Fever (The Omegaborn Trilogy 3)

“It’s Philip Savile. His genetic medication is ready, the thing he calls the omega solution. He’s having it loaded into something like a flamethrower and he intends to spray it onto the battlefield, onto our alphas and omegas. Without their natural tendencies, he knows it’ll weaken us. It may be enough to turn the tide of war against the Omegaborn,” she rushed to say.

I gritted my teeth as my eyes tore toward the wall. I could see where Philip stood, could see the yellow glint of the shoulders of his military jacket as he walked along the walls. I chewed the inside of my cheek.

I had to stop him from hurting our people, from taking away the very thing that made us who we were. We were omega and he wasn’t allowed to take that from us, just because he wanted to. He’d done so much to us already. He’d stolen our lives, our places in the city and crushed us beneath his boot. No more.

All around me, the battle raged. Guns fired and people screamed, male and female alike. If this went on for much longer, many of us were going to die in the slaughter. There were a great number of alphas but ultimately, there were many more betas fighting for Philip.

Even though we were strong, there were so many of them.

I looked around at the faces of my omegas, watching their fierceness as they fought one beta after the next in a fight to the death. Every breath, every drop of blood they lost and would lose, every bead of sweat as they aimed their guns and drove their knives deep into the betas as they bowed and weaved through enemy lines. It was a beautiful sight and one that left me breathless, but if Philip got his way and achieved his ultimate goal of destroying the very things we were born to be, it would all be for naught. All of our suffering, our pain and agony would be for nothing.

I wouldn’t allow that.

Beside me, I felt all of my men reach for me, felt their hands as they caressed my shoulders. They were there for me and would be for whatever was going to happen.

A wolf’s howl shrilled loudly in the distance, followed by two more. I lifted my head to see the massive form of a three-headed wolf rushing toward us. It was gigantic. Its fur was mottled gray with streaks of white and black. It had three tails that spread outward in order to keep the giant beast steady as it ran. It ran straight toward me, its gaze cool, calculating, and determined. I felt a shiver race down my spine, but still I stood tall and held my ground.

The central head had icy gray eyes, so bright that they bordered on white. They held within them an ancient wisdom, as though this great beast had lived several lifetimes and seen it all. A great snarl lifted his upper lips as he stared me down.

I met his gaze with the silent confidence of a leader, feeling the blue and yellow eyes of the other two heads focusing in on me as I did so. Beside me, Raven, Triss, and Ellie trembled but held their ground with me, waiting to see what the three-headed wolf would do.

When the great beast closed in on me, he slowed his pace until he strode up to me, stopping and sitting down on its haunches as it cocked its central head. The icy gray eyes stared into mine, contemplating what it would do with me then.

“They told me to look for the one in red leather,” a voice sounded in my head and I was slightly taken aback for a second before I quickly recovered.

I looked from the great beast back to the wall and then back again.

“What’s your name?” I asked almost breathlessly.

“My name is Okorius,” he answered, and I tried to hide the tremor in my fingers as such a terrifying and formidable creature waited before me. At any moment, he could tear me to pieces where I stood, and I wouldn’t even have any chance at escape.

“I need your help,” I replied, careful to keep my voice steady and confident. The wolf heads rolled their upper lips, a vicious snarl ripping from their throats but in that moment, I knew it wasn’t directed at me.

Instead, the monster knelt down and placed its chins on the ground.

“Climb up, omegas. I’ll take you to where you need to go,” the central head answered, looking from me to Triss to Raven. The three of us leapt at the chance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ehsan pull Ellie back into his arms. She fought against him, but he held her close, shaking his head into her shoulder. I cleared my throat, meaning to put a stop to this at once.

“Don’t worry, Ellie. You’ve done well. You’re the reason we have this chance at victory. You’ve been an integral asset to this battle, and it will never be forgotten,” I commanded, and she blushed heartily, her eyes swimming with tears.

“Go. Be with your alpha,” I demanded further, meeting Ehsan’s gaze. He took Ellie by the waist then and tossed her over his shoulder, before running off toward the edge of the woods. I hoped that after the battle, the two of them would have a significant amount of time alone, to enjoy one another in the freedom of the wilds.

Next, I turned toward my own mates—Damiyen, Ethan, Alaric, and Viktor. Their eyes looked dangerous, but they were needed here on the ground.

“You have to let me do this. You need to trust me,” I demanded, and they looked at me with incredulous disbelief. The first man to nod his assent was Alaric. His brown eyes met mine, studying my gaze intensely and then grinning as he chuckled.

He knew I needed to do this. Just as much as he needed to fight in this war.

“Let her go. It’s her time to turn the tide,” Alaric then said, and the others nodded reluctantly.

“Cut off the head of the snake, and the war will be won,” Damiyen murmured and I grunted my agreement.

“Don’t you worry. Philip is going to rue the day he met me when I plunge my knife into his flesh,” I growled, and my alphas’ faces turned dark as they grinned.

They knew I could do this, so they let me go. My heart soared. They could force me to stay below, to stay behind their safety as they fought my battles for me, but they understood the true heart of an omega. They understood that this was a battle I needed to fight. I needed to protect my fellow omegas. I needed to ensure their freedom, and this was one thing I had to do on my own.

I met each one of their eyes, thanking them wordlessly for their trust and support.

I turned away then. It was time to go.