Page 28 of The Other Omega

Liora, the Omega across from me, had been here for eleven months. Eleven months. When I arrived, I would never have believed anyone could withstand such relentless suffering for so long and still wake each morning. I knew better now.

We Omegas were far more resilient than we’d ever been told. The Alphas here knew it all too well and exploited that resilience with horrifying precision.

The heavy door locks released, drawing everyone’s attention. Three guards entered, followed by a woman in cream physician’s robes.

My heart, already racing, slammed against my ribs at the sight of her. A rush of heat swept through me, followed by a cold prickling across my skin, and my stomach tightened until I had to swallow against the nausea.

“Mireya?” I scrambled up from my corner on the floor and rushed to the bars, my legs barely holding my weight.

I trembled at the bars, watching her approach with the unhurried confidence of a woman who expected the world to make room for her. Rourke and the Alphas stepped aside without being asked. She came directly towards my cell, perfectly calm, her attention fixed on me.

“Open the cell.”

Rourke hurried forward to unlock it. I went to her without thinking, throwing my arms around the woman I’d known for most of my life and clinging to her like a child. She embraced me immediately, one arm around my back and her free hand cradling my head.

“My poor girl.” She held me tighter, and something inside me nearly gave way.

I buried my face against her neck, refusing to loosen my hold even long enough to walk properly. My legs were painfully stiff after so long curled up on the floor, and she slowed whenever I stumbled, guiding me out of the cell. I was too afraid to lift my head in case someone told me I’d misunderstood and put me back inside.

Mireya kept an arm around me as we passed through several doors and down a series of corridors. “You’re in dire need of a bath,” she said. “And a proper meal.”

I nearly cried again. A bath and a proper meal were such ordinary things, yet they sounded like luxuries beyond anything I could have asked for.

Eventually, she led me into a scent-neutral room and closed the door behind us. “Come now. I’ve brought you freshly laundered clothing.”

She eased me away from her, and I had to fight the urge to cling to her again. I didn’t want her to stop touching me, and the intensity of that need frightened me almost as much as everything else in this place.

“Thank you.”

She smiled. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”

For once, I was grateful she was a mere Beta and couldn’t scent the disgust bleeding from me.

“Off you go now, little dove. You smell dreadful.” She gestured towards the doorless bathroom entrance at the far end of the room, and I obeyed her like a pet.

I scanned the small bedroom as I crossed it. There were no windows, only a single bed with clean sheets, two blankets and two pillows neatly arranged at the head. A table and two chairs stood opposite. Nothing was decorative or unnecessary, nor anything that could be used as a weapon.

The bathroom was equally bare, although it had a functioning toilet and a shower. Someone had provided scentless shampoo and soap, and I almost wept at the sight of them.

The water was ice cold, and I couldn’t have cared less. I washed my hair twice and scrubbed every inch of myself, watching weeks of grime and everything I’d smeared over my skin to make myself less appealing disappear down the drain. Not even the cold could lessen the relief of being properly clean. My skin felt like my own again, and I could finally smell myself.

“I’m sorry, dove, but it’s time to finish your shower. You may take another later.”

Mireya’s voice startled me, and I turned towards the open entrance, my heart in my throat. I hadn’t heard her approach. For those few precious minutes beneath the water, I’d forgotten everything except the relief of being clean. I’d stopped listening and watching, letting myself feel safe with Mireya only a few steps away.

My stomach sank. How many times did this woman have to teach me the same lesson before I learnt it? I knew what she was capable of, yet a bath and a few gentle words had been enough to make me lower my guard. Shame burned through me. You are a fool, Elowen.

It took all my control not to flinch. She came closer, turned off the water and wrapped the towel around my shoulders.

“I brought everything you need: a hairbrush, a toothbrush and two sets of clean clothes. You’ll be much more comfortable now. Wait and see.”

“Thank you,” was all I managed, my jaw trembling too badly for anything more. Anger and defensiveness rose with the shame, but I forced them down before she could see either.

Mireya helped me dress because my hands wouldn’t stop shaking, then sat behind me on the bed and began brushing the tangles from my hair. I pulled a blanket around myself and clutched a pillow to my chest, my Omega far too deprived to resist making something resembling a nest, however small and inadequate. I sank further into it beneath the steady strokes of the brush.

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

She sighed and kept brushing, as though my words carried no particular weight. “These have been very eventful weeks. I believe we’ve advanced our research by years, perhaps decades.”