Omega Mine

Grayson’s entire body was lined with tension as Jameson led them toward Charleton. It was nearing dawn, though they still had a vast amount of darkness to conceal them as they moved through the thick wood, heading north.

His ears twitched and his nostrils flared as he focused on every noise, every scent that drew near . So far, he hadn’t detected any hints of smoke, gunpowder, nor had he heard the crackling of a fire, gunshots echoing through the wood or people screaming.

While that should have been relieving, Grayson felt anything but that as Josie walked quietly beside him, David at their back. Gemma had stayed behind with the Omega female, Raven. She’d been too distraught to travel, and she’d needed protection, something Gemma had been more than ready to provide.

It put him on edge that his mate was rushing headlong into danger with him, his eyebrows drawn into a heavy scowl with each step they took to their destination.

Grayson had suggested Josie staying behind with Gemma and the other female, but she’d shut him down immediately, her lips dropping into a thin line. He didn’t need the bond between them to connect to read the mounting apprehension in her eyes.

She was nervous that they’d be split up again, like they had been before. Worried that something would happen to him and she wouldn’t know until it was too late.

He’d known that was how she’d felt instinctively, because he’d felt similarly. He didn’t want to be separated from her for any length of time either.

He’d nearly pushed aside that worried look that pierced him straight through the heart and demanded she stay back, but in the end he couldn’t. It was dangerous, but by keeping her close, he could ensure she remained safe at all times as they searched Charleton for any survivors.

According to Raven, there were six other Omega females hidden within the town aside from her, though she wasn’t sure if any of them had managed to escape. Given how distraught the female had been when she’d arrived, Grayson wasn’t holding out much hope that anyone within the town was even still alive.

Regardless, Josie had brought up several good points in the last half hour. She believed if there was even a hope of them finding another Omega and saving their life, then it was worth the risk.

While Grayson agreed, his motivations were selfish in nature. It was up to him to take care of their kind in order to be a leader his mate could rely on.

The weight of that was heavy but after decades of no hope for a future, he was ready to bear that responsibility.

He was more determined than ever to be the kind of male Josie believed was possible. The warmth and encouragement she’d poured into their bond was still wrapped around him like a heated cloak, seeping tenderness and affection all the way down to his very bones.

He wanted to live in that warmth, that love.

The smell of smoke drew Grayson’s attention and his head snapped up, eyes straining through several branches and leaves until he caught sight of the night sky. He narrowed his eyes, staring into the darkness for any deviations.

There. A faint, gray trail of smoke clouded off in the distance in front of them. He guessed it was less than half a mile away, if that.

“Stop moving,” he warned quietly, tilting his head to see if he could hear anything ahead.

David inhaled deeply. “I smell it too.”

“Smoke,” Josie agreed. “We’re definitely close. I don’t hear anything else though.”

Grayson closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. Everyone around him seemed to hold their breath as he tuned them and the world out around him, only focusing on what lurked off in the distance.

Voices, too faint to make out.

“The town is still burning,” he informed them, opening his eyes. “I can also hear voices, though it’s impossible to say how many or if they’re our allies or not.”

“How far?” Josie asked.

“Maybe half a mile. Probably less.”

She shifted on her feet, her grip tightening on the taser she held firmly at her side. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Jameson nodded. “We’ll keep to the outskirts until we make it. We’ll stick to the edge of the forest until we can ascertain the threat level, and hopefully we go unnoticed.”

“What’s our plan if we’re outnumbered by guards?” David asked. “Jameson is the only one with a long-range weapon. Do we wait for them to clear out?”

“No.” Grayson locked eyes with the Beta as he cracked his knuckles. “Numbers mean little to me. We kill anyone we come across.”

Already, he was eager to acquaint his enemies with death. His body swelled in size, bloodlust and power radiating from him with a malevolent energy he fully embraced. He hadn’t felt the deep seat of his own rage since Josie had been delivered to his cell, broken and bleeding, but he channeled that emotion now, hardening himself for what he anticipated coming next.

He couldn’t be a mated male. Not at this moment. He needed to be more. Dangerous. A vicious, merciless predator.

A beast.

Grayson’s nails sharpened into fierce claws, even his sharp canines lengthened further.

“They’ll have guns,” David warned. The Beta had been quiet on their journey. Subdued. But now he seemed energetic, his eyes wide and alert, his posture relaxed and straight. Just as eager for a fight as Grayson was. “Some of the vehicles have mounted turrets, but I’m not sure how many of those they’d move from the city. Hopefully none.”

“I plan on being fast enough to avoid their bullets,” Grayson spat in answer. Besides, he didn’t plan on allowing them time to fire off more than a few rounds at most, even if they got that far.

For decades he’d thought of the possibility of annihilating his captors, but he’d never seen the point in attempting such a feat when a swift death would follow. But he wasn’t in the arena any longer. He wasn’t caged by humans and used for their entertainment.

He was a freed male. An Alpha.

The Alpha.

And tonight, he was going to slaughter every human affiliated with the government that he came across.

Grayson turned to Josie, cupping her face gently despite the familiar rage that began to fester in his gut. “You’ll do as I say and stay behind me,” he growled. “If they aim at anyone, it’ll be me.”

“You want me to use you as a shield?” she asked in shock, her brow furrowing. “I can’t do that.”

“You wanted to come, little mate. So you’ll do as I say. Am I understood?”

He kissed her hard when she opened her mouth to protest, his tongue dominating hers until the feel of her soft body, and the scent of her growing arousal began to weaken the darkness he held close to him.

Pulling away, Grayson’s dark gaze clashed with her emerald green. His fingers tightened ever so slightly on her jaw. “I mean it, Josephine. Behind me at all times.”

Josie stared up at him, desire and trepidation shining in her gaze as she nodded her head slowly in agreement.

With that, they moved ahead, an urgency to their steps that hadn’t quite been there before.

Soon enough, smoke thickened the air around them.

They paused again, using the last line of trees as cover as they scanned their surroundings.

The town was small, just like Jameson had mentioned. Houses were on fire off in the distance a handful of blocks away. There were a few shops in the town square, the doors kicked in and the windows smashed.

A small convoy of military grade vehicles lined up on a dirt road just inside the town square, blocking the exit. A few guards sat in the last vehicle, windows rolled down as they chatted casually with one another, completely unbothered by the carnage and destruction they’d delivered to these people.

Grayson’s hands tightened into fists as his fury mounted, his claws digging hard enough into his palms that he began bleeding.

He looked away when David pointed to something toward his left, just beyond a large stone fountain in the center of the town square.

Women, at least ten of them varying in age, were chained to one another, five human guards with guns standing over them threateningly. Seven of the women were kneeling, their clothes dirty, their faces wet with tears.

The last three, also chained, were face down on the ground, dark pools of blood surrounding their heads like macabre halos.

Executed.

And based on the fact that he hadn’t heard a single gunshot, he could only assume they’d been dead for at least twenty to thirty minutes, likely around the time Raven had taken off.

A handful of males were prone on the ground around them, all townsfolk, and all equally as dead. Were these the husbands Raven had mentioned? He was surprised more weren’t among the pile.

How many males had even fought to protect their women? Not enough, he thought savagely.

“Oh my God.” Josie gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth as she looked away. She buried her head into his side, breathing him in as she trembled against him. Already, he regretted allowing her to come.

She was strong–he knew that. Had witnessed her determination and courage firsthand. But she didn’t belong here. She shouldn’t be seeing such cruelty and depravity, not if he could shield her from it.

It was too late to take her back, and he fully believed he could keep her from harm, so he pushed his growing anxiety aside, determined to find more enemies lurking out of sight.

Grayson looked away from the dead, listening hard.

Muffled voices came from within one of the buildings in town.

“What store is that?” Grayson asked Jameson quietly, pointing to the appropriate building.

“It’s a restaurant. Why do you ask?”

“There are more people in there, and I’m only counting 7 guards outside. They must have more people captive within.”

“I don’t see my father among the dead,” Jameson supplied, his voice carrying a hint of hope. “Maybe they’re keeping him in there.”

“Maybe.” Grayson nodded toward the last vehicle in the convoy. The one containing two guards. It was the furthest from the town, and the closest to them.

Easy prey.

“We’ll take them out first. We need to kill as many guards as we can without being spotted. It’ll give us a better advantage and catch them by surprise. David,” Grayson called, tone full of command. “You’re responsible for the guard on the passenger side. I’ve got the driver. We’ll snap their necks before they even realize we’re here.”

David grinned. “It’ll be my pleasure, Alpha.”