CHAPTER ONE
CAILYN
The Omega Compound looked like it always did.
The sophisticated huts and gathering halls spread as far as Cailyn could see, punctuated by patches of dry dusty earth, thick trees, and pretty gardens. Overhead, the sky was clear and bright, and Omegas strolled between the buildings, their robes streaming behind them in the rippling breeze, chatting and laughing with each other while the younger Omegas played or practiced their Talent. There was a uniformity to the village that Cailyn had always loved; the way the huts had been structured, the shades of brown, cream, and tan that made up their walls, and the groomed nature of the gardens.
However, although it looked the same, it didn’t feel the same. The light and jovial atmosphere usually lifted Cailyn’s spirits. It usually penetrated her, causing an unraveling of tension deep within. As she walked past the beautiful stone fountain in the center of the village square, the tension she had arrived with tightened into a harder knot in her stomach.
The idea that she had come here to confront the Mothers about Drocco’s information on her family seemed ludicrous now. All around her, Omegas were happy. They smiled and laughed, free from pain, free from anguish, free from being controlled by unreasonable men. This is what the Mothers had provided for them. They knew nothing of the experience of torturous pain suffered at the hands of an Alpha, nothing of the urges that claimed the body when the right scent dominated the mind, nothing of the beautiful contentment that awaited in an Alpha’s arms. Cailyn shook the thoughts out of her head. Their ignorance was not why she had come. She recalled Drocco’s words about her family, trying to keep herself focused. It would do her no good to begin questioning what was better for Omegas. The Mothers had already decided that, and considering what she had experienced with Drocco and Malloron when she first encountered them, she could understand why. She just needed to ask them a question about her family. Once they answered, hopefully confirming it was some kind of mistake, she could go back… back to Drocco.
She and Victoya headed straight to the training region. Although she considered the Omega Compound to be a village because of its look and feel, it was extremely large. It housed various regions dedicated to preserving and upholding Omega principles and protecting their way of life. Of course, Cailyn had spent most of her time in the training region, and she’d loved every minute of her training. It was also next to the Mothers’ sanctuary, an extensive building that housed them, and where they held an audience with the Omega population every so often.
They veered toward the briefing hall the Mothers always used and saw the glistening magic above the door that indicated they were in a meeting.
“We’ll have to wait,” Victoya said with a sigh. “At least there is no queue.”
Cailyn nodded, but knew she wouldn’t be waiting at the end of any line. She only wanted to be away for an hour. She would be going in to see the Mothers next regardless. Taking a seat on the bench outside, Victoya joined her. They sat in silence watching a few Omega trainees tackling a Talent assault course a few yards away.
“What is it like being pregnant?” Victoya asked, after a long while.
Cailyn automatically brushed a hand to her stomach, feeling the wave rising and falling within her. “It’s… strange. I can’t describe it.”
“Have you ever researched Omega pregnancy?”
“No.”
Victoya shook her head. “Me neither.” She remained silent for a moment. “Are you happy about it?”
Cailyn hesitated. “I wasn’t at first,” she said slowly. “I’ve come to peace with it now and I feel a sense of happiness at times. I’m just not sure about what the future holds. Sometimes I feel doubtful and confused.”
Victoya shot her a sideways glance. “Well, that’s not surprising considering who your Alpha is.”
Cailyn gave her a small smile. “I am certain about his intentions toward the baby, though. He loves that I’m pregnant. He’s so intense about it. I love the way he touches my stomach... I’m sure he would do well caring for it.”
Victoya turned, her eyes widening as she examined Cailyn. “You like him! You like your Alpha!”
Cailyn turned away, a heat rising to her face. “I do,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. She couldn’t deny that she had loved being with Drocco at her lodge. It had been the most contented time she had ever experienced—that had to count for something. It had to be worth trying to negotiate with Drocco and seeing how much he would consider her concerns. After all, this time they would be negotiating their life together. When she thought of how he had looked at her when they arrived at the palace… tingles fluttered wildly in her stomach at the memory of that intense gaze locked onto her. He had meant it. He truly would give up the Lox. Surely he would be willing to compromise.
“Really?” Victoya made a face. “I thought he tortured you?”
Cailyn shot her a sideways look. “How do you know that?”
“The Mothers told us.”
Cailyn stilled. “What do you mean?”
“They told the rest of us that you had gone to be with your Alpha because your Omega dynamic was discovered. They said you suffered at his hands,” Victoya said. “They said you had taken on the burden to protect the rest of us.”
“Did they say how it happened?”
Victoya’s hazel eyes glimmered with sympathy. “A faulty block. I’m sorry that happened, Cailyn.”
Cailyn didn’t respond. The Mothers made her out to be some kind of martyr, and yet they were the ones who insisted she go to her Alpha. Maybe her insistence that Drocco would continue to torture her had convinced them he would, but something didn’t feel right. Why didn’t they simply tell her fellow spies the truth about her connection with Drocco? The truth about them encouraging her to go? She knew all the other spies well enough. And what if this happened to one of them—what if one of them came across their true mate and their blocks were compromised? Cailyn hadn’t even remembered it could happen—so others could be at risk too.
The door to the building opened and two Omegas exited.
Victoya stood and turned to Cailyn. “Ready?”
Cailyn nodded and followed her inside.
The briefing room was the same as it had looked in her projection when she last saw them, except the mottled pink of the window panes and the yellow of the sandy walls were more pronounced.
The Mothers, adorned in their usual white robes, sat around the wooden, half-moon table. The wise and ruthless Mother Azia sat in the center, as always, flanked by the auburn twins, Mothers Freya and Fern, and on either side of them the logical but sympathetic, raven-haired Mother Naysa, and the stern but kind Mother Orlee. They were deep in conversation, however, their voices abruptly faded when Victoya and Cailyn entered.
“Why are you here?” Mother Freya said sharply to both of them, rising to her feet. She was the most abrupt and direct of the Mothers, while her twin remained calm at all times.
Although Freya addressed both of them, all of their eyes turned to Victoya.
“I made her bring me,” Cailyn said, quickly. “I have a question I need to ask you.”
“You were supposed to have completed the memory wipe,” Mother Orlee said to Victoya. “You disobeyed a direct instruction, Victoya.”
“I’m still going to do it,” Victoya insisted.
“But you allowed her to come here first?” Mother Freya said, incredulously. “That will make the wipe harder for you.”
“This disobedience will have to be addressed, Victoya,” said Mother Orlee.
“I have a question to ask before the wipe,” Cailyn said, raising her voice in annoyance. They were behaving as though she wasn’t there, as though she was already unimportant. “This isn’t Victoya’s fault. I asked her to bring me here before the wipe so I could talk to you.”
The Mothers turned to her disapprovingly. “We cannot encourage your knowledge of us, Cailyn,” Mother Naysa said. “You know how this works.”
“Drocco told me I have family in the Eastern Lands,” Cailyn said, ignoring her. “He says my father is still a farmer and has farmland in Cillford. Is this true?”
“You have no family but your sisters here in this compound,” Mother Freya said.
A sense of relief drifted through Cailyn. Drocco had clearly been mistaken. “So I have no blood relatives in the Eastern Lands?”
At that more specific question, there was no response. Mother Orlee stared back at her while Naysa and Fern glanced at each other. Mother Azia remained silent and still as always. The relief within Cailyn quickly morphed into an inkling of dread.
“Am I related to anyone in the Eastern Lands?” Cailyn asked, a note of panic in her voice. “Do I indeed have a family?”
“Victoya, please wait outside,” Mother Naysa said, gesturing to the door.
Victoya held her expression neutral, but Cailyn could tell she was surprised at the request. As she turned, Cailyn grabbed her and pulled her into a firm hug. She had no idea why she did it—a strange feeling had come over her and she wanted to make sure she said goodbye properly.
“Don’t worry, Cailyn, you’ll be fine,” Victoya murmured, rubbing her back. “They’ll give you the answers, and then I’ll take you back.”
Cailyn nodded and released her, trying to get a hold of herself. She watched Victoya leave and then turn back to the Mothers, the uncomfortable feeling stirring inside her.
They watched her carefully for a long moment until Mother Fern broke the silence. “Why do you want to know about blood relatives, Cailyn?”
“If I have family in the Eastern Lands, I would like to know,” Cailyn said evenly. “It’s something I have asked you all numerous times, my sisters and I have all asked you numerous times. If this information is true, I want to know.”
“Why?” Mother Orlee said. “Are you hoping to remember this information after the memory wipe?”
“No, I just want to know if it is true or not.”
“But your Alpha already thinks it is. After you’re wiped, he will tell you this information again and you will believe it. Why do you need to come and ask us?” Mother Fern’s face slacked. “Unless you doubt us.”
Cailyn pressed her lips together and huffed out a breath. “I want to know if you have lied to me—to all of us,” she said, her tone bitter. “If it is true, I want to know where my Omega Mother is and if she knows who I am. If it is true, I want to know why you keep our blood family from us.”
Mother Orlee held her gaze. “You dragged Victoya into your selfish pursuit of knowledge knowing you would not remember it anyway? Did anyone see you leave?”
Cailyn struggled to answer, unwilling to change the subject but aware that Victoya had indeed been potentially impacted. Finally, she said, “Yes.”
“So she could have been compromised?”
Cailyn nodded, her heart sinking. She had spoiled Victoya’s first true solo mission. Victoya would never be able to do any more missions in the palace, or possibly even on that side of the Eastern Lands again, if she had been discovered.
Mother Naysa looked at her with such dismay, Cailyn couldn’t help but feel she had let her down. “That was indeed very selfish of you, Cailyn.” Naysa’s head shook slightly, her voice almost a whisper. “I cannot understand why—”
“I have followed your instruction without question my whole life, Mother,” Cailyn said, trying to keep her voice firm. “I deserve to know this. I am pregnant. And I have been heavily distressed. Any memory procedure may affect recent memories anyway, there is no telling what may happen once I undergo it. But I’m not trying to find a way to keep these memories. I just need to know if there is any truth to this, and why you have kept it from us?”
The Mothers all remained silent, their faces stricken and unmoving.
“You are having an Omega,” Mother Azia announced from the center of the table, finally speaking up.
Cailyn started, shock and excitement gripping her. “What?”
“You are having a female Omega child, Cailyn,” she repeated, her gray eyes boring into Cailyn. “So you see, it wouldn’t do us any good to tell you anything.”
Cailyn frowned at her, trying to draw meaning from her words. It wasn’t until Mother Naysa glanced at Mother Azia, her eyes full of sorrow, that the implication slammed into her full force. They were going to take her child!
“No.” Cailyn shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle. “No, no, no.”
“We told you that any Omega children you bear would be taken,” Mother Azia said. “You knew it would be the case.”
“No!” Cailyn shouted, a savage heat embracing her at the thought. “You cannot take her. I won’t allow it. Drocco will not allow it!”
“It is for her protection,” Mother Orlee snapped. “Would you want her to suffer the same fate as you? What if her Alpha is crueler than even yours? Would you want that life for her? Can you guarantee her life will be safe if she stays with you while you live among thousands upon thousands of Alpha warriors?”
At that, Cailyn’s violent emotions cooled. Mother Orlee had pinpointed the exact concerns she’d already considered. She had decided that she wouldn’t want to displace her Omega sisters from what was best for them, so why should that be different for her Omega child? If her child deserved a life with its mother, then the other Omegas in the compound deserved a life with their families; the mothers and fathers and siblings who missed them. And yet, Alphas would always be a serious potential threat.
“It is not for you to question us at this stage, Cailyn,” Mother Fern said, softly. “We did everything we could to protect Omegas from a life of pain and suffering, and although we may have failed you in that, it doesn’t mean you should distrust the decisions we made to keep you safe. Any family you have outside of this compound will never fully realize the extent to which you may have suffered if you were still in their lives. Most Beta mothers would understand if they knew. You should realize more than anyone, Cailyn, if you truly care about your daughter.”
“What about my Omega Mother?” Cailyn asked evenly. “Is she here?”
“Yes,” Mother Freya said. “She is here. All Omegas are here.”
Mother Azia abruptly stood up, before Cailyn could question further. “What is wrong with your Talent?” she asked, her voice harsh, her eyes flashing. “I cannot feel the baby absorbing magic.”
Cailyn blinked at her. “What?”
“Did something happen to your Talent?” Mother Azia walked around the table toward Cailyn. “Is that why Victoya needed to escort you here?”
“Y-yes,” Cailyn stuttered. “I can’t use it.”
All of the Mothers stood, shock and horror on their faces. Cailyn stumbled back as Mother Azia came closer to her, the strange feeling returning as she took in their reactions.
“Why can’t you use it?” Mother Azia asked.
“Drocco put a charm chain on me.”
Mother Freya let out a string of curses while the other Mothers’ hands flew to their open mouths. Cailyn glanced at them all nervously.
“I assume you cannot take it off?” Mother Azia asked, her gray eyes boring into Cailyn’s.
Cailyn shook her head. “What’s wrong?”
Azia turned to Orlee. “We need to remove it.”
“Do you know who made the item?” Mother Orlee rounded the table to join them. “Which Talent-crafter?”
“Why are you all so concerned?” Cailyn asked hesitantly, her voice wavering. “What is the problem?”
Orlee grabbed Cailyn’s arm. “Tell me which Talent-crafter made the item.”
Cailyn yanked her arm away. “You tell me why this is so important,” she hissed. “Why is the charm chain such a concern?”
“We need to examine her,” Mother Freya said to the others.
“Yes,” Mother Orlee agreed. “Immediately.” She glanced at Mother Naysa, who stepped around the table.
“Cailyn,” she said, her voice soft and smooth. “We’re not going to hurt you. Just come with us.”
Cailyn took a step back, firming herself against any kind of attack, but an incredible drowsiness began to creep over her. “Stop it,” she said. “Don’t use magic on me, Mother. Please don’t. Just explain to me what’s happening.” But even as she spoke, her tongue became like lead and her face slackened.
Mother Orlee took Cailyn’s arm again, and led her to the door and she could hear the other Mothers following behind.
Cailyn’s mind spun as questions rose that she couldn’t articulate. Her mind became fuzzy and her body sluggish. A mournful regret settled in her as she thought of Drocco. She shouldn’t have come. The Mothers hadn’t truly answered any of her questions, they’d simply raised more. For some reason, they were concerned about removing the chain, which should be a good thing, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that her child would be taken once she was born. She slumped on Mother Freya as they took her out of the building and toward their Sanctuary. The regret and dismay that had risen were drowned in the lethargic heaviness that swamped her. And soon, everything descended to black.