Quinn turned towards the door to the only portal, the iron gates usually locked and bolted but now wide-open with a queue to enter. There were a team of Omegas stationed at the portal, dressed in the heaviest of armoury and each with a machine gun in their hands controlling the crowd.
"What's stopping them from killing us," Quinn said, felt the fear boil deep in her belly, "they could just rip out our reproductive organs, turn us into breeding machines. We could be passed from household to household or raped just to create children."
"They know of No-Man's town. They could kill us now if they really wanted to," was the Alpha's answer with a roll of her eyes, jerked her thumb towards the soldiers with guns. "Look." She pointed towards the screen and the words faded revealing a recording. "I don't think they want us as breeders."
A young face appeared, so ethereal and gorgeous he might as well be shaped by the hands of God. The symmetry of his features so utterly perfect he seemed almost unreal in the swell of a swollen bubble lip.
His eyes were blue, so blue that they seemed a frozen void, commanding attention in the heavy glare. There was power in that face, in the deep endless glow of a vampire's powerful gaze. And within that void led a shiver that ran down the length of her spine, her instincts speaking of a predator that would kill her on sight.
He had a face she'd never forget.
His frame was larger than most, shoulders more fitting on a warrior than someone of his stature. And as a prince of the South, he'd once been a repulsive man for all, a throw away husband with an ugly, too big, too tall, too broad body that tapered into a thin waist. But he commanded it now, the strength so beautiful on him that her breath caught in her throat. His body wrapped in a simple billowing cotton long-sleeve, muscles teasing and stretching the curve of fabric.
Another man Euodia had wronged, and another dangerous figure.
Elysian hated her for murdering his people. Euodia hadn't been directly in charge of their death, no, but she'd done nothing to stop it, had sat back as he wept and kissed her feet pleading for the lives of thousands. But she'd laughed when he begged.
And for that Euodia was evil.
"Alphas of No-Man's town," he addressed simply in a voice so perfect it twisted pretty into her ears. But it clipped from the recording, sharp and to the point. "Our king has passed peacefully from an illness of old age."
There was a pause and Quinn gasped, felt her mind twisting over memories of her past. This was not a part of the books, but perhaps she was so deep in the bowels of the story that she'd long left the epilogue and had traversed into a future she did not know. Her fingers dug into her pants. Klaus's father should have survived far longer, should have been given the chance to bounce Helios's children in his lap.
"Prince Klaus and his consorts, have now taken the throne as your new kings. And already, we have discovered a pressing concern." He blinked, golden lashes pretty against the cream of his face. "Since the end of the war three years ago, no child has survived their birth. And not many take root."
There was a pause in his speech as he cleared his throat, but even that was pretty a dulcet that rumbled free.
"There is no issue with biology, no problem with the conception of the child, and our scientists have learnt that the difference from then and now is but one." He raised his head, staring straight into Quinn's soul and she felt her insides churn, her heart thundering to the beat of a drum. "They do not have an Alpha mother, and they are not borne of a mated pack that includes an Alpha member. We need Alphas to survive."
There was a roar of approval from the crowd by her side. The women cheering and calling, each yelling towards the screen maddened with joy. But all Quinn felt was a steadily creeping sensation of horror.
She'd see the cities, the bots that advertised virgin Omegas on the streets. She knew exactly how much Omegas hated Alphas. To the Omegas, Alphas were worse than criminals, they were diseases, pests, vermin that deserved to die. Omegas would never accept Alphas with open arms, they'd rather die first.
"For that we wish for all Alphas to return as citizens of the New Kingdom. To save our people, I implore you to take the first step to come home where you can make your final choice." He closed his eyes, glancing upwards to drop the reading upon the table. "Thank you." The recording vanished, once again revealing the words on screen.
Good God. Quinn bit her lip, felt a little of her suspicion ebb with his response. "I don't understand," she gasped out. "It doesn't make any sense at all." It seemed that her arrival into the world had broken the story, and this was far beyond what she knew.
"There's nothing to understand," was the response from another with an ugly, loud laugh. "Stay here if you want to little Beta, but this is the end of my painful Ruts and nights with an empty belly waiting to die. We're going to live like queens!" There were screams of approval from the crowd.
But all Quinn could feel was a cold creeping dread that stretched its fingers far up her body and clouded her mind. It sang in her veins, in the thunder of her heart, reminding her of the seven Alphas that would kill her once again the moment they laid their eyes upon her face. She would die a tortured death all because she'd transmigrated as Euodia.
The need to live was a rush of adrenaline that forced her to search for answers.