Chapter 6 & 7

Chapter 6

Colby

It was Talya’s internal screaming that had me waking out of the drugged state they kept me in more than anything. Screams of pain. Screams of terror. I awoke in a rage, growling and attacking like an animal.

There were men that fought to keep me down. When it was clear that I chose violence and was not entirely present, they resorted to more drugs. In all honesty, I was surprised they hadn’t killed me with the amount of drugs they kept pumping into me. Especially since adrenaline and my fury at being separated from my omega whom they were hurting continued to burn them off.

But then, through the little bit of conversation I could recall in my dazed state, in the end it wasn’t Talya they wanted. It was me.

Many times as I came out of my daze, if Talya was silent through our bond, I remained perfectly still to listen.

“How’s Roger?” I heard a voice say.

“He’s going to die,” another answered.

“And that’s while he wasn’t even sane,” a third said. “He took down four of us in his anger.”

Idiots didn’t understand bonds. I wanted to spat that at them. Tell them how useless betas truly were if this was the kind of shit they resorted to. And they only proved that daily by keeping us here. It was no wonder alphas grew to being indifferent to betas.

That wasn’t an entirely fair conclusion. Nor was it fully accurate. I didn’t hate betas at all. I knew many and they were great people.

But that it was strictly betas who had abducted my omega and I, it was hard not to have a bitter taste in my mouth about their designation on a whole.

“At least we figured out how to make it stop.”

“We should have known that from the beginning. Alternate the experiments so that the other is drugged and cannot interfere through their bond. Seriously, it should have been routine.”

“Yeah? And how many bonds have you had that we might have learned that from?”

“Stop bickering,” one of them snapped. A new voice. Not one of the three who were freely talking. “We have another ten minutes before the omega is fully sedated. And three more cocktails to try on the alpha. Save your fucking breaths.”

I wasn’t sure what their end goal was. Only that they were using drugs to try and get there.

“I have some serious doubts this is going to work.”

“There’s not much that can’t be done with the right science. All we have to do is find the right combination.”

“It works on betas and omegas. But alphas are incredibly different.”

“I’ve said it all along – we need to focus our time on studying alpha makeup in order to get this to work.”

“There’s nothing to study. The only one an alpha will obey is a stronger alpha.”

Careful not to show that I was awake, I mentally frowned. Why were they trying to get an alpha to obey.

“Think about how successful this could be if we could break bonds!”

“Which is counterintuitive to the overall goal. Maybe its best if we don’t break bonds otherwise this entire thing is pointless.”

Silence followed that declaration while they seemingly agreed. Their conversation died down and I was left with this puzzle. They’d given away a lot of what they were doing. Trying to break my bond with my omega but perhaps that wasn’t wise. And the other piece was getting an alpha to obey someone? But why? To serve what purpose?

“It’s time.”

I sighed in irritation and opened my eyes. Whatever they saw made their progress to me pause. But these betas weren’t like every other I’ve known. Despite their fear and hesitation towards me, there was that deep, desperate, pathetic want in them as they looked at me.

Their craving for an alpha wasn’t about a particular alpha. It wasn’t about attraction and compatibility. It wasn’t even about making a home and life.

It was strictly about the bond and pack that came with that.

I glared at them, pleased when two of the three took a nervous step back.

Before I could completely focus on them, I turned inward to study Talya. She was asleep, most likely. Not a natural sleep. She was too still and silent for that. I could taste her fear and lingering pain.

A low growl filled the room as I brought my attention back to the betas.

“I got it,” one said, and I turned my attention to him. I froze again before forcing himself to come towards me. He picked up a syringe and read off the lot number. In my peripheral vision, I could see one of the others write it down before turning back to watch.

My arms were strapped to the bed. Even so, the beta trembled as he came closer. I could see the way his pulse raced in his neck. The fear bright in his eyes. Yet, there was still that pitiful desperation for what I represented. What I could facilitate.

He didn’t inject the contents of the syringe directly into my skin but through a pic line.

At this point, I’d had so many things pumped into my body that even my veins hurt. It burned as it raced into my blood stream. I swear, I could almost feel it as it quickly pumped into every limb. My vision clouded. My muscles shook. My jaw clenched.

But my mind was clear. I already knew that whatever they were after, this wasn’t it. I’d gathered from comments between different trials that they were trying to compromise my thoughts.

“Alpha, close your eyes,” the beta said.

I turned my attention to him. He flinched, taking a step back.

“Close your eyes,” he said more firmly.

This time I laughed. As if I were ever going to take orders from a beta.

“Speak,” he tried again. “Say ‘I want you, beta’.”

The sound that escaped me was snorting laughter. And oddly enough, the reaction I got from the beta was sadness. He looked like I’d just rejected him for a prom invite.

Turning away, he shook his head at the other two.

“How long before it wears off?”

“I think these doses were made for ten minutes. We can give him twenty just to make sure.”

As my body slowly came down from the burning effects of that drug, I contemplated what I’d just learned. This was a pattern. They’d drug me and then attempt to demand some action of me.

Usually something stupid, as was just done. But why? What is their end goal? So they can play house while an alpha is drugged and be lied to about being wanted?

These musings took me up until the same beta silently filled my pic line with another concoction. This one had the opposite feeling. It was like sending ice into my veins. I shivered as even my sight dimmed to something bleak and cold.

I shook, the buckles on my restraints rattling. Though I’ve never suffered hypothermia, I imagine that this feeling, how your mind starts to play tricks on you about the temperature, was what that felt like. I wasn’t cold while my mind convinced me I was hot. The room was actually a comfortable temperature but right now, my mind was telling me I was going to get frost bite.

Though I could hear the beta’s voice, I couldn’t make out his words. My mind was too fully focused on freezing to death. I vaguely wondered if that was possible from a drug. Was it really inducing my body temperature to plummet?

But the idea of freezing to death was enough to get my heart racing. If I died, that left my omega alone. And though I wasn’t proving that I was worthy of my omega still strapped to a bed, that simply wasn’t an option. I knew what would happen to her.

I was concentrating so hard on my determination not to die that I missed when the drugs wore off. I was left panting, staring at the ceiling. None of the drugs were pleasant but that one sucked.

“It would be helpful if he’d tell us what was happening to him,” one of the betas said. “That’s probably useful information.”

“Yeah, but we just need the end goal. That’s our job.”

Deciding I was going to ignore them entirely, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sounds they made instead. Their voices as they discussed what they observed and that I was completely unresponsive to them. Footsteps as a came towards me. The dull tug on my arm as they shot something else into my syringe.

This time, my entire body went numb, including my mind. It felt like I was floating, unable to feel my limbs. My thoughts were too slippery to hang onto.

“Look at me, alpha.”

Something in me thought I should. But fuck him. He wasn’t strong enough to make me look at him. Not even when he put more force behind his words. And certainly not when he slammed his hand on the rail of the bed and demanded I pay attention to him.

Who did he think he was?

The strange part was that I could feel the whisper of an urge telling me to do as he said. To listen. To take the command.

A lesser alpha – a beta – would have listened. But I wasn’t either. The last time I found an alpha with a bark louder than mine was just as I was developing my own.

And this pathetic beta didn’t have a bark.

The effects of this drug lasted longer than the other two. I listened to the quiet voice try to convince me to do as I was told. As if I were staring at the voice like it was an idiot. Stupid fucking moron if it thought I was going to listen to anyone, much less a beta. Instead, I stared at it, listening to it as if it was just commenting that the sky was blue.

When the voice began to fade, I tuned my attention into concentrating on my bond. I sighed. At least she was there. They hadn’t succeeded in stealing her from me, wherever she may be. She was still my omega. Still alive and fighting. So brave. So much courage. My perfect, sweet omega.

Somehow, I will get back to her. I have to. And then I need to gravel for forgiveness. I clearly am not worthy of an omega if I can’t protect her. What kind of alpha am I to have allowed us to become lab rats?

Maybe the removal of our bond was what I deserved so she could find a pack that wouldn’t let this happen.

Movement caught my attention. Shuffling of feet. The quiet slide of wheels on the tile floor. A door opening and then again. I didn’t open my eyes.

“How did it go? Any promising results?” a woman’s voice asked.

“It went,” a beta answered. “And no. The first he was just laughing at Gary. The other two he couldn’t hear us at all.”

“Not the goal.” She sighed with frustration.

“I bet these would work differently if he didn’t have a bond to begin with.”

Another moment of silence followed this and I had to think that he was probably right. My driving force, the thing that kept me fighting more than anything, was knowing that my omega was hurt. That I was separated from her.

But if I didn’t have that bond? If I didn’t have an omega? What would I have left in me to keep me fighting aside from my defiance? And how far would that actually take me?

“The omega?” one of the betas asked.

“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to break the bond,” she said dispassionately. “At the moment, it appears that it’s a surreal connection. Magic.”

She spat the last word as if it were poison.

“What if you cut her open?”

There was a pause before the answer came. A pause in which my heart raced wildly as anger began to fill me at the thought. They best not be cutting my omega open.

“There’s nothing to see inside her physically. It’s attached to her life itself. Her conscience. I suspect, based on articles, the only way to break a bond is through death. And from the few alphas I spoke to who have lost their mated, it’s not fully gone even then. The bond turns silent and empty, but it’s not gone completely.”

A wistful sigh followed her report.

“As long as she’s alive, there will be a bond.”

“It appears that way.”

“What if we bring her to death and back again? Do you think the bond will die?”

Silence followed this question and my eyes opened. I stared as adrenaline once more began pumping through my veins. Making the edges of my vision dark and angry as I stared at the betas who were considering murdering my omega.

One word. And if it was the wrong one, I’d be up off this bed and putting some heads into the concrete walls.

The woman who I hadn’t seen before was still thoughtful as she considered this possibility. There was a frown on her face, her hands in her pockets as her thoughts went over it again and again.

“I don’t think that will work. But it might be worth a try. Nothing else has been successful.”

“Only putting our alpha in a rage.”

“True. So, perhaps I’ll see what I can-”

That’s the last I heard as I surged to my feet with the roar of a lion. The straps around my wrists stopped me for a second and although my vision was compromised by the fury spreading in me like wildfire, I could see the relief on their faces when they thought the restrains were going to keep me from them.

And then their fear as the one on my left broke. Followed shortly by the one on my right. And I was flying across the room as I snarled, teeth gnashing, hands curled like claws. Unfortunately for them, I got my hands on one of the male betas who couldn’t get away fast enough.

By the warm, wet substance on my hands, I caused some damage before the lights went out again as the drug-induced fog settled in my head. There were frantic voices as I continued to fight, my adrenaline and rage working against them.

But eventually I succumbed to it. Just as I felt my omega regain consciousness.

Chapter 7

Talya

I think they liked it when I screamed. Although the betas who were torturing me were a whole lot gentler when handling me than those who abducted Colby and I, it was clear that I was nothing to them. I wasn’t even a person.

They never spoke to me so the only information I got was what I gathered from when they talked to each other. All I knew was that they were trying to break my bond.

And they’ve made valiant effort. They tried to burn it off, surgically remove it, electrocute it, scrape it… thankfully, I think they were running out of ideas.

The truly curious thing, if I could use something as mundane as curious right now, was that they weren’t being vicious about it. Oh, they were cruel and relentless. My begging and pleading went unheard. Seriously, it was like they didn’t hear me. But they were meticulous about only touching my bite.

Colby bit me on my collar bone. Where it was easily seen and easily covered. The whole thing was probably made more painful because of the location. Right over bone!

But perhaps the worst thing about this entire experience wasn’t the torture that they put me through, it was that I could feel Colby and not be with him. I could feel when they drugged him and all the different things he went through mentally, and to a minor extent physically, with the different drugs. I could feel his rage and his fear. Not fear for himself but fear for me.

The one thing I was thankful for in all this was that it appeared that they couldn’t remove our bond. That was a relief. What would happen to us if they could?

I was kept hydrated and fed. The only reason I ate and drank what they gave me was to keep my strength up. I’d long since given up the idea that I could somehow pull a James Bond and break myself out. I wasn’t a strategist at all. And really, it’s not like I could just run if my door was left unlocked by chance.

Because I would never leave without my alpha. Living without Colby wasn’t an option. Not just because he was my alpha. But because I loved him with all of me. He was my person, my soulmate. There wouldn’t be a life without him.

That meant that we were likely stuck here. With as comfortable as these people were, I’d be willing to bet that a rescue wasn’t going to happen. Wherever we were, we were off the radar. Not even a thought in someone’s mind.

Except maybe Fenton’s. The weekend was over, right? He was home and found us missing?

I sighed and rolled over, giving the room my back. My reprieve from them has been longer this time. They probably run out of ideas.

Part of me thought they were crazy if they thought that they could get rid of a bond. Since the beginning of time, a bond has never been severed. And if it has, it’s not something that’s widely advertised.

They were doing this for a reason, though. I didn’t care what it was and yet, I couldn’t help but wonder. On the surface, it would mean that you could sell and resell omegas. It wouldn’t matter if they were bonded to end up on the black market. Omegas would never be safe.

But I wasn’t so oblivious with fear that I didn’t see that they were concentrating on Colby more than me. From me, they wanted to remove my bond. That was it.

They focused on Colby specifically as they drugged him with different concoctions. I couldn’t help but wonder what the outcome was that they were hoping for. What could they want with an alpha? What were they doing to him while he was drugged?

I squeezed my eyes closed, refusing to think about that. These people were despicable. The only thing that kept me untouched was that they were betas. They held nothing but contempt and disdain for me.

However, everyone knew how desperate a beta wanted an alpha. I shuddered to think what they were doing to mine.

Anger wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I pushed it aside as often as it crept in. The thoughts and indignation were there. How dare they touch what was mine! How dare they touch someone who didn’t want them! But for whatever reason, I wasn’t being drugged. Therefore, my thoughts were unhindered by chemicals, and I could think clearly.

My best chance was listening and learning all that I could. And hopefully I’d learn something that would help me escape, find Colby, and get us both out of here before one of us was dead.

Knowing death was never off the table with people who didn’t value us more than one would a lab rat had me choking up. Tears stung my eyes. Yes, I could die. But with as many drugs as they were pumping into Colby, I knew he’d die first.

That was the only way they were going to break our bond. Death.

Food came while I was deep within this despair. I didn’t allow myself to wallow in the helplessness of it often or for long. Especially not when someone might see me breakdown.

When they left me without a word, I dried my eyes and sat up. There was an omelet today. And toast, orange juice, and a side of sausage. I shook my head as I sat up to pull the tray onto the bed.

The oddest things were how well they took care of me. I showered daily. Used the bathroom six times. While I was showering, my bed was stripped and there were fresh linens when I returned. I was given clean clothes daily and every evening. And the meals were really good.

Aside from the torture and the fact that I’m a prisoner here, I was almost treated as a guest. I couldn’t make sense of it. I was their experiment. Their entire goal was to break my bond and they were doing everything they could to make that happen.

So then why treat me so well?

When I finished eating, I was led to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and used the toilet. It wasn’t shower time. I knew that because there were no fresh clothes or towels. This was just a morning bathroom run.

But then the crazy woman and her three minions joined me an hour later and I knew I was getting ready for another round of torment.

“Here?” one of the men asked.

The woman nodded, though she didn’t look up from where she was scribbling on a pad of paper. I watched with trepidation as the four of them remained still while the woman wrote. Each second that ticked by brought me that much closer to freaking out.

Inside me, Colby was comatose. There, strong, but silent and far away.

“Alright,” the woman said, nodding. She crossed her hands in front of her with her notebook in them as she stood back to observe. My heart raced as the three men came towards me. It was only then that I saw a fourth I didn’t recognize in the door. He held one of those machines that jump started your heart.

My bed wasn’t against the wall. There was room on either side of it for the betas to walk. Two went to the side between the bed and the wall. The third towered over me on the other.

There was little expression on their faces. What was there wasn’t sympathy. Though it wasn’t cruel either. I couldn’t tell whether or not they took joy in hurting me or it was just their nine to five job. Once they clocked out, they went home and thought nothing more of it until they pulled in the next day.

Somehow, I thought that might be a bit of a stretch.

One beta on each side took my arms and pinned them to the bed. I didn’t fight. I wasn’t sure what I was fighting against. The third took the pillow out from under my head.

The only indication that something had chanced was the slight smile that touched his lips. It wasn’t happy, amused, or even smug. It was almost… an apology?

And then the pillow was over my face, and I was being smothered.

I’m sure there’s some strategy to making your air last longer and whatever, but panic set in immediately and I started screaming, thrashing, and begging to be let go. My pleas went unheard as I continued to struggle against their restraint.

It was a useless waste of energy. Even kicking my legs, which they didn’t bother to tie down, went unnoticed and I barely moved at all.

And then I wasn’t moving much as my body was starved of oxygen. My lung hurt. My muscles ached. The panic surged brighter as everything in me became aware I was dying. I could feel Colby stir, his fear and alarm pulling him out of the stupor he was in.

But then it all began to fade. I spent the last few second trying to make sure Colby knew I loved him. That I would always love him, regardless of whether death came between us.

Even that became too strenuous, and I went limp. My lungs stopped functioning. And no more thoughts formed as the darkness welcomed me with open arms.

“Ow,” I muttered, once more feeling electricity course through my body. My head spun as the roar of a jet engine met every recess in my mind.

“She’s alive.”

No fucking shit. Why wouldn’t I-

My thoughts stopped as I remembered dying. I shivered, tears falling down my face as I opened my eyes to stare at my murderers. They’d actually killed me!

And… brought me back? Seriously? I really, truly hoped this wasn’t going to be a pattern.

The noise in my head settled and relief flooded me. It wasn’t a headache. It was Colby. He’d woken up to my death and when he felt me come back, he calmed down.

Well, calm might not be the word for it.

Still, I sobbed in relief that he was still there. That I could still feel him. I think we were both trying to soothe each other in the moments that followed.

“I don’t think it worked,” one of the betas said.

The woman sighed. “Doesn’t appear that way.”

There was a knock on the door, and I only half heartedly paid attention. I heard enough to confirm that this was just another attempt at breaking our mate bond. That was a beta from Colby’s room stating as much. Colby had been a caged animal ready to tear down the walls. He stilled and fell to his knees, head bowed.

The same moment that they brought me back to life.

“I think for now, this is a failed attempt. Leave her. We’ll reevaluate the situation. But keep working on the alpha. Maybe we don’t need to sever the bond.”

My room was emptied. That was it. That was the only acknowledgement I got that they just murdered me in an attempt to free my alpha of our bond.

Horrible, nasty people. I should be making more of an attempt at memorizing their faces. Instead, I’m laying here desperately gripping Colby through out bond.

They left us both alone for the rest of the day. I was given lunch, which I didn’t eat. But I ate dinner and then showered. I returned to my room with a freshly laundered bed.

Just as I was falling asleep, sirens filled the building. There was shouting and screams everywhere. The walls shook.

I jumped up, looking around with wide eyes. The noises didn’t stop. The lights that came through the high, small window were certainly man made. They swept over, illuminating my room every minute or so. I needed to get up there. To make sure someone knew that I was here.

But then my door clicked open as the building gave a violent shudder.

For a minute, I held my breath. Then I bolted through it, swinging it open so hard that it slammed against the wall.

There was nothing going on in the hall. A hall filled with doors. I threw open the one across from me, appreciating that these were just boring household locks with a switch on one side.

There was a woman cowering in the corner. A quick breath told me she was an omega. I turned away, leaving her door opened and swung the next one. Two men, both alphas. Neither of them were Colby.

Three doors later, I found my alpha. Still and tied to the bed. I ran across the room and fought with the straps. They likely would have come off easily if I wasn’t shaking and sobbing. But that’s all I had in me.

“Colby,” I whispered, taking a minute to wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. “Alpha, I need you. Please wake up.”

He stirred at my voice. But even when I got his wrists free, he remained unconscious.

Colby was easily twice my size. There was no way I was going to get him out. So close. We were so close and now we were stuck here again.

I looked at the door as dust fell from the ceiling. The building shook again. In the distance, I could hear gunfire. Explosions. Screams.

With no other options, I laid with Colby. Wrapping myself around him. Even in his drugged-up sleep, he wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck.

“I’m here,” I whispered. “We’re alive.”

For now. We’re alive for now. I had no idea what was going on outside. For all I knew, whoever was out there could be worse than those who took us initially. Worse than the people trying to tear us apart.

I closed my eyes and focused instead on our bond. Colby was stronger there. Responding to me. I thought that maybe if I remained there while physically wrapped around him, that I could help him through the drugs.

Somewhere in the background, I could hear voices. Steps. Doors opening. Screaming and crying. But I remained solely focused on Colby. He was beginning to stir. Mumbling through quiet growls of anger while attempting to purr to comfort me.

The door to the room we were in opened. “There’s two in here.” Footsteps got closer and my fear spiked again. I gripped Colby with everything I had in me. “Come on, you two.” A hand landed on my shoulder.

And that was it. Colby was on his feet, growling like an animal as he gripped my trembling body with one arm, the other ready to defend. I’d never heard a sound like the one that came from my alpha. Nor will I ever forget the look on his face as he stared at the threat.

“One more step,” Colby snarled in a voice that chilled me. “And I’ll tear you apart.”