Page 30 of The Other Omega

“What sort of research?”

“Reproductive.”

My stomach tightened at the thought of the women in the cells, the Alphas who took what they wanted from them and the pleas they so gleefully ignored. “You have a breeding farm.”

“I can understand why you would think that.”

After everything I’d seen here, I’d thought myself beyond shock, yet Mireya spoke as though I’d accused her of some minor impropriety.

“Unfortunately, you’ve only witnessed the more unsavoury section of the programme.” She sat beside me and held one of my hands between hers. “What we’re doing here, dove…” She paused, something close to awe brightening her face. Pride filled her usually muted scent. “We’re attempting to understand reproduction between poorly matched individuals.”

She moved closer and took my other hand. “Not every Omega here lives under those conditions. Some are housed privately.” She gestured around the room. “They’re provided with proper beds, nesting materials and considerably greater comfort.” Her gaze settled on the pillow against my chest. “Different conditions allow us to observe how environmental variables affect reproductive outcomes. Without comparison groups, we cannot determine which factors influence conception, gestation or viability. I am nothing if not thorough.”

Something inside me went cold. “You run this place.”

She tilted her head. “I don’t run the facility. I simply direct the Omega Programme.”

“So you spend your days helping high-ranking Omegas and your nights torturing lower-class ones?”

Pain crossed her face. “That’s a painfully simplistic way of seeing it, Elowen. I’ve always known you to be more perceptive than that.”

I looked away, drew my hands back and tightened my grip on the pillow. “Mireya.” I hated the desperation in my voice, but protecting my pride seemed pointless now. “I’m happy for you. Truly. What you are doing here, if successful, will help so many Omegas in the future. That seems a fair trade to me.”

Hope bloomed in my chest at her smile, and I continued. “I don’t care what you have to do to achieve that, or what happens to the other Omegas in the process. All I want is my freedom. I want to return to our original agreement and live my life on my own terms. That’s all.”

I reached for her hand and held it tightly. “You and your overseers have nothing to fear from me. I won’t speak of this place or interfere with whatever you’re doing here.” My voice trembled despite my efforts to control it. “You know me, Mireya. You, more than anyone, know that all I’ve ever wanted is to be left alone, to live as I choose.”

Her smile slowly faded into something sad, and the silence answered me before she did.

“I appreciate your words more than I could ever express, little dove.” She untangled our fingers and gently patted my hand twice. “Despite what you may believe, I still care deeply about you. You will never mate the Stormforge Pack, Elowen. I have no reason to deceive you now. So, for your own well-being, hear me and accept this, Elowen. You will never leave the programme.”

A sob tore through me, and I folded over the pillow, burying my face against it. Mireya had been my last hope. Through every hour in that cell, some part of me had believed she would come and honour our agreement. She had finally come, only to tell me gently that this was all I had left.

Another sob shook me, and footsteps entered the room. Someone placed a tray of food on the bed between us. The quiet clink of crockery sounded strangely ordinary beside the thought I couldn’t escape. I am never getting out.

I couldn’t afford to fall apart, however close I was to doing so. Mireya was still here, and she’d just told me she would give me the truth. I had no idea when, or if, I would be allowed to speak with her again. I forced myself to remember the Omega my parents had raised me to be: formidable, proud and intelligent.

I gathered what composure I could, lifted my head and wiped my face with the back of my hand. After a deep breath, I met Mireya’s eyes. “Very well, then. What happens to me now?”

Her smile returned. “I knew you could be reasoned with.”

I said nothing. Her expression changed into one I’d seen many times at Mother’s table, after someone asked about her latest treatment or a medical paper she’d spent months waiting to read. She looked the same as when she described an unusual presentation, her eyes brightening and her face seeming years younger.

“You’ve become considerably more valuable than an Omega alone could ever be.” She looked at me fondly. “Such is your good fortune.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your counterpart.” Mireya removed the lid and set a fork beside it. “She presented as an Omega.”

I stared at her. “You said there were no designations in her world.”

“There aren’t.” She smiled and gently tried to pry the pillow from my arms. “Come now, Elowen. You must eat. You look dreadful. Starvation is a long and painful death, if that’s what you’re aiming for.”

The comment pulled me from my daze. “I’m not. I wasn’t given enough food. That’s all.”

“Ah, yes.” She waved a hand. “You’ll receive regular meals now, so don’t be fussy. Eat. Unless it isn’t to your taste, of course. Perhaps you simply need to be hungrier.”

“No!” The word left me too quickly. “I’ll eat it now.”