dressed and strapped his weapons back on. Leaving the stronghold took a few minutes as he armed the systems behind him and then stepped out into the ruins beyond.
It didn’t take long for Rett to find him. A patch of darkness moved, Rath whirling lightly to target the movement with both blast pistols, and then his brother emerged, hands raised.
“A bit slow there, little brother. I could’ve had you there. Twice.”
“Not on your best day,” Rath holstered his weapons and grinned at his elder brother. “All quiet?”
“As a tomb.”
It took Rath’s translator a moment to work out the meaning of the slang expression. “You’re spending too much time with the humans. You even sound like one.”
Rett snorted. “That’s the idea. What’s gotten into you tonight? You’re wound tighter than a spring.”
Again, his translator struggled. “Now you’re just being annoying.”
“Sorry.” Rett leaned against a portion of crumbling wall, blending back into the shadows. “What news do you bring?”
“Someone’s been raiding without permission. Have you heard anything? They brought the omegas somewhere nearby.” Rath settled into the darkness against the same wall as he waited for Rett to reply.
“Heard some rumblings. We’ve had omegas go missing in sectors three alpha and four alpha. Mostly villages get hit, but... a couple of fighters have gone missing as well.”
Rath cocked his eyebrow. Rett had been tasked with infiltrating human society as a beta. “Fighters?”
Rett breathed out a sigh, shoving a big hand through his dark hair. “These humans... they are not like we were expecting,” he admitted haltingly. “You’re not going to believe me, but they’re organized. They were fighting back against the L’crav.”
“Fighting back?” The idea was hard to swallow. Then again, he’d thought his brother was wrong about the human omegas being different than the others. However, Savannah proved that was true. She was neither submissive nor obedient.
“Someone has decided to ignore the Overseer’s decree. I’m going to have to tell him and then hunt them down to make sure they don’t do it again. I spoke to a… witness who got away from them. She doesn’t know where they are, though. She’s injured and weak.”
Rett’s lips quirked at the corner, his arms folded over his chest. He was only slightly larger than Rath, both of them easily able to pass for larger humans as long as they kept their beast forms hidden. “A witness, huh?”
Rath flashed his fangs. “My witness.”
“Fine. Sure. I’m surrounded by human females. You can keep yours. But if she’s an omega, the Lord Overseer will decorate his office with your innards and mount your head on the walls as a warning to others. Please, tell me you don’t have an omega in our safe house.”
“It’s temporary. Once she’s healed, I’ll take her to the citadel.”
“Are you xarthing insane? The decree!” Rett exclaimed.
“It’s not like I raided a village and took her by force. I saved her.” He squared his shoulders and let his voice drop to a growl. “And she’s mine.”
Rett looked at him for a long moment and then shrugged. “Your funeral. Might be mine soon anyway.”
“Do you need to get pulled out? The Lord Overseer might need the intel, but he won’t want you to die getting it for him.” Rath glanced back toward the building where Savannah was sleeping. “I’ve got no intentions of dying, brother. I just found something worth living for. Even if she is...” He rubbed a hand over his hair and grimaced. “Are they really all like that? Stubborn?”
That made Rett laugh. “Oh yeah. At least the ones that haven’t been claimed by those honorless L’crav. And as for me? Don’t worry about it. No one suspects what I am.”
Rath tilted his head. “Then explain,” he ordered. “Or I’ll have Lord Tane pull you out.”
Rett growled, straightening up. “Don’t you xarthing dare, little brother.”
Then he sighed, shoving a hand through his hair as he turned his back on Rath. “There’s a female. Okay? An omega. I’ve... she... she’s about to go into heat.”
“Then you need to get away from her. Far away.” Rath couldn’t imagine being near an omega during her heat while trying to maintain complete control. If his brother’s eyes so much as flickered to pure black or his fangs dropped… he was a dead male, and his death wouldn’t be honorable or quick.
“No.” Rett snarled. “You worry about your own omega, little brother. Leave mine to me. And you best not keep yours here much longer. As secure as that building is, it won’t withstand a prolonged