Omegaverse: The Alpha X’s Prey

"Take Donovan with you."

There was silence, the air felt stiff—as though time has stopped, even if it was for just a brief second.

"What?" Gabrielle—in that moment—thought Iris wanted to return Donovan to the lab. Her heart dropped to her stomach. "I know you have your issues with him but I can't abandon my son! Not after all this time."

Gabrielle intentionally emphasized "my son" to get her point across.

"No. No!" Iris shook her head. "What I meant was, he will help you find our child. Who knows if they will use a decoy or two again?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No. Too dangerous. Out of the question."

"Don't you want to get back our child? You can't carry a dozen babies!"

"Don't jump to conclusions." Gabrielle's voice was dangerously low. "Where has your rationality gone? You're asking me to endanger a child. I'm not a monster Iris!"

"He remembers that night we took him. He can tell which children are omegas. He can differentiate people by smell. He's special. And I see that, especially now." Iris rambled on, trying to justify her irrationality.

She knew how unmotherly and selfish she was being. She knew there was a chance Donovan could get hurt. But... life is so unfair. Why her? Why did they take her baby? She already gave the Lab the Alpha X. She just wants her baby.

"What if he meets—"

At that moment Donovan quipped. "I wanna go!"

"Quiet Donovan, this is between your moms." Gabrielle snapped while giving her mate a hard look. Donovan didn't listen.

"I know I can find him!" Donovan insisted, pouting. He wasn't just talking about the abilities he displayed earlier.

"You're running out of time." Iris impatiently said. She quickly bent down to Donovan's level. "Sweet pea, mommy loves you so, so much. I'm sorry I didn't show it earlier. Please forgive mommy."

"I forgive you," Donovan said earnestly. He hugged Iris tightly. "Don't tell alpha mommy, but I love you the most okay?"

Donovan giggled the way children do when they whisper trivial secrets to each other.

Iris began to tear up. Whether it was because of the boy's bold declaration or the guilt and shame that was building up inside her heart, biting at her, she didn't know. She needed to send him off before she could regret her decision.

"Listen to me. When you go with alpha mommy you need to listen to every word she says. Even if you don't know why. Understand?"

"All you need to do is tell mommy which one is your baby brother, okay?" Iris broke eye contact. She couldn't bear to face him, not now.

"Okay!" Donovan bit his lip, hesitating to ask the next question. "When we come back may I name him? Please?"

Iris laughed, more tears streamed from her eyes. "Yes, of course!"

She didn't care what her baby's name would be, so long as he was safe in her arms. Just like the great play write Shakespeare had said hundreds of years ago, "A rose by any other name smells just as sweet." That... and anything to lessen the overwhelming emotions raging inside of Iris's heart.

Donovan giggled. He walked up to Gabrielle and held her hand, awaiting by her side like a loyal soldier. Gabrielle sighed and picked him up reluctantly, patting his back soothingly. The alpha knew she was capable enough to protect a small child, and even more so with her backup. But the risk...

He's not your blood...

Gabrielle jolted with shock. How dare she think that? How dare she justify that?

"We'll be going now." The alpha's voice was strained. The internal struggle was obvious in her face. Iris quickly reached into Gabrielle's pocket to dial them a cab.

Iris hugged them both, before her mate realized what happened. "Be safe."

"Of course we will be mommy! Don't worry!" Donovan smiled, oblivious to the tense atmosphere. At the moment he was feeling extremely proud of himself. He was going to prove his worth! Going to make them proud of him! His eyes glistened when he imagined the faces of his smiling mommies thanking him over and over again.

Bidding their last goodbyes, Gabrielle took off with Donovan after the cab came by. Only when they disappeared from her line of sight did Iris go inside. As promised, she went down into the basement—not only to hide in the cupboard and their own makeshift hospital—but to record everything she found out about Donovan in her secret journals. All this time she had been secretly observing him.

She is, after all, a scientists through and through.