August stumbled after. When he had woken up that morning, he never would have guessed that his world would be turned upside down. His heart hurt hoping Collin and the refugees had escaped. He felt stupid for getting caught, he hated being an Alpha and worst of all, he felt revulsion and fear being so close to Them. Their scent gagged him, reminding him of the rotting heaps of garbage in the slums. All but Merrik’s.

He stole a glance at the Omega who seemed solemn and resigned as his brother dragged him along. He could see the red of his eyes that marked him as one of Them but he didn’t smell like them. Did all the Omegas of the Infected smell soft and calm like Merrik did?

The manor house was a maze of black, burgundy and the green of plant life. How any of the plants stayed alive was beyond him. Hallways, doors and rooms in excess made him lose track of where they had come from. A beautiful ornate dark mahogany staircase opened before them like hands welcoming them up. Lavish paintings decorated the walls and August caught a glimpse of a crystal chandelier hanging above them as they ascended the stairs to yet another confusing maze of hallways, doors and rooms. Cathedral style stained glass windows lit up one room with a rainbow assortment of colors that left him dizzy. It was a shame that such a beautiful place like this was home to Them. 

Finally, they stumbled after Cain through a set of dark mahogany doors into a spacious bedroom suite. From there, Cain pushed them further into the room. “Enjoy matrimony!” Cain crowed with a laugh as he began to back his way out of the room and pulled the doors closed behind him. 

“Cain, wait-!” Merrik ran forward, reaching to stop his brother but the doors closed in his face and a heavy lock fell into place.

A heavy tense silence followed after. August’s heart pounded. Did he take this opportunity to use that fear he saw in Merrik’s eyes and get out of there?

But before he could do anything, the vampire turned and grabbed him by the throat before slamming him back against the wall. The force of it knocked the breath from his lungs and he choked, unable to draw in more breath from his grip. He clawed at Merrik’s hand. Even for being an Omega, his Infected blood made him far stronger than him. So much so that his feet were off the floor. His eyes settled on the fierce red of the Omega’s eyes.

“Just because my father is forcing you to stay here, doesn’t mean I accept you! You get in my way at all, I will personally rip you to shreds! Do you understand?”

He was getting light-headed, a pounding in his ears. But he still managed to nod.

Merrik released him and stepped back. August collapsed onto the floor, coughing and sucking in breath. He touched his neck, finding it painful to touch. It was surely going to leave a mark. The Omega wouldn’t have to worry about him getting in his way; he felt the same repulsion he did. He didn’t want to stay here any longer than Merrik did. And to be bonded and drunk from without his consent was certainly not on his to-do list.

The problem of escape, however, was his ID chip. Malakai had changed his job code which would mean if he left the manor, the AI would have him at the top of their wanted humans list and then there would be no place to hide. 

He pulled his knees up and leaned back against the wall as he continued to cough. Merrik had already disappeared to another part of the bedroom suite. He needed to find a way out of this and fast before the Omega really did kill him.