Page 33 of Last Resort

Black? “Oh. Wow. You don’t give off any of the indicators. I could swear you were a beta.”

“That is the idea. I am island-born over on Emerald, and this is a great place to be an Elite omega.” She grinned. “Though I do use a lot of sunscreen.”

Poppy laughed and said, “What kind of wild beast could be channelled here?”

“Well, it isn’t here, really. They are in the dark Elite, right?”

“Oh. Right. Well, the matchy-match nature of things means that your guys should have white designs on them.” She closed her eyes and then opened them wide. “Oh, right. I saw them.”

“Where?” Mickey tensed.

“Ten years ago at the Stronghold.”

“Oh. Wait. You were there when they brought down the Stronghold?”

Poppy nodded. “I was.”

The rush of water before Mickey held her tightly was her only warning. “Thank you. I couldn’t get out.”

Poppy blinked and then wrapped her arms around the woman. “Where did you go?”

“I asked you to send me back seven years. I needed time to heal, and that was the time I was taken. School trip to the continent.”

Poppy looked at her and remembered the young woman. “How did you avoid the Elite?”

“That is my talent, and I told them I was ten when they got me. I wasn’t legal by their standards when you arrived and set us free, plus their vision was altered to think I was still tiny. And ugly. Very ugly.” Mickey floated away. “Sorry about the hug.”

“Can you show me what you looked like?”

Mickey smiled and lifted her head, shrank to under five feet in height, and then she had mismatched features and a mole under one eye. Even her ears didn’t match.

“Oh, my goodness! I remember you. You had a serious expression when you were talking to me and refused to go to the queen’s care.”

“I didn’t need it. I had a family waiting for me and a community to help me. I had what I needed, and my family took good care of me while I recovered. I even got a job here in the new tech facility. I have recovered.” She glanced down at the mark on her chest. “This is just a side effect of survival, and it is there no matter what shape I change into.” She resumed her adult form.

“It’s a side effect of having a match.”

“Meh. I don’t appear in my omega form, so it won’t cause them to raise their heads.”

“What do you do about heats?”

“I go deep into the woods and hang out with the birds. Animals come running to me and curl around me until it’s over. Two days, and it’s over.”

Poppy asked, “Can I see your Elite form?”

“No. I don’t want to send any signals through the cosmos.”

“You are avoiding your mates.”

“Yup. Besides, on paper, I am just nineteen.”

Poppy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my god. You are right.”

Mickey snorted. “So, any guys trying anything had better be prepared to deal with my grandpa. He’s been a mother hen since I was first taken.”

Mickey got out of the waterfall pool and dried off on a towel before getting dressed. Ambermarle was still swimming lazily, and Estrya was talking on her phone.

Poppy stared. “Can you please show me?”

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