Chapter 6

six

. . .

ADDY

"What are you doing?!" I shouted, fighting against the others.

Only when Fari lifted off of Alil's prone form did they loosen their hold on me.

I yanked my arms free, betrayed by their unexpected actions and stalked toward Alil, my heart pounding against my ribs. I shoved Fari roughly off of him and bent over him.

He appeared to be sleeping. My heart ached at the peaceful expression on his face.

Carefully, I reached out but stopped myself before I could touch him. Instead, I turned and glared at the others, heart palpitating at the rather uncomfortable sight of the other omegas unconscious behind them.

"What have you done?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"He will be fine," Kazm promised.

"The effects of the soum leaf will fade soon and all of them will wake up."

"Then why?—"

"Because we don't have time to wait, or argue," Kazm snapped.

It was the first time he had raised his voice at me and for a moment, I was taken aback.

"We need to get out of the city now ," he went on. "Before the celebrations are done. Before they hear which way the machine is driving."

He indicated the dune buggy.

"Come on. Hurry up, Addy. We will explain everything to them kindly once we arrive."

I stared at them, unable to process what they were saying.

"There is no time to waste," Fari insisted. "We are only taking them somewhere safe to talk."

Everything felt all wrong, but I was already in too deep to argue, so I bent and lifted Alil as carefully as I could.

Holding him in my arms made my entire body tingle. His head fell onto my shoulder and for a moment, his soft breath against my neck nearly made my heart break.

I carried him to the buggy and then, rather than releasing him, I climbed onto one of the free seats with him still held safely in my arms.

The others did not hesitate, crowding into the front of the large thing. Kazm took the driver's seat and when the automobile burst loudly to life, I understood why they were in a rush.

It would have been heard if the night was quiet, but I could still hear the noise, even over the sound of the machine as we began to drive.

Still, I wished they had warned me of what the plan was going to be. I didn't like that Alil had been attacked. He had trusted me and I had led him into a trap... I hadn't thought of it that way until after the fact though. I'd thought we would talk right here, convince him oer the course of a few hours before walking him back home…

Yes, we would be vilified at first but Alil had followed me this far, what was to stop him from following me until the end? What was to stop him from standing at my side through everything that was to come?

He did not move as we drove into the night. His body remained a dead weight. When I looked at the other three stolen omegas, they were equally unconscious.

A chill travelled through me at seeing their slack faces, but then the buggy lurched as we went off the beaten paths of the city and onto the desert sand, leaving society behind us.

And just like that, it was done.

I had turned my back on my own people.

I was forging my own path with the other alphas of my group.

I should have felt victorious for the new order of alphas, but I didn't. I was nervous about what was to come.

Ossad looked back at me, his pink gaze raking over Alil in my arms.

"He came willingly. Hopefully that means he will stay willingly as well."

I swallowed and nodded.

I hoped that he was right because the idea of fighting with him, of having to convince him made me feel sick. What would Kazm do if these omegas tried to run? Tie them up so they would listen?

Alil had never been anything other than kind to me. As young children we had been friends. As adults we had gotten along when we saw each other, always surrounded by escorts of course. I couldn't imagine him trying to fight with me.

The bigger issue was that having him in my arms was making me feel like I did not want to let him go. Not ever again.

I shut my eyes, trying to ignore his weight in my lap and the soft hairs tickling my face as the air brushed through the strands.

"Where are we going?" I finally thought to ask.

"There is an oasis," Fari said, turning to look at me over his shoulder. "It is directly south, from Diwan. We will reach it by morning."

I looked dubiously at the omega in my arms and shook my head.

"Will they sleep for that long?" I asked.

"They should," he answered. "But even if they don't, where will they go?"

I supposed that was a good point. There would be nowhere to go except open desert or, even worse, the jungle.

Above us, the stars were bright enough to light the way, especially in the stretch of sand we barrelled through. Kazm seemed to follow the line of the jungle, perhaps using it for direction.

At first, I kept looking back, sure that we were being followed, but asthe hours passed, my eyelids began to droop. My head fell onto Alil's and I fell asleep as I relished the moment, my cheek on his soft hair.

The vehicle jerked and my eyes flew open.

For a moment, I was lost as I sat upright because everything was different. There was a pain in my neck, my legs were numb and the sky was lighter, the stars almost all gone.

I blinked, looking around, seeing the alphas glance toward the back with tense expressions.

Then my gaze landed on the other omegas.

Two of them were frowning, shifting uncomfortably as they began to wake. The third was already wide awake, sitting upright, his auburn eyes wide.

He was breathing hard, taking a moment to look at each of us.

When he turned his scared eyes on me, my heart nearly stopped. I wouldn't do anything to him. But he didn't know that. I was a random alpha who had abducted him.

I swallowed, trying to find calming words.

"It's alright," I said. "We won't hurt you. We only wish to speak to you."

He shook his head like I was insane.

"If that was true, you could have spoken to us in the city. You wouldn't have stolen us against our will."

His eyes darted down to Alil's form, still asleep in my arms and I knew it looked bad.

Suddenly, our entire plan seemed weak and ridiculous.

How the hell was anyone going to believe that our hearts were in the right place?

How would anyone forgive me for this?

Suddenly, the other two omegas woke with a start. The looks on their faces said quite clearly that they were about to panic.

"Dammit," Kazm muttered from the front seat. "I had really been hoping that you would all wake up when we got there."

"Got where?" the first omega demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

He was trembling.

"To our new home," Fari said, turning to grin at the auburn haired omega. "One where the properway of living will not be disrupted. Where Alphas rule and omegas serve."

I frowned, shaking my head.

"No. That's not—you said we would only speak to them. To make?—"

"Make them see our way!" Kazm raved. "Exactly! And the omega priest is my most exciting conquest!"

He looked back at the omega in question and shock reverberated through me. My eyes widened in horror.

He had kidnapped the omega priest, Naz,from his temple?That was beyond wrong. Naz was not even supposed to be seen by alphas and yet here he was sitting next to me, surrounded by them.

If Kazm cared about restoring our traditional ways, he would not have gone near him.

My heart was thudding hard in my chest, fear and betrayal rising inside me.

At my side, the other three omegas were clasping each other's hands as though they were being taken to their deaths. Then, suddenly Alil shifted in my arms.

He made a soft, uncomfortable sound, his breath growing heavy against my ear.

No. Not now.

I wanted to take him back. To set back the clock and undo everything that had happened tonight.

"This isn't what we agreed to," Ossad was saying tensely in the front. "I would not have participated if I thought we weren't taking them back. We musttake them back."

"We had no choice but to tell you what we did," Fari argued. "We knew you two needed time to see our way."

"Give us a chance to convince you. You will see when we arrive..."

Suddenly, Alil sat up with a gasp, just as awake as the others.

His purple gaze flew around, absorbing what he saw. Three other scared omegas, four alphas, arguing about keeping them forever and a human vehicle traveling through the middle of the desert as the sun rose.

His eyes fixed on me.

"Addy," he whispered. "What have you done?"

I couldn't answer. There was no good explanation I could give.

"I—I didn't know—" I attempted but he wasn't listening.

His eyes met Naz's and something passed between them.

Alil glanced past me to the sand whipping by.

"Don't," I said, my hands tightening on him.

He gave me a frustrated look and then all hell broke loose.

Ossad reached over Fari, grabbing the wheel.

"Take us back!" he shouted, pulling it.

The vehicle swerved. We were all nearly thrown out the open sides and in the moment that Kazm took trying to right the wheel, it slowed.

"Now!" Naz shouted and practically pushed the omegas out the door.

"No!" Fari screeched and shoved Ossad out onto the sand. "Go after them!"

Before Fari could jump out and do the same, Kazm hit the pedal and the vehicle jerked forward, wheels spinning on the sand to go after them.

"Let me go!" Alil shouted, fighting against me.

"You'll fall!"

"I don't care!"

He shoved me hard enough that he wrenched free.

I watched in horror as he fell from the side door. His body hit the ground with a spray of sand and the wheels narrowly missed going over him.

"Stop!" I shouted.

To my surprise, Kazm did.

"Go get him!" he growled at me. "We'll get the others."

"But—"

"Head toward the oasis!" he shouted as they drove away.

I stood there for a moment, watching the havoc ensue.

Two of the omegas were running like their lives depended on it but Kazm caught up to them with ease.

Heading another way, the other omega was being chased on foot by Ossad.

And in the complete opposite direction, Alil was running, straight into the open desert as the sun rose.

He wouldn't make it if I left him.

Gritting my teeth, I took off after him.