Page 107 of Generation Omega: Claimed
Jamiepfftsdramatically and leaves the room, allowing me to filter through the rowdy emotions boiling over in me, still seeking data from a glitching computer. It’s like typing all sorts of words into a search engine and having the responses come back entirely in emojis, and not the fun ones… or possibly,allthe fun ones stacked on top of each other. Strangely, it’s what Idon’tandcan’tdiscover within my mind, heart, and body that provides a helpful clue. I distinctly remember accepting my place in the omegaverse and the complete rightness of walkingnakeddown the stairs toward the strangers approaching the yacht. But everything after Jamie, Ory, and Mackenzie arrived got lost in the heat haze.
“Will I remember this…after, I mean?” Is that what’s bothering me? I’m not even sure.
“Yes. It’s a targeted heat—something I’ve always been able to initiate in you, something omegas need when the clarity of the primal state is desired or required.”
I’ve never seen Ory look so wickedly amused as when he shrugs and casually adds, “And, sometimes, it’s great fun to remind a haughty omega exactly where her power originates… in the dirt, mud, grass-stained feet, and bloody scrapes from barreling naked through the forest, followed by copulation in the middle of a clearing on her hands and knees like the animal she is—her ragged cries and whines music for the clan and the wild beasts that gather around to watch the show.”
His aura is entirely menacing. “Are you sure you want this? I’m not exaggerating—once this part of you is kindled, it will never be dormant again. You’ll need the old ways like you need heats, and I’ll be the only one able to satisfy you. This is a vulnerability we’re both accepting by mating and evoking the rituals born at the beginning of the omegaverse.”
Surprising Ory, I lean against him while still perched on the couch, my arms now around his neck. “Give me a second tothink, okay?” Or really, give me a second to simmer down from the mental pictures—torture—he just launched at me, stoking arousal that’s rapidly becoming a five-alarm fire in my already slick-ready core. Filthy,wolfie-style fucking in the open… I didn’t know that was on my bucket list, but it just moved to the top. And stupidly, all I can do is imagine the entire scenario in emojis.
If that weren’t enough—and the best reason ever for not sharing my thoughts—more emojis arrive for the audience and my reaction to it. What the everliving fuck is wrong with me?!
Thankfully unaware of my mental gymnastics, Ory assists with my breather. His hearty purr jolts against me, easing my constricted lungs and unsteadily hammering heart. Alright, back to basics. I’m not afraid—clearly. But that doesn’t mean I’m not desperately clinging to something. When a tiny corner of my brain fires up, I realize that the choice to accept a weakness must be met with a benefit. That’s what I need to understand before we get allraw-doggyin more ways than one.
The omega legacy told Ory to mate me using the old ways, which means it’s on board with this. But I know better than to just do whatever the legacy says, especially given my horrifying theory about why Sarah McGee revealed as an omega. There it is, the reminder I needed, along with everything I learned from the origin omega. This is a test—everythingis a test.
“Ory, please explain what I gain—what the omegaverse gains—if we do this. I don’t mean about mating you; that’s the stuff of dreams for me. But will thisold wayssmutty adventure make me a better omega, with a better chance to survive and lead? You said something before about the right to rule based on the omegaverse’s first laws—what does that mean for our pack?”
Ory eases away from me, so that he can see my face. “Mackenzie’s laughing at me right now, teasing me for thinking you were just a bonnie lass and not acannylass as well.” Ory’s pride in me is like a sundae as big as he is, completely covered in hot fudge. “The vulnerability is the recurring need for this release once it’s been provoked, and the benefit is what you already know, that the full range of an omega’s instincts, appetites, stamina, and spirit will be yours.”
His hot palm rests against my cheek. “That fierce, uncompromising passion that you felt in the origin omega will be yours. But, even more, the trials will spur a clash with limitations you don’t even know you have, that can’t be overcome any other way than by abandoning thecivilizedworld and wrecking about in the barbaric past. Truth lives where every stitch of shielding is torn away, and that knowledge about yourself will allow you to confront those who have never been measured and overcome their own hidden frailties.”
His glimmering eyes reveal everything I need to know, because if this was intended to harm me, Ory would never be so giddy about it. It hits me then, my decision made in a heartbeat. Beyond the challenges I’m meant to face for my mission, there’s something else here that reminds me of the other precious moments I’ve had with my alphas, where they welcomed me into their hearts, pasts, pains, and hopes, giving me a home with them.
That’s the other side of this. Ory is inviting me to meet the real him, the barbarian he was, through the trials and traditions that built the omegaverse. How could I not share in the history that created everything that now defines our lives? How could I refuse this lesson no other omega—except the first—was offered? I won’t be the same after, but that’s the truth about every experience. We change, we grow, and the peoplewho either accept who we become or take those journeys with us are the pack we’re meant to have. Everyone else is irrelevant.
I want to know everything about Ory, but even more appealing is the chance to know everything about myself. Whether that involves skydiving, a trek through the Highlands, or swimming with sharks, this omega won’t hold back. So, raunchiness with a relic on the open range…
“I’m in.”
“Go eat a bit and say goodnight.” Ory points to something behind me. I turn and look, finding a mysterious door that leads somewhere. “I’ll be down there when you’re ready.”
Down there… a basement? Curiosity likely didn’t kill the cat, and I doubt it can take me out either, but we’ll have to see. It’s ironic that, in some ways, my omega experience began in a wonderful attic, then took me to an alley and a warehouse, followed by a penthouse, a yacht, a soulless mansion, a moving truck, and now, I get to visit a basement that will forever alter my life.
“I’ll be there.” That’s a promise I make not just to Ory and myself, but to the origin omega who surrendered the last sliver of her existence so that I have everything I need to win.
CHAPTER 49
TILLIE
Ory plays nanny until I’m in the kitchen and under the protection of Gideon. Then my barbarian spins and abruptly departs, which unsurprisingly pops another primal stress bubble for everyone in the room. Ethan’s expression is pricelessly goofy, while Thatcher stares in disbelief and Gideon shakes his head.
“Damn, baby girl, I’m not complaining, but being in the cab of a truck with that pensive monster for hours…” Gideon’s face skews oddly, and he leans closer. “Do I have grey hair now? I feeldecadesolder after that experience.”
I performatively inspect his head and then allow my gaze to wander lower. “Hey, turn around for a second.”
Gideon plays along as I investigate his amazing ass.
“I’m not sure about the grey hair, but your butt is still in its prime, which is all that matters.”
Gideon chuckles, pulling me against him and exhaling deeply. “Everything good?”
“The best… oh, FYI, Jameson’s new nickname isCupcake.” I’m laughing before I even get that little nugget out. “Use it wisely, and also, put some dang cupcakes on your next shopping list because your omega has needs.”
“Cupcake, huh? I’ll be sure to use that gem wisely.” Gideon rubs my back. “Everything that’s happened today, and you are still… a miracle.”
I squeeze him, his body exuding that distinctly Gideon comforting vibe. “I’m good—I really am.” When I step back, he lifts me onto the counter, studying my face and assessing for himself how I’m doing. For him, I open the door to my mind and give him a brief update on everything he wasn’t around to witness. As first alpha, he needs the details on the state of the pack and what’s going to happen next in the life of his omega.
