Page 50 of Generation Omega: Revealed
GIDEON
My omega sleeps soundly. I don’t. I tried, but I couldn’t stop my mind from weaving nightmares out of everything we don’t know—everythingIdon’t know. Like how to protect her from enemies who’ve succeeded at killing omegas for centuries. My words to her, my promise that we’d have a day two, a day three, aforever, come back to haunt me. Did I actually promise that? I think I did. Did I lie? I don’t know. That uncertainty wrecks any chance of finding even the smallest amount of peace, let alone enough to shut my eyes and rest.
After our incredible shower, I dressed her in one of my t-shirts and forced her to have a little soup. Then she fell asleep in my arms on our way back to the bedroom. I already know my favorite use of an alpha bark because I don’t have to worry that I’ll wake her with my fretting. I can pace, work out, howl at the moon, and she will never be dislodged from dreamland. It’s a nice perk, even as I sit in this attractive but completely uncomfortable chair and watch her sleep.
In the absence of clarity, or even a direction to point my problem-solving skills, I think back to who I was when I woke up this morning, or yesterday morning maybe. I don’t know what time it is, other than sometime between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. How’s that for clarity?
But the time doesn’t matter—what matters is the divide I crossed between yesterday and today. I was a man with a life that didn’t fit him, without a defining purpose. The omega legacy promiseda purpose like no otherand, man, did it deliver. I may never sleep again because this purposeislike no other—it’s all-encompassing… it’s everything. She’s everything. Seeing her thrive is everything. Giving her what she needs to thrive is everything, and in that, I finally know why I’m awake.
No killer on the outside will ever have the power to destroy her—and us—like the killer who’s now on the inside. If Ethan doesn’t survive, this is over. I didn’t grasp it before, but when I first caught her scent and touched her at the convention, I was jealous of how full her heart was for her boyfriend. But it’s more than that. It’s like they share the same heart, as though their hearts were broken and only their love filled the cracks and made them whole enough to continue.
I can’t release this tension without knowing he’s alive and safe, like she is. So, I sit here and wait for the killer’s phone to ring. I had to set it on the dresser and walk away, superstitious that if I continued to hold it, the call would never come.
Finally, hours later, the phone vibrates and I race toward it, swiping across the screen to accept the call.
“Greetings,actor.” My profession appears to be an insult if I’m reading his surly tone correctly.
“And hello to you,killer.” I’m playing with fire. He could hang up without telling me anything, and then I’ll have no choice but to greet the dawn instead of closing my eyes and snuggling with Tillie. Try again,actor. “Do you mind sharing your name, since we’re basically family now?”
His response is an ominous murmur that wordlessly conveys his displeasure with his new relations. I can’t say I’m ecstatic to be sharing my future with him, so right back at you, buddy. “I’ll take that as ano.”
The killer breathes hostilely for a solid minute before he snaps, “Does it ever let up?”
I don’t know his name and he may not share it, but I know exactly what he’s talking about. “So far, only when I touch her or hold her—the rest of the time, she’s the most epic magnet in the world and I’m a helpless chunk of steel. What about you, tough guy? Tearing at the seams yet?”
Wordless mode engaged. Are killers all silent types or is he just shy?
Rather than wait another minute—or fifty—for him to answer or, more likelynotanswer, I choose a different route. “The men who took me… I killed them too easily. Is that right? It’s bothering me… not the killing, but theeaseof killing them.”
I pause, assessing just how sociopathic that sounds. I should be concerned with the murders, shouldn’t I?Justifiable homicidehas a nicer ring to it than murder. The omegaverse instincts aren’t helping as they hold a pep rally to celebrate fewer enemies who can hurt our girl. Fine, I’ll table it for now and circle back when we aren’t in danger.
“Anyway, the group with the sketchy logo is supposed to be this elite and effective killing force. Those guys weren’t elite or effective. They were brought down by anactor.”
He manages to grunt in both a demeaning and complimentary way. “Every time an omega reveals, there’s a culling in more ways than one. Dead weight isn’t allowed in our organization, so those on the chopping block are sent out first.”
“You were sent out first, correct?”
His only answer is a deranged laugh. Then he’s silent again.
My genuine fears demand answers and I blurt, “Just tell me.”
He still makes me wait for more than a minute. “He’s alive.”
The clenched fist around my heart eases just slightly. “Alive andwell?”
It’s like having a conversation with someone on another planet, these long gaps waiting for the killer’s message to reach me.
“My brother’s bullet did more damage than mine, but neither injury will change his life.Sheburned him badly.”
I already knew that. “The poison?”
“Dealt with.”
“How?”
Here comes another long pause, followed by no answer at all.
“Okay, then, my abrasive, killer of a packmate…”
