Page 41 of Wild Omega

Alpha. I hear theothersuse that sound over and over again around us. Is that what I am? And the other fighters? I always know who’s an actual threat and who’sother. I tuck the sound away to think about later.

Both the superior and I can’t tear our eyes away as the group leaves, taking the female with them. While he watches his mate leave, I gaze at the open doorway leading to the Other World.

Who determines which beings can come and go from that place? And if the female lives out there, are there more of her kind?

I strain against the metal until it leaves ridges in my skin, desperately hoping for a sniff of the fresh air or a glimpse of true light. Now that I’ve tasted it, now that the idea of a mate of my own has taken root within my body, I cannot let go of it. I scratch my nails across my chest until the pain on my skin matches the ache deep in my chest.

Chapter seventeen

Red

Freedom has a unique taste. Right now, it’s lined with car fumes, the occasional tang of cigarettes, and frying oil from a nearby burger shop. But it’s still delicious. Maybe more than those flavors, it’s the pronounced lack of air-conditioning and scent dampeners that makes the air feel brand new.

And the absolute anonymity of it all makes me giddy.

I walk through a crowd of people, all going about their own business, with no one to trail after me monitoring my behavior. I grin recklessly as I tap my permanently borrowed bank card to pay for a freshly baked pretzel at a cafe with a street service window before meandering further along the road.

One day in the future I’ll walk along this street and everyone will know my name, and my personal flock of paparazzi will trail after me. The other me will handle all that when it happens, but for now, flying solo is awesome.

I should probably make sure I’m not using a stolen credit card once I’m famous. The idea makes me a chuckle as I throw my wrapper in a trash can. The Center’s wristband slides down my arm and I push it back into a more comfortable position.

The sidewalk detours away from the busy city center to skirt around a tiny blanket of parkland. I rest my ass on a wooden bench to sink my teeth into the spongy goodness of my hot pretzel, the sea salt flakes tickling my tongue with each lick.

Even more pleasing is the view on the hillside overlooking the city where a tall turbine reaches up into the sky with giant gold letters running down the length.

Ommywood.

Let’s be real, it’s rather phallic, and I plan to spread myself over everything it represents.

The irony is great. All these years I was trapped within three hundred miles of the place I wanted to be most in the world. Surely it’s a good sign. Ommywood: the collection of the biggest movie production companies in the country, including West Wind, Coppernaught Productions, and Film Justice.

I’ll walk myself right through the front door and demand a meeting with one of the Big Six directors. Yeah, I know it sounds delusional, but all I need to do is create an opportunity to let them see my acting skills. That’s the real challenge.

Once I’m a famous actress, my alphas will naturally find me, I’m certain. Job first, alphas second.

I swipe crumbs from my lips with one thumb and jump up, feeling refreshed. Of course, I don’t want to walk into a job interview looking like a salvage case and smelling even remotely like a garbage truck, but finding a shower in the heart of a city is easier said than done.

I link my hands and turn my palms out, stretching my wrists and fingers. This is another task for Red Hawk and the perfect target looms a few blocks away—a giant Romdine Grand Hotel.

My loafers carry me down the block, and I slip my hands into my pockets as I saunter into the foyer like I belong there. With no time to gawk at the chandeliers and gold fittings, I head down the first wide corridor in sight, gathering a collection of excuses. A staff member wheels a big chrome trolley up to a set of elevators, and I pause on the other side to slide one of the purple suitcases off the rack while they press buttons before slipping directly into the second elevator.

The employee areas are easy to find, since they’re labeledstaff only, and I check through a few storage areas before finding a uniform in a laundry bag. It smells worse than I do and has some kind of sauce smeared down the front, but it’s close enough to my size to work. It only takes a minute to shimmy into the uniform and load my old clothes into the bag.

The voices in my head grow louder than ever and blend together more. I’m going to need to study the mental change when I get a moment, but for now I need to be fully on task and these noisy alphas aren’t helping. I brace against a doorway while I try to push the voice static away so I can concentrate.

The purple suitcase bumps against my legs as I stroll through the wings, looking for a housekeeping cart. Lady Luck shines on me again because I find a woman about to close a door and as she turns I catch her nametag.

“Hold that for me, will you, Loretta? Some kid just dumped his hot dog all over me. I promise I won’t mess up your work. I just need to get changed before I deliver this case.”

She glances at my uniform and holds the door wide. “Damn, don’t you hate that? Everyone’s on holiday except us and they don’t care how much mess they make.”

“Yeah, you got that right. Thanks.” I slide past her and the door thumps shut behind me. I wait a moment, then carefully ease the latch to the lock position and jiggle my shoulders in a happy dance.

A shower washes off all hints of the garbage truck scent. I hum a tune as I go through the purple suitcase, muttering a hushed apology to the owner as I rifle out some pretty black lace underwear. Whoever the “Lily” is on the nametag, she clearly has a better life than I do.

I help myself to her spare purse, of which she has three packed in this suitcase, and a halter top sundress in a lovely shade of teal that will make my skin pop, and then skedaddle the hell out of the borrowed hotel suite.

I complete my handiwork by depositing the towel next to the pool and throwing the suitcase back on a parked bag trolley, but the moment I step off the lobby elevator, I spy a massive problem standing between me and the front doors.

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