Saving the Omegas (The Legion Omegas Book 2)

5. Adaria

Adaria wandered slowly through the market, her pink dress swirling around her knees in the gentle breeze. The dress was the perfect shade to match her eyes and bioluminescent marks. It had surprised her when the older Alpha had brought it to her with the other things she had requested. It was a beautiful day, and she wished that she was able to really enjoy it. It was rare for her to take the time to dress nice and do something enjoyable, like shopping. Adaria had rarely actually had the money to shop until recently.

She watched the crowd out of the corners of her eyes as she picked up little trinkets from merchant stalls, pretending to be interested in the frivolous things. She bought a couple as gifts for Tilla to help make her seem more legitimate. She was fairly sure that she had been noticed as a lone omega by multiple people, and a few of Frintak's servants were scattered through the market to let her know if they noticed anyone watching or tailing her. Adaria stiffened as she felt someone move in close behind her, but relaxed a little when the obvious scent of Alpha hit her.

"What's a pretty omega doing out in the market alone? Do you need someone to buy that little necklace and protect you while you shop," a male voice attempted to purr from close enough to her back that she felt his breath gust against her neck. Glancing over her shoulder at the Alpha, she quickly took in his appearance and snorted. Though they were in a nicer area than where she lived, it wasn't as upper class as the area of Frintak's restaurant, and this Alpha obviously was stretching his luck if he was attempting to shop in this market. Adaria doubted he could even afford the necklace, and he definitely couldn't protect her any better than she could. His shirt had once been nice, but had been worn to the point of almost being threadbare and obviously was a bit too small for him. He probably thought the fabric stretching tight across him was appealing, but it just showed the beginning of a paunch around his middle. In contrast, his pants were so baggy they made him look like he was a child wearing hand-me-downs from an older brother that he hadn't grown into yet. He was most likely in the market looking for a mark to rob.

"Who said I'm alone? And I could afford the necklace if I truly wanted it," Adaria said, laying it back on the cloth and turning fully towards the Alpha. Though all Alphas tended to be large and muscular, this one had obviously never made an effort to keep in shape and was leaning more towards fat than muscular. He gave her what he probably thought was a rakish grin, showing off his yellowed teeth. He was Tullarn, like her, and had their usual dark skin, but where hers was a glossy ebony, his was a dull, muddy looking brown. The bioluminescent marks that all of her race had on their face and running down their bodies, was a putrid yellow to match his teeth and eyes. Adaria couldn't help the look of disgust that curled her lip as she looked back at him. "I don't need anyone to protect me so you can go ahead and run along, I'm not interested in whatever bullshit you're going to try feeding me."

The Alpha's face clouded over with rage and he took a threatening step towards her, beginning a low growl. Adaria briefly regretted not being a little more polite, since causing a scene would ruin her purpose for being in the market, but she couldn't hide who she was and it had just slipped out without her thinking. Before he could do anything to draw attention to them, she stepped in close to him, surprising him since he had expected her to back away. His growl trailed off as he felt the prick of her dagger dig into his skin, just beneath his ribs where she could thrust it straight into his lung. His eyes widened as he took in the pleasant smile on her face. "Neither of us want this to get messy now do we," she said sweetly to him and he quickly shook his head. "Just walk away and forget you saw me and I'll do the same. There's no reason to turn this into a bad day."

Adaria stepped back again when he gave her an affirmative nod, watching as he turned to leave. He glanced back at her once before she lost sight of him in the crowd looking just as angry as before. If anyone had seen the interaction between them, they would just assume she had been flirting with him before he left her standing at the stall. She sighed as she slipped the dagger back into the sheath she had strapped to her upper thigh, beneath the skirt of her dress. Winking to the old female beta that ran the stall when she noticed her looking her way, Adaria turned to keep heading the direction she had been going. The woman snorted with amusement and smiled at her, winking back.

Adaria moved on through the market, taking her time and stopping at multiple stalls to peruse the goods for sale. It was a couple more hours before she finally received a message that she was definitely being followed by a Darilian male. She continued to move on, acting as normal as possible as she glanced around, looking for him. Adaria ended up seeing one ahead of her, in a darker area she would pass by if she continued her current path, before she noticed the one following her. She stopped at a stall, haggling with the owner over a figurine as the Darilian moved closer. She obviously placed her purchase into the bag she carried over her shoulder, hoping they would simply take that from her and not search her for anything else she may be carrying. She had multiple tools secreted on her just in case she lost a couple.

Steeling herself, she forced herself to leave the relative safety of a group of other shoppers and head towards where the one in the shadows was, seemingly intrigued by something in the stalls past him. She walked lazily, passing as close to his hiding place as she could without being too obvious, and just as she was about to pass by him, the Darilian behind her moved up next to her, knocking her sideways into the other ones arms. She immediately felt the prick of the syringe entering her arm before the world started to spin. She let her bag slip from her arm as she went limp, her eyes closing as she lost consciousness.