Omega Mine

“Wake up, Josie.”

A hard slap on her cheek had Josie jolting forward with a pained moan, her head spinning as she blinked groggily, her surroundings completely unfamiliar and utterly blurry. She felt like she’d been hit by a truck and left for dead on the side of the road, even though she was slumped in an uncomfortable wooden chair.

She blinked again, trying desperately to see anything, but the world around her was hazy and out of focus.

She moved, or tried to, but her arms wouldn’t cooperate, tied together behind her back. Were those handcuffs on her wrists? She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate either.

What–

Josie’s head whipped to the side as a palm landed forcefully on her cheek, the sound of the hard slap echoing in the room. Pain bloomed on her face, and she cried out, tears stinging her eyes.

“Ah, there you are,” Bethany sing-songed, her voice like a bucket of ice cold water that was poured over Josie’s head.

The attack, Bethany, the injection; it all came rushing back to Josie in an instant.

Lifting her head, which felt like a monumental feat, Josie looked straight ahead, spotting the blurry outline of none other than Grayson’s mom. The Omega was kneeling less than a foot away from her, invading her space.

“Why can’t I move?” Josie mumbled slowly. Her tongue felt like it weighed two hundred pounds, and it was difficult to find the energy to swallow.

Bethany chuckled. “You’re a bit tied up at the moment, I’m afraid.” She looked down the length of Josie’s body before standing. “Even if you weren’t being restrained, the shot you were administered will be in your system for another hour at least. You’ll hardly be able to move.”

“It wasn’t just a sedative,” Josie accused, her breathing a bit labored as she struggled pitifully against the handcuffs on her wrists. She’d been given something experimental.

What had they done to her?

And where was David? Had he just let them take her? He’d been adamant they stay together, but where was he now? Had Bethany done something to him as well?

Grayson, please help me! Josie cried, only for her plea to go unanswered.

How could the mating bond still not be working? Hours must have passed, and all she could feel was the faint buzzing from the bond, letting her know that Grayson was alive.

That was it.

“I’d give you credit for being clever, but I’m sure you can feel the effects of the injection already.” Bethany turned, walking toward a blurred outline of a dresser.

Was Josie being kept in a bedroom, then? She wanted to look around, but her head was killing her, and it was taking all of her energy to remain coherent. If her hands hadn’t been behind the back of the chair, she would have collapsed onto the floor by now.

“Our kind has always enjoyed advancing science and medicine,” Bethany stated casually, her arms moving as she tinkered with something in front of her. Metal scraped on metal, and Josie winced as the noise grated on her ears. “You were administered a newer experiment, one that’s been in the works for a decade. Originally it was intended to subdue a Mongrel, rendering them unconscious while mending tears in the psyche and brain. It’s our hope that such a shot will help heal them permanently, reversing the effects that led them to succumb to their baser nature.”

Josie’s eyes widened in surprise, her thoughts briefly touching on Wyatt, and how such an injection could help him tremendously. It was quickly followed by a dawning horror.

She wasn’t an Alpha, so why administer the shot to her?

“What have you done to me?” Josie bit out roughly.

Bethany laughed again, holding something up to her eye level. Josie couldn’t make out the object, only that it was long and thin, and gleamed in the overhead light.

“There’s no need to fret. You lack the appropriate genes for the shot to do any sort of lasting damage, as it targets Alpha’s on a genetic level. But there are certain side effects that can be particularly grueling when the subject awakens. Lightheadedness, blurred vision, etc.”

Bethany turned then, smiling widely. “My personal favorite is the inability to speak telepathically with one’s mate. In every trial we conducted, the mating bond was silent for at least a day on average.”

She shrugged. “Not very long, but if my nephew somehow manages to free himself from the little trap I set, I don’t want him telling anyone what you’re going through before you die. Or that I was responsible for it.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t go over well with our people, knowing I killed the Alpha Prime’s mate.”

“N-nephew?”

Oh, God. Grayson had been right all along! This wasn’t his mother.

“Oh, I’m sorry for not mentioning that sooner,” Bethany laughed again, moving back toward Josie.

Bethany knelt at her feet. Josie blinked, some of her vision clearing enough to notice a cold, malicious smile on the other woman’s face. Fear skittered down her spine as Bethany’s smile grew more unhinged.

“Normally I wouldn’t reveal this to anyone, I have an image to maintain, you see. But you’ve sacrificed a lot for my cause, Josie, even though you didn’t realize it. It would be rude of me to kill you before you could find out what this was all for.”

Josie’s lower lip wobbled, and she sucked in a trembling breath as tears pricked her eyes. She needed to get the fuck out of here. Now!

She struggled against her restraints, hoping like hell for some magical feat of strength to help her escape this mess. Her movements were lethargic, and clumsy, and didn’t do anything but increase her panic.

Bethany slapped her again, harder this time than she had before. Josie yelped in pain, and the Omega Prime sighed, standing back on her feet.

“What do you know about Omega twins?” Bethany asked casually. She tsked when Josie didn’t answer. “Probably not much. You come from a generation that barely knows anything about our own species. Well, Omega twins are a bit different than the average Omega. They share enough DNA that when a potential Alpha mate scents them for the first time, he can actually choose who he’d like to mate with. Years ago, my sister and I were commodities, unique and rare, though I always outshined my sister.”

“Clearly not, if Grayson’s father chose Bethany as his mate and not you,” Josie mocked tiredly. “That’s where this story is going, isn’t it?”

Bethany, or whoever the hell she was, stiffened. “He would have chosen me if my sister hadn’t spread her legs like a fucking slut at the first opportunity. He was supposed to choose me, not her! He knew how right we were for one another, but Bethany cheated and schemed her way into his heart, leaving me without my mate.”

Somehow, she really doubted Bethany had needed to use any kind of wiles to win over Grayson’s father, especially if this was his other option.

Josie shook her head despite feeling like it had been stuffed with cotton. “What’s your name?”

“Nikki.”

“You’re so full of shit, Nikki,” Josie taunted with a faint laugh. “I bet you were as psychotic then as you are now. At least just as delusional.”

“You little bitch,” Nikki snarled, grabbing Josie’s chin and yanking her head roughly to the side. Sharp, cool, metal pressed against her jugular and she stilled, terrified that this was her end. “You say another foul word against me and I’ll slit your throat,” she breathed in Josie’s ear.

When Josie didn’t say anything else, Nikki placed a light kiss onto her cheek, and removed the weapon from her neck.

“Being rejected by a mate is painful,” Nikki continued solemnly, as if she expected Josie to feel bad for her. Newsflash, she really fucking didn’t. “But seeing my sister so happy with the man who was meant to be mine was even worse. Especially when they began to procreate, flaunting their love in my face at every opportunity.”

Josie squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could talk to Grayson, that she could make sure he was okay. But she couldn’t, and it was all because of this psycho. “What did you do?”

Nikki smiled. “I was the one who leaked countless intel to the humans, who let them know where the Alpha Prime and his precious family would be the night they decided to attack. I knew the humans were plotting to overthrow them, and I helped them succeed.”

Josie’s lips parted in horror, and her eyes sprang open. “You were responsible for the massacre of our people? We were nearly wiped out because of you!”

Grayson’s years of abuse, Wyatt’s… Their entire species had suffered because of this woman and her bruised ego. No person in their right mind could ever be so cruel, so evil and calculating. She had to be insane.

The Omega rolled her eyes. “Our kind brought this misfortune upon themselves. I merely helped them reach this outcome a bit faster. As the humans attacked that night, I was the one who led them to my sister and her family. I wanted Bethany to know it was me that took everything from her, just like she’d done to me all those years ago.”

Josie thought she was going to be sick. “The scar on your neck–”

“Bethany was always a piss poor fighter. She couldn’t even rip out my throat to protect her offspring.” Nikki smiled again. “After I killed her, I managed to make my exit while the humans dealt with Grayson and his little brother. I assumed they’d both been killed, and took my rightful place as the Omega Prime.”

“Why not just create the rebellion as yourself?”

The Omega scoffed. “No one would follow Nikki, the Alpha Prime’s reject. But her sister? The Omega Prime seeking justice for the slaughter of her family? It was the perfect cover, and I became a hero to our kind.”

“How do I fit into this?” Josie asked, just to keep her talking. Nikki clearly loved to hear the sound of her own voice, and if it kept Josie breathing just a little bit longer, she’d do whatever she could.

She needed to get the fuck out of this mess, to find Grayson, to tell someone that Bethany wasn’t Bethany at all.

Far more cautiously, she tugged on her wrists, eyes widening slightly as the chain linking the handcuffs together strained from the move. She shot a quick glance to Nikki, but the Omega seemed oblivious to her attempt to free herself. She walked to a vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror before speaking.

“Nearly a decade ago, I discovered that my nephew Grayson hadn’t been killed like I’d been promised. Instead, he’d been captured and sent to fight in the arenas. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the first to discover this, and news began to spread among the rebellion of a long lost son come to save us all from annihilation,” she murmured, her voice full of venom. “Even in death, Bethany’s legacy haunted me.”

“That’s why you left him there for so long,” Josie guessed, a bite in her voice that she hoped would cover up the sound of her cuffs creaking as she struggled to break the small chain. Metal bit into her skin, and it hurt, but she wasn’t going to stop until she either broke her wrists or freed her hands.

“Of course I left him there.” Nikki curled her lip in disgust. “But he just wouldn’t die. After a few years, I no longer had an excuse to keep him imprisoned. We’d already established operatives within several cities, so it was very possible to orchestrate his escape.”

Nikki turned back to Josie, smiling. “But then I had a thought. What if I could use Grayson’s blood to find his mate? I was delighted to discover you, and began making plans to get you to him. But I had to make your mission look realistic, you see. You needed training, a purpose, and to be treated like any one of my own operatives, otherwise I might draw suspicion onto myself.”

“Which is why it took so long for me to get into the arena,” Josie added, everything finally making sense. “And when I got there, you had guards give me the wrong information on where to go. That’s how I ended up in Ortega’s office.”

“A calculated risk on my part. Ortega could have killed you or kept you as his personal whore. But, I’ve studied the human long enough to know how twisted he is. And luckily, you fell right into Grayson’s lap, allowing him to scent you and realize just what a precious gift you were. It was only a matter of time before the two of you mated.”

And when they had mated, Nikki had gone radio silent, leaving them both in there to die. Grayson had been surviving for years, but Josie never would have lasted in the dungeons. Ortega would have killed her.

Which is exactly what Nikki had wanted. Killing Josie after they mated would ensure Grayson died too. She’d been a pawn against her mate this whole time, and the thought filled her with fury.

“You’re a sick bitch, you know that?” Josie asked loudly, right as the chain on her cuffs gave way, freeing her arms. She didn’t move, didn’t do anything to alert the other woman to her impending freedom.

Her head was still reeling, and her legs likely wouldn’t hold her up for long, but at least now she could defend herself.

Nikki grinned, marching back over to Josie until their legs brushed. “You say that now, and you don’t even know that I fed your location to the humans when you radioed for help, resulting in Grayson’s capture. He’s likely back in the arena right now, getting ready to fight. And I’m once again a hero, saving a poor little camp of Omegas and allies from being wiped out.”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” Josie seethed. Her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her nails cut into her palms. “People are going to know you’ve killed me.”

“But I have gotten away with it. Again.” Nikki lifted her arm, showing off the scalpel in her hand. “I’ll make everyone believe that you felt Grayson’s passing, and in despair, took your own life. Tragic really, the pull of the mating bond. It makes one do all sorts of crazy things.”

Right as Nikki swung the scalpel toward Josie, she lunged at the other woman, tackling her to the ground.

Her body felt like lead, and her legs gave out almost immediately as she was flipped onto her back, Nikki straddling her waist with a wild look in her eyes. She lifted the weapon high into the air, bringing it down with deadly accuracy.

The helicopter landed within twenty minutes, the aircraft barely powering down before Grayson jumped from it, landing on the helipad with a sense of urgency.

He was so close to finding Josie, but every second that passed by without hearing her voice in his mind was a torment, fear consuming him until he could barely breathe.

Wolfe pointed toward a set of double doors that led into a large building, a few workers milling about the entrance. “Follow me.”

Grayson did, relieved that the Beta’s pace was brisk and full of purpose. He pushed the doors open, and immediately he was overwhelmed with the amount of people in the vast room standing around a large table. A 3D image of a map of the country was projected directly over it, their voices a heavy murmur as they discussed an upcoming mission.

Was this a war room of some kind?

Suddenly, the murmur of voices quieted, the silence so loud that he could have heard a pin drop.

“Alpha,” someone whispered reverently from the crowd, and instantly, the large group tilted their heads in submission, some even kneeling as Wolfe led him through the room.

It was too much, and he didn’t have time to address anyone. Not right now when Josie’s life was in danger. He glanced around, eyes narrowing as he searched for any sign of Nikki or his mate.

“They’re not here,” he bit out angrily.

“Where is the Omega Prime?” Wolfe snapped at the nearest male.

“She is tending to her son’s mate in her private quarters,” came the immediate answer.

“I can take you there,” another male added quickly, standing up from his spot on the floor. “It would be my honor to reunite you with your mother.”

Grayson snarled and the male flinched, but he didn’t rescind his invitation. After a brief pause, he turned toward another doorway leading further into the building. “Please, come this way.”

“Walk fast,” Grayson spat, his fist clenching at his sides as the male did as he instructed.

It was a quick walk down several short hallways before the atmosphere shifted from military to personal living spaces. As they entered a massive living room, Grayson caught Josie’s scent.

Not wasting another moment, he pushed past the male, racing down one of the hallways that branched off from the living room.

“You need to let me in there!” David’s muffled voice hit Grayson’s ears and he turned down another hall, feeling like a rat in a maze as he practically ripped a door from its hinges as he opened it, revealing a sitting room filled with antique furniture.

A few guards were blocking a doorway on the far way, pointing guns threateningly at David, who was pinned to the floor by another guard.

The guards stiffened as Grayson, Wolfe and the others stormed the sitting room.

“Oh thank God,” David uttered with relief when he spotted them, renewing his struggles on the ground. “They have Josie back there, and they won’t let me see her.”

“We have strict orders,” one guard began, only to let out a startled yelp as a gunshot rang out from behind Grayson before he could even release a blast of his own power. A bullet hit the guard’s stomach and he dropped his own gun, clutching his bleeding wound.

“I don’t give a fuck about your orders,” Wolfe answered. “You’ll let our Alpha Prime pass, or I’ll put a bullet in your head next.” He pointed his gun at the other guards. “The same applies to you. Drop your weapons. Step away from the Beta, and the door. Now!”

Quickly, they did as instructed. Grayson rushed the door, prying it open and running inside right as he heard his mate’s whimper of pain.

“Josie!” he bellowed, following the sound of her voice and the struggle he could clearly hear coming from yet another room. The scent of her blood hit his nose and whatever thread of civility he’d been holding onto fled.

This time when Grayson slammed into the door keeping him from his mate, it exploded on impact, pieces of wood slicing through the room like shrapnel as he spotted his mate on the ground, her hands covered in blood as she fought off the woman above her.

Seeing Nikki should have triggered some sort of emotional response within Grayson, but he couldn’t think of anything other than saving his mate.

He was on Nikki in less than a second, moving so fast he was a blur as he grabbed her shoulder, claws digging into her skin. He yanked the wretched bitch away from his mate, and she went flying, slamming into the wall behind him.

Wolfe and two soldiers moved past him, crowding Nikki’s still form. He didn’t pay them much attention, his focus on ensuring his mate’s safety.

“Grayson?” Josie asked faintly, blinking rapidly up at him. She inhaled, letting out another whimper as her lower lip trembled. “You’re here. You’re okay.” The words were barely out of her mouth before she began sobbing, trying to push herself up to her feet.

He dropped down beside her, pulling her roughly into his arms.

“I’m alright, baby girl,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s okay.”

He hugged her hard, burying his face against her shoulder and breathing her in as she cried against him, her bloody hands pinned between their chests. Warm liquid stained his shirt, either her blood or tears, and he hated the feeling. Hated that she’d been wounded and terrified, and he’d almost been too late to save her.

“I need to see your hands, little mate,” he commanded softly, reluctantly pulling back so he could inspect her wounds. Her hands were cut up and bleeding, and he snarled, eager to kill Nikki for what she’d done.

Soon. Soon she’d meet her end.

“I-I’m okay,” Josie answered, wincing when he took her hand in his. “I think I’ll start healing pretty soon.”

“You should have started by now.” Why hadn’t she?

“It might be the injection she gave me.”

Grayson’s head snapped up, eyes meeting hers. “What injection?”