Omega Hunted

THEODORE

“I'm going to die,” Evander groaned out as he rolled on the rough ground of the cave.

I rolled my eyes, though fear gripped me. “Stop being dramatic. They're going to come for us anytime now.”

He kept groaning, his back arching in pain every once in a while as the artificial rut gripped him. I scrunched my nose, his Alpha scent irritating me as it continued to fill the cave.

“Save yourself, my prince. We don't know if those bastards might appear again.”

I scoffed. The fact that he had no idea we had killed them off right before the last of them managed to inject him with a rut-inducing venom — showed just how far he was gone.

“Who'd believe me if I said the general of Avindel was a chicken?”

He groaned in pain, giving me a glare that was painful to look at, his handsome face squeezed in agony. “You should have been injected.”

I gasped, shooting him an outraged look. “How dare you speak against the future king?”

He looked away. “The banter is not working, Theo. It's getting worse.”

I sighed, checking on my comms again, but still it returned no signal. I should have listened to my gut and not gone on the delegation, but I wanted to prove my father wrong, to make him see I was as capable as the general.

I ran my hands through my hair. How childish. Now I was stuck in a cave that the rat bastards decided it was funny to lock us up in, ignoring the fact that I was a prince.

I looked at Evander. His breathing was shallow, but at least he was still breathing.

“Why do we even need to trade with the rats? They are rats!” I emphasized.

Evander snorted, then winced in pain.

“Typical of you, not understanding why we need rats,” he replied. "The rats are our best intelligence network. They can slip into places no one else can. That's why your father tolerates them. This was supposed to be a formal greeting, but no, you just had to open your stupid mouth and anger their leader into kidnapping us and locking us up in here.

“As if that wasn't enough, you blasted their fucking translator when he refused to tell the king what you wanted, and then you threatened their king.”

I scowled at him. “I had no idea a human trying to speak rat was disrespectful.”

“If you had paid attention to your studies instead of going after every available Omega, you would have known, and now I'm the one suffering for it.”

I didn't like his tone, so I sneered at him. “Well, who looks fucking stupid now?”

“You fucking brat,” he snarled, then curled up in pain as the rut ripped through him harder. “I'm going to die a dishonorable death,” he mumbled, curling in on himself.

I tapped my comms again, hoping for even a blink of signal. I might hate him, but I didn't want him dead. That would just add more reasons to my father's ever-growing list of why I was unfit to be the next king.

“I can't get a signal,” I muttered as my thumbs brushed over the communicator strapped around my wrist for the hundredth time. I turned back to Evander and cursed. His eyes were squeezed shut, his breathing rapid as he curled in on himself.

“Damn it.”

A tiny blue light flashed across the communicator. I froze. Then another blink. Signal.

I yanked up my wrist and tapped it. Static bursts through the speaker.

“Can... hear...?”

“Yes!” I nearly shouted. “Yes, I can hear you!”

The interference crackled for another second before a composed female voice came through.

“Molly here, how can I help you?”

Relief crashed over me.

“This is Crown Prince Theodore Eamon of Avindel. Authorization code AE-1174. Connect me to the military command immediately.”

“Understood, Your Highness. Verifying your identity.”

A soft chime sounded.

“Identity confirmed, connecting you now.”

The line clicked. “Your Highness?” a familiar voice exclaimed. “We've been trying to reach you ever since your signal disappeared.”

“We're trapped,” I said, not wasting a second. “The rats collapsed the cave entrance behind us. They've sealed us inside.”

“What is your condition?”

“I'm unharmed.”

“And General Evander?”

I had to look at him again. Sweat had soaked through his shirt despite the cave's freezing air.

“He was injected with a rut-inducing venom.”

The line was silent for a few seconds.

“Get the doctor now!”

A moment later, a voice came through, older and calm.

“This is Dr. Emily Suee. Your Highness, I need you to describe the venom.”

“It looked like liquid gold. It shimmers.”

The doctor inhaled sharply. “How long ago was General Evander injected?”

I glanced at my wrist display. “Almost three hours.”

Another sharp intake of breath. “Three hours?”

“Yes.”

“And he's still alive?”

I looked back at Evander. He was pale but conscious. “Yes.”

“Is he still speaking?”

The doctor was quiet for a moment, then spoke again. “Keep him talking. Whatever happens, don't let him lose consciousness.”

My stomach tightened. “Why?”

"Once the venom can no longer find a means of release, it begins attacking the brain.”

“How long do we have?”

“Approximately one hour.”

I clenched my jaw. If he died, I'd be blamed for his death. “Tell me how to stop it.”

“The venom must be expelled.”

“How?”

“Through release.”

I stared at the comms. “You mean sexually?”

“Yes, Your Highness. That is the only way it will leave the body. Without it, it will continue spreading until it reaches the brain.”

Before I could answer, another officer broke in.

“Your Highness, we've been trying to reach your location since the signal disappeared. The rats have activated a planetary shield.”

“What?”

“We're trying to disable the shield, but,” his voice faltered, “we don't know if we'll succeed before the General's condition becomes irreversible.”

I looked across the cave. Evander's breathing had become even more strained.

“There's no Omega here. It's only the two of us.”

Silence answered me. Finally, the doctor spoke, her voice weighed down with helplessness.

“I'm afraid we don't know what to do, Your Highness.”