Kain Locke
The soft beep of my communicator pulled my attention, the faint glow of a crystal-blue holographic icon hovering above the device.
It was a general broadcast, the kind that was only sent out when there was an urgent message meant for an entire city or even the galaxy. My hand hesitated over the communicator, while the other slipped away from the luggage I'd been carrying.
With a deep breath, I tapped it open.
[Emergency Alert: Reports indicate that beasts have emerged from the other side of the planets, evolving in an underground laboratory that was long abandoned. It's suspected they have been hiding and breeding there. The current situation remains unclear. Residents are strongly advised to stay indoors and keep all surveillance systems active. The authorities are investigating, but for now, a state of emergency is in effect. No one is permitted to enter or leave C City until further notice.]
My hands trembled on the communicator, so hard I could smash it against the wall, But it had cost me too much to replace, so smashing it wasn't an option.
Just what the heck is happening right now? Why is the state declaring a state of emergency just when Kael found me, and probably was on his way to get me? Why would it be now that I planned to escape?
"Mama.." a gentle tap on my shoulder snapped me out of the spiraling thoughts as I jerked back, turning my head to come face to face with Brian, his black eyes staring straight into my fake contact lenses. It's going to be a miracle if Kael didn't recognize him at a glance earlier, he took every piece of him after all.
"Baby. You're awake." I rubbed soothing circles on his cheeks, as he blinked his innocent eyes yawning as he mouthed, "Where's brother Felix?" He asked, as I exhaled, putting him on the ground to stand on his feet, "Brother Felix is really tired from school today and needed to rest."
He bobbed his head up and down, humming in response, but just when his gaze landed on my luggage, a frown covered his little face, "Mama... Where are we going? We're not going to a new place again are we?" He pursed his lips pouting it together as if to suppress his tears as he cried, "I don't wanna leave this place again, I don't wanna leave uncle Felix, or Mia at the kindergarten."
"We are not leaving." At least not anytime now.
"But the box..." he trailed off staring straight into my eyes.
"They're going inside, baby. Believe me will you?" A hopeless breath escaped my lips as I slumped against the wall, sliding down until I was crouching on my feet, my hand tremblingly traced their way to the box handle and drew it closer, it all felt hopeless now.
"Are you sad mama?" His soft palm touched my jaw, raising my head up, "Do little Brian make you sad?"
I wiped the corner of my eyes unnoticeably, getting rid of the lone tear that was about to fall off.
I'm stronger than this, I've proven that to myself a lot of times.
However, I'm not so confident right now, when it feels my life is about to came crashing down around me again, Kael is going to fucked me up, I knew that,
"Aren't you a cute little thing?" I muttered, pinching his cheeks as I stood up, "Mama is not sad, so come on, let's get you inside." I smiled, taking his hand and grabbed my luggage, unlocking the door with my rarely used passkey given to me by Felix, as I stepped inside to see him lifting his gaze from his communicator, drifting to me first, then to my luggage making me froze.
"You're supposed to be sleeping." His gaze first flicked to me, then to my luggage. "Don't tell me it's what I'm thinking?" His gaze latched back on me.
"That's right Felix, I was taking off with Brian... and as you must've guessed, I only came back because of the notification we both received." I explained all at once, then took a deep breath afterwards, I was just too exhausted to beat about the bush, not when I've been caught red handedly by him, and knowing him, he won't let it off the hook unless he got the answers he needed from me.
Thankfully, he didn't ask anything more, I'm well aware he must've guessed his part, I mean an Omega without an Alpha, or a mark on the run with a son is not what you'll find like a pie falling from a sky in this Galaxy after the strict marriage implemented policies so as to control childbirth and to have a child registered into the City's database.
"Felix!!!" Brian squealed and went to jump on him, he swooped the boy off his feet and planted a kiss on his cheeks, ruffling his hair as he did so. "Big guy. You woke up already."
"Not long ago, I woke up outside to Mama with sad puppy eyes. He said he's fine but I want to give him lots of chocolate so he can be happy."
"Brian..." I shook my head at the duo, sighing as I repeated, "I'm not sad, Brian. I already told you that."
He turned toward me, his brows furrowed in confusion as he muttered softly, almost to himself, "But I saw tears in Mama's eyes."
"That's not a tear, Brian," I said, exasperated. "And the school was in such a rush, they didn't even remember to give you kids any assignments."
He was just about to say something else, but whatever he had to say was interrupted by Felix, "You can go inside and rest. I'll take care of him. And don't start thinking about—" He trailed off, hesitant to finish the rest of his words. "Just stay in there okay?"
I cut him off with a dry chuckle. "Don't worry, Felix. I'm not about to jump from the third floor. That'd be suicide. And sneaking out isn't exactly an option," not with security agents swarming the streets. And special forces definitely at every checkpoints in the City now to make sure intentions like that are terminated.
It was only then that his shoulders relaxed, and his gaze softened as he nodded understandably, "Alright then. The little potato is safe here with me. And… if there's anything you want to tell me, anything at all—just say it. Don't keep it bottled up. I'll listen, I promise."
Turning to Brian, he added, "Go grab your robotic pack."
Brian face lit up immediately and dashed away, his excitement almost ontagious, obviously, too young to realize he was being sent away for a moment by his loved and cherished Felix.
After he was gone, he turned back to me, "I know you're keeping things to yourself," he said at a start in a low voice, "Although I promised not to pry, but sometimes sharing what's weighing you down can help. Who knows? Maybe we can figure it out together. Even if it's a loan shark we can handle it. Whatever it is, we'll sort it out."
But what Felix didn't understand was that if it were just a loan shark, I wouldn't be this panicked. It wasn't that simple. And the way he said "we" only made things more complicated for both of us.
"Thank you for your concern, however, I can handle this on my own ." I assured with a little smile,
Brian took that moment to return and I quickly excused myself from the living room,
I shut the door behind me as soon as I entered, then slumped on the bed like a fallen log. Staring at the ceiling as if I would suddenly wake up and see it's all a dream, a really bad dream.
Seconds passed like minutes, it was the most painfully slow minutes of my entire life.
Not long after, a knock came at my bedroom door. I dragged myself off the bed and opened it to find Brian standing there, looking up at me.
"Felix asked me to call you," he said simply.
"Okay." I replied , stepping out of the room, closing the door behind me. Why would Felix be calling for me? The question was on my mind, still unanswered when I saw Felix close the living room door with a quiet, deliberate click, stepping aside to reveal a tall man entering the room. His lips curled into a warm smile, but his eyes gave away something far colder. Something only I could see.
"He said he knows you from college," Felix explained, glancing at me.
But I couldn't move.
Kael is here.