“Dr. Zolkos is just finishing up with your packmate, Lieutenant Talon Grayson. There was a bit of prep work to be concluded before the start of our last tests. He should only be a moment, but he asked me to get started taking a few samples from your pack’s omega. We will need a urine sample, blood sample, and DNA swab. Can I have your consent?”
She stood there staring at Cade, as if ownership of my body belonged to him.
I snapped my fingers, drawing her attention to me.
“Excuse me? Hello. I’m right here. My name is Rowan Mills, not omega. I’m not sure why you're looking at him. If you need permission to take samples, you can ask me,” I huffed, irritated.
She looked at me with a shocked expression, like a robot malfunctioning because I had done something she couldn’t compute. She glanced between Cade, Ryker, and me before turning back to Cade and asking, “Sir?”
“Yes, you have permission. Proceed,” Cade said, sighing and completely ignoring me as usual.
I shook my head. This was precisely the reason I had hidden my designation for so long. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want men making decisions for me, and I certainly didn’t want to be treated like a pet.
“Very good. Thank you, sir, right this way,” she said, holding up her palm, showing us which direction to move in.
Tears unexpectedly welled in my eyes. At that moment, more than any since my capture, I felt subjugated. I hadn’t yet experienced what the world was like beyond our small dorm now that everyone knew my true designation. My only interactions as an unsuppressed omega had been with these men in a controlled environment. I was suddenly acutely aware of how others now treated me. The female scientist had essentially ignored me and regarded me as lesser, deferring to Cade for permission.
It made me feel a myriad of emotions: anger, worthlessness, despair. No one had ever treated me that way when they thought I was a beta. I didn’t have any defenses in place to shield myself from this judgment and dismissal. Would this be my new reality? A woman once thriving and free, reduced to compliance and submissiveness.
I considered my own prejudices against omegas and my belief that they were meek, subservient, and docile. I didn’t even consider myself to truly be one, as I had lived my whole life pretending I wasn't. That was until recently.
I didn’t want anyone to see me crying, so I cast my eyes down at the floor, trying to count the tiles, attempting not to burst into full-blown sobbing. Cade was discussing my previous test results with the female scientist, and I tuned them out. They hadn’t even afforded me the consideration of consent, so it didn’t really matter what they were saying. I accidentally made eye contact with Ryker though, and tried to look away quickly, but he had already seen my glassy tears.
The scientist led us into a sterile-looking laboratory. Fluorescent overhead lights and drop tiles lined the ceiling. Glass cabinets filled with all manner of beakers, microscopes, funnels, goggles, and other equipment bordered the room. I wouldn’t pretend to know what any of the large machines were, but I'm sure they all had a purpose.
Every item in the lab was stark white, metal, or glass, which made the modern, clean space feel eerie and uncomfortable. I liked soft fabrics, cushioned furniture, delicious and comforting scents, of which there were none nearby. The lab smelled of chemicals and alcohol, burning my newly sensitive nose. No wonder only betas and thetas worked here.
I took a seat in a white plastic chair, and Ryker plopped down in one beside me, stretching his corded arms behind his head and getting cozy. It was amazing how this man could look comfortable and at ease on nearly any piece of furniture despite how uncomfortable it was. He loved lounging, and I was beginning to think it was actually a talent.
Cade continued talking to the scientist. They had moved on to discussing Talon, the shifter. I tuned them out, wallowing in my melancholy mood. Ryker scooted his chair towards me and leaned forward, looking at me with his head tilted.
“What’s wrong, Kitten? Why are you crying? Who do I need to kill?”
“Don’t act like you care, Ryker. Just go back to lounging around, doing whatever it is you do, ignoring my emotions, spanking and trying to have sex all the time. I don’t need you to pretend to actually give a shit about me. Most of the times I’ve cried recently have been because of one of you anyways! I’m fine,” I said, wiping the liquid from my eyes, and continuing to focus on the floor.
He laughed, lightly gripping my chin and tilting it, so I was looking up at him instead of the floor. “I know Cade and I did nothing to upset you, at least not on the walk over here. What happened? Something happened. Tell me, or I’m going to go get Cade and make the bossy overlord force it out of you. You know he’ll make a big scene over it. Cade! Rowan has some-”
“Ryker, stop!” I put my hand over his mouth to keep him from calling Cade. “Okay. Okay! It’s not a big deal; it’s just that the rude scientist pset me. She asked Cade, not me, for permission and barely looked at me! She was dismissive, and it made me feel…” I searched for the right word before settling on, “powerless.”
“I’ll kill her. Problem solved. Only we can make you cry, Kitten. Anyone else who does, dies,” he said casually, shrugging, and then manically grinning from ear to ear.
I couldn’t tell if he was serious about killing her, because I could never tell when Ryker was, but just in case I started my response with, “Don’t kill her, Ryker!” I continued, “She just made me feel pathetic. And then I started thinking, this is my new life, my new reality. People are always going to treat me like this now. I’m going to be powerless and weak. That’s how everyone will see me, at least. No one ever treated me like thatbefore. When people thought I was a beta, they just treated me normally. I was free!”
He laughed loudly, and I shot him an angry look. Here I was actually trying to communicate my feelings, and he thought it was hilarious. Why was I even bothering?
Ryker had the emotional maturity of a turnip.
“Kitten, play back this conversation. You told me you were sad because the mean, bitchy, science lady wasn’t nice to you. So I told you I would kill her. For you. In fact, I would have killed those soldiers at the elevator too, just for looking at you. So would Killian, Cade, and Talon. You are our fucking packmate. Our omega. We would destroy anyone who hurts you, wrongs you, or disrespects you. We would burn this base and the whole of New Arca to the ground for you. So yes, I can’t help but laugh when you call yourself powerless, because you have the power to end that woman’s life in the palm of your hand. Tell me she hurt you, and I will fucking do it, Rowan. If you want her dead, she will die. How’s that for power?”
“Ryker…”
He cut me off, continuing, “As far as you being free when people thought you were a beta, you weren't free, Kitten. You weren’t free of yourself. You built your own cage made from suppressants and isolation, fucking up your body, refusing to acknowledge your own biology and needs. I promise you, you are a lot freer now than you were. I’ve watched you come undone, pupils blown, unburdened with guilt or shame, fucking yourself on my fingers. That’s freedom, Kitten.” He shot me a wink while popping a toothpick into his mouth and went back to lounging.
I stared at him, shocked into silence.
That was… surprisingly deep for a man I thought had the emotional maturity of a root vegetable.
His words resonated within me, and I considered what he had said while the woman got to work drawing several vials of blood, and swabbing my cheek. I guess there was more to Ryker than first impressions let on. What else had I missed about these men?