Page 48

I can’t help her if I show how involved I feel without ever having met her. Ethan’s feelings for her are leaking onto me, and it’s hard to go to the place inside of me that cares about no one and nothing other than science. I want him to be happy, and Nina doesn’t deserve to be entangled in her mother’s bullshit.

“Here we are,” Dr. Kind says. “I’d like to go in with you, monitor how she’s doing after being isolated. The patient is in an intensive protocol program since she hasn’t responded well to being here.”

I have a feeling what he’s telling me isn’t true. Even though I can’t smell his scent due to the scent descenters that are mandatory here, his eyes squint when he lies. It’s very slight, but it’s there.

I’m a good judge of character. Dr. Kind is nothing like his moniker.

“That’ll be fine,” I say, waiting to see what he wants to see from my interaction with Nina. I notice the way he’s distancing himself from “the patient” by not using her name, and take that into account for how bad this might be.

Dehumanizing someone is a coping mechanism for some.

“After I leave, you can do whatever you deem to be best,” Dr. Kind says. “All we ask is that she not be physically damaged in a way someone will be able to notice long term. She needs to be able to carry babies for her pack, whoever that may be, and no one enjoys looking at a scarred omega.”

With those words, he opens the door and strides inside while I struggle to process those words. Fuck, that could mean anything. Has she been sexually violated, physically tortured, choked out?

There’s an endless series of questions flooding my mind as I follow the doctor inside the small room. It’s very bright inside, so much so that even I wince. Omegas dislike harsh lighting, and the room feels incredibly warm as well. The bulbs must be fluorescent.

It’s not over the top to state that this is torture, not a treatment, especially as I listen to the very loud recording playing. The walls are only amplifying the sound as it bounces off them, and it would be difficult, if not impossible to sleep through it.

“Omegas have an inherent need to make alphas happy,” the woman speaking through the speaker drones. “It is yourresponsibility to embrace your designation and do whatever you can to serve them. You need a pack to protect you, and alphas need you to keep them content. Not everyone will have a scent match, which means waiting for a fairytale is senseless. Be the best omega possible through obedience and being soft spoken.”

The light is so bright, I can barely see the omega in the chair sitting down. I doubt she’s unrestrained due to what Dr. Kind’s been telling me. Is she unconscious?

All I can do is stand in the searing heat of the lights beside the doctor as the infernal woman continues on in her lecture. All of it revolves around indentured servitude because omegas shouldn’t have any thoughts their alphas don’t give them first.

I truly thought this kind of thinking was passé, but this woman seems to believe this is the only acceptable way to behave. She also has a grating tone, which makes my ear drums feel as if they’re going to begin to bleed at any moment since the volume is so fucking loud.

Nina’s behavior modification is full blown torture.

I’m unsure how long I’m forced to stand sentinel to this, but my jaw aches from how hard I’m clenching it. I’m not worried the doctor will be able to see it, not when it looks like a supernova exploded in this room. I can feel my shirt starting to stick to my back from the heat, but I remain unmoved by it.

This is a test for me as well. At first, I wasn’t sure, but after an extended amount of time, I realized it. Everything within me wants to save Nina from this, but I can’t. Not yet.

So I keep my muscles loose, outside of my clenched jaw. He can state this is part of her treatment and try to feed me whatever bullshit he wants, but I fully understand that I need to pass this exam on my ability to withstand the torture of an omega with flying colors.

I noticed as I walked through the facility that many of the employees are betas, and it’s due to an alpha’s innate desire to protect omegas. He’s ensuring I can quell my designation’s needs. On the inside I may be snarling, but the rest of me is calm.

It helps that I have no scent to betray how angry I am. The scent of burned apple pie is difficult to hide otherwise.

Dr. Kind steps forward, and the lights dim drastically, while the woman prattling on through the speakers cuts off.

“Miss Nina,” the doctor says, but I can’t focus on his next words because the girl in the chair is leaning to the side, her head dropped back. The only thing keeping her seated are ties on her arms and legs binding her to the chair. It also doesn’t escape my attention that she’s bald, and there are nicks and scratches along her scalp.

She looks like she’s been through a war rather than “rehabilitation.” I can see how sunken her eyes are and pronounced her cheeks are, showing that she’s lost weight while she’s been here.

Frowning, Dr. Kind fills up a bucket with water from a sink that appears to be the only other thing inside here before dumping it over her head. Nina jerks as she sputters, her eyes wide as her chest heaves. I’m not sure if she lost consciousness or fell asleep.

I doubt it would have been easy to sleep with how bright and hot the lights were, along with the volume of the speakers. Even now in the silence, my ear drums feel sore and the air feels cooler.

“Rise and shine, Miss Nina,” Dr. Kind says without emotion. “There are very important lessons within Emilia Richardson’s lectures. You could learn a thing or two about how to be an omega.”

She gazes warily at him but doesn’t speak, coughing. I don’t see any water available other than the sink, and I doubt she’s been given any recently.

Dr. Kind loudly drops the bucket, making Nina flinch at the sound. Everything feels so much quieter now that Emilia is no longer speaking.

“Your mother sends her regards, and wants you to know that she expects you to willingly accept a pack of her choosing,” he says.

As her eyes widen, they allow me to see that they’re an odd color. They’re green with bright blue flecks, and startling to see. The slight inhale causes her to begin to cough again, wracking her body with shudders. Typically, this would cause someone to tear up, but when none occur, I decide she’s too dehydrated.