Page 15

Colton

She doesn’t want to touch us, Aubrey signs, a deep scowl on his face. It’s better this way.

Aubs, Rai, and I are in our usual recreational spot in the library, discussing our new favorite topic, Mira. We’ve only been here about thirty minutes, and the conversation steered to her and our longing to be with her. No big surprise there.

Even Aubrey can’t keep her out of his thoughts, despite how hard he tries.

I roll my eyes. “She thinks she’ll hurt us.”

“ Kill us,” Rai corrects me. “Her mother died in childbirth, and Mira feels responsible. Then her curse killed the woman who had raised her. Plus, who knows how many others died accidentally while she was on the run?”

Now I’m frowning. “But we all feel it, right? That we’re going to be okay?”

I don’t mention that my reason for feeling this way has to do with the fact I’m insane and believe there’s a creature inside me who speaks to me sometimes. And that creature told me that we, all four of us, are destined to form a pack, regardless of the illegality.

Rai’s head drops on a sigh, and Aubs looks a little less severe. Part of me feels that way, but there’s no proof. If it goes wrong, she’ll never forgive us. Or herself.

Fucker has a point. I wouldn’t want to put that on Mira.

His jaw moves side-to-side. And besides the fact I don’t want to die, it doesn’t matter if we’re unharmed by her touch. We can’t be together.

Before I can respond, the siren starts blaring, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. The volume is so loud that I plug my ears as I rise from my chair. When a voice over the PA system announces that everyone has to return to their dorms, I look to Aubrey and find his concern apparent; Rai’s thoughts swim with worry as well.

Although we follow instructions, Rai returning to his room alone while Aubs and I go to ours, the entire time our senses are heightened, proverbial hackles raised high. Again, we’re all thinking of Mira and the overwhelming desire to protect her, frustrated and enraged by the fact we can’t do so openly.

I reach out with my mind in a way I’ve never tried before, never wanting to hear someone else’s thoughts, yet always having them pushed on me. But this is different. I need to find her. I need to know that she’s okay.

Aubrey’s gaze burns into my face from across our dorm as he sits on his bed, me on mine. He knows what I’m trying to do and calms his thoughts in an effort to help me focus. I appreciate the gesture, though I know his reasons are as selfish as mine, even if he won’t admit it. Stubborn ass.

It takes me much longer than I’m comfortable with to find her, but when I do, I am as gentle as possible when I say her name in her mind.

“Colt?” Her thoughts are a frightened whisper.

What happened?

A rush of images flood my mind, an uncomfortable and new experience for someone who only ever heard thoughts like conversations, never witnessed them visually. And when the images of the scared shitless male Omega getting his head blown off assault me, my body jerks.

Come to our dorm, I tell her.

When I look at Aubrey, the concern on his face is clear. I must look pretty awful.

So Mira doesn’t have to re-tell the story, I reach out to Rai, who’s easier to find because I know where he is. I tell him to come to Aubrey and my dorm as well, letting him know Mira is on her way.

Rai arrives first, his room only a few doors down from ours. I quickly recap what I saw Mira witness, telling them with my thoughts like a conversation.

Once I finish, Rai drops down into the chair at our little desk, his head shaking side to side.

That’s when Mira knocks on the door, the rapping soft and tentative. Aubs is the one who opens the door and lets her in, shutting it behind her pale and shivering form. Shock has overtaken her system. I don’t need to read her mind to know that.

I get up, take her gloved hand in mine, and lead her to sit beside me on my bed. I’m sorry that you had to see that, I think at her.

She looks at me, then down at her knees. “I saw it on TV once. Never in person before.”

I nod in understanding. I’d seen it a few times before, twice at Tenebrosa and once here a few years ago. It’s rare because we’re valuable to the GBE since they run the auctions and get most of the money.

“There was…” she hesitates, rolls her lips between her teeth. “A Beta soldier out there was calling for the Omega to stop, but not like a command, like a plea.” She looks at me, her silvery eyes shining. “I think he cared for the Omega. And…” Her brow furrows, her lips flatten before she runs her tongue over her teeth behind them. “He approached us—Nyx, Arlowe, and me—and when he told us to go back inside, I...scented him.”

My brow raises in surprise.

“Like...I’m not sure, but he didn’t smell right for a Beta.”

You think he wasn’t one?

Her head shakes, and she shrugs. “It was fleeting, but I think something’s not right. How could he be anything else?”

I frown before relaying our conversation to both Aubs and Rai, who look equally confused.

After a moment, Rai chimes in quietly, “There’s been a...shift here at the academy. Something is happening. Something big.”

“ How do you know?” she whispers.

His covered face turns to her. “Something in me is changing,” he confesses. “Ever since I met you, my curse is—” he cuts himself off, head tilting in thought, “—evolving. That’s the best word to describe it. When I’m alone in my dorm, eyes free from this confine,” he touches his blindfold, “I can hear the tech throughout the entire building. I’ve never been able to do that before. Sometimes, I pick up on electronic communique. There is one word that I am seeing more and more.” He leans in from my desk chair, closer to us all. Even so, his voice is so quiet I have to strain to process the familiar word. “Rebellion.”

He’s heard it. This can’t be a coincidence. “I’ve been hearing this, too. In people’s thoughts. Not long ago, one person in particular was really concerned that they’d be found, but I couldn’t tell who it was. He hasn’t been around since.”

What kind of rebellion? Aubs signs.

I shake my head. “I mean, it’s got to be against the GBE, right?”

“ Do you think the person you heard is at the war games?” Mira asks.

I shrug. “I didn’t really pay attention to when his thoughts dropped off. I actually didn’t pay much attention at all when I first heard mention of it. But lately, there are whispers in more people’s minds. It’s like they’re scared to even think about it. And now the soldiers are killing people? This can’t be a coincidence.”

Aubrey leans toward me, thinking at me with a crisp tone. “It’s possible this group, this Rebellion, is making a move, and it’s got those in charge scared.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, grip Mira’s hand, perhaps for moral support, then project my next thoughts outward. The guy who I stopped hearing seemed to think he knew exactly where this Rebellion is hiding out. He used the term ‘klick,’ so it’s possible it was a soldier.

Mira shifts beside me again. “But you said he seemed worried they’d be found. Wouldn’t a Beta be happy to find them?”

I shrug. There are sympathizers. Not every Beta or non-Cursed is a piece of shit. I mean, you just mentioned that soldier who seemed shaken by the Omega’s execution.

She contemplates a moment. “What do you think is going to happen?”

I frown. I don’t know yet. But I’m going to keep searching thoughts and see if I can find more information. I squeeze her hand. We need to stay vigilant. If something is happening, we can’t be caught blindsided. We stick together. I swing a harsh glare at Aubrey. No matter what.