Page 82 of Generation Omega: Revealed
“While they talk, we need to discuss strategy. Things are happening.”
Ithought—hoped, prayed, bargained, willing to trade my houses and my sister’s dogs—I could delay the imminent alpha-themed clusterfuck, butno. “I agree. We’ve got another alpha here, so it’s time for our first official alpha meeting.”
Kazimir snorts derisively. “Yippee. I’ll send a link to the phone. Do you have any encrypted tech?”
“Yes.”
“Call me on your device, and let them use this phone.”
“Will do.” I forward Kazimir’s link as soon as it arrives and then hand the phone to Tillie. “It’s him.”
She clutches the phone and whispers, “I’m going upstairs.”
“Of course. I’d like to talk to Ethan before you hang up, okay?”
Tillie gives me a jerky nod, sends a death glare at Thatcher, and rushes up the stairs, her bare feet silent on the steps.
As soon as she’s gone, Thatcher blows. “You have no idea what this means! You’rewrong! You don’t even know how wrong you are, indulging her fantasies that her life hasn’t changed, that she can still be the young woman she was with her little boyfriend. She’s the omega—thequeen. She doesn’t get to carry on with betas anymore.”
With absolute righteousness, I grab him by the neck and shove him against the nearest wall, pinning him there. “Listen to me right now, Thatcher. You’ll die before Ethan is cast aside. You’ll die right now if you don’t drop this snooty shit and stop presuming you know what’s best for Tillie. You just met her.”
“I know what I’m talking about,” he barks, making a play for power.
I force his body into a state of defenselessness, trapped against the wall, while I actually consider snapping his neck. “I don’t care about all thisyesteryearomega bullshit or anything you know about omegas who aren’t Tillie. I certainly won’t allow you to lock her into the same life that got all those omegas and their alphas killed.” My face close enough that I could rip out his throat with my teeth, I continue. “I won’t let you break her spirit. You haven’t seen her with Ethan. It will literally kill her to lose him.”
I command my lungs to fill and then exhale, ensuring I can still hear the guidance screaming for me not to end the professor. “I suggest you become a student again, with the sole task of learning who Tillie is. She’s not just her new designation—she’s a human being whose life was permanently altered yesterday. Fuck you for thinking you know her well enough to make decisions about her life.”
I shake him and bounce his head against the wall a couple times—I’m not aspiring to sainthood here and he’s still alive. “Am I clear?”
“I want what’s best for her,” he chokes out when I give him just enough oxygen.
“I’m sure you do, but for some reason you think you already know what that is. Neither Tillie nor I will tolerate anyalpha-splainingfrom the man who’s never saved an omega. Isn’t that right, Dr. Wellington? You’ve been around omegas for years and they’re all gone, either dead or vanished. There’s a reason you aren’t first alpha.”
“Fuck you.” He’s trembling, drunk on a dangerous mix of fury and terror. “I did everything I could for them. You don’t understand the forces against us.”
“That’s true—I don’t. But they did snatch me and aim to kill me, and they certainly came close to killing her. They would have if thewiseomega legacy hadn’t turned one of her would-be assassins into her next alpha.” I certainly have Thatcher’s attention now.
His eyes become saucers behind his attractive glasses. “What? An assassin?! Is he Beta Dominion?”
“Just wait—you get to meet him as soon as I make the call. I need a drink.”
I release Thatcher, who instantly massages his neck as I turn toward the bar on the far side of the living room. I wish I knew what my scent was—I could turn myself into a pleasing cocktail for Tillie. Without that information to guide me, I pour myself some of my favorite Irish whiskey and take a sip, while leaning against the bar and watching Thatcher’s disconcerting expression slide show.
With no relief and a little guilt for how hard I pushed him, I understand why I’m first alpha and why Thatcher can’t be. He’s trapped in every mistake he’s ever made, and he’s reeling from the pressure to right a thousand wrongs. He’ll keep trying at Tillie’s expense, because he hasn’t surrendered to the legacy that’s been the backbone of his belief system most of his life.
But I comprehend what the legacy needs, as though it’s written on his furious face, and also why I was chosen. I’m pack leader and that means I’m not just responsible for Tillie. I’m responsible for all the members of this pack, including Thatcher and the assassin petulantly awaiting my call. I’d already realized that in a way, but the reality is much more complicated, as is the thought of just how chaotic this will be when all seven pack members are finally together.
It might be a shitshow, and if we fail, that will be on me. But I wouldn’t, not for all the world, wish to turn back time and have the omegaverse choose someone else to take my place.
I belong here, and my omega will be the one who lives, who thrives, who changes the world.
I down the rest of my drink and set the glass on the bar. “Alright, let’s welcome the new guy. Just remember to keep the hazing to a minimum, since the dude is a trained killer. Here we go.”
CHAPTER38
TILLIE
I hate how trembly I am just from walking away from Gideon. I need him. I need my chest against his, our skin touching. I need him to soothe all my jagged edges that feel like they’re cutting through my chest. But no matter how much he tries, Gideon can’t provide what I need most.
