The Omega Prize (The Legion Omegas Book 1)

3. Brie

B

rie walked slowly, eyes locked on the floor as she followed the familiar hallways. She couldn't claim to be lost in thought, since her brain was repeating that she only had three days.

Checking the time, she figured Sheena would be up and decided to go talk to her about what was happening. Brie didn't think there was any chance that Sheena would have a solution, she just needed to talk it over with someone.

Brie knocked on the door when she reached her friend's apartment, and Sheena cracked it open. Peeking out for a moment, she threw it wide and grabbed her.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Sheena asked, running her hands over Brie like she was looking for injuries.

Once Sheena pushed her back to arm's length, satisfied there were no physical wounds, Brie looked into her eyes. She hadn't broken down yet, but Sheena knew her well enough to realize from her expression that something was wrong.

Brie struggled with what to say, her brain still feeling foggy.

"I'm going to run out. They busted the supplier. Only three pills left," she managed.

Sheena looked confused for a minute before it dawned on her. She let out a gasp as her eyes widened, and her grip on Brie's arms tightened.

"Your pills? What do you mean they busted him? They can't get any?"

Brie explained what Cherik had said as Sheena guided her to the small couch to sit down. Moving her pillows, she sat next to Brie and thought it over.

"So, you already took today's pill. You have three more, but a week until you'll get more... We can make it work," she told Brie with a determined look.

"A week until he gets another delivery, Sheena. He said he didn't know if there would be any in it," Brie stressed to her friend.

"Nonsense, I'm sure they'll find some. It's too lucrative of a business for there to only be one supplier, even just within this galaxy. Plenty of the species without our dynamic supply and harbor omegas that choose not to be a slave to their biology. There might be a difference in price, but we will work that out when it comes. You just need to get through this week, and you'll be fine."

Brie loved that Sheena tried to be so optimistic, but she could still see the worry in her eyes. Though there were multiple species that did not have the Alpha-omega dynamic, they tended to be the more planet bound races, and less technologically advanced.

Even when they had the technology, they still preferred to stick to their home worlds for the most part, unless overpopulation was an issue. Something about the dynamic seemed to push a species to advance more than the ones without it.

It also made them more warlike since Alphas tended to be so aggressive.

While the ones without the dynamic may pity omegas for the way they tended to be treated by Alphas, there weren't many willing to risk the wrath of the Alphas by helping to hide them. The penalty for creating suppressants was steep. They killed most who were caught.

"What you must do is try to stretch the time between pills and make them last longer. I know you take them when you get up, so tomorrow, wait until right before your shift at the club to take the next one. Then take the following one after your next shift, so you're taking them about thirty-six hours apart instead of twenty-four."

Sheena took her hands and continued.

"That'll get you through about five days, on the three pills by the time the last one wears off. Maybe more since you've been on them so long. If you need to take time off work for a couple of days before the pills get here, I'm sure I can keep Largo off your case. Boss shouldn't care since it saves him money. Hopefully the warships will have moved on by then and we won't be as busy. I can help you if you lose too much of your pay being out, too. I've got a little saved up."

Brie began to tear up at how helpful her friend was being. Especially offering the little she had to her and dealing with their boss.

Sheena knew Brie hated having to talk to him. He had a hand in, or was in charge of, most of the illegal activities on the station. The club was just one of his businesses to make him seem more legitimate. Even though he was Darilian and wasn't even compatible with any species besides his own, he made Brie feel like she needed to shower every time he looked at her.

"Everything will be okay," Sheena said and gave her hands a squeeze. "Don't even think that it won't."

"Okay," Brie said.

Nodding, she held back her tears. She would not break.

Brie reached out and gave Sheena a hug. They hung on for a few minutes before pulling back, both of them dabbing at damp eyes. Taking a deep breath, she stood up.

"I'll be fine."

She forced a smile for Sheena though tears still threatened.

"Thanks."

"Of course you will," Sheena said, giving her another quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "I'm sure it takes a while for it to leave your system after you've been on it so long, and I doubt it's even the right time in your cycle to matter anyway. Everything will be fine. A couple weeks from now we will joke about how worried we were over nothing."

Brie thanked her friend and left, heading next door to distract herself until she had to go to work.