Chapter Three

Azaria had been back at Paladin for three days now, and Daisy had already been gone again for two of them. She missed her friend, but the restlessness inside was from more than just having Daisy go off with her Alpha.

She worried for her friend, though she was convinced by now Ryder was the atypical Alpha, one who actually cared about protecting his Omega and others weaker than him. He didn’t seem like the kind of Alpha who took advantage of his superior strength and legal standing to do whatever he wanted to an Omega, as long as he didn’t kill her. From what she’d learned at the convent, that was a truly rare Alpha indeed.

She still was uncertain if Quinn was of the same cut, but she doubted it. He’d seemed to be providing perfunctory help at the least amount possible, and she should be grateful he’d kept it all physical and not tried to introduce anything more emotional between them. She shouldn’t be missing him with a constant dull ache in her chest, and she shouldn’t be feeling like she was suddenly out of place in the place that had been her home all her life.

She’d been born on Paladin, right in the walls of the convent, and before the Klinoks had kidnapped her and Daisy, she’d only ever been to a nearby moon to trade with the Beta farmers there. Everything should have been familiar and easy, but it suddenly felt too small and constricting.

Nothing was like it had been. Nothing felt like it fit her anymore. The daily contemplation, the quiet moments, and even the chores didn’t distract her from her morose thoughts and feeling something was missing. Out of desperation, thinking perhaps the estrus had brought her to this state, and the drug used to induce it had done something to damage her, she approached Mother Risa on the fourth morning after her return home.

Risa was in the garden, plucking weeds alongside other sisters. Her hands were covered with dirt, and she seemed right at home there. Azaria envied her that as she knelt beside the Mother Superior and started to help weed.

“It’s good to see you getting back into the routine,” said Risa.

Azaria drew in a sharp breath and exhaled, looking around for a moment to make sure the nearest sister wasn’t close enough to hear her before she turned her head fully to Mother Risa. “I don’t feel like I am. Something’s different. I’m completely out of sorts. May I talk with you?”

“Of course.” Risa looked down at the weeds for a moment and then looked up at her. “I suppose these can wait.” She got to her feet with gracefulness and wiped her hands before gesturing for Azaria to precede her.

Azaria just brushed her hands down her robe, since she’d barely touched dirt, and made her way to Mother Superior’s office. When she was inside, Risa followed right behind her and closed the door. She was unable to suppress the urge to pace back and forth.

Risa just watched her quietly for a moment before stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Try to relax and tell me what’s bothering you.”

Azaria let out a small sigh. “I think that enhancer they gave me did something to me. I feel different, and not in a good way. I’m unsettled. I’d like to request a higher dose of suppressant.”

Risa frowned. “We have you on the best dose to still maintain a natural cycle.”

“I don’t want to feel like this anymore,” said Azaria with anger before bursting into tears. She turned away from Risa to bury her face in her hands, taking a moment to compose herself before turning back to the other woman. “It has to be the hormones or something. Please, Mother Risa, I’m begging you.”

After a moment, Risa sighed. “I don’t agree with completely suppressing all parts of the Omega, but it isn’t my decision to make. I want you to go see Sister Kathleen. As long as you’re medically sound, I’ll authorize the maximum dose of suppressants, but I don’t think it’s the problem.”

“It has to be,” said Azaria firmly. She refused to entertain the idea of it being anything else. With a nod toward the Mother Superior, she left her office and rushed down the hall to the medical wing.

Sister Kathleen ushered her inside the room with a smile and nodded to the table. “Take a seat and tell me what’s wrong.”

Azaria quickly explained her purpose for being there, not missing the disapproval in Sister Kathleen’s expression when she turned back to her. “No one knows the long-term effects of using that much suppressant. It could be detrimental to your health in the long run. It will most certainly blunt all your normal responses, so I don’t advise this.”

She firmed her shoulders. “I understand the risks, but I intend to take them.”

With a sigh, but no further protestation, Sister Kathleen examined her for the next few minutes. When she finished, she looked up at Azaria. Her expression was impossible to read, but she seemed troubled by something. “I must speak with Mother Risa, and then she’ll be in to see you.”

Azaria grimaced as the sister left, suspecting she was on her way to try to dissuade Risa from agreeing to allow her to increase her suppressants. She hoped the sister wasn’t successful in doing so as she clenched her hands on her lap, counting the minutes that seemed to drag by forever before Mother Risa entered the exam room sometime later.

“I’m afraid you can’t increase your suppressants, Azaria.”

She frowned. “I understand Kathleen has reservations, as do you, but it’s my choice—”

“I would agree it’s your choice, but there’s no reason to do so. It could even be dangerous in your current state.”

Azaria’s stomach clenched with dread. “What current state?”

“Sister Kathleen tells me you’re newly pregnant.”

Her mouth dropped open with shock, and she shook her head instinctively. “I can’t be. Quinn told me he had a vasectomy.”

Risa sniffed. “It’s hardly above an Alpha to lie, is it? If he wished for you to carry his seed, he would want to keep you from taking anything to prevent it. It’s too late to stop the pregnancy from occurring now, though you can end its progression if you choose.”

Azaria froze, the weight of the decision pressing upon her for seconds before she discarded the option. “I don’t think I could do that, Mother Risa.”

“That is your choice as well. In that case, you know you’re still most welcome here at the convent. My own mother gave birth to me here, as did yours.”

Azaria nodded. “I appreciate that.” She recalled how closed the convent had become to Daisy once her friend accepted Ryder as her Alpha. She was thankful to still have the option to remain at her home, and she was hopeful that her feeling out of sorts was attributable to changes in hormones. Surely, she would soon be back to normal?

“Of course, if you involve the Alpha in this, you’ll have to leave the planet.” Mother Risa didn’t seem completely unsympathetic. “It’s a difficult choice.”

Azaria nodded, though she already felt like she’d made it. If he had truly tricked her into believing she couldn’t get pregnant so she would be forced to, he wasn’t likely the kind of influence she’d want to expose her child to, though she couldn’t deny there was a niggle of guilt at the idea of not telling him.

***

She spent the next few days in quiet contemplation while focusing on trying to fit back in with life at the convent. Had it always been this restrictive? She knew it had, but until she’d experienced the bigger world, it had seemed completely normal and just fine.

She was the one who’d changed, not the environment around her, and she was desperate to change back. Was such a thing feasible though? She wondered if that were possible for anyone. Change was clearly possible, but was it plausible to assume one could devolve to a previous state?

Yet how could she leave this planet? The only safe way to do so was with an Alpha who claimed her and protected her with his scent. She was doubtful any Alpha would want her since she was pregnant with another Alpha’s child. Perhaps once the baby was born, she would be able to attract an Alpha if she chose, but would he accept her child?

It seemed the only option available was Quinn, but she refused to consider the idea. One afternoon, as she seriously contemplated how she wanted the rest of her life to be, and how she wanted to raise her child, she went so far as to look up Quinn’s comm frequency and program it into her wrist comm, but she couldn’t bring herself to press the button to connect the communication. Instead, she pushed aside making the decision once more and tried to immerse herself in the afternoon work detail.

***

In some ways, Azaria thought she had made progress in becoming more content with staying on Paladin as the weeks progressed. She certainly saw the advantage to raising a child in such a calm environment, and once Sister Kathleen had revealed she was expecting a girl child, she was fearful it too would be an Omega.

Her daughter would be safest raised in an atmosphere like this, though it was a small world confined by many rules. She had mostly resigned herself to the idea, and she hadn’t given any serious thought to calling Quinn for at least two weeks, but that changed the morning klaxon alarms rang throughout the convent as something attacked their defense system above the planet.

“To the shelter,” said Mother Risa, her voice carrying over the intercom. “Whatever’s up there has completely destroyed our security system.”

Azaria dropped what she was doing and rushed to join the others heading toward the shelter. She’d had defense training, but it sounded like the weapons they had on the planet were going to be no match for whatever ship or ships had torn through their security system.

It left her doubting if the shelter would be secure either, or at least secure enough to keep out whatever outside force was invading. She trembled at the thought as she put a hand over her tummy, which was just now starting to have a noticeable-to-her bulge. A tremble of fear shot through her, and she vowed to do whatever necessary to protect her child.

Moments later, she was crowded into the shelter with most of the other sisters, noticing Mother Risa had not appeared. She was fearful, and that grew from anxiety to terror when the communication panel on the wall nearby lit up under its own power, meaning someone else had control of the A.I. that ran the convent.

She let out a sharp gasp along with many others at the sight of Mother Risa being held in an Alpha’s arms, his gun pressed to her forehead.

“Today, we’ve only come for one of you. Surrender yourself peacefully, and the rest of you will be left alone… For now.” His dark chuckle didn’t inspire confidence.

There was whispering around her as they speculated who might be the target. Azaria’s heart squeezed with fear, and she was unsurprised when the man said, “Surrender yourself, Azaria Khalid.”

She’d known from the moment she saw him he must be from the same group of men who had bought her at the auction and planned to take her to Aldrich Garros. She didn’t think she’d seen him before, but he wore the same all-black outfit as the others, and more than that, there was an air of menace about him that had hovered over all of them, even the Beta males she’d seen while being transported onto the ship.

Silence reigned inside the shelter, and gazes moved to her, some with sympathy, while others bore clear disapproval or outright anger. There were more of the latter than the former.

There was no choice to be made. She knew if she didn’t walk voluntarily from the shelter, it was likely some of the sisters around her would make the decision for her. If they had to choose between trying to survive the attack and losing Mother Risa, or surrendering one of the sisters from the convent, they had an obvious choice before them.

She could hardly blame them for that, though her heart was sticking in her throat when she moved to the exit and pressed the button. The door opened with a hydraulic hiss, and as soon as she passed through, it closed again. She heard someone lock it behind her, and she trembled as she walked up the stairs to reach the ground level.

When she stepped out of the shelter, she found three Alphas waiting for her, all holding guns. They were hardly likely to need them against one unarmed Omega, but she didn’t point that out. She didn’t speak to them at all or even look at them as she walked forward, intent on reaching the man who held Mother Risa. She stopped a few feet from him. “Release her.”

He looked at one of the men standing near her. “Is it her?”

Azaria didn’t move as he scanned her before nodding confirmation. At that point, she stretched slightly, pretending she was just shifting position as she pulled up the contact list in her wrist comm.

It took a few more subtle movements spaced over the next five minutes as the men released Mother Risa and marched Azaria toward the ship for her to pull up Quinn’s frequency. She hoped he wouldn’t answer and betray the call, so she was quick to launch into speaking as soon as she was sure it was about to connect. “What do you want with me?”

“We don’t want anything with you,” said the Alpha who’d held Mother Risa prisoner. “Our boss is a different matter.”

“Who’s your boss?” She already knew though.

“Aldrich Garros, and I wouldn’t want to be you.” He chuckled harder than he had when he’d issued the veiled threat to the other sisters in the shelter. “There’s no telling what Garros has planned for a tasty little Omega like you. Once he’s tired of you, he’ll pass you on like he always does, and then we get a taste too.”

She shivered under the threat, doing her best not to reveal her horror at the idea. She tried to maintain her icy façade. “How long until we reach his planet?”

“Less than a day if we use a boost gate. We have orders to get you back as quickly as possible. Mr. Garros hasn’t liked being kept waiting for you, so you’re likely going to pay for that too.” He seemed unbothered by the notion.

She scoffed at him. “Did he expect me to shun the ability to escape such a fate?”

“I can’t speak for his expectations, but I imagine they include you staying where he puts you. You’ll do better if you submit right from the start.” His voice lowered an octave, taking on a sinister note that was woven through with clear delight. “You can hardly help to do that though, can you, Omega?” He spoke in a deliberately authoritative fashion.

Azaria braced herself for the typical response, but she felt nothing. She had no urge to tremble or submit to him, and she hoped it would be the same with Garros. Could it be the pregnancy was shielding her from the natural biological imperative of an Omega to respond to an Alpha?

It was something to be thankful for, even though she was terrified for the fate of her child and the pregnancy. If it interfered with what Garros wanted from her, she doubted he would balk at ordering someone to remove the child from her body. She’d die trying to stop it, but it wouldn’t do anything to save either one of them.

He marched her onto the ship, pausing in the cargo bay to take her wrist comm and anything he must’ve deemed capable of being turned into a weapon. “Take her to the empty quarters, and make sure you lock her in. I don’t want to be like the last crew and lose my head if we lose her.”

“Yes, Theos,” said the Alpha nearest her. He put his hand on her elbow, holding her tighter than necessary, as he indicated for her to move forward. He was practically moving her at a frog march, and she did her best to keep up with the pace he set, refusing to allow any show of weakness to these Alphas. She hoped she could maintain her resolve and strength in the face of Aldrich Garros as well, though she feared she might yet yield to a man like him.

It wasn’t because he was an Alpha that she was terrified. It was because of his reputation, and what she’d learned of him during her brief period of captivity. She also feared him because of the words he’d spoken to her before they ever met, detailing the filthy, awful things he planned to do to her.

Her only hope was Quinn had gotten the communication and would intercept the ship before they reached Garros’s planet. If not, there was no hope remaining. The idea of her being able to overpower an Alpha and his minions to escape was laughable. It didn’t mean she planned to submit without a fight, but she was realistic enough to know how it was likely to turn out if Quinn didn’t come for her.