Page 131 of Wild Omega

And where am I going?

A little place called Darinian City.

I pack my new clothes into a suitcase from the props shed and take a taxi to the airport. It’s amazing how a little flash of my Omega Center-issued ID and a swipe of my shiny new credit card—my own one, not Callisto’s—gets me loaded on a plane within an hour. Quite efficient, really. I lean my face against the window as we taxi out, butterflies flocking in my belly.

So many times I’ve watched people get on flights via the TV screen, but now I’m really doing it. Just like horse riding and acting in a movie. I’m living a real life now.

A stranger slides into the seat next to me and for a moment I wish I had woken Rickon and asked him to come. But I don’t really have the words to explain what I’m doing. And I don’t know how they’ll look at me after what we just went through.

But if I come back with a solution so I can promise it’ll be different next time, maybe we’ll have an actual future together.

I wiggle my toes in excitement as the plane trundles onto a network of landing strips. Out the window, lines with letters and numbers painted on the ground crawl by, like some foreign language with a meaning I can’t comprehend. Somehow the pilot knows which path to take and the engines roar.

We jerk forward and the airport buildings speed past the windows. The plane lurches and then the ground drops away. My fingers tighten in the armrests as pressure stings between my ears, one that’s different from my alphas’ buzzing. With a small whine, I clap my hands over my ears, trying to relieve the pressure.

“First time flying?” the man beside me asks.

I nod, wincing.

He offers me a pack of gum. “Try this. I hate the pressure change too, but chewing something will help your ears adjust.”

Gingerly I take a stick out and unwrap it. When I pop it in my mouth, the strong mint flavor burns my tongue a little, but the very first chew makes my ears unblock. I turn to him in surprise. “Wow, that does help, thanks.”

He grins.

I’d be happy to talk more, but I don’t want to miss the view out the window. I press my face back to the glass to peer out. Laversham’s as small as a jigsaw puzzle below us, the tall towers and suburban houses all the same from this angle. Even the giant Ommywood tower looks like a toy.

“What’s taking you to Darinian?” my seatmate asks over my shoulder. “Business or pleasure?”

“Something life-threatening,” I reply without thinking, watching the view turn into a patchwork quilt of green, brown, yellow, and blue. Somewhere below stands the mountain over the illegal hub that held me captive for more years than I can remember. At least that’s been dealt with. Although, as Callisto says, the perpetrators haven’t been brought to justice yet.

My answer makes the man stiffen. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

I flash the stranger a smile. “No need. How about you?”

“I run a transport company in Darinian. I came up this way to see family ’cause my sister just had a baby. Wanna see a picture?” He beams and I agree simply because he’s so enthusiastic. He shows me a woman in a hospital bed clutching a tiny, wrinkly infant wrapped in a pink blanket.

“Congratulations, uncle,” I murmur, reaching over to zoom in on the little one. The idea of babies is as foreign to me as the directions painted on the runway. I never had the luxury to dream about the things real families do—all I had was survival. Maybe the true beauty of being an actress will lie in playing all these life roles that were never an option before.

A reader may live a thousand lives, but an actress makes them real.

Time must run differently in the atmosphere, because it seems like we’ve just taken off and then the pilot announces we’re coming in to land at our destination. The guy, Lionel, offers me another stick of gum for the descent. He shuffles in his seat, casting glances at me like he’s nervous about something, but it takes him until we’re walking up the corridor in the airport to spit it out.

“Um, Red? Forgive me for prying, but if you need anything, well, it sounds like you’re going through something difficult.”

I stop walking and stare at him. Before meeting Rickon, I never knew anyone who would offer help without expecting something in return. Or taking whatever they wanted. Could it be possible for nice people to exist?

“You ever worked with the OCB?” I ask, more musing my thoughts out loud.

He nods. “Sure. Sometimes, if they get a bust that’s too big, they call us in.” He digs into his pocket for a wallet and offers me a business card. I read the details:Wired Logistics. You call, we haul.The slogan makes me chuckle and he flashes a toothy grin. “Yeah, my pack came up with that, mostly for kicks, but it stuck.”

“Thanks,” I say, waving the card to indicate what I mean. “I could use help finding my luggage, and then if you could put me in a taxi to the main Bureau here, I’d appreciate it.”

“I could give you a lift?” he offers.

I eye him up and down. He’s not an alpha, but I’m still on high alert, traces of heat lingering sluggishly in my system. “Thanks, but I’ll have to decline.”

He nods. “No problem. Baggage claim is this way. Feel free to call that number if you end up needing help.” His gaze slides my way. “With your life and death problem.”

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