Page 117 of Generation Omega: Revealed
“No, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Gideon appears conflicted. “There are going to be times when I need to shield Tillie from things that must be done, so maybe tomorrow, you can tell me how you’re doing it. That said, Ethan is going to figure it out, so make sure you can explain it in a way that doesn’t make him feel excluded from your life.”
“He can’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Who I am. I’m everything the professor thinks I am, and I think you know that. Honestly, the only good things I’ve ever done are the things I’ve done since I bonded Ethan. There’s nothing else, and he can’t ever know who I am.”
“Who youwere.” Gideon’s tone is infused with strength, a testament to his sincerity. “We’re all changed men, and the list of good deeds that began with saving Ethan matters more to me than all your crimes. A reckoning will come for all of us, and we’ll deal with it. I meant what I said up there—after we get through this, we’ll confront what you know and what you’ve done. But, right now, we can’t serve our omega by living in the time before she came into our lives. We need you in this fight. It’s going to be bloody and having someone who won’t flinch could be the difference between life and death for our pack.”
Gideon winces. “She needs her bite tended.”
“Ethan too, but I think he needs more than that.” Before we move toward our bondmates, I add, “Thank you, Gideon…Alpha.”
Gideon is clearly surprised by my gratitude, but I’m man enough to admit that he’s more than earned it. He simply nods, taking the greatest compliment I’ve ever given in stride.
I turn and lead the way down the stairs to the closed door at the end of the hall, easing it open and finding what I expected—a two-person lump under a passel of blankets.
When the omega whimpers, Ethan pulls the blanket down and searches for Gideon, who is already approaching the omega. Ethan sits up and begins to move.
“You don’t have to leave,” Gideon murmurs.
“Thanks, but I do. I need a little time with Kaz. We’ll be close.”
“Okay. One thing, Ethan—I wanted to tell you this before everything went down at the penthouse, but obviously, that didn’t happen.”
“What?”
“I want you to know that I’m here for you. Kazimir is your alpha, but I’m the pack leader and you are pack. If there is ever anything that you need from me, you just need to tell me. Got it?”
Looking adorably flustered, Ethan nods and then crawls out of the bed and over to me, grabbing his pants along the way. We leave the nest and close the door, before entering the bedroom next to it that has a double bed. The new arrivals can have the twin beds in the next room, and the professor will do nicely on the bunk bed in the crew quarters at the other end of the ship.
Inside the room with the door closed, Ethan melts into me, trusting that my arms will surround him. They do, of course.
He’s choking back a sob as he says, “She accepts me. She accepts us… if there is anus.”
“There’s anus.”
He’s trembling, and I push him away so that I can see his face and brush my hand gently over his cheek.
“You are so perfect, Ethan.”
He tries to shake his head, but I hold him.
“I’m not—not even a little bit perfect.”
A memory lights in his mind, Ethan and Tillie just a couple nights ago. He asked her to let him imperfectly love her as perfectly as he could.
“Ethan, letmeimperfectly love and care for you as perfectly as a flawed monster can.”
His blue eyes glow and his heart pounds, as I lean closer and lightly touch my lips against his. My own heart feels full and like an entirely welcome stranger. There’s something to life beyond destruction and the mission, beyond controlling every moment of every day. I already know that what I feel for Ethan is as wild as a stormy sea, but instead of unsettling me, it soothes me.
I force myself to pull away. “We’re going to take thisveryslowly. I don’t want to rush. I don’t want to miss a single moment by acting like we’re in a race that will end. This won’t end, ever.”
Ethan nods his understanding. “Will you hold me tonight? I feel shaky and overwhelmed, and everything is starting to hurt.”
“Of course.”
