Page 33 of Generation Omega: Revealed
“No,” I bark, not really meaning to and she pales, frozen in place by my alpha power. “Sorry, but no guns for you. You have a phone, an exit strategy, and us. If there’s killing to be done, we’ll do it. We need to understand much more about all of this before you cross lines like that, unless you have no other choice.”
Her nostrils flare adorably. “I was going to say that I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to have a weapon because I don’t know how to use one. But thanks a lot,alpha, for making that decision for me.” Her tone is snarky, but her eyes sparkle with the best kind of mischief.
“Let’s go. Titus is listening to all of this and I’m pretty sure he thinks we’ve all lost our grasp on reality. I’ll lead. Ethan, you watch our backs.”
“Copy that,alpha.”
Tillie smothers a giggle and Ethan leans to kiss her head, over her hoodie.
One alley away from safety.
Why does that feel so damn far?
CHAPTER17
TILLIE
Gideon Blake is my alpha.
GideonfreakingBlake.
Words likeheatandrutfry all my circuits now that they’re attached to Gideon Blake. Gideon Blake andme—there’s anusthat includes the hottest, most famous and talented actor in the world andme. My heart beats like it’s attached to a car battery and my brain is on life support.
I don’t know what kind of cocktail is swirling in my veins from being so close to my alpha, but it’s overwhelming. Before I get too alpha drunk, Gideon’s heart beats with mine, guiding me back to sanity, soothing me with his presence. His vibe is so chill considering he was kidnapped, killed baddies, and is now leading us directly into a trap that he’s planning to thwart like a real-life hero.
I didn’t know what to expect in meeting an alpha and I only now realize how terrified I was that he’d use his power to make me feel small. But he didn’t do that. Not at all. He did the opposite. He saw me and eased my biggest fear with grace.
Hope is what he gave me and it’s exactly what I need to keep moving into this cage that’s already caught me. A cage isn’t really a cage if the person I love most is with me—it’s more of a nest, as long as it’s comfy and looks nothing like this gross hallway lit by distantly spaced camping lanterns and decorated with an assortment of stinky trash.
Gideon’s impressively large body is a wall in front of me and Ethan is behind me. No one who sees us would even notice me between them, which doesn’t make me feel any better. They make such huge targets, the two of them. I won’t breathe right until we’re away from this place.
I was too frantic to reach Gideon to notice how easily we entered this building. The street was completely empty and, sure, it’s night in the warehouse district, but this city is too busy to ever be still. Like within a forest, it’s only silent when a predator nears. I should have noticed—Ethan probably did—but I couldn’t have done anything other than what I did. Instinct was at the wheel, like it is now.
Instinct says we can’t call the police, that we’re on our own here. More than that, we’re being pushed to leave this building and face what’s coming. Each time I consider another way, a different plan that’s less risky, these new instincts running my life reel me back and tell me no.
Do this.
Confront this.
Keep moving.
Stay together.
It’s a chorus reverberating through me that would be a whole lot more inspiring if it didn’t come from a legacy with a zero percent success rate. What I can’t know is the specific causes for all those failed packs. Did they listen to these instincts or did they reject them? I’m sure they did whatever they thought was best—I’m not victim blaming—but is it possible that following logic over seemingly irrational, biologically driven compulsions got them killed? Good sense says that willingly walking into an ambush is reckless, but it feels so right.See above, zero percent success rate for at least the past five hundred-ish years. So who freaking knows what’s right?
I can’t help but wonder whether we’ll ever be able to live like there’s not a guillotine rattling above us, just waiting for its chance to end another pack. The forces against us will do what they’ve always done: prepare to slaughter, slaughter,repeat—an unending cycle because biology can’t be defeated. The odds against us crash down on me, as does the cruelest of truths. Everything that matters to me is with me inside this trap built by centuries-old prejudice and injustice.
My fury points inward, because it didn’t have to be this way. I should have convinced Ethan to leave while he could. I should have tried harder—I didn’t try nearly hard enough, because I couldn’t imagine any future without him. How disgustingly selfish that I’m still thinking of myself, thatIwouldn’t have as much to lose if he were safe somewhere else, not what it would mean to him to lose me or his mother to lose her son.
We’re almost to the door and the alley beyond it when my emotions fragment so intensely I can barely function. But no, it’s not my emotions… it’s my senses. I feel too much. I feel everything. I feel the hatred aimed at us, the pain all around me, the hopelessness. I’m suddenly drowning in awareness without any way to block it. Any shielding I ever had against the harshness of reality vanishes, even my skin doesn’t feel like it’s protecting me anymore. I have no walls, no barriers, no fortress. Everything is open now. I’mrevealingand I amrevealed, and I can’t make it stop.
My body quivers and my trembling hand reaches and touches Gideon’s back, seeking the only thing that might stop all that’s unraveling me thread by thread. The contact instantly settles me, granting me the meaning behind this agonizing, next-level vulnerability. Being in the presence of my alpha is making me more of an omega, and omegas aren’t allowed to block out anything. But this legacy didn’t leave me alone, and the indescribable power of our connection proves the wisdom behind this bond we share. Gideon is my alpha. He’s my shelter now that I’ve been torn open for the world.
Our hearts beat together and I know if one of us dies, the other will follow. We’ve barely met or touched each other, but the bond is already permanent. There’s no way out for either of us.
Like friendly dueling cellos, all my frazzled feelings suddenly have counterpoints.
Fear.Resolve.
