Page 12

* * *

Both brothers liked to sleep in their wolf forms. Lars lay between the two rumbling beasts, like a little sheep who'd stumbled into the wrong den. But there was nowhere else he could go. He needed to be near them, or else his body began to go through withdrawal cravings. He felt both terrified and oddly secure.

The two woke early to attend to their military duties, and Lars woke when Phoenix dropped his heavy boots onto the ground near Lars's head. He sat up with a start, clutching the sheet to his body.

"You're coming with us, Omega," Phoenix said, buttoning up his uniform and fastening his golden collar around his neck. "Be ready in one minute or I'll drag you naked to the surface."

Lars looked over at Griffin.

"Up," he grunted. "You speak to no one. You will be invisible, understood? You will stay near us, but always behind us. And if we require a service from you, you will carry it out without delay. If you act out of line, we will be forced to punish you."

"Yes, alright," Lars agreed reluctantly. "So, is that why you've taken me? To be your servant?"

Neither of them responded.

He stood behind them in the freight elevator, unable to see over their massive frames. He craned his neck to stare up through the wire grating, where light from the surface grew stronger and stronger. Soon, he had to close his eyes and block them with the back of his hand. He hadn't seen the sun in days, and its rays heated his skin and penetrated deep into his vision, burning in the silhouettes of Griffin and Phoenix.

The elevator clanged and shuddered as it reached the top, and Lars took in a breath of fresh air that made him open his eyes despite the glare of daylight. It was the familiar scent of Ekdol. He could smell the olive trees and the sweet, pungent pollen of the meitu flowers. There was the aroma of the thousand Sentol Lakes to the east, with their delicious, crystal flowing waters and the clear smell of fresh snow on the Hound's Teeth Mountains beyond them. He gathered it all in one breath, and it brought clarity back to his mind.

Run.Escape. Break free.

But how?

Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the light. The sight before him brought him great sadness. They were inside the forest, but in an area that had been clear-cut and razed to make room for the Xyletian military base. Heavy machinery and weapons of war trundled across the scorched soil, with jangling treads and belches of hot smoke. A series of gun batteries sat with their barrels pointed towards the forest in a threatening salute. The Xyletian banner fluttered on a pole.

Two soldiers wearing the Feral Fangs emblem pulled open the elevator gates and saluted as the two Alphas emerged. Lars followed behind them as he'd been told, and the soldiers didn't even acknowledge his existence.

They walked across the grounds, passing by a ring of soldiers who were watching two wolves practicing combat. Their snarls and vicious growls sent an instinctive shiver down Lars's spine. This was dangerous territory for an Omega, and he found himself walking closer to Phoenix and Griffin.

Terrified, yet secure. That was the contradiction that tugged at him.

He also noticed others wearing the same drab grey uniform as him, some walking around in their wolf forms carting loads of supplies on their backs, but most following around officers like obedient dogs. Were they Omegas, too? Something told him no. But they were other prisoners of war. Were they all Ekdolian?

The command building was a two-story structure that looked like it could be assembled and disassembled in a matter of days. Wordlessly, Griffin split off from them. Lars began to follow him, but Phoenix snapped his fingers.

"With me, Omega."

Lars followed. "Where is he going?"

"Were you not warned? Do not speak until spoken to."

"You spoke to me," he said, with just a hint of unrestrained cheek. "I was responding."

Phoenix whipped around and slammed his fist against the wall, narrowly missing Lars's head. The exposed particle board cracked from the impact. "Do not test my patience, Omega, or you will quickly discover just how little of it there is."

Lars found himself glaring back. He was frightened, but maybe seeing the sky and breathing the air of his home had given him some confidence.

"My brother has other business to attend to," Phoenix said after a long pause. He turned and walked away. Lars hurried to follow. "Trust me, I would not have chosen to take custody of you."

"Why did you?"

"Are you slow? Because Griffin cannot."

"You could've left me in the room."

"Is that what you want?"

He would've much preferred that to spending time with the two of them—though he knew what would happen without their presence. "I suppose seeing the sun and feeling the breeze was more favorable."