Page 39 of Generation Omega: Revealed
I squeeze her, forcing her heart to slow again. “I know—I can feel what he means to you. But we did what was right for him.”
“How can you say that?” she murmurs hostilely but doesn’t pull away, proving what I already suspected. Sheneedsthis contact—not Tillie needing me, but an omega needing the touch of her alpha.
I wish we had that angsty professor on speed dial so we could find out what’s real amidst all the theories and fictional renderings of the omegaverse.
When I fail to answer quickly enough, Tillie continues. “We left him with a monster who will either kill him or use him to get to us. He could be torturing Ethan for information right now or letting him bleed out in that alley. And the poison…” She sniffles. “… what is he going to do about that?”
I run my hand over her braided hair and inhale her scent that soothes me to my core. “He won’t hurt him, torture him, or let him die if there’s any way to save him.”
“How can you possibly know that?!”
Okay, here we go. “Hecan’tdo those things because he can’t hurt you, baby girl.”
“He was there to kill me!”
I brace for impact. “Yes, he was, but everything changed for him.”
Tillie finally shoves away from me, just enough to see my face, which is not an easy task in the darkness. “Explain, Gideon. Right now.”
I move my fingers over her tear-stained cheeks. “Tillie, that man in the alley—one of the people sent to kill you—is now your alpha.”
Her mouth drops open and then she collapses against me like she’s too lost to ever be found. “No,” she whispers hopelessly. “Please,no.”
Her powerlessness and utter desolation are a bridge too far for me and I use the power I have to ease what I can. “Sleep, baby girl,” I say in a gentle bark. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Her body relaxes instantly, revealing the enormity of her stress level. I have to do better for her.
Titus’s glare is defined by suspicion. “You try that shit on me and I’ll kill you—just saying. We need to get off the streets. Your place here?”
“Yes. No one knows it’s mine. Use the basement entrance.”
“Copy that. Now, call your sister and tell her to get out of town with your entire family. Everyone you care about is now a target.”
He tosses me his phone and I’m instantly in his contacts, calling Bernie, who’s already called him fifteen times.
“What is going on?!” she shrieks. “Is he okay?!”
“It’s me.” I sink back against the seat as my own weariness threatens to drag me into naptime with Tillie.
“Where have you been?! The cops! The SWAT team! Terrorist threats and some shit about a coup plot on the government. Plus, all sorts of wacky theories about omegas and alphas being real and launching an uprising. What’s going on?”
I can’t help but chuckle, as inappropriate as it is. “But, hey, I’m part of the fandom for good now, though there may never be another omegaverse convention… except in prison.”
“I will rip you to pieces, buddy. Don’t think I won’t!”
Am I a monster if instigating my sister’s current meltdown is a bright spot in an otherwise stressful day? “Is Marcella okay?”
Bernie loudly blows out a breath. “Yes, she’s fine.Sheloaded up and was out of there before whatever happened in that auditorium.Youshould have been on your way to the airport. Tell me why you weren’t.”
I take a second to find my center and realize mycenteris now and forevermore a party of two. “Bernie, I need you to do something without asking a bunch of questions.”
She picks up on my mood shift like she’s known me all her life and, for once, doesn’t play games with me. “What?”
“Get everyone in our family and reach out to our old friend. Use his plane, not mine. Go where no one can find you. I’ll explain everything later, but seriously, don’t even pack. Just go.”
For a long, uncertain moment, she’s silent but then she gives me the greatest gift I could receive right now. “I love you. Reach out when you can.”
“I love you, and I will. Thank you.”
