“Damiyen and I have been associates in business for a very long time,” he answered, his tone evasive.
“What kind of business?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Damiyen answered. “Viktor and I have worked together for a very long time.”
“This isn’t the first time he’s helped the omegas here in the sanctuary. It’s because of his connections that you have many of the resources you do have down here, like the genetic sequencers and mass spectrometry machines,” Viktor added, and Damiyen shot him a look. Viktor sat back and folded his arms over one another.
“I’m here to help you and that’s all there is to it,” Damiyen replied, cutting off Viktor from saying anything more.
I was quiet for a long moment, studying the man as he stared back at me. From their ambiguous answers, whatever they were involved in together was likely illegal or at the very least unsavory.
“Fine. Let’s say I believe you, at least for now. What do you want from me?” I asked warily. His answer would be incredibly important. I had to tread carefully. This man could be dangerous. He could be some sort of government spy, sent to gather intel and rat us out at a critical moment before we surged into battle. He could want rights to the women here or something else, something I’d yet to figure out. Either way, I had to stay alert. The women here were my responsibility and I had to keep them safe, no matter what.
“I need you to work with me. If we’re going to be successful in getting the omegas out of here and free from the city’s thumb, we’re going to need to be a united front. I can’t have you fighting me every step of the way,” he answered, his tone low and dangerous. I gritted my teeth and shook my head.
“What you mean is you want to take my place,” I scoffed, and he sighed heavily.
“No, Nikki. What I want is for you to listen to me. The four of us are here to help you,” he answered, and I pressed my lips together.
“The Central Gathering sent us to help prepare you as they ready themselves on the outside. The key to victory will be both the omegas here in the city and the alphas outside the walls. Without the two of us working together, we will lose, and everything will be lost,” Ethan reassured me, and I sat back.
As much as I wanted to ignore his words, I knew he was right. Even Viktor who was sitting beside him nodded his head.
“I’m just here for a good fight,” Alaric sneered, before smirking in my direction. His expression made me grin just a little and the brevity in his tone lightened the mood in the entire room.
I sighed. I knew what I had to do, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Alright. We’ll try it your way. But if anything you do puts my omegas in danger, you’re going to rue the day you met me,” I snarled, my upper lip twitching with defiance.
“I look forward to it, omega,” Damiyen smirked, his hazel eyes meeting mine with just as much challenge as I had thrown in his direction.
* * *
Over the next few days, Damiyen stayed true to his word. Gradually, our weapon rooms grew fuller and our food stocks grew, both underground and aboveground. A few government officials had passed some emergency bills, which substantially increased the food allotment budget within the omega sanctuary. He also assured me that in the next coming days we would soon have a location underground where he would begin training the omegas to use artillery, or at least something that would help prepare them for the insanity of battle.
I was careful not to show that I was impressed with his success thus far. I had learned a long time ago that trusting a beta could get me in hot water. It was the reason I’d been condemned to the omega sanctuary in the first place.
Even now, I regretted everything. If I had never opened my mouth in the first place, my life would have turned out very differently. Maybe I’d have a house of my own. Maybe even a career.
The reason for it all? His name was Randel.
He’d been a childhood friend of mine, but the man who had raised him was Philip Savile. I hadn’t known, but Randel had been indoctrinated from a young age to hate omegas and our natural instincts. Randel and I had been inseparable. We attended classes together, learned about the Great War and the biological warfare that had changed the face of the planet for all time. We even dreamed about seeing some of the great beasts that wandered the wilds outside the walls, like some sort of twisted safari adventure. I’d known my own omega status for a while, but it had worn on me and I had wanted to tell someone. I’d been too naïve, too trusting.
He’d assumed I was a beta, just like he was, but he was wrong.
I told him and those three little words destroyed our relationship forever. He denounced me as his friend, exposed my secret to Philip and other important government officials. His betrayal had condemned me to a life inside the omega sanctuary.
I’d only been thirteen when I was first imprisoned here. I grew up in the squalor of the sanctuary and it made me who I was today. It had been so long since I’d known anything else.
“Nikki,” Damiyen said, interrupting my thoughts.
“What,” I answered, unable to keep a touch of annoyance from my tone.
His jaw clenched hard once more.
“I just received word that the underground training center will be ready tomorrow. I’ll need you to ready forty or fifty women to begin with you. Ethan, Alaric, Viktor, and I will all assist in training the omegas,” he said, his voice tight.
“That sounds great,” I answered, careful to lighten my voice and he relaxed just a little. “We can start with some of the original women of the Omegaborn. They’re the most experienced with stealth and combat.”