Slaved by an Alpha, Saved by an Enigma

Chapter 18: Veinlight

Eden looked pleased. " Thank you for you making it easier. It also makes it quicker for Kai to recognize areas of danger for us.

Kai was getting anxious and took a deep breath then exhaled. "We need to go."

Eden nodded. "We will. But we move clean. No trace. Haven stays sealed."

Leo stepped forward. "I can guide you. I know the fractures."

Eden scanned him. "Ok but when we get there you'll follow. Stay close since we don't know what to expect."

Leo nodded. "Understood."

They prepared quickly—Eden in tactical gear, Kai in layered protection laced with stabilizers. Leo carrying extras in case they needed them. Haven sealed itself behind them with a pulse of light, its shielding protocols folding inward like wings.

The journey was tense. The ley-grid near Sector 9 was unstable, riddled with surveillance echoes and rogue Alpha residue. Eden led, his neural thread parsing the distortions. Kai followed, his presence anchoring Eden's focus. Leo moved behind them, silent, scanning their surroundings.

They found the group in a collapsed transport hub—3 Omegas, young, 2 boys and a girl, all frightened, half-starved. Eden scanned them instantly. No bond signatures. No enhancements. Just survivors.

Kai stepped forward, his voice soft. "You're safe now, but we have to get out of here."

One of the Omegas looked up, eyes wide. "Are you the Pulse?"

Kai nodded. "Yes and he's the Enigma."

They didn't kneel. They simply reached for him and hugged them.

Then Lira spoke, her voice quiet but clear. "We were meant to find you."

Kai turned to her. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"We were told to follow the echoes and we would find home.

Kai smiled. "You didn't just follow them. You became part of them. That's how we found you."

Lira brushed her hair aside, revealing the nape of her neck. A faint golden glyph shimmered there—three teardrop shapes that represented them, beneath a protective arc which were the arms of their mother, with an invisible smaller circle above the arch that represented The Pulse, their mom's version of safety.

It was glowing.

"Our mom called it the Mark of the Solace," she said. "She said it would remain invisible and would only show up for the pulse...

Eden's neural thread pulsed. "It's a birthmark."

Kai made a mental note to check on that when they were home.

Lira nodded. "She said it meant we were one light in three bodies. That our gift wasn't meant to be tested alone. Lira looked down. "She said the mark would lead us to the one who could help me the hold the light for longer. That when my Solace glowed, as long as my brothers were in my light we wouldn't have to hold hands and we would still be able to work together."

Eden listened but moved quickly, scanning for threats, setting up a temporary shield. Kai distributed stabilizers to the omegas to pacify their hunger, his touch gentle, his voice steady.

Leo's posture shifted—subtle, but sharp. His stance widened, eyes scanning the shadows beyond the collapsed hub.

Eden caught it instantly. "Leo?"

Leo didn't look away. "Something's off. The grid's humming. Not from outside. From right here."

Kai turned toward the triplets. "You feel that?"