Merricks Book - The 12 Sectors - Redeeming Her Alpha (authors rough cut)

Chapter 46

I have mentioned that when I wrote Choosing Her Alpha and Her Broken Alpha I did not really plan a series OR - plan at all. I never expected anyone to read my writing. I played fast and loose with timelines, age differences and tropes, because I thought no one would care and then, when we published, I didn't think to fix it. 

You will notice there are TWO sets of alphas.  One set happens to look an awful lot like Monster from Her Broken Alpha. 

The women in the warren lived in peaceful scattered villages with alphas. They made a community together. They were invaded by a tide of Bear Men, who seemed to be following the wild game into the area on horseback and stumbled upon the villages with omegas and families. (no one has seen any omegas with the Bear Men them , beta males  are rare in the Un. There are no Beta women. There are also no drones in the Un at least, not stated.) 

I also mentioned in other books that the King's Army protected the 12 Sectors from feral alphas, those alphas who were not united under Rhineholth - So even though it creates a new plot thread, I have explained who those alphas were. 

Anyone want to volunteer as a historian? 

CHAPTER 46 ZINN

MACHINERY AND OTHER ODD THINGS

"What makes it move?" Petar asked.

There were three rows of seats inside the moving metal box. Mer called it an all-tee. Two men sat in the individual seats in front, an alpha, and a beta, in chairs that curved around their bodies. Wearing masks that covered their whole heads, they didn't speak to Mer or Zinn. Their heads turned, insect-like, from side to side. She'd gathered that they were like her, human, but her mind kept rejecting the idea, and it was hard to take her eyes off them.

The two other rows of seats, in the middle of the rectangle, faced each other. Petar bounced back and forth between them as the all-tee moved, climbing around buttons, levers, tubing, and cables that hung down from the ceiling and went into the floor.

"Solar. The sun charges it." Mer had the foresight to grab the bags off his horse so he could change Gem out of her soiled clothing. The poor girl was perfectly capable of telling them when she had to pee, but since leaving Mer's shelter there'd been no time to stop. Being tired and sick had done her no favors, either.

"The sun? How could the sun do anything?" Petar climbed onto the back of one of the front chairs where the drivers were so he could look out through the big window.

"It's drone tek. Get down, pup, and sit. This isn't a play space."

Without missing a beat, Petar found a place to sit and asked his next question. "Drone tek?"

"Old, pup. It's ancient tek. There aren't very many of them in good condition any more, and there's no way to make new ones. The King's Army rarely uses them against other alphas. They keep them at Ten-kay with other war toys from the past."

"Tek." Petar said the word out loud.

"Tek, tek, tek, Petar," Gem echoed back to him.

"Not used? Why use them now?" Zinn shifted and twitched in one of the seats, unable to find a comfortable position.

"I don't know, Little Bit," Mer said.

"There's a lot you don't know," she told him without looking up. Mer said they were safe, but being inside the belly of this beast felt anything but safe.

"Oh, you sure about that, sweetheart? Do you want me to show you what I do know? Because I've been keeping a list of lessons to teach you."

Zinn turned her head at Mer's tone. He shot her a heated glance, lighting up her insides from her head to her toes. The warm mush of hugging him and hearing his purr, began to rise with unexpected needy urgency. She'd missed him, as if he'd been far away and not just riding on another horse.