Unedited.

Easton left a day later in a flurry of badly contained worry. He left us with the alarm-codes while Blav just watched in amusement, eating chocolate covered almonds. A list of emergency contacts was stuck onto the fridge, the coffee beans were topped up and before he left, he teetered on the doorstep. Having said his goodbyes already, Blav, Merri and Lux were in the sitting room watching a Lycan brawl on the telly.

"You know my number?" A jeep waited for him. In the front, I spotted Darren. The young Lycan reddened when he spotted me, diverting his gaze instantly. I resisted a smile.

"I know it. I also know it's written in your office, by the house phone and on the fridge. You worry too much." I placated.

"I don't." He defended.

I touched his arm, fingers skimming over the tanned skin. "You do. I'll be fine. You'll be back in a few days."

He examined me, in a sort of intense and scouring way. As if reassuring himself that I would be fine. It wasn't lost to me that since I had woken in that hospital, he had never been far. Out of sight and sound, but never far. Softly, he took that hand and slowly, curled my fingers so he could kiss my knuckles. He watched me as he did, waiting for an adverse reaction. "I will be back. Be safe." He told me.

"You too."

He paused, before reaching into his pocket to pull out a phone. "I know I should have asked before I bought it, but ...I- its here now. All our numbers are on it. If you need me, I'll answer in a second."

I took it. "Thank you."

He smiled softly. "I will see you soon."

And then he was gone. The jeep vanished from the housing estate and Lunar continued, bright and sunny and safe. I slunk back inside, my mind already turning to the contents of Easton's office. Blav and Merri stayed for the evening and despite Lux and I's insistence, they stayed over in the guest room. I didn't need to be watched. What could they protect me from that I didn't know intimately?

Lux went to bed after midnight, and I struck then. The couple were in bed and Blav's snorting thundered under the door's gap. Poor Merri. I had torn out doctors' throats for the crackle of a speaker. For the insistent cough of the one observing me. Once – I thought – someone had a small cold. After five minutes sniffling at me, pulling at my restraints, he had far more than a small cold. He had been new and foolish. A second of slack in my restraints had been all I needed. A second and he was disfigured, his screaming soothing the rise of vicious annoyance that had consumed me. Sniffle. Sniffle.

Silently, I made my way downstairs. Easton's door did not creak when I eased it open, peeking inside. I waited, listening to the sound of the house. Nothing.

Inside the office, I got to work. The room smelled distinctly of Easton and I could imagine him in here, pacing intently with that increasingly familiar pinched look on his heavy brow. Red ledger. There were piles of organised files in his office. Files of quotas, insurance forms. Pricing. Pictures of missing Lycans.

The Ravi had their own filing cabinet. I pulled it open, eyes widening at the bulk of the files contained within. He had been working hard. There were files on other facilities that the Ravi had run. Smaller than the Tube, but full of death and pain. I got to the O.

A file was contained within, its edges fringed with red. Plan C – Omega.

Mouth dry, I opened it.

There were blueprints contained within dated from months ago – soon after I had walked from the woods and back into the human world. I couldn't read it well, understanding nothing about the lines, but I knew that words like voltage and chains meant something incredibly painful. Plan C had moved on from containment. Plan C was experimentation.

Or as Easton wrote within – 'to uncover the lengths the Ravi have gone to change the human mind and body. The Omega is the only recorded success of the Ravi's experimentation, but is that because our spies have uncovered the project or because all else have failed? How many missing humans are languishing in cells, subject to torture and cruel experiments because of the Ravi? If we can catch the Omega and they are proved to be without sanity and humanity, then their warped body may give us the solution to saving others. This is a last option. Whatever the Omega once was – a brother, a son, a friend or a father, is still in there somewhere.'

It made sense. If I hadn't been the Omega, I would agree with this. But I didn't fancy having my body picked apart and examined. I mulled over the statement 'without sanity and humanity'. Who would be the judge of that? Easton couldn't surely. He would be biased when it came to me, but I felt like I walked and talked like someone with a semblance of humanity. I cared. I loved. Then again, if I was too far gone, would I even notice?

He could never find out.

And I trusted no one else with the information either. I knew Darren suspected, or knew. One or the other. Which meant there was a reason he wasn't saying anything. I needed to manipulate that reason, to ensure that it stayed strong. People always broke in some way. I was sure he was no different.

I was no different. The Ravi had created plans to torture me. Those plans were in Easton's office. No one could find out.

() () () () ()

For the days that the Alpha was gone, Lux and I spent every day exploring Lunar. Merri or Blav would appear sporadically, but what could they say? Don't wander down the park? I wouldn't have listened, and they knew that. When Nicolas appeared, I made myself sparse. Easton had put all our phones number onto my phone. Lux. Blav. Merri. The doctor. Sunny and Darren. Even the twins and my mother.

I had called my mother the next day and suffered through awkward, stilted conversation. She didn't ask me why I vanished, but after a few minutes, told me that she had to go. Nyssa needed her. Kale at least responded to my test messages – sending me little dancing stars that laughed tears. I had to ask Lux how to return one and our conversation had just spilled on from then.

When I wasn't wandering or texting, I was working. There was a market-day scheduled for the Friday and the town's older people would filter into the Town-hall for their weekly bingo and dancing. The morning of the market, I was there.

"You look famished," Trudie stepped over me, hands on her ample hips. A disapproving frown marred her usually smiling face. "When did you last eat?"

"Three chicken sandwiches about an hour ago," I sat back, resisting the urge to wipe my itching nose. The town-hall's bathrooms were being scrubbed within an inch of their lives- anything to keep my mind busy.

"A good appetite," Trudie nodded. "Good. There might be some bites to eat in the town-market. I hear that Makena is making honey slices. If you go now, you might nab a few."

I settled back on my feet, smiling at her. I knew what she was up to. "You know, I've only been here about two hours."

"And you've worked too hard already." Trudie tutted. "For pittance pay and sandwiches."

"And your company."

Trudie cocked a brow. "Up on your feet. Enjoy the party."

I rose to my feet, smoothing my hands down the fabric of my dress. Trudie had given me a mat when I arrived this morning for my knees. I had picked up a new outfit. A dress decorated with ladybirds, bright red and a pair of earrings to match. "You're not subtle, Trudie."

"I'm not trying to be." Trudie waved me off and I stepped out onto the streets, prickling at the sight of the crowds. Market-stalls had been put up and the smell of cooking food and delighted children filled the air. Wind caught at the edges of my dress and I caught it, laughing.

I descended into the crowd, slicking back my hair. Through the mirage of scents, I could pin-point Merri and Lux not too far away. Through the crowd, I could see them gushing over tiny baby shoes.

I smoothened my hands down dress again, heart in my throat as a family lumbered past me. They jostled around me mindlessly, sending a spike of crawling panic down my spine. I curled my hands as they trembled and harsh talons cut into the flesh of my palms.

A woman was selling herbs. Amongst them all, I could pin-point the exact scent of lavender. I took in the smell, slowing. A vulnerability. A vulnerability. And yet, the smell burned in the back of my throat. Bile chased it back up and I diverted to the side.

Ahead, someone shouted as a van took a wrong turn into the square. The crowds diverted to the side, panicking as the van revved its engine. Ahead, I saw Lux look up. Merri tucked a pair of baby shoes to her chest.

"Fecking hell." A man croaked near me. "Every-time they forget they can't drive in the square during the market hours."

Bodies pressed in around me, like a current pushing. Like the smell of a thunderstorm on the horizon, I could sense something coming. Hairs raised on the back of my neck and I swept a panicked gaze around the square. The van was still at the mouth of the street that fed into the market, trying to turn around awkwardly.

The phone rang shrilly.

Lux.

"Lux, hey." I called down, stepping behind a stall to stop the crowd pushing me back. "I'm heading down to you..."

"Hello Nova, Blue Linden."

I froze.

The phone in my hand crackled, tension curling my hands in tighter. "Doc-Mai. I thought the air had turned sour."

Heart thundering in my throat, I stepped around the stall. Ahead, Lux and Merri were still there. Just a few steps away, was a woman dressed all in white and with an immaculate bob cut to her chin. She met my gaze and smiled. "Have you gone soft? Have your gifts been weakened by your new little life?"

"Months apart and you've wasted no point with your little quips. Do you think it makes you sound more intelligent?" Fear consumed me, but my voice did not shake. "How did you find me?"

"A few friends did. Why don't you come and say hello?"

The white van had turned around, but the engine had been cut. The doors opened and eyes, bright and silver, gleamed in the flash of light. A girl turned and screamed.

"What is that?"

"A friend. I call it a Ravager."

Doc-Mai ended the call and I watched as she stepped back over to Lux, handing her the phone. From the van, a scenting snout emerged. The long snout of a Lycan, but I knew it could be anything but. A great beast stepped out into the light, surveying the silent crowd with cold eyes. He was a great hulking bi-pedal beast with a snarling snout. A chain cuff sat heavy around its thick neck and around it's wrists and ankles. A short tail swept out as the Ravager rose on its back legs, up and up.

It all passed in a matter of seconds. A short few seconds – too quick for a Lycan, but not for me. Not when my survival had been measured in the turn of a second for too long.

The Omega roused.

My muscles pulled taunt. Saliva coated my tongue, but I could only see the frightened faces. The children. These people seeing a creation of the Ravi.

A phone clattered to the ground.

My attention snapped to Lux, whose phone lay on the ground. Her hands cupped her mouth and she stared, frozen.

The beast, whose fur was short, dark and bristly, swung a great head in her direction. A too-wide mouth split into a grin of serrated teeth. He pressed a claw down on the cobblestone, muscles bunching as he crouched. He leapt.

The next second, I was splitting from my skin and launching over a market-stall. The crowd was skittering, people screaming. Merri hauled Lux close to her side, her fearful expression sweeping in my direction. She bristled, curling in on herself and Lux.

Lux looked to the dark-haired beast thundering towards her.

I leapt over them and collided with the Ravager. The collision clapped like thunder and both of us fell to the cobblestone in a frenzy of gnashing teeth and claws. Cold eyes focused on me, the Ravager's coarse hair bristling. He was slightly larger, but that didn't bother me.

"Merri?" Blav roared over the screaming.

"Omega," The Ravager spoke my name, the sound thrumming over warped vocal chords. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"I wouldn't say the same."

The Ravager collided into me. My legs dug into the ground, muscles straining as I refused to give him an inch. Serrated teeth gnashed at my throat. I curled a claw around his arm and tossed him back. The Ravager caught himself, teeth bared.

It was strong.

The Ravager wasn't me, but I felt the un-natural strength. The attempt to recreate what I had become. I knocked him back again, teeth on his flesh. The Ravager yelped, claws nicking the stone. The Omega hummed, alive and vicious with delight as I ripped into him. He struggled under my jaw. An errant clawed hand swung out, striking my head.

I bit down harder, ripping flesh under my teeth. Blood gushed into my mouth, but it tasted wrong. Made of bits of lavender and ....

I bowled backwards, my tongue burning. I spat out a glob of blood, but it coated my muzzle all the same. I could smell lavender, insidious under my snout. I wiped at my mouth, feeling as if it was acid burning into my skin, but I couldn't know that. It was just a smell, just a smell.

The Ravager leapt for the scattering crowd, as quick as a wink.

Unfortunately for him, I was still quicker. I grabbed for him, shredding the muscles along his calf as I scrambled to catch his hind-leg. I caught a grip and hauled him, swinging him violently so that he flew. He collided with the van, wheezing out a breath.

I could hear people running behind me. People shouting their loved one's names. The roar of Lycans. The blooming acrid scent of petrol. Jeeps were coming. My time was running out.

The Ravager lowered to the ground, his leg a mangled mess of flesh. Knowing Doc-Mai, he wouldn't be down for long.

I moved to stand over him, clasping his throat. I hauled him up, standing to my full height. "You come to hurt me, and mine?"

"I didn't have a choice." His warped voice managed to sound sardonic. "But you've proven superior. I concede."

"There is no such thing." I hissed. "You are beaten. You will die. Tell me first, are there more of you."

"More of us. Only one of you." He closed his eyes, growing still. His weight seemed to grow as he stopped fighting. "I concede."

I could have crushed his throat there and then, but I didn't. I held him aloft, confused. People always fought their deaths. I relished in the struggle.

I concede.

In the clearing market-square, a frantic voice shouted. "Nova? Where are you? ...Meg!"

I glanced over my shoulder to find Lux standing there, a tiny figure amongst the crowd jostling past her. Most space cleared.

She looked at me, with a face full of fear.

She looked and that fear turned to confusion. Her brow pulled taunt. A question formed on her mouth.

I caught the whisper of a snarl. My ear cocked in another direction and then, propped up on the roof of a building, was a hulking massive of fur and muscle. Another Ravager.

This one stood at nearly eight feet tall, with hair as dark and coarse as the night. He leapt down into the market, crushing a stall beneath his weight. He cast a look in my direction before launching into the market square. Lux's attention snapped from me and she rushed backwards, tripping over a loose paving stone. I took after it, bellowing a challenge that made him stop.

The hulking Ravager turned to greet the challenge and this collision felt like running into a steel wall. My head rang, and it was me who flew this time when struck. I crashed it a stall, feeling it splinter beneath my back. I tasted blood on my tongue.

The Ravager started towards me. Then, a tremulous voice shouted. "Stay away from her!"

Lux, tiny Lux, hurled a loose paving stone at the back of its head.

He whipped around, backhanding her and she crumpled like she had gone boneless. White shrouded my vision, like the white that had encased my life for eight years. I spat bloody saliva onto the ground, a snarl thrumming in the back of my throat.

The Ravager looked to me and for a moment, paused.

I struck into him and we tore into each other. Ribbons of flesh came away under my merciless claws. I gave not an inch, not a whimper when he drew my blood. Every drop only incensed the Omega, delighter her – me, more. I ripped flesh from his chest, tore it from his shoulders. He scrambled at me, trying to score a blow.

"You've never fought for your life." I spat out a chunk of fur, muscle and sinew. "I can tell. Maybe that's Doc-Mai's missing secret ingredient."

He turned on his heel, trying to reach for Lux. A single paw could crush her lungs and heart. Killing her. My little peppermint friend.

I kicked him down and broke open his chest. He spasmed and howled, breathless and panicking. Frightened eyes latched onto me, but there was no plea. No concession. I crushed his heart in my hand and cast aside the now useless lump.

"Lux." Her name didn't sound right from this mouth.

I crouched at her side; ears cocked. A whistling, pained breath cut from her mouth. Blood coated her lips. I reached for her cheek but stopped. My clawed hands were twice the size of her face and dripping with blood. Loose chunks of flesh clung to my serrated claws.

A pop sounded.

Something small struck my shoulder. It only felt like a pinch, but after a moment it began to burn. I looked down at my shoulder and in the mess of blood, I saw a dart sticking from my shoulder.

I looked up. A circle of cocked guns surrounded me.

Blav stood a step ahead of them, his gun raised. A snarl curled his lips. A blast went off and I was riddled with darts, all like little pinches. They burned too.

"Get away from her, you freak." Blav snarled.

Lavender burned my nostrils.

"Tell us, where is Nova Linden?" Blav took a step towards me.

That lavender darkened my senses. I looked at the guns pointed towards me, all unshaking in their aim. I teetered, feeling like concrete bricks were tied to my wrists. I faltered back. Another round struck me.

The darkness came quicker then, and I lay there, confined in lavender. I tried to break my body down, back into vulnerable skin so that Blav could see me.

But I stayed in my true form. Monstrous and bloody.

Blav stepped over me, fisting a hand in my hair. Lycans bound me in chains like what the Ravi had used. I could have laughed. They had done their homework. "You will tell me where she is."

I remembered the blueprints.

I knew what was going to happen to me.

"Gone," I choked out. "She's gone."

And then I was.