Page 77 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Reyna

T here's a soft knock at my door, which is the last thing I would've expected for a place like this. The beta guards who came in earlier to let me go to the bathroom down the hall didn't bother to knock.

No creepy scientists in lab coats have shown up yet to use me as a lab rat, so maybe it's finally that time.

I brace myself against the gurney, preparing myself for whoever comes in.

The person who enters is the last thing I ever would've expected.

An omega.

She's incredibly pale, almost like she hasn't seen the light of day in a very, very long time.

Considering there are no windows here and the general feeling I get that this place is underground, I don't think that's outside the realm of possibility.

Her light auburn hair is a little dull, like her skin, but it reminds me of Daisy's hair.

She's wearing loose gray pants and a matching gray t-shirt. Almost like a uniform, of sorts.

In her hands is a tray of food. It's pretty basic stuff: a bowl of oatmeal, a granola bar, and a box of apple juice. It reminds me of hospital food.

"Hi," she says, smiling at me. "I'm Mirabelle, but everyone calls me Mira. What's your name?"

How in the world can she smile in a moment like this? Her cheeriness is a bit bizarre, given the sterile and hostile environment we're in right now.

"Reyna," I say slowly.

My wariness doesn't seem to deter her at all. She just comes closer and sets the tray of food down on the little table next to the gurney.

"Reyna's such a pretty name!" She says.

Now that she's closer, I can see the dusting of freckles across her cheeks. Like Milo's.

A pang of longing twists in my chest, and my perfume twists in the air around us. God, I'd do anything to be with my pack right now.

Her eyes go wide and her brows draw down.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Everything. Everything is fucking wrong. I just want to go home.

I shake my head, some of my hair falling in my face.

"You can tell me," she says, reaching out and touching my hand.

The restraints don't seem to faze her, which means their use must be pretty commonplace around here.

"A lot of the other girls talk to me all the time, they say it's because I'm easy to talk to, because I make them happy."

It's strange, she looks around my age, but based on the way she acts and talks, she seems quite a bit younger.

Her expression is so bright and earnest, I feel like I can't ignore her.

"I was just missing someone," I say.

Her eyes go wide.

"Missing someone? Like, someone from the outside?" She asks, pitching her voice down softly.

"Yeah," I say slowly.

"Wow, I'm sorry you're missing them."

"Do you not have anyone you miss?"

"I don't remember the outside," she shrugs. "The treatments mess with our memory. The nurses say I've been here for a long time though, so I'm not sure if I would've remembered anything from the outside even without the treatments."

"How long is a long time?”

She pauses to take a second to think.

"Fifteen years, I think?"

Holy shit.

My heart starts pounding in my chest. The beeping noises seem to startle Mira and her bright and sweet strawberry shortcake scent starts to sour as she panics.

"Did I—did I say something wrong?" She asks.

"No, you didn't say anything wrong," I say, doing my best to reassure her with my best attempt at a smile.

I don't know how effective my smile is right now because it feels like the fabric of the universe is falling apart.

The riots happened fifteen years ago. There are plenty of reports of people going missing then. Alphas. Omegas. Children.

There's no way that Novacure Pharmaceuticals orchestrated the riots to make legislative changes requiring the registration of omegas while simultaneously creating the perfect environment for a black-market trafficking system.

All while building these underground testing facilities to illegally experiment on humans to develop their drugs, including children they kidnapped during the riots.

But as I lay it all out in my head, it makes perfect sense.

This is a groundbreaking discovery.

This will change the entire foundation of Riverwell as a whole.

I need to get out of here. The world needs to know what's going on.

"Are you sure? You still seem upset," Mira says, drawing my attention back to her. "Was it because I've been here for a long time?"

"Something like that," I say, nodding slowly.

"Would some food help cheer you up? I'm sure you're hungry."

My stomach takes that opportunity to growl loudly.

Mira picks up the bowl of oatmeal and holds the spoon to my lips.

"Ahhhh," she says.

I take the bite offered to me, but I shake my head when she offers me the second.

"Is there any way I could eat myself?"

"No, I'm sorry, I was told that I had to feed you," she says, smiling at me apologetically.

I nod, accepting the second bite.

It was worth a try. Plus, something tells me that if I want to have any hope of getting out of here, it'll be because of her.

She leans in conspiratorially. "So, what did you do to get yourself punished?"

"Punished?"

"Yeah," she says, nodding down at the restraints around my wrists. "Most of us know what not to do. I'm really good at not getting punished."

I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know. I was kidnapped and brought here against my will."

She makes a face. It almost looks like she's pitying me, right now.

"That's what a lot of girls say when they get here, but they don't understand that we're here to fulfill our purpose. We're here to help people. I'm sure you'll feel that way soon."

I shake my head.

"No, I won't." I tilt my head to the side and bare my neck to her, showcasing the bite marks there. "I have people looking for me. A pack. I have to get back to them."

Her eyes go wide and she drops the spoon back into the bowl.

"No way," she breathes out, moving some of my hair out of the way to peer down at my bond marks. "None of us have these."

"They're called bond marks," I explain. "I have four of them because I have four bonded mates. When you asked me why I was sad earlier, it's because I was missing them."

"What are—what are bonded mates?"

I pause, trying to figure out a way to explain all that the Graylock Pack are to me with a few words.

"They're like half of me. When they're sad, I'm sad. When they're happy, I'm so happy. And they just have a way of making me feel happy better than anyone else."

Her eyes go wide with an almost childlike wonder. "I want that," she breathes out.

"And I can help you," I whisper. "If you help me get out of here, I'll help you get out too, and you can explore the world and meet people who you could bond with too."

She spins around and slams the nearly empty bowl of oatmeal down on the tray, her shoulders trembling.

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I'm not going to do something bad. I'm good. I'm a good girl. You're asking me to do something wrong, right now, Reyna. I can't do something wrong."

"You're right, I'm sorry for asking that of you, Mira," I say, immediately backing off.

She takes a few seconds to collect herself before turning around with the granola bar and juice box in hand. Her smile is a little less enthusiastic, but it's still present.

"Apology accepted," she nods. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I hope that doesn't mean you don't like me anymore."

"You're actually my favorite person here," I say as she feeds me another bite from the granola bar.

"Really?" She asks. "Who else have you met?"

"A couple of guards who didn't give me their names, Dom, and Sebastian Montgomery."

She freezes when I mention Sebastian's name.

The straw of the juicebox shakes ever so slightly as she holds it in front of my lips.

Her expression has now gone completely serious. It's a terrifyingly eerie difference.

"Mr. Sebastian has already come to see you?" She asks quietly.

When I meet her gaze, I can see the terror lying in their depths.

I feel the exact same way.

But this is it. This is my in. This is how I get Mira to help me.

"He has," I say, nodding gravely. "He hurt me, too."

I nod my chin, gesturing to the scab that's there.

Her brows draw down as her lower lip trembles.

"I'm terrified of him," I say. This part isn't an act. I really am terrified. "He's going to hurt me again and this time it's going to be a lot worse. I know it. And I won't have any way to stop it from happening. Unless?—"

"I'm sorry," she interrupts, setting the juice box down on the tray. "I—I can't."

She turns and takes the tray, her hair falling between us like a curtain. "I'll see you later, Reyna."

Mira comes and sees me for the next three meals.

Each time, she's her bright and cheery self.

Even if I'm not in the mood to talk very much, she's more than happy to fill the silence, talking about her favorite things to do to pass the time.

It seems like the "nurses" here make some effort to keep the omegas entertained between their weeks of torture.

I don't know whether it's just Mira's bright and bubbly personality trying to block out any darkness or whether the omegas who are forced into their heats actually have some form of amnesia, but Mira says she doesn't remember much from her forced heats.

On the fourth meal, her normally bright and cheery expression is nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong?" I ask, immediately sitting up the best I can with the restraints I have.

"Mr. Sebastian is here today," she says softly.

My blood runs cold, and I swallow hard.

I don't know what to say. The last thing I want to do is upset Mira, especially when she's the only form of companionship I have in this white room.

This time I'm the one trying to make conversation between us, except I don't seem to have her talent of filling up space. Silence descends upon us pretty quickly. Once she sets down the juicebox on the tray, she throws her arm around my neck and hugs me.

It catches me off guard, but all I want is to be able to hug her back.

When she straightens, she reaches down and clasps my hand.

"You're a really good friend," she says, smiling at me. She lowers her voice to a whisper. "I hope—I hope that one day you're able to see your mates again."

Her hands move up from mine and she starts tugging at the buckle of my restraint.

"I'll see you for dinner, okay?" She says as she picks up the tray.

"Okay, see you soon, Mira," I say, doing my best to keep the excitement out of my voice.

Because Mira just undid one of my cuffs.