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A low chuckle sounds in my head. In…my…head.

I push the foreigner out, horrified. “Who the fuck is out there!” Ryx doesn’t stir at all. He’s completely dead to the world. Damn it.

Squinting into the darkness, I peer through the revolver's sight, my hand too shaky to aim properly. My pulse thumps against my eardrums and my stomach sinks. I shouldn’t even be scared. But some dark creature whispers in my ear that despite being the Maven, I’m still so weak. I couldn’t stop Matthias, couldn’t push him out of my head. There’s an entire world of Telex out here, other Mavens, too.

“Saren Ashford,” a voice echoes through the trees, and my blood runs cold. I tremble.

A few beats pass, and I see them. Two humans with large guns trained on me. The third steps out from behind a tree, lantern in hand. The harsh light blocks most of his features, and his drawn-up hood doesn’t help. All I see is a mouth. Dropping to my animal instincts is necessary, so I scent him.

Omega.

“Stay b-back!” My feet shift, widening my stance like that’ll make a difference.

Once again, I try to attack the humans. My mastery smacks into an impossibly strong mental shield. One they couldn’t possibly have.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” the Telex says.

There’s no way for me to gauge how strong he is. Not with those shields in place. While I consider mine as impenetrable as a vault, I know I’m outmatched. I won’t win this battle with my mastery.

“I’ll shoot you!” I warn, index finger hovering over the trigger.

“Not before they do,” he says easily, lifting the lantern to his left and right.

Oh fuck it. Ryx will just have to understand that these people are a threat. I rip a boulder from the ground with my telekinesis and hurl it straight at them. The omega redirects it easily, crushing a nearby tree.

“That’s the best you can do?” he goads, that mouth tipping into a sultry smile.

I try to snap his legs, but that same shield keeps me out. Desperate, I latch onto the human’s guns. It’s exactly the same. No give on their shields.

“What the fuck are you?” I repeat Ryx’s words.

“Not what, but who,” he grins fully now, “and you have something I want.”

My eyes flick to Ryx.

The man chuckles. “Not him. Not anymore.”

I frown. A bead of sweat trickles down my temple.

“Retrieve the serum,” he orders, and the two humans stalk forward.

Serum? I shuffle back, one leg over Ryx. To my surprise, they don’t come near us. Instead, one of them, a beta, squats before the empty bag. They shuffle through the items I tossed out and pluck the syringe. I didn’t even notice it before. My heart pinches as I recognize the eerie blue liquid.

“This can go one of two ways, Saren,” the Telex says casually, like we’re friends. “You come with us willingly, or we take you anyway.”

I fire the gun. The bullet deflects, as I expected. I fire again and again, shooting aimlessly now, hoping to hit someone. When the gun clicks, signaling it’s empty, a force crashes into me. That hollow spot in my gut twists, forcing me to double over.

“What an interesting weave,” the man says in my head. “You’ve worked hard to keep someone out. But here,” I cry out and roll over, landing beside Ryx, “you’ve left a crack. Oh, this is very sweet.”

The invasive mental fingers fondle and tickle all my memories, flipping through them like a picture book. He focuses on my most recent ones. He watches me kiss Ryx’s forehead at least five times, then growls. “Bind him,” he says.

Why can’t I fight him off? Who the fuck is he? How is he so strong?

He’s an omega. He shouldn’t be this strong—it’s impossible.

The two humans get to work. I’m hogtied in seconds, all the while this fucking monster finds everything I’ve spent years hiding. Blood gushes from my nose in a steady stream as my eyes burn and blur. The pain in my gut has me seeing spots, and white-hot pain travels to my groin.

“Ryx!” I bellow. “Ryx, wake up!”