Vanessa:

I can’t do this.

I was stupid to actually believe I was strong enough to take on this mission. I can’t even protect myself. Hexa pulled up that tree root, and what did I do? Trip over it and sprain my ankle like the worthless Alpha I am.

Growing up, I never had to go through anything like this, especially since most Alphas pitied me rather than judged. It was rare to have lost both parents, especially since the war with the Omegas had ended long before my birth. Now there’s a chance history will repeat itself, and if I don’t stop Lǎo bǎn, there will be countless more orphans in the world. Unless he decides to kill all of them as well.

Which I surely wouldn’t put past him.

Lǎo bǎn has to have some kind of weakness. Anything I can bring back to Madam President and the council. There’s no way I’m going to get close enough to him to find the supplier. He probably hasn’t told anyone who they are. I wouldn’t, if I were him.

Actually, he might tell—

One second, I’m walking around the corner of the dorms, and the next, a painful thrust of scalding water douses my entire body leaving behind a dull throb in my flesh, rippling through every nerve within my being. My heart stops for a moment, my body clenching up from both the shock and the pain. The agony tightens around my lungs as though it were a noose, yanking against my body. My pants become heavier and weigh my legs down until I can only sluggishly move forward.

Releasing a grunt is the only way that seems to relieve the pressure of my anguish.

I hadn’t put my hair up after lunch, wanting to originally clear my mind of the headache from the tension, but now my locks are clinging to my cheeks, some in the way of my vision.

The lack of air entering my body has my chest caving in on itself. The world spins, and everything becomes hazy. Who did this? Why?

The scratching of laughter digs into my eardrums as the world slowly becomes clear once more. Where is that sound coming from? Pivoting around, I catch site of Hexa and a few other Omegas as they stand several yards away.

Is she a child?

Her pale, slimy green eyes illuminate as the smirk on her lips curls into a full blown, cruel grin. This is not fucking high school. She thinks I’m trying to take her spot next to Lǎo bǎn or something? She can keep it for all I care. I only want to survive. Live and get that damned supplier’s name.

I can’t give Hexa what she wants. If she wins, I won’t have a chance to belong here, and I need to fit in. Even if it means dealing with some childish bully. Breathing through the throbbing pain, I turn from her and slowly walk away, around the dorms and into the heart of the compound. There are still a few Omegas training, but they stick close to the left as the right side of the field has higher ranking officials training.

Jake notices me first, but his brow deepens, and his mouth opens, his body frozen mid-punch. Zach takes the opportunity to lash out with his violet Magik and sweeps Jake to the ground.

Not wanting to stick around and find out just how pissed that made Jake, I push my aching body further across the compound.

A peak of anxiety rises up in my chest as my wet clothes refuse to release my skin. Clawing at my drenched clothing, I glance down and panic morphs into an icy stone in the pit of my stomach. My tank top is see-through. That must’ve been why Jake had reacted the way he did.

I need to go back and change, but Hexa is more than likely still lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack me once again. Pulling my arm forward, I try to cover my breasts that are not supported with a bra. Damned Michael. He just had to make my life on the streets as realistic as possible, didn’t he? Who knew that it was so difficult to find even an old, tattered bra while being homeless?

Pausing, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Is that a trainee? No, it’s Lǎo bǎn, and he’s holding his left arm to his side, crimson painting his flesh. Was he injured? What if the Alphas are attacking?

Wait, that’s a good thing, right?

Before my thoughts can catch up with my actions, I’m running—more like hobbling—after Lǎo bǎn, my chest heaving with the exertion. He doesn’t see me coming, his back hunched over as he bangs his way into one of the abandoned sheds. I try to call out, but my voice gets caught in my throat, blocking my airway.

Lǎo bǎn falls against the door frame before sliding completely into the structure. The old, rickety door begins to swing shut, but my body barrels through it, without warning.

Now I have his attention as Lǎo bǎn whirls around, his dark eyes sparkling like emeralds. The fury raging below the surface has a pit of terror weighing me down along with my clothes.

Once he recognizes who I am, though, he relaxes, his self-assured composure taking over.

“What are you doing here?” he growls.

His voice, dripping with irritation, causes a shiver to course through my body, and I immediately forget about my pain.

Lǎo bǎn hovers over me, the mask of his psychopathy washing away his pain. It wasn’t quick enough, though. I saw the glint of fear in his eyes. The chance someone would have caught him injured, weak. He would be deemed unfit to lead the Omegas. The reports the Alphan Society have on him aren’t extensive enough, but they do have a notation on this.

Lǎo bǎn needs to be feared. He gains pleasure in submission. Yet he is but a man, with a weakness like everyone else.

“Are you alright, Lǎo bǎn?”

Blood seeps over his fingers now, trickling down his forearm. His dense gaze only deepens as I take a step closer. A shadow forms across his already harsh features, and he looks down at my body—no, my chest.

Shit, I forgot my tank top is still soaked. Pulling my arm forward, I try to cover my breasts once more.

No, stop. He doesn’t know how naïve and timid you really are. Act like it means nothing. You are a woman, after all.

I drop both hands to my sides and straighten my shoulders, my breasts pressing out against my shirt. My throbbing nerves itch and tug to hide myself. Cover myself in his presence.

“Lǎo bǎn, let me help you.”

Either he is so shocked at my offer, or he is actually allowing me to do so, Lǎo bǎn does not move as I reach out for his injured arm.

I should have gone more slowly. Actually, I shouldn’t have tried to touch him to begin with. That was my mistake.

A big fat error on my part.

With a swift flick of his arm and a soul shattering roar, Lǎo bǎn all but shoves me away.

“Don’t touch me!”

My body trembles from its very core, my stomach twisting as I stumble back.

What with the sopping wet pants and shoes, and the already sprained ankle, my body decides it doesn’t want to protect me anymore.

My bad ankle gives way to the slip of my pants being just a little too baggy. That’s when I see my life flash before my eyes.

I am going to fall. Embarrass myself in front of Lǎo bǎn, of all people. He will never take me seriously, and I will never earn his respect. I can kiss my mission goodbye because I might as well just die from this fall. It’ll ruin any chance of me getting into the Alphan Society anyway.

So I close my eyes tightly, hoping this next bout of shooting pain comes and goes quickly. But then—

Then nothing.

An arm snakes its way around my waist, and with strength that I didn’t think he was capable of, Lǎo bǎn yanks my body up from the depths of my tumble. The quick movement has me flying around, my head cracking against the wall, my legs becoming jelly from the swift movement.

Within a second, Lǎo bǎn has me pinned against the rotting wood, his leg pressed snuggly between my thighs in order to hold me up, as his good arm remains firmly around my body. His chest comes up to my chin, his face peering down at me.

Frozen in time, I try to blink the stars from my vision, but that seems to only make it worse. It also paints Lǎo bǎn in another light. His eyes are bright, a soft sparkle to them as they peer deeply into mine. There is a quizzical tilt to his brow as he scours my face.

His breath comes in soft puffs from the excursion of whipping me up mid-air, and my own heaves my breasts into the top of his abdomen, pressing against him tightly. From the angle of our bodies, I can see the gulp he takes, his Adam’s apple bobbing slowly. Heat itches its way through my chest, clawing its way out until it’s able to wrap around my throat and inch up my neck.

What kind of situation is this? Lǎo bǎn is too close. Why did he even save me? Wouldn’t he have rather let me fall than risk his arm becoming injured further?

Right, his arm.

Struggling against his hold, I try my best to peer down at his left arm still hanging by his side.

“What happened?”

Wait, which one of us spoke? Was it me, or him?

Looking up slowly, I search for the answer in his eyes. Their unfathomable depths draw me in like a black hole. The breath leaves my lungs, and the room only seems to grow smaller.

I shouldn’t be here. I need to get away from him.

Making one more move at untangling ourselves, Lǎo bǎn presses his leg harder against my body, pinning me further. His body lays across me for but a moment, but there is something pressing into my navel. A bulge in his—oh God.

Is he really—

“What happened to your ankle?” Lǎo bǎn’s harsh whisper demands an answer.

I can’t give it to him. Hexa is his trusted soldier. I am but a trainee. He would choose her over me. As he should. I am a spy after all.

Then why is that disconcerting? To have him choose someone else over me? He is my enemy, he terrifies me.

And yet, his body pressing against mine, in this instance, my body doesn’t seem to be afraid. Quite the opposite, actually.

His skin against mine, his hand tangled in my soaked tank top, my cleavage available for his perusal—my body is awakening. I have never felt such heat before. It forms in the pit of my stomach and further down, at the junction of my legs. There is an itching pressure, one that craves attention.

But as I open my mouth—whether to speak, answer his question, or gasp I don’t know—Lǎo bǎn releases his hold on my body and takes three large steps back.

I fall on my weak legs, my breath leaving in a rush. An icy breeze causes a shiver to wrack my spine.

Lǎo bǎn continues to back away, before grabbing his injured arm once again. “Go back to the dorms.”

“Yes, Lǎo bǎn.”

Even if I want to argue, demand why he acted in such a way. Ask what just happened. I know he wouldn’t answer me. I was the only one that felt a thing. But then, that was no ordinary bulge pressing against my stomach.

With a shaky bow, I inch my way from the building, and almost lose my footing once I get outside. I can’t believe I allowed myself to fall into that sort of situation. It’s ridiculous. I am a soldier. A spy. I am required to be better than that.

For now, I should just keep my distance from Lǎo bǎn, and forget anything that happened in that shack.