Page 34

CHEMICAL WARFARE

Amelia's POV

The Gargoyle's death scream echoes across the mountains as Vex sends him crashing to the valley floor. For one precious moment, I think we might actually escape this.

Then I see the response.

Every Council force in the valley turns toward the sound. Heads snap upward, scanning the cliff faces. Communication devices crackle with urgent transmissions. And three more aerial units launch from concealed positions, their wings beating steadily as they climb toward our location.

Vex's victory just revealed my exact position to everyone hunting me.

"Move!" he roars from somewhere above, his voice carrying clearly in the mountain air. "They're converging on your location!"

I scramble along the narrow path as fast as I dare, but pregnant body and treacherous footing make speed impossible. Behind me, I hear the heavy thud of boots on stone—ground forces reaching the ledge system through routes I didn't know existed.

The path ahead narrows to barely the width of my foot. No choice but to continue, pressed against the cliff face as the void yawns beside me. One slip means death, but capture means something worse.

Wings beat overhead. Close. Getting closer.

I duck beneath an overhang just as talons rake the air where my head was moments before. A Feline flier—smaller than a Gargoyle but faster, more maneuverable. He banks for another pass, yellow eyes locked on me with predatory focus.

That's when hands seize me from behind.

"Foolish omega," Captain Kain purrs, his grip iron-strong around my wrists. "Did you really think you could escape me on these mountains?"

I spin to face him, heart hammering. How did he get ahead of me? The main path should have?—

Understanding hits like a physical blow. The ledge system connects. Multiple routes converge at chokepoints. While I followed Vex's carefully planned escape route, Kain simply took the faster path to intercept me.

All our preparation. All the hidden markers and secret passages. Useless against someone who knows these mountains as well as we do.

Two Gargoyles emerge from crevices I never saw, their stone forms blending perfectly with the cliff face until they moved. One carries a specialized containment unit—reinforced metal with blinking neural dampeners. The other holds equipment that makes my medical training scream warnings.

"Where's Vex?" I demand, trying to keep desperation from my voice.

"Your territorial protector is currently engaged with the remainder of our forces," Kain explains, dragging me away from the cliff edge toward a wider section of ledge. "Quite thoroughly occupied, I'd say."

As if summoned by his words, the sounds of battle drift from multiple directions. Roars of pain and fury. The crack of weapons discharging. Heavy impacts that shake the mountainside.

Vex is fighting for his life somewhere beyond my sight. And I'm trapped here, helpless to aid him.

"The Council has been very specific about your value," Kain continues, producing a control collar from his tactical vest. The device hums with electrical energy, neural ports gleaming with chemical residue.

"Medical expertise plus confirmed Chimeric breeding compatibility.

The first successful human-Prime hybrid pregnancy on record. "

My hand moves instinctively to my belly. "I'm claimed. Conquest Law recognizes?—"

"Has exemptions for subjects of critical scientific interest." His voice carries cold authority. "Your unique situation qualifies for immediate appropriation, regardless of prior territorial bonds."

The Gargoyles spread out, cutting off what little escape the narrow ledge might offer. This high on the mountain face, there's nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Just sheer stone above and empty air below.

One activates the neural restraint collar, the device's hum growing louder as its systems charge.

"This will be easier if you cooperate," Kain says, reaching for my throat.

I back against the cliff wall, mind racing through options that don't exist. Three Prime enforcers. Specialized equipment. No weapons except the small vial hidden in my tunic—nerve toxin meant for emergency use against smaller threats.

Insufficient against forces like these.

The collar moves closer to my neck. In moments, I'll lose all capacity for resistance. Chemical suppressants will make me compliant regardless of conscious will.

"Wait," I say, desperation making me bold. "The binding. You said hybrid pregnancy. How do you know the child is viable?"

Kain pauses, amber eyes narrowing with interest. "Council sensors detected accelerated development consistent with successful genetic integration. Your offspring represents the first confirmed proof that species barriers can be crossed."

"But you haven't verified neural development," I press, grasping for any delay. "Hybrid brain function could be compromised. The pregnancy might produce a damaged specimen worthless for research."

It's a desperate gambit. Playing on their scientific interests to buy time for... what? Rescue that might not come? Vex sounds increasingly distant, the battle moving away from my position.

"Irrelevant," the Gargoyle states flatly. "Collection protocols specify acquisition regardless of developmental status. Analysis occurs at secure facilities."

The collar moves toward my throat again. This time, I don't have words to stop it.

That's when the mountain explodes above us.

Stone cascades from the cliff face as something massive strikes the peak overhead. Debris rains down, forcing the Council forces to scatter for cover. Through the dust and falling rock, a familiar roar echoes with primal fury.

"SHE IS MINE!"

Vex appears at the ledge above us, wings spread despite his obvious injuries. Blood streams from multiple wounds. His left wing hangs at an unnatural angle. But his yellow eyes burn with focused rage that makes my omega biology sing recognition.

He doesn't hesitate. Doesn't assess odds or calculate tactics.

He simply launches himself directly at the forces threatening his mate.

The first Gargoyle tries to raise his binding weapon, but Vex strikes with devastating precision. Claws rake across stone flesh, shattering specialized equipment before finding the vulnerable wing joints. They tumble together toward the cliff edge.

At the last second, Vex breaks away, using his good wing to arrest his fall while the Gargoyle continues downward. The stone-like Prime's scream cuts off abruptly when he impacts the valley floor far below.

"Council override authority supersedes territorial claim," Kain snarls, drawing his blade as Vex lands heavily on the ledge. "The breeding omega is classified highest-value acquisition target."

"She carries my mark. My seed." Vex's voice drops so low I feel it vibrating through the stone beneath my feet. "No Council override exists for a confirmed breeding pair."

The remaining Gargoyle moves to flank him, but the narrow ledge works against coordinated assault. Vex uses the terrain advantage, tail whipping out while his claws seek vulnerable points in stone armor.

But he's already wounded. Already fighting with one wing barely functional.

When the Gargoyle manages to discharge his binding weapon, Vex's protective instincts override everything else. His injured wing curves around me, shielding my body from the paralytic chains.

Pain flashes across his features as the compound makes contact. Visible numbness spreads through his already damaged wing.

"No!" The word tears from my throat.

"Neural binding successful," the Gargoyle reports with satisfaction. "Wing mobility compromised at seventy percent and declining."

Kain circles closer, weapon drawn. "Last chance, Chimeric. Surrender the omega, and we can discuss terms for your continued flight capability."

Vex positions himself between us despite his mounting injuries. Blood flows from reopened wounds. His paralyzed wing drags uselessly. Yet he stands unwavering between danger and me.

"She is MINE to protect," he growls. "And you will not take what is mine while I still draw breath."

The standoff stretches. Then Kain makes a subtle motion, reaching for something concealed in his tactical vest.

"Very well," he says with cold finality. "If you won't surrender her voluntarily..."

The canister is small, almost innocuous. When activated, it releases fine mist that disperses rapidly through the air—shimmering with unnatural blue luminescence that makes my skin crawl instinctively.

"Heat accelerant," Kain announces with clinical detachment. "Designed specifically for captured omegas. Triggers artificial heat symptoms severe enough to incapacitate through pain while leaving breeding capacity intact."

Understanding hits an instant before the chemical reaches me.

I try to hold my breath. Press my face against stone. But contact with skin is sufficient for absorption, and the compound permeates the air itself.

When it touches me, fire erupts beneath my skin.

Not the gradual warmth of natural heat, but consuming inferno that races through my nervous system with brutal efficiency. My knees buckle as agony overwhelms every sense. A scream tears from my throat as fabricated need crashes through me.

But this isn't like the heat that brought Vex and me together. That was biological imperative—uncomfortable but purposeful, my body preparing for potential breeding.

This is weaponized suffering. Artificial stimulation of hormone receptors without corresponding pleasure responses that make natural heat bearable.

Pure torture disguised as biology.

"Amelia!" Vex's roar barely penetrates the haze of agony consuming me.