Page 50 of Brave New Omega, Part 2

Chapter 50

KATIE

M addie kicks and screams, as the larger of the two men wraps his fingers over her mouth. I manage to snap my arm back and wind a tight right hook, hitting not the man coming to grab me, but the bitter blond. I feel the crunch of knuckles against cartilage.

“Oh fuck!” She shrieks, grabbing her nose. I hope I broke it.

“Godsdamnit! You fucking bitch,” she darts back, blood pouring onto her neck and dress. Too bad it’s nearly the same color.

“Let me go!” I shout. The man holding Maddie grunts, and I turn to see her biting him hard. His arms loosen just long enough for her to get one arm free, and she elbows him in the groin. He falls to his knees.

The man grabbing me tightens his hold, but I slam my head backwards into his face. He grunts before dropping like a lead weight to the floor.

“I’m going to break your fucking neck!” I shout. I make to lunge at Genevieve, but instead pivot and push toward the door.

“C’mon,” I shout at Maddie, who dropkicks the larger man.

“No, you don’t! I have strict orders!” Genevieve stomps her foot, then talks quickly into a wristband.

Maddie and I sprint toward the doorway, and the light of the ballroom. Just a few more strides and we’re free. I dig into the pocket of my dress, wrapping my hand around my phone. I need to get one of those wristlets!

I press the key I think is one letting it auto dial. It should be Max’s number. I barely hear him pick up from the muffled lining of my dress. I scream, afraid I'll drop it if I take it out.

“Someone has us!”

Just as I press my hands against the door to the outside room, it swings open, and one of the Beta security guards fills the doorway. I’d seen him when we arrived, standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Help!” I shout, trying to push past him into the light. “Someone is trying to–” but my words are cut off as he grabs me by the throat and squeezes.

“Put her the fuck down!” Maddie bellows. She roundhouse kicks him, which he catches, but in the process drops me. He flips her over, and she lands on all fours, panting. She grunts, kicking one of her legs out and tripping the Beta.

I wheeze from the ground, and there’s muffled noises coming from my pocket. Well, at least someone has been notified. Maddie jumps up, grabbing me, but we’re too slow.

Genevieve strides forward, her upper lips coated in a sheen of blood. I shakily get to my feet, and my fucking left knee wobbles under me. Her eyes narrow and with a single swift movement, she kicks my knee and I collapse, screeching in pain. The pain surges up my thigh, into my hip to burn relentlessly at the base of my spine. A matching pain burns in the depths of my core.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

Sweat beads along my hairline. I feel the flush bubbling up into my cheeks and neck and down to my chest and shoulders.

This little poison pixie bitch . I really really wanted to drop kick her into next week.

Not that I could do that anymore. But Maddie could. Only the big Beta has gotten back to his feet and blocks the doorway. He lunges forward and grabs Maddie by the back of the neck.

Shit . I’m too distracted. I can’t even protect my sister.

“What the fuck do you want?” Maddie snarls, struggling even though he’s got his meaty hand wrapped tight around her throat.

“Cool it,” I whisper. But Maddie’s shoulders rise, her fists so tight her knuckles look ready to split the skin.

“Oh, you are feisty little Omegas. What a lovely change from all the other dreary pets those Alpha dogs keep. But I have you now.” She claps her hands like a little kid. “You are the talk of the town, Katie. An Omega for the notorious Pack Murphy – the War Heroes , didn’t you know? It’s funny how what I’m doing to you is illegal, but dress me in a uniform and send me North to fight the rebellious Betas, and I’d be a hero too.” Her lip curls as she looks me over.

“What do they see in you? You’re so plain –and you don’t even smell good.” She pats me down, and pulls my phone from my pocket. The line was dead –Max must have hung up when he knew what was happening.

“Who did we last call…The Conservatory? Not to your Alphas?” She snorts. “Not such princes after all, huh? I could have told you that, sweetie.” She taps my cheek –harder than a pat, but not quite a slap.

I bite my cheek. I don’t need to push her, not yet. I need to buy time for my guys to get here. I must have dialed four instead of one. Shit. I hope Aurelia took the damn call.

“What should we do with them, Gen?” The big Beta asks. One of the earlier attackers jogs up behind Genevieve. Now that I’m not trying to run away, I take him in. He’s young – early twenties at most. His face is round and his hair is shaved short. His black shirt is rolled up to the elbow and I spot a tattoo, two crossed swords with a looping swirl in the center. I file that away to report to the police.

To Callum.

My Inspector.

“We have a couple of rooms ready. Should we try to find the blond?”

I tense.

“I don’t fucking care. Have one of the girls see if she can grab her, but don’t make a scene. We already have two–and two was all we planned to grab.”

“Aye, boss.” The boy nods, then jogs back into the dark hallway.

“As for you,” she points at Maddie, who glares at her. “You behave or I’m going to start breaking your sister’s fingers, got it? I was told not to damage you. A few broken fingers –or ribs –can be overlooked. Especially since you struggled.”

“Go to hell,” I say, unable to swallow my rising anger and fear. Genevieve is mad, but she’s clearly not working alone. Which makes this a much different threat than I realized. Because someone knew both Layla and I were coming tonight. And someone is helping her steal us. Someone that the Conservatory – maybe even my Pack – trusts.

“Been there, done that. Honestly, you are so boring. No pleasing, no whimpering. At least your sister growls. She’s fun.”

“What do you want? Aside from needing to feel smug,” Maddie snaps, the man tightens his grip on her throat and she digs her nails into his forearm until he hisses.

“I want to bring Pack Murphy to its knees,” Genevieve says fiercely. She leans down to get right in my face, and I can smell the tang of her drying blood. “You know that Callum and Loren met in the War, don’t you? Pretty little soldiers all dressed up and murdering Betas. They fought at the Battle of Vainamoinen– the last great stand before the armies of Kharawyn were defeated. It was a bloody battle –the most casualties for both sides of any single conflict in the whole of the border rebellions.” She takes a deep breath and draws away. I stay silent, and thank fuck Mads does too.

“Loren single handedly stopped the advance of the Betas trying to take the Northern mountain towns. Orchestrated a strategic move where he divided his soldiers and surrounded the entire eastern flank of Dar Haskan’s army. He used a series of Alpha Barks to freeze sections of the fighters. They were mowed down like fucking grass.” Her lip quivers.

She was there. I know the haunted look of someone who’s seen war. But Genevieve is young – younger than me. She would have been a small child. She might have been a witness to the carnage. That kind of trauma can warp a person.

“He beheaded the youngest prince of the Kharawyn royal family. Callum stood beside him and didn’t lift a finger to stop his Packmate. He beheaded the prince. No court ruling, no banishment Beheading .” She gulps a sob, then blinks, her eyes reflecting the flames of anger.

“All they wanted was to create a more just world. A world where Betas weren’t second best. A world where Alphas and Omegas knew their place. And Loren took that away.”

I press my lips into a line. Loren had told me that he’d killed a lot of people in the war. This could be true, or it could be poison. Genevieve might have a distorted memory. Trauma can do that too –make an event worse the more times you relieve it.

“And?” I ask. Maddie growls.

“Ohooo big Alpha energy for a little Omega bitch.” Genevieve’s sweet voice sours. She’s vinegar pretending to be wine. “Annnnd, I’m here to make them pay. I thought I could do that by destroying them from within, but that was much too complicated, and godsdamn Max never took my bait. So I thought I could ruin them in society, but Loren’s Family Pack wouldn’t disown him completely –though I almost had them before a new Omega walked into his life.”

She coils a hair around one finger, before letting it spring back. “But you, little Omega, you are two fish with one line! I can destroy Pack Murphy by destroying you, and I can give King Dar Khallo-Han the Travelers he needs to map your biological anomalies or whatever.”

“You’re a crazy bitch,” Maddie says.

The two attackers from before jog back out of the shadowed hallway and Genevieve grins.

“Sure am, but I’m the crazy bitch who won .”

Hands grab me roughly and haul me down the hallway. I thrash and kick, but can’t free myself from their grasp. Before I can even turn around in my hold, I’m thrown into a dark room. Maddie kicks and snaps, but she’s dragged away. She screams, then I hear a growl from the man holding her. I lunge at the door, but Genevieve closes it with a slam. A lock clicks into place. The room is utterly dark.

“Maddie!” I shriek, trying to stand again on shaking legs. But my ruined knee gives out and I slide to the floor. Heat licks up my spine.

Fuck .

I’ve lost my Alphas. Now I’ve lost both my sisters.

God damn it. I can’t do this alone.