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NIRO

I rushed to the counter and put my palms flat on it, realizing they made a loud smack. “I’m here to see the warden. It’s urgent. My name is Niro.”

Thorne came up beside me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. He said softly, “We’ll get there, Niro. Calmly.”

I glanced at him, shaking my head. “They know it’s urgent. They knew we were coming.” I turned back to the Omegas. “One of the Omegas I was with is suffering or hurt. I don’t know. I feel it in my mind.”

“Hold on,” the Omega said. “We have all the information. Everything’s set. Your guide will be here shortly to take you to Warden Chirl.”

“You don’t understand.” I leaned forward with a force that surprised me. “It’s urgent. I must see the Omega Cambry now. And—and there’s another?—”

Just then, a door opened beside the reception office. An older Omega wearing a belted black robe bowed his head and smiled. He looked at me with soft gray eyes. “You are the Alpha Niro?”

“Yes. Can we go now? I need to see him!”

“Of course. Follow me.”

“My brother Thorne is with me.”

Thorne interjected. “Trying to be a calming influence, that’s all.”

“He can come, as well. Please follow me.”

I’d never been inside the other areas of the farm where people lived and worked. The Mating Hall had been my only focus.

Now, I glanced about as we walked down a clean, white hall, the floor sparkling at our feet. Everything looked sterile, beyond clean. We came to an intersection where hallways led left and right as well as straight.

“The offices are this way.”

Thorne moved toward the Omega’s gesture. Left. But some magnetic pull I could barely resist, steered me right. I veered.

“Sir, this way,” the Omega insisted.

“It’s this way,” I said. “I can feel him.”

“You are to meet with Warden Chirl.”

“No. I need to see him. Cambry. And the other. Angell. I need to make sure they’re all right.”

“This way, first,” the Omega calmly insisted.

“I must see them.”

Thorne reached out and clasped my wrist. “There are protocols,” he said.

I shook my head, yanking my hand away from his grasp. “It’s this way. They’re in this direction. I can sense it. Smell it. I have to go to them.”

Out the corner of my eye, I saw the Omega guide bring something out of a pocket in his robe. He quickly spoke into it. “Hall 90 intersection. Assistance, please.”

Before I knew what I was doing, I snatched the device from his hand and slammed it to the floor. “If you block me from my Omega, I will use force.”

“Niro!” Thorne sounded shocked.

I turned on him, feeling my veins heat up. “They can’t keep me from him. He’s hurt.” I lifted my hand, which had formed into a fist.

I saw Thorne go to the Omega’s side. “He formed a spontaneous bond. His Omega is hurt. It’s affecting his behavior.”

“Understood.”

“It’s not affecting anything,” I snarled, “unless you conspire to keep me from him.” I turned quickly and began sprinting down the hall, only to run into two uniformed guards in security uniforms. It was as if they had sprung from the tile floor.

“Whoa, there, sir,” one said. “Where are you headed so quickly?”

The audacity. “Out of my way!”

They both held up their hands in a calming pose, then grabbed my arms. I flailed.

“You can’t do this!” I yelled. “You can’t keep an Alpha from his Omega. It’s illegal!”

“We aren’t keeping you from anything. But you must see the warden, first. Understand?”

“No.” I could smell Cambry down the hall. He was so close. I shouted. “Cambry!”

Thorne came up to me, then, putting his arms around my waist from behind. “Niro. Please. I knew what you’re feeling. But no one here is your enemy.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I do. The bond must be stronger than you think if you’ve gone into such a super-charged protective mode,” he said.

“Protective mode?” I asked. What in all hells was that?

A strong voice intruded from behind us. “What’s going on here?”

“Warden Chirl, sir.” The Omega guide bowed. “I was bringing the Alpha Niro to you when he insisted on breaking away from my lead.”

Chirl walked up to me. For a moment, my frantic urges calmed as I looked into his deep-set, elder eyes. He looked old and ageless at the same time. His robe was white with a black belt. His silver hair designated him the leader here. The rest of us were still children playing out games.

“My apologies for my brother. He’s gone into bondmate protective mode.” Thorne held out his hand. “I’m Thorne.”

Chirl took Thorne’s hand, but his intense gaze never left mine.

I expected a reprimand if not downright banishment from Zilly’s forever.

Instead, Chirl nodded at me, his thick eyebrows narrowing, his face coming closer.

He sniffed the air. “Protective mode is very serious. Your scent is flame. Quite understandable.”

I squawked out my question. “It is?”

“Of course.” Voice remaining neutral and quiet, Chirl finally said the words I most wanted to hear. “I will take you to Cambry immediately.”

Stunned, I could only stare as Chirl turned and took a step in the direction I’d been heading before security had appeared. When I didn’t move, he glanced over his shoulder. “Coming?”

The entire group of us followed the warden, who moved with the grace of immense patience and no doubt a lifetime of being a mediator in human drama. He would have to be patient—and wise—to deal with an Omega chattel farm of this size.

We made two more turns down hallways that looked identical to me. I wondered how the Omegas here learned to navigate such a maze. All the doors looked the same. They were numbered, but even so, you had to know which direction to go in to find any given number.

We finally merged into a busy area of countertops and desks. Benches lined one wall. One whiff and the antiseptic aroma told me it was an infirmary.

Everyone looked up when Chirl entered. Chirl did not react. Instead, he spoke to the nearest white uniformed Omega and said, “We’re here to see how Angell is. And to speak with Cambry.”

The nurse nodded. “He won’t let go of him.”

Chirl gave a short tilt of his head.

Impatience won again inside my head. “Where is he?”

“This way,” the nurse said, opening the second door to my left.

I had already been leaning in that direction, scenting the pathway straight to my mate. I literally bowled over the nurse and ran into the room.

It was a normal-looking hospital room with one adjustable bed, monitors surrounding it, and a counter and sink against one wall. An open doorway led to a private bathroom, which was dark.

On the bed were two Omegas. One I’d just met yesterday. The other was new. Yet I recognized them both.

Cambry looked up as I strode to the bed.

His eyes widened. I hadn’t meant to startle him, but I couldn’t turn back time now.

He sat on the bed beside his friend, his arm around him, holding him against his chest. The second Omega’s eyes were closed.

His small frame was hooked up to several wires and two I.V.s.

He had a large purple bruise on the side of his delicate face. Angell?

“N--Niro?” Cambry stuttered.

I put my hands against the mattress edge. “I had to see you. Are you both okay? I felt the injury to the head.”

“You—you did?”

“There’s a bond, so yes, I did.”

“A bond?”

“You felt it yesterday, right?”

Slowly, he bowed his head. His eyes filled. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong.” His mouth scrunched up as he tried to hold back his tears. He glanced beside me.

There was a crowd at the door, including the warden and my brother.

“Don’t mind them. You didn’t do anything wrong. I won’t let anything bad happen.”

He gulped twice. “I don’t understand.”

I gently touched his wrist and heat flared between us. He pulled back as if burned. I took that moment to turn to the nurse. “What’s been done? Do we need to move him to a real hospital.”

Another Omega walked into the room.

“Hello. I’m Dr. Hector.” He walked up alongside me. “This is a real hospital, just small.”

An Omega doctor? But why would I expect anything less at this place?

“Right now,” the doctor continued, “we’ve determined Angell has a concussion. There are no brain bleeds or other fractures, but the fact that he’s not regained consciousness is something we’re watching.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently he fell.” Dr. Hector replied. “Off a ladder. He’s pretty bruised all over, but his head took the brunt.”

I watched slow tears fall down Cambry’s soft cheeks.

Chirl came up alongside the doctor. “Cambry,” he said softly, leaning down. “Niro is here to help. The bond between you sent him into protective mode.”

Cambry’s lips quivered.

Chirl turned to me. “He’s scared.”

“Are you scared of me, Cambry?” I asked.

He shook his head, sniffling.

“Are you scared of the warden?” I asked.

He sat frozen, unresponsive.

I came closer to him. “You did nothing wrong. I’ll get Angell the best help—the best doctors if he needs them. I promise.”

“W—why?” he asked. “Because of the bond?”

“Yes.” I spoke firmly. “Because of the bond. With both of you.” I bent closer to look at Angell. Despite the awful bruise, he looked to be peacefully sleeping. I lifted my hand. “May I touch him?”

Cambry drew back, pulling Angell tighter to him.

“I promise I’ll be gentle.”

“Alpha protective mode is not to be argued with.” Chirl spoke softly to Cambry. “It’s also healing, did you not learn that in school?” he asked him.

Cambry didn’t reply.

I reached across Cambry and placed my palm on the uninjured side of Angell’s face and focused. I didn’t think about what I was doing. All my senses and actions had switched to automatic. My forefinger brushed a golden lock back from his temple. Angell’s skin was warm, almost hot. Soft as silk.

He had lovely elfin features, a smallish form, but he looked a little older than Cambry about the eyes, somehow. Sharper, more angled, mature.

Something opened in my mind. I cupped his face with my palm. Closed my eyes. A white light came soaring through my inner vision. Then a distant ringing sound. Echoing voices created a dream-like backdrop. Words spoken like whispers in my ear.

Who? What happened? I’m sorry.

A rustling panic. Hidden. Peeking out.

I spoke in my mind, so natural, as if I’d always communicated in this way. I see you. Are you hurt? You fell. I was worried.

Why?

My name is Niro. I am Alpha. Alphas worry.

A curtain formed in my mind. Shades of lavender and grey, like distant storm clouds. More rustling, less fear. A dainty face framed by scattered bronze waves of hair slowly revealed itself at the curtain edge. More whispers.

I dreamed Niro. Niro and Cambry. Am I dreaming now? I don't know where I am. Not safe. Not safe to wake.

You are safe. We are with you, and we'll keep you safe.

A shudder. A sadness pulling from the distance. Heaviness growing. Scent of rain turned burnt.

I will be sent away.

No one will send you away. I will not allow it.

Omegas who break the rules are sent away.

Omegas who don't do good jobs and get written up are sent away.

Omegas who break taboos are sent away. Omegas who cannot produce children and are labeled worthless mates and not fit to serve Alphas are sent away.

Omega who cannot talk and have no voice are sent away.

I hear your voice just fine. The rest of it doesn't matter because of this bond. You are my mate.

Bond? Mate?

Exactly. Bondmate.

Lies.

If I lie, then how am I communicating with you now?

Electric tingles. Skin soothing caresses. Touches all over. New arousal, floating in rose scent and a flurry of united heartbeats. Softness, lip to lip. Flame not hot. Restless blood. Mingling essence. Sweet flight to heights of orgasm, floating, floating...

If there is no bond, what is this we are both feeling right now?

Monitors in the distance beeping. Voices.

Am I still breathing?

You are breathing just fine. Here with me.

I want to stay here with you.

You can. But you also need to come back to the others. I promise it is safe.

Promise not to let go...?

It will be my vow forever. Wake.

Don't let go.