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  “Hey!” His snapped demand whipped my head back to him. “Eyes here.” He tapped the motif on the chest of his black form-fitting uniform. My wide eyes latched onto the symbol of our empire. “We need to get you treated, little one.” He crouched, dropping his helmet to the floor.

  It made him look bigger, and I don’t even know how that was possible, but it seemed to emphasize his immense size.

  “Are you an Alpha?” I asked.

  A brow arched over indigo-blue eyes that were the only source of softness. “Do I look like one?” When he made no move to come closer, my shaking eased a little.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Must be one then…And you look like a kitten so I’m thinking you must be one.” He held out a hand. “Come on out, kitten.”

  It wasn’t the kind of tone you argued with.

  “Okay,” I said, but it still took me a few minutes to build up the courage. The soldier waited patiently while I crawled out from under the stacked furniture and got my weak legs to function under me. He had remained crouched, but we were still on eye-level, and his body was easily twice as wide as mine.

  Lips pursed, he inspected me critically. I was starting to see dots swimming over him, and something buzzed incessantly in my ear. It was getting darker. Why was it getting darker?

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  I think I might have been about to collapse, but his hand shot out, and he caught me. I was joggled about, his big hands around my waist. Something stung my leg.

  “No!” I tried to wriggle free, my nails raking over the exposed skin at his throat.

  “Hush, it’s just a pain-suppressant,” he said, tugging my fingers away. “You’re a mess, claws. A real fucking mess.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Hudson

  AS OPERATIONS WENT, this one was a disaster. We’d been tipped off about the attack, or so General Sherwin had informed me, but some imbecile had rejected it. We had also been in the middle of a major operation of our own, so resources had been thin. We’d gotten what we wanted and had shut down a medical facility where the Uncorrupted had experimented on captured dynamics. But it didn’t feel like much of a victory in light of what was happening here.

  I kept a tight grip on the tiny feral in my arms, waiting until the pain-suppressants kicked in. When I risked setting her away so I could check her injuries, she was shaking, but at least she didn’t try to claw at my throat again.

  Updates were pouring into my communicator. It looked like an opportunistic attack. Maximize damage while we were scrambling. Retreat the moment we showed. They were already fleeing, leaving us to pick up the broken pieces.

  The cuts on her arms were bleeding sluggishly, as was a deep gash on the front of her leg.

  “Glass?” I asked, feeling myself soften and get angry all at the same time in seeing such a helpless body beaten.

  Her nose was bloody, and tear tracks lined her grubby cheeks. Her long, golden-brown hair had escaped a band and clung about her face and neck in ratty tendrils. Even in this state, she was a beautiful, broken scrap of nothing. She nodded biting on her plump lower lip—poor thing.

  I gave myself a mental shake. Poor thing? Little hellion had just tried to shred my neck.

  The wounds were messy but shallow enough for me to take her in without calling an emergency.

  She was wearing a pink, silky pajama set, with shorts and cropped sleeves, and a pattern, which closer inspection revealed to be…kittens?

  I’d thought she was a child when I saw her hiding, certainly she was tiny, but hers wasn’t a child’s body.

  I frowned. “How old are you?”

  “I’m eighteen,” she said. Fidgeting, she added, “Nearly nineteen.”

  I chuckled at the qualification of her exact age.

  What the fuck was wrong with me? I never fucking chuckled.

  Still, she was really tiny for an eighteen, nearly nineteen year old. The only women I’d ever met this small were Omegas. Had she revealed her dynamic? There was no obvious Omega smell. Maybe another dynamic…or just a petite non-dynamic.

  “You hurt anywhere else?” I demanded. The damn pajamas had offered her slight body no protection. I noticed a bloody stain on the front over her abdomen. “What’s this?”

  “It’s just a scrape. It’s not hurting.” She tried to step away.

  I pinned her with a look. After that dose of pain-suppressant, I doubted she could feel any of them. “I’ll decide that. Lift your top and let me see.”

  Her lips trembled, but she lifted her top high enough for me to see the scrapes over her flat tummy. One was oozing, but not too badly. I turned her around but found no blood on the back.

  “Okay. Let’s get you to a medic.” As I stood, I paused to pin her with a look again and pointed at her shaking legs. “I’m going to pick you up—scratch me, and you’ll regret it.” She nodded, cat-green eyes staring up at me like I was a monster, which was fine by me if it got me her good behavior. When I lifted her into my arms, she didn’t misbehave, and I carried her out of the building. There were pink sneakers with bright yellow laces on her feet—I guessed she liked pink. “How did you get cut? Did anyone touch you?”

  There was a harsh edge to my tone, and I had to rein myself in. I was probably scaring the shit out of her. I’d taken an unhealthy level of pleasure in ripping apart the team that had her cornered. If I thought one of them had touched a helpless woman, I’d be going back and beating on their cold dead bodies.

  “I climbed through a broken window.”

  “Good girl,” I said. “You do what you need to do.” The thought of her ripping into herself to escape them was stoking my temper. “How did they find you?” I asked as we emerged at the end of the street. A shuttle and a half-dozen armored vehicles were lined up beside temporary processing tents set up to cover this city block.

  “I’ve been running most of the night. I thought it was quieter here. But I turned a corner, and they were there. I knew I couldn’t outrun them—not after running all night. Some of them had exoskeletons. That’s not even a fair competition.”

  The pain-suppressants where making her chatty, but she got a smile out of me, which was impressive given I was still wired from the fight.

  I’d given her half an adult dose, as she was so small. I glanced down. She was fiddling with her smart-band, tapping and swiping on the screen. “I think my smart-band is broken,” she said, oblivious to my internal debate. “Is there someone who can check with my family. We got separated—”

  The rest was cut off. No further explanation needed. “Sure,” I said. People had died during the night. Lots of people. Seeing Dano, from my team, at the edge of a tent, I called him over. “Run a check for me.” Returning my focus to the woman, “Give him your band.” Unclipping it, she passed it to him. I gave him a look that said, warn me if this is going to be bad news, but a second later he was passing it back. “Injured but safe,” he said, white teeth flashing. “Nothing critical. I’ve notified them that you’re safe.”

  “Thank you!” Relieved tears filled her eyes.

  “Right, let’s get the medic to see you,” I said, stalking into the medical tent and finding an empty bay.

  I went to put her on the bed as a Beta medic followed us in, pulling the curtain closed.

  Eyes shifting to the friendly looking Beta, she suddenly clung to me. “No! Don’t leave me!”

  What the fuck? “The medic needs to look at you. You’re injured. Someone needs to treat your wounds.”

  She clung tighter, somehow managing to wrap her legs around my waist…and pressed her nose into my throat.

  Trying to find somewhere on her that wasn’t injured, so I could peel her off, presented a challenge. I didn’t have time for this bullshit. There had been an attack, I had the fallout to deal with. “Do not give me any fucking theatrics.”

  I closed my hands over her hips and pulled. She gripped tighter.

  My dick didn’t care about injuries, it liked the soft
body and the defiance of its owner and shot to half-mast.

  “I…could send for a Healer,” the medic stammered. “It might be easier. I’ll see if one is available.” He stumbled out of the bay. Fucking coward.

  I tried to get myself under control, which wasn’t easy while she was gripping and sniffing at my throat.

  Did she just lick me? I fisted a handful of hair and yanked.

  Then the smell hit me, and it was my turn to bury my face in her neck. It wasn’t easy while her ass was dancing about like she was trying to rub her silk covered pussy on my dick. I growled—she froze. “Keep fucking still.” I hoisted her up higher, got my nose in nice and close to the side of her throat, and inhaled deeply.

  She smelled like Omega. “You revealed yet, kitten?”

  Glazed eyes snapped to mine. “Revealed?” Her mouth opened then closed, and her pretty face flushed as she looked away. “No, I don’t think I will, not now. Most people know by now.”

  “Hmm,” I said noncommittally.

  The bay curtain pulled back, and a Healer stepped in. I growled and had tightened my hold on the wriggling bundle in my arms before I realized what I was doing. The Healer stopped dead. “Come,” I barked.

  I stamped down on my rising temper. I wasn’t one for giving confusing signals, normally my directions were crystal clear. He edged back in and circled around to the other side of the bed, gentle eyes darting from the feral in my arms to me.

  I fixed my frown on her. “Kitten, you’re going to let go. Then you’re going to sit on the bed and let the Healer help you.” She went to protest again, so I growled with enough force to set her shaking—at least she shut her mouth. “Disobey me, and I will spank you. Am I making myself clear?” I didn't intend to spank her while she was hurt like this, but I was happy to use the threat. “And after, you’ll still be sitting on that bed so the Healer can treat you, only this time your ass will need healing too. Which way do you prefer?” From the way her eyes lit up, it wasn’t the easy option she wanted, but she nodded and released her death grip sufficiently for me to drop her onto the bed.

  I adjusted my dick, which was straining the crotch of my armor—no point in trying to pretend it wasn’t happening. Her eyes locked on the bulge and she licked her lips. “Don’t move,” I growled when she prepared to launch herself at me again.

  I motioned the Healer over impatiently. He was young, not much older than the woman on the bed, and beautiful in the way all Omegas were. He approached cautiously, watching me the whole time. His face softened as he took in her injuries. Healers instinctively knew what to do, and his mouth lowered over hers.

  She was strung out from her injuries, doped with pain-suppressant, had spent the night running herself to exhaustion, and if I were right, she’d just revealed as Omega. On top of that, she’d been plastered against an Alpha for what I assumed to be the first time. All this made for a volatile mix.

  Her eyes locked on mine as she opened her mouth to the kiss…and then their tongues entwined.

  Right there, I sank into some kind of lust-fueled stupor. My dick began fighting to bust out of my zipper. I was in a semi-confined space with two Omegas, and there had to be enough pheromones in this medical bay to incite an orgy. And they were still kissing each other like long lost lovers, and she was staring at me.

  Little cock tease.

  My growl was loud enough for people to hear on the other side of the medical facility. They sprang apart.

  She wasn’t bleeding anymore—that kiss could probably have cured an amputation, if such a thing were possible.

  They were both breathing heavy and staring at me like they were starving and I was food. The Healer—the official one—recovered first, his eyes lost their glaze, and his pale face turned ruddy. He patted himself down as if checking he was all still there and blinked in confusion.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t normally—I’ve no idea what came over me.” His eyes cut to the bed where my kitten was finally showing a modicum of shame.

  “It’s fine.” I adjusted my dick again, because it had gone beyond pain and into torture. “Eyes up!” They both snapped their heads up from what I was doing. “She needs a dynamic test,” I said to the Healer while thumbing in her direction.

  “Dynamic test?” He repeated back. Then his eyes widened as they settled on his former patient. “Ah.” He chuckled. “That explains it—thank goodness.” His eyes softened. “It can be extremely overwhelming when it happens. She’s the right age. The trauma and your presence are more than enough to trigger it.”

  He left the bay.

  “Why is he getting a dynamic test?” she asked.

  “Given what just went down,” I said. “I’d hazard a guess you’re an Omega—a very disobedient, Omega. As soon as he completes the test, you’re going to get your first taste of Alpha discipline, and I’m going to make sure it’s a lesson you don’t forget.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Mu is the darling of the dynamics. Everyone loves a Mu. Warm and voracious, or quiet and introspective, the Mu live a coveted life that’s rarely touched by war.

  My mother is a Mu dynamic. I had often watched her with wonder as one might watch a bright butterfly flit around a flower. She is impetuous and self-centered at times, but I love her passion and her vibrancy. As a child, I saw only the latter and aspired to be just like her.

  I’m nothing like her and don’t have a predisposition toward artistic pursuits of any kind. But I still admire the pretty clothes, the laughter and the fun that flow in her wake. Wherever on the gregarious scale the Mu might fall, all are generous with their praise and love. Negative emotions such as anger or hate are foreign concepts to a Mu.

  My mother is voracious in every aspect of life, she’s had more lovers than I can recall, and every one of them adored her and begged her to love them and only them. My father still looks at her as though confused as to how they had ever crossed paths. He is a possessive man, and my mother could never be captured or held.

  Doctor Lillian Brach

  Anna

  DEEPLY UNSETTLED BY what I had just done, I didn’t know where to look. And I didn’t even know his name. For some reason, this really bothered me. “What’s your name?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You care which Alpha you try to dry hump?”

  My face burned. He didn’t need to be an asshole! “If what the Healer said is true, I couldn’t help myself!”

  “You keep telling yourself that, kitten,” he said. “Hudson.”

  His face did not so much as twitch. We smiled a lot in my family—I was used to smiles.

  I’d never met an Alpha before, but he had such a strong presence that I couldn’t focus on anything else. And he was so big. I had only seen media images of Alphas, and they did not give an adequate impression of size.

  “Anna,” I said because it seemed like the right thing to do…and it had to be an improvement on kitten.

  The kind Healer returned. The one who I’d just been kissing while staring at Hudson. I clasped my fingers to my flaming cheeks and tried to find calm.

  “Hey. It's okay,” the Healer said, squeezing my shoulder. “You’ve been through a very rough time. No one is judging you here, least of all me! I’d tell you the story about my dynamic reveal, but it might make you blush!” I doubted it could make me blush hotter than I already was, but I appreciated his gentle teasing. “It’s just going to be a small sting. Nothing for someone who has gone through what you have.”

  I felt the pinch as the needle stabbed, but it was over quickly.

  A smile bloomed on his face. “Confirmed. She is an Omega,” he said looking at Hudson. Yes, Hudson, and not me because he was an Alpha and I wasn’t.

  “We won’t know what kind for a while,” the Healer continued, now addressing me. “It can take a couple of weeks, even months before we’ll know.” He ran a finger over my arm where the clear pink skin lay. “The way you reacted to the healing, I can’t help but think you’re a Healer. Ra
pid recovery is normal, but this—” He indicated my arm. “Is exceptional. Do you ever get sick?”

  I shook my head. “No, never.”

  He patted my shoulder, still smiling warmly. He had such a beautiful energy that I wanted to sink into his touch.

  Wait? I had just sensed his energy—I knew I had.

  I looked to the Alpha. No, his energy was completely different, dark and deadly, and so full of vitality that he almost seemed to glow.

  My heart picked up a staccato in my chest. I was still in shock. It had been a terrible night, but I had survived, and my family had survived. I am an Omega, maybe a Healer! I couldn’t wait to tell my parents. This was everything I had ever dreamed of, and I was sure I was going to be a Healer.

  “Healers don’t naturally heal themselves. The need to help others triggers it. Whenever I have healed another Healer the results are similar.” He gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. “We can talk more when you’ve—” he turned back to Hudson. “Been dismissed.”

  “Good,” Hudson said. He was still talking to the Healer, but his eyes were on mine. “I’m going to discipline her now.”

  I shot a quick look at the Healer in time to see him swallow and bob his head in acquiescence.

  “There’s been more drama in this medical bay than a stage-show. That little performance needs to be addressed. Better to get this corrected early. Not a habit we want to encourage in an Omega. Who knows where that could lead to if left unattended.”

  The Healer bobbed his head again.

  I felt confused by his censure. None of this was my fault. And discipline? What did he mean by discipline? Was he going to spank me like he had threatened to when I wouldn’t get on the bed?

  I squirmed. Despite my mounting sense of injustice, I could feel wetness pooling between my legs and my pussy suddenly became very hot and swollen. Hudson's eyes flicked down to where my legs had pressed together, and I froze. Could he tell?