Page 78 of Shared Omega

Even more strangely, I notice it seems to be emitting a deep humming noise at the very lowest limit of audibility. It’s not even a sound so much as it is a feeling—a felt vibration deep in the very marrow of my bones.

“The Source,” I whisper.

Whatever it does, it is clearly important. The floor of the place is dotted here and there with other groups of Alphas and omegas. Some of them seem to be meditating or praying. Others are making slow laps around the Source. Yet others seem to be convalescents like me, lying on crude pallets surrounded by their companions.

This really is some sort of holy place.

I find Lily across the room. Her auburn hair makes her easy to spot, even in the dimness of this space. She is with her three Alphas, and I notice that they are holding little babies. Those must be Lily’s children.

I didn’t realize she had children here. No wonder she has no interest in being rescued.

A moment later, she comes running back toward us. She arrives almost simultaneously with Truk, who is bearing a welcome refill of water. I take the cup gratefully and sip while Lily takes a seat nearby.

“Look at this,” she says.

She holds out her open hand. Lying in her palm is a small device that almost looks like a little mechanical spider. I realize it is some sort of chip.

“Do you know what this is?”

I shake my head and take another gulp of water. I’ve never tasted anything so good in my life.

“No clue,” I answer. “Where’d you get it?”

“From inside your head.”

I’m in the middle of taking another mouthful of water, and I nearly spray it all over her.

“Inside my head?”

Lily nods. “It’s the neural chip that SynerGen placed under the skin at the base of your neck.”

She takes my hand and places the chip in my palm. I hold it close and study it in the low light. The thin pieces that look like spider legs must be the electrodes that connected it to my nerves.

“I used to have one of those too,” Lily explains. “Only mine was very different. It could only be used to observe everything that I saw and heard. Yours seems to have been a new model. It could do more than just record your senses.”

“Mind control,” I whisper.

“Exactly. When you tried to throw the knife at me before, your motions where strange and mechanical. I could tell that you weren’t really in control. I realized that it must have been some kind of control device, and I surmised that it was probably part of your neural implant.”

A wave of anger surges over me as I understand what SynerGen and Dr. Frostgrave have done.

“This was never really a rescue mission then.”

Dog smooths his hand over my skin. His touch relaxes me a little.

“Apparently not,” he says. “The rescue mission was just a front to get you close to Lily. Then, when you were in striking distance, somebody—probably Frostgrave—took control. The plan all along was to assassinate Lily, not to save her.”

“But you stopped me.”

Dog’s face takes on a pained expression.

“I’m sorry I had to do it that way, Sloane. I didn’t want to hurt you. But I had to protect you at all costs. I knew if you threw that knife, the Alphas would fall on us and tear you to pieces for revenge. Even I’m not foolhardy enough to think I could hold off a hundred Alphas. My only option was to incapacitate you.”

I place my hand on the hard muscles of his thigh and give him a squeeze.

“Thank you,” I say. “I’m glad you did that.”

I still don’t fully understand what Frostgrave’s plan was. There are too many missing pieces. But one thing is clear—Dog’s protective feelings toward me are what ensured that Frostgrave’s scheme failed, thankfully. In a way, it’s ironic.