Chapter 3

Liz

Swishing the tip of her top tail through the air over her lap, Liz struggled to keep her eyes open. The tube of metal jettisoning through space seemed cramped, even with its large windows and decent sized seats.

Liz had never been one for space travel. She always felt so cold even though mass transportation stayed a regulated temperature. If she'd have thought about it, she would have brought her cloak, but she was afraid she'd miss her flight if she spent too much time dallying. She'd barely had time to grab a few prepackaged snacks and a water bottle before she'd run out the door of her apartment.

The water bottle had magically emptied not long after she'd sat down. Scratching her nape, Liz perused the people sitting closest to her before turning her face back toward the window, trying to ignore her thirst.

There weren't many people onboard. A beta female sat across the aisle from her, and the seats were so tall Liz could barely see if anyone had taken a seat in the row in front of her, but she knew two beta males sat directly behind her. Their chatter grated on her nerves, which made her want to scratch her nape again. Instead, she wrapped her bottom tail tighter around her lap and straightened her spine.

Two seconds later, her eyelids drooped and blocked half her vision.

Dang it, she was almost there. If she fell asleep and missed her stop, she'd never forgive herself.

Plucking a few of the longer strands of fur at the end of her middle tail, Liz used the slight sting to stay awake. The last time she hadn't slept through the night had been when she'd been in heat, drowning in such thick lust she'd worried she'd never regain her sanity, but as she had the first time, her mother had taken her to their local clinic and saved them both from a heap of misery.

No matter how hard it was to earn money, her mom always made ends meet. A thread of shame crawled through Liz's guts as she thought of the hoops Chelle had jumped through to make sure Liz was healthy and cared for. Getting an omega in estrous through the streets and into a controlled environment was no simple task. The transport had cost money, there was an admittance fee for unexpected arrivals, and even though the city covered basic health care, a secure nesting room with necessary tools required an increase in monthly payments.

Liz had yet to learn her body's early signs of estrous, and even though she'd only been through two heats, she wondered if there was something wrong with her. Ever since her nana moved away, she'd had no one to confide in or discuss omega tendencies with, and the sense of feeling like an outcast rankled sometimes. Add in having stark red skin and pitch-black hair—most people avoided her solely because her coloring warned them off.

Scoffing at herself, Liz wiped at the ridiculous tear trailing down her cheek and ripped open the most appealing of her snacks. After popping a few dried fruits into her mouth, she scowled at the empty water bottle before jumping when the intercom buzzed to life.

Geez, she needed to calm down. Who knew sneaking across the solar system would be so stressful?

When the automated voice confirmed their approximate arrival time, Liz looked out the window and stared in awe.

Unlike her home planet, Jun'gale sported neon green patches of land surrounded by sparkling blue oceans. There wasn't a single large splotch of grey denoting a city, nor any brown where vegetation refused to grow.

Liz understood why her nana had settled there. If it looked half as good on the surface as it did from orbit, she didn't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else. Letting her excitement of exploring some place new and her anticipation over seeing her nana grow, Liz smiled out the window and popped a few more dried fruits into her mouth.

When the intercom announced their descent, Liz checked her seat belt and wiggled deeper into her seat. Re-entries were almost worse than take offs, but for her nana, she'd weather this one alone without complaining.

If her tails hurt from her wringing hands, it was from eagerness to reunite with her nana, not because she fought nausea and fear.

***

Liz dropped her tails and pushed her back against the wall as people hurried in and out of the station's doors. Utter chaos surrounded her, drowning her in an ambience the opposite of what she'd imagined as she'd stared at the planet from orbit. The only large city on Jun'gale, Mesi, looked very similar to her home planet. Besides the trees lining the streets and the occasional brightly colored creature, there was no green to stare at.

Realizing she clutched her snack wrapper in her hand like a dullard, she spotted the nearest trash receptacle and made plans to visit it but didn't want to leave the safety of the wall until she knew which way to go.

She'd already garnished a few sidelong glances from strangers, her red skin standing out despite the myriad of races coloring the crowd. Straightening her spine, Liz berated herself for being so doubtful and for giving in to her paranoia. She hadn't expected the city to be so hectic, but it wouldn't stop her from finding her nana.

Bone-deep conviction told Liz that her beloved grandmother wasn't in the city. With the looks on most of the peoples' faces, they hadn't heard about the attack until recently and were panicking about getting off planet. No doubt her nana would have hunkered down in her own home or maybe visited the tiny village she'd gushed about when Liz last talked to her.

Which meant Liz needed to leave the city.

Searching the sky only worsened her sense of direction, so when she saw a tiny newsstand on the corner beyond the trash receptacle, she breathed a sigh of relief. After pushing off the wall and tossing her wrapper into the bin, she wove through the crowd until she'd made it to the little hut.

When the beta male sucked in a breath between shouting announcements of his wares, Liz grabbed the counter and gave him a little wave.

"Do you have any maps?"

He snatched a folded pamphlet off a shelf and spouted a price. Liz paid before accepting the map.

She kept her head held high and her tails tucked close as she maneuvered around a few bulky beasts to reach a spot of relative safety beside a nearby building. Opening the laminated paper, her heart sank as she stared at the chaotic jumble of lines and symbols. It would take her longer to decipher what they meant than to wander until she found her way out of the maze of buildings surrounding her.

Refolding the map and sticking it into her pocket, Liz sucked in a breath and looked around for some kind of sign. When nothing popped out at her, she watched the people scurrying toward the station until her thoughts slowed.

If the station was near the city center and everyone was going toward it, then if she followed a main road away from it and kept going the opposite direction as the crowd, she was bound to find a way out of the city.

She just needed to make sure she headed toward the little village near her nana and not somewhere else. Now would not be a good time to get lost. Plucking at a hair on her tail, she searched her memory until she was sure she remembered the town's name, Rontu.

Maybe she should search for it on the map, but the street was too busy and there wasn't anywhere for her to spread out the map. Noticing a little eatery across the way, Liz picked her path through the throng of people until she could slide into the shop.

She stood for a moment, unhappy with how busy it was, but finally found an empty table near the window. Slipping into the tiny two-seater table, she flattened the map over the sparkling top and started her search. Before she figured out where the station was on the map, a beta woman cleared her throat and asked her what she wanted to order.

Frazzled, Liz blurted that she'd like some water.

"And what else?"

The pale-skinned, brunette woman glanced at a sign near the door, alerting Liz that there was a minimum charge amount per patron. Liz blushed and ordered some juice, the thought of eating anything substantial churning her stomach. The landing had been smooth, all things considered, but she didn't feel settled enough for food.

A flash of discomfort rose from her feet again, making her clamp her mouth shut and breathe through her nose. The woman cocked a brow at her but waited for Liz to continue.

"Toast?"

After nodding, the waitress bustled to the next table and continued her rounds. Liz bent over the map, locating the station before moving her eyes past the wall surrounding the city.

Just as she found her nana's village, a shadow blocked her light. Sitting as straight as possible, Liz looked up into bright blue eyes, words freezing on the tip of her tongue. Much taller than the waitress, the alpha male motioned to the empty seat across from Liz.

"Can I join you? Everywhere else is full."

"Um. Sure."

Liz folded the map so the parts she didn't need weren't visible anymore, but when the huge guy wedged his body into the seat across from her, unease crawled up her spine.

She reminded herself that they were in the middle of a busy restaurant. Despite his towering height and impressive muscles, he couldn't hurt her or force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

Yet her instincts told her to run.

Trapped between propriety and fear, Liz gathered the map and held it in her lap, trying to make eye contact with anyone besides the hulking beast sitting across from her.

"Trying to get off this rock before the attack?"

His gravelly voice yanked her attention right where she didn't want it—to his perfectly symmetrical face. Worms crawled in her belly, even as his pearly white smile urged her to relax.

"I… I just got here."

Stupid, stupid Liz, she thought, chastising herself for telling a stranger anything about herself. Without warning, her logic flipped, and her wayward tongue took control. If this powerful alpha was trying to leave, then that meant he'd been on Jun'gale for a while. If anyone could help her find her nana, it would be someone like him.

Right?

"Actually, I'm trying to find Nana—I mean, my grandmother. She lives east of here. Do you know the best way to get out of the city?"

One perfectly shaped eyebrow went up before the man responded.

"Everything is moving toward the station right now, not the other way. I'm leaving as soon as the first wave of city folk clear out and I can get a spot on a transport. Your grandmother is probably already off planet anyway, so why don't you come with me? I can keep you safe."

Gut twisting in alarm, Liz stood and shook her head. Noticing the waitress headed their way, she spoke as loud and clear as she could.

"No. I will not come with you. I don't know you. Please leave me alone."

When she turned, the waitress stood right behind her. Slipping a few credits from her pocket, Liz swapped them for the water, chugging it down before grabbing the toast off the plate and darting out the door.

Pointing her toes east, she rushed down the road until a bus stop magically appeared in front of her. She scarfed down the toast and paid the fare, sitting at the front of the bus since no one else was on it. When the driver parked at the furthest stop, Liz stood, eyeing the swarm of people waiting outside.

"Are you sure you want to get off here?"

She looked the elder beta male in the eye and nodded, still too shaken to trust her voice. He blocked the door with his own body as the doors swung open and yelled for everyone to make a path, warning he wouldn't allow anyone onboard who interfered with her exiting.

Liz slipped through the crowd and stared at the wall surrounding the city. So high it seemed to block out the world, there was no way she could imagine anyone scaling it. Turning to the road that led to the closest gate, she groaned at the sight that greeted her.

Armored vehicles and thick concrete barriers made a blockade so secure she felt as though she were in a war movie. The flood of people moving through it left no room for her to slip out either. With her heart in her throat, she approached the nearest person in uniform, assuming they'd be the best to help her.

"Excuse me, sir?"

With sharp scales and an even sharper gaze, the humongous alpha swung his attention to her. She wanted to shrink at the cold intensity flowing from him, but she held his stare and pointed east.

"I need to go that way."

"No civilians may leave the city."

Liz blinked back sudden tears and sucked in a fortifying breath.

"I've traveled from Numania. I need to go that way and find my nana—I mean, my grandmother. She needs my help to get to safety."

"We have strict orders. No civilians may leave the city."

With a heavy heart and even heavier eyelids, Liz's shoulders slumped in defeat. She was too tired to argue with the man, so she turned to find the nearest hotel, rent a room, and sleep for a few hours before she tried again.

It had already been a long day between working her shift and making a mad dash to catch the transport. Since she'd been too nervous to sleep on the way to Jun'gale, her mind was too fuzzy to think of a solution to this unexpected problem.

She had to find a way out of the city. She couldn't bear the thought of her nana being in the middle of a war zone.

But first she needed to sleep.