Page 59 of Shared Omega

And each of these ruin-dwellers is more than a match for ten Farlanders. Their bodies are stronger, their minds sharper.

We are downwind here, so they have not caught our scent yet. I have no doubt they have spotted us, however.

“Why are we stopping?” Truk asks.

He is standing beside me, and I can sense Sloane’s presence behind him, protected by his body should Kane decide to make a move.

But the Alpha doesn’t move. He simply answers without looking at us. His eyes stay focused on the city ruins.

“You three will wait here,” he says coldly. “I will go ahead to herald our arrival, and then I will return for you.”

“Why?” I ask.

Now Kane turns. He makes no attempt to hide the hatred in his eyes. He despises Outsiders, that much is clear. It could be said of all the inhabitants of the Zone, but his enmity seems to run much deeper than normal.

But he hasn’t tried to kill us yet.

“Why?” Kane repeats my question back to me. “Because you are Outsiders, and a half-breed. The guards will attack as soon as they spot you, and I may not be able to stop them in time. But more than that…”

He gestures toward Sloane where she is standing behind Truk’s protective shoulder.

“You have an unmarked omega in your company, and she is deep in estrus. Have you no idea what kind of frenzy that will send the Alphas into?”

I know full well about that.

But I also know that once an omega has been marked, there is no going back. It cannot be erased.

Once an omega has been marked by her Alphas, she belongs to them. The change is physical. Her scent markers signal that she is possessed and protected by her pack, and all other Alphas will leave her be.

But an unmarked omega is fair game.

Kane goes on, “I will go to the city and warn the guards that I am bringing you in. I will make sure they have moved away to a safe distance so that they will not be driven into a frenzy by the omega’s scent. Then I can take you to meet with the one named Lily.”

He nods toward Sloane’s gun.

“You won’t be allowed to bring that with you,” he says. “Take it apart for me.”

Sloane draws the pistol from its holster. She removes the mag, which is empty. Next she removes the upper slide and recoil spring as well. There is no round in the chamber either. She’s been bluffing this whole time. Kane flashes a wry smirk.

“Let me see,” Kane says, extending his hand.

Sloane places the pieces of the disassembled gun into his palm. They look comically small in the big Alpha’s enormous hand.

Kane just stares at the gun pieces mutely for a moment, then tosses the pieces one after another as far as he can throw them. Each metal piece winks briefly in the sun before disappearing into the high grass. We could look all day and never recover all of the parts.

“What the fuck?” Sloane shouts.

“You won’t need it,” Kane says. “After all, you are on a rescue mission, right? And you don’t have any ammunition anyway. I may not know much about guns, but I’m not completely ignorant, omega.”

Sloane sighs and shrugs.

Kane grins coldly.

“Besides, you’ve got your two pets to take care of you, little one. Anyway, no Farlanders would be stupid enough to venture this close to the city.” He glances at Truk. “Present company excluded, I suppose.”

Kane looks at us each in turn, and once more I sense that there are secret calculations going on in his brain.

“I’ll be back soon,” he says, and then with an edge of menace in his voice. “Don’t try to run off. If you do, I will find you, and I will kill you. That I swear by the Source.”