Page 26 of Dark Revolution

Opening my eyes, dread fills my gut as I realize I’m no longer alone with him. Instead, an Alpha in a red cloak, his face hidden by an insert until all you can see are his dark, judging eyes, steps forward. The doctor comes closer, his lips forming a thin line. “Your blood has been tested positive as an ome -.”

The Alpha in the red cloak pushes past the doctor, shoving him behind. “The pollutants you forced within yourself have now dissipated. Your true dynamic is now apparent. This means you have been found guilty of masking your dynamic. As such, you will be sentenced to the auction house. Your only salvation is you are still pristine. Someone may still want you. You will be hereby stripped of your beta insignia and instilled with the markings of your true birth. Doctor.”

The other Alpha stands back next to the High Echelon Alpha. “Yes, my Lord High Echelon.”

“You will see to the removal process and the reapplication of the correct insignia. I will have her tested after to ensure that no drugs were put into her system. I better find her sober and able to feel everything. This is her punishment, and you will carry it out.”

“Yes, Lord High Echelon.” The gut-wrenching look in his eyes nearly breaks me, but he still nods his assent and waits for the High Echelon Alpha to leave. Turning to me, he shakes his head, regret etched in his features. “There’s nothing I can do. If you test positive, they will only torture you more, and I will be executed as well. You broke the law; this is your consequence.”

I want to scream after him as he exits the curtain, but I can’t. The goon Alphas slip in, one holding a wicked rod in his hand. Without preamble, one pries my mouth open so the other can shove the cylinder between my teeth. My tongue flails about as I try to push it forward, but it doesn’t give an inch.

They cinch it tight around my head, forcing my jaw to extend around it. “Don’t fight it and breathe. When it hurts, bite down. It will help mitigate the pain.” They pull the gurney forward into a bright room. Spots dance before my eyes as the illumination sears me. When it clears, I almost wish I can’t see.

Terrifying equipment stands along the perimeter of the room, each housing various blades and lasers. My gut clenches as the doctor dons on a white robe with a hood, a glass window allowing him to look out, and me to see his eyes. They glance over at me once more, and I wish I could ask him to purr.

The High Echelon didn’t say he couldn’t purr. Anything to quell the fear thrumming through me. It stinks up the room, filling it until every breath is tinged with acrid ammonia. At the doctor’s nod, the other Alphas hold me down. Bending low, the doctor grabs what looks like a scalpel and glances up to the ceiling, eyes closed as if in prayer before scraping it along my mark.

The first scrape isn’t bad. In fact, I’ve felt more discomfort removing my body hair. But one scrape becomes two, which becomes ten until each scrap is removing more and more skin. Blood wells to the surface, only to be washed away by an unknown liquid that burns like acid. Screams gurgle up, deadened by the bit forced into my mouth.

Never once do any of the Alphas give me respite. The agony is unending as layer by layer of my arm is flayed off. The pain is intense, more so than I could even have imagined. Darkness encroaches as my body attempts to shield me, giving me images of love and happiness to look at. Finally, I give in to the dark and succumb to the peace it promises me.