Page 96 of Generation Omega: Revealed
“Youare—you just don’t know it yet.”
My scowl takes on a life of its own, while he smugly attends to his driving duties.
“Can you feel her at all? I mean, other than her omega side—which she referred to asmostly slutty with a side of feral—demanding her alphaspresent?”
“The pain is fading into the background as we move closer to her. Other than that, I don’t feel much, but there is this bubbly echo—it’s actually quite disgusting, like a dessert that’s too sweet.”
Ethan’s smile broadens. “That’s my girl.” He exhales, leaning his head on the headrest. “I didn’t know I could be okay with something like this.” I want to demand more, but I wait for him to find his way through the emotion maze that’s caught us all. “I think I finally understand what love truly is, the best it can be, when you love someone enough to want all their needs to be fulfilled, even if you can’t be the one to fulfill them.”
Weariness finds him, as though the price of that knowledge is steeper and more onerous than he realized. I’m grateful when he continues to share his winding path through all that comes before acceptance. Maybe I’ll be able to follow in his footsteps someday.
“It’s not easy, knowing that Gideon and Tillie will have a bond that doesn’t include me—a relationship completely separate from what Tillie and I share. But it’s necessary. I can see that. The omega legacy wasn’t wrong about it either.” Ethan briefly looks at me, his eyes tightening. “It’s more of a struggle to imagine being outside the bond you’ll share with Tillie—when you get over being a stubborn jackass about her.” He turns back to the road, his jaw now clenched and uneasiness swirling inside him.
“Ethan, I won’t…”
“Youwill. You won’t have a choice, and I’ll find a way to deal with it.”
When he remains quiet, my impatience nudges me to enter his thoughts. What I find is truly repellent—a disturbing image of our future pack, the cherished omega surrounded by her puffed-up alphas, with Ethan always on the outside.
My own words appear in his memories.She’s an omega. You’re a beta—you’re beneath her. You’ll always be on the outside looking in—is that a life?
“It won’t be like that—I promise.”
“How can you know that?”
It’s my turn to laugh, even though it sounds a little forced. “Because the omega is still that girl who was intent on knifing the bullies who hurt you. Because the first alpha is…” Oh, this stings. “… a good man. And because I’ll harvest the organs of anyone who makes you feel anything less than worthy of your place in our pack. Trust me—you’re covered.”
“What about the professor?”
My sudden growly rage is predictable, but I regret the way it unsettles Ethan. “You areneverto be alone with him—ever. Do you understand me?”
He blanches from my unintentional bark. “Yes.”
Ethan wants more information, but I wait for him to mull the possibilities before deciding what to share. He considers what he knows about the professor and then cleverly assesses what I represent to the professor. I find solace in the way Ethan handles his deliberation—he hasn’t forgotten who or what I am. In him, I observe a rare acceptance I don’t deserve. He hates my past but embraces my future.
“You’re trying to protect me from the repercussions of the things you’ve done.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, but don’t expect me to sit on the sidelines if a pack war erupts.”
“You willnotget into a fight with an alpha, especially for me. Do you hear me?”
Nope.
Dammit, if he weren’t so charming and unmistakably protective of me, it would be easier… all of this would be easier, but much less enjoyable.
“Do you still believe that saving me was an act of free will?”
“I know it was, and nothing will ever convince me otherwise. I know what I felt in that alley. I know that you’re the first person who ever earned my respect, and you did that through the scope of my sniper rifle, before I was anywhere near your adorable omega potpourri machine.”
“Sheisadorable, but I still don’t understand how I earned your respect from a distance. I was just protecting my best friend, who happens to be the love of my life—anyone would do that.”
“This is our off-ramp.”
Ethan checks the mirrors before changing lanes and taking us off the highway. “I still want an answer.”
“I’ll give you one, just as soon as we’re parked.” I guide him through a few turns and then into a parking lot at the marina.
