Chapter Nineteen
Miles
The officers were kind, especially Officer Riley. They spoke softly to me, they only touched me when they had to. They didn’t even bind my hands. They did cuff Jethro once we got to the base of the mountain, walking him ahead of us and out of sight.
“Where are you taking him?” A spark of alarm ran through me as Jethro disappeared from view.
“Don’t worry. He won’t come to any harm. As long as you and he stay calm,” Officer Riley said, standing by my side.
A few minutes later, among the trees ahead of us, I saw a helicopter rise into the air
“Is Jethro in there?” I asked, pointing.
“You’ll be following him soon enough,” Officer Riley said.
“They won’t hurt him?” I didn’t want him harmed because of me.
“No, they won’t. It’s a tough situation, I won’t lie to you, but the law protects you both up here.”
“Yeah, it’s not like down in the South,” another officer added.
“Why? What would they do to us down there?”
Officer Riley fixed the other officer with a glare. “Never mind that. You’re in the North, under Northern law. That’s all that matters.”
We reached a large clearing just as another helicopter was landing, its rotors whipping up a wind that ruffled all our clothes.
“Ever been up in a chopper?” the officer asked me. I could only shake my head. I was getting into that?
“You’re in for a treat. If we ask nicely, the pilot might show us that mountain we just brought you down from.”
There was a man in the clearing wearing a uniform nothing like what the officers who found us were wearing, but I recognized it as Southern military, like what my father wore. And he was an Alpha.
“No talking to the prisoner,” he bit out. “Not until the interrogation.”
A wave of cold swept through me at his words but Officer Riley surprised me, putting a warm hand on my shoulder.
“With all due respect, Commander Tate, that might be how you do things in the South, but here in the North, we like to put frightened people at ease. And while Miles here might be in our custody, it’s a protective custody, and he is not our prisoner.”
Tate glowered at us and I shrank back, glad of Officer Riley’s presence by my side.
“Let’s get you onboard,” he said, urging me forward. With one last look at the furious Alpha, I kept going.
A few minutes later I peered past Officer Riley as we flew by the mountain. The pilot, at Riley’s request, slowed down to Riley could show me where they’d picked us up from. I’d never have guessed we were up that high.
“Though how you scaled it without a stitch of climbing gear between you is a mystery to me,” he said, with a significant look in my direction. All I could do was shrug. It wasn’t my secret to tell. Who knew when that mountain might be needed as a place of refuge again?
The pilot finished his circle and made a radio call, turning the chopper around and heading east. I relaxed once I was sure we weren’t going south. From Officer Riley’s reaction, he’d guessed at my fear, and he started explaining where we were headed to. I did my best to look anywhere except at Commander Tate who was sitting across from us, but I could feel his gaze on me, my skin crawling, especially around my mark. I was wearing Jethro’s T-shirt and his jacket, my mark hidden from his view but we both knew it was there and we knew what it made me.
We came into land on a helipad inside what looked like a military base. There was another helicopter on the pad next to ours. I hoped that meant that Jethro was already here. I remembered what he said, that the longest they could keep us apart was seventy-two hours. So by dawn three days from now, we should be reunited. I could wait three days, if I had to
They led me inside a large building, Officer Riley staying by my side.
“Where are we going?” I asked, noting Commander Tate was walking right behind us, and worried his threat of interrogation was all too real.
“To the infirmary to get you checked out.”
Doctors? No, I didn’t want that, not again. I slowed down and started looking for an escape. I didn’t want the drugs, the hands touching me.
“Miles?” Officer Riley called to me and I turned to look at him. “Are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”
“No doctors, please,” I whispered.
Understanding dawned in his eyes, which were full of sympathy. “It’s just to make sure you’re not hurt. There won’t be anything invasive. If you were injured or sick, and we missed it, there’d be hell to pay.”
There was something very calm and reassuring about Officer Riley’s manner. I took his words to heart and fell into step beside him again.
When we got to the infirmary, they led me into a side room. I heard voices nearby, including Jethro’s, but though I strained to see him, I didn’t manage to catch a glimpse before we entered the room.
A stern woman dressed in scrubs followed us inside and set a gown down on the bed.
“Hello, Miles. My name is Sandra and I’m your nurse today. Change into this gown for me, please. I’ll be back to you in a few minutes.”
She didn’t wait for a response but pulled the curtain closed around the bed, shielding me from the view of the two officers and Commander Tate, all three having followed me into the room.
Just the fact that she’d used my name, introduced herself, and even said ‘please’ meant this was already a very different experience from the Intake Center. I was still on edge but I knew that the sooner I cooperated, the sooner I might see Jethro again. That was all that mattered.
I changed into the gown and took a seat on the bed.
Sandra popped her head through the curtain a few minutes later.
“How are you getting on? Oh, good. You’re changed. I’ll just take these.” She picked up the clothes I had folded and stacked neatly at the end of the bed.
“Wait, will I get them back? They’re my Alpha’s.”
She paused at that. “I’m sure you will, but I’ll check, okay?”
“Okay.”
She gave me a bright smile before ducking away again, leaving the curtains drawn. I got up and peered out into the room. Officer Riley was there but the other officer and Commander Tate were gone. I was relieved at that. Until a man in blue scrubs walked into the room, Commander Tate a step behind him.
“We insist,” Commander Tate was saying, “on a full examination, as per the South’s Omega protocol.”
“I’m familiar with the South’s protocol,” the doctor said, washing his hands at the sink. While Tate’s tone was heated, his was icy in comparison. “In my opinion, it is unnecessarily invasive and is not indicated in this situation.”
“The South insists-”
The doctor held up a hand. “The South is perfectly entitled to insist on its own protocol being followed in its own jurisdiction. I will not have it in my infirmary. I have to ask you to step outside, please. Your presence appears to be unsettling my patient.”
It took a moment to realize he meant me and I noticed the curtain was fisted in my hands, my whole body a knot of tension.
Commander Tate looked over at me, his gaze so full of contempt that I shuddered and dropped my head.
“I must be allowed to observe the examination so I can give a thorough report to this Omega’s Alpha team.” I felt a pang of guilt at the mention of the team I’d abandoned.
Nurse Sandra returned, pausing a few steps into the room as she read the tension in the air, and changing direction to approach me.
“Now, Miles, let’s get you settled.”
But I couldn’t move, not until I heard the doctor’s reply.
“In my infirmary, the patient is of primary importance. Their health, their comfort, and their privacy. I won’t compromise that for spurious reasons. I’m the doctor. The only report that matters in this instance is mine.”
“That is unacceptable.”
“What’s unacceptable is you still standing in my infirmary after I expressly told you to leave. If you don’t exit this room immediately, I will have you escorted out.”
Officer Riley stepped forward, seeming as keen as the doctor to get Tate out of the room. He glowered at them both before turning on his heel and pushing through the doorway, the door slamming shut behind him.
It was only then I could breathe and allow Sandra to help me onto the bed.
“Officer, if you don’t mind standing watch at the door, I’d rather not have any more interruptions.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
I listened to this exchange, waiting tensely until the doctor appeared behind the curtain.
“And you must be Miles Benson. Is it okay if I call you Miles?”
I nodded cautiously. Names were a good start.
“Miles, I’m Doctor Singh. I’m very sorry about all that and I want to assure you that you are safe here. We won’t cause you any harm and we won’t do anything you aren’t fully in agreement with? How does that sound?”
“That sounds okay.”
“Good.” He took a seat at the edge of the bed. “So, first things first, I see you have a bond mark on your arm. May I ask when that was formed?”
“Yesterday.”
He made a note on his clipboard.
“Good. Alright, next question…”