’t take long before you are covered in it.”

“You do realize you are giving me what I want?” Claire offered a challenging gaze, forcing her body not to tense when that nail scraped over her child. “I could not live without my mate anyway. It is fitting we die together.”

Svana purred, lightly tracing a circle over Claire’s mound. “Then I will allow you to thank me.”