Page 24 of Generation Omega: Claimed
My mind takes me back to my dreamy, red-haired alpha who’s now standing by the ledge, looking out at the sea as the first light of dawn reaches him. He looks so alone, but he won’t be for long.
CHAPTER 14
ETHAN
I can’t breathe as I race up the stupid, spiral staircase to the main level, where I head down the steps toward the other quarters. I know where Kaz must be, in the room we’ve shared that’s next to the nest. He’d want a shower, like the rest of us. That shouldn’t be a dangerous activity for an assassin, but he was one weary killer by the end of the heat, and I just left with Tillie. I can’t regret that, but if something happened to Kaz…
Gideon kneels beside Kaz’s unmoving body that’s positioned like a murder victim just waiting for the outline tape. Living people don’t look like this.
“What’s wrong with him?” I demand, looking to Gideon for answers he clearly doesn’t have.
Gideon’s dark hand is on Kaz’s pale face. “He’s breathing—I can’t find anything physically wrong with him. I’ve sent a question to the omegaverse, but they aren’t answering me.”
Tell me right now—I shove that at the omega legacy, but I’m not finished. Kaz did what you wanted and needed. He saved us. He made everything possible. Tell me what’s wrong with him.
No alpha has ever abstained from a heat in the history of the omegaverse. We didn’t think it was possible. This is the consequence.
What the fuck does that mean? What consequence?
Collapse.
I can fucking see that. But what do we do? Will it last? Is there something we can do for him?
Try rousing him with Gideon’s bark.
There is just nothing more confidence destroying than the wordtrycoming from an immortal legacy. But I share the suggestion with Gideon, who shrugs and delivers quite a bark. It makes me flinch and almost come out of my skin, but it doesn’t do anything to Kaz.
“Let’s get him up and set him on the bed.” Gideon doesn’t wait and starts lifting Kaz.
I quickly grab Kaz’s legs and help get him onto the mattress.
“He barely ate, right?” Gideon murmurs, seeming fuzzy about everything that happened.
It’s got to be so weird for him. The non-alpha part of Gideon Blake doesn’t really want to think or talk about how everyone feasted off of Tillie’s slick for five days, because as soon as the heat ended, everything became incomprehensibly strange. But it’s still true, and Kaz barely consumed anything from Tillie, while unable to eat real food either.
I wince when an idea forms. “I think Tillie can wake him. Her pull is more powerful than even yours or mine. But I also think he needs rest first. If he doesn’t wake on his own in a bit, maybe you can ask her…”
“Definitely. She’s up on the deck meeting Mackenzie, who’s really unsettled.” He stares at Kaz, the weight of his first alpha responsibilities heavy on him. “Look, Ethan, I know he wasn’t just holding back for himself. There’s something between you two and your bond that kept him from connecting with Tillie. I’m not judging, but I need you to acknowledge that he can’t do this again. We desperately needed his control this time, but nexttime, abstaining might kill him, and it may very well damage her and our pack.”
I’m nodding before Gideon even finishes. “I know—I understand. It’s not just about me, but he knows that I had some struggles with the idea. I don’t anymore. I get it. And, thanks to everyone except Thatcher, I’m pack now, so the future has to be about what serves our pack, not just me or my alpha.”
“Thank you. I know you saved us every bit as much as Kazimir did, especially when she returned to us.” His words are so overwhelmed with emotion, they’re barely audible. “Stay with him, okay? We’ll give Tillie and Mackenzie some time, and then I’ll have her call the pack together. I have a feeling, when sheneedssomething from her alphas, they will appear. If he doesn’t rouse then, we’ll get more creative.”
My blush signals my own thoughts about what mightrousehim. To cover what is still miraculously embarrassing, even after all I’ve seen and done with and near the pack, I mutter, “He’s going to be insufferably huffy about showing weakness in front of us.”
Gideon chuckles like a movie star. “As long as he’s alright, I’m fine with enduring our fussy assassin’s temper tantrum. I’ll just start hiding the weapons though… can’t be too careful.” He stands and moves toward the door, before glancing back at both of us. “You let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks.”
As soon as Gideon is gone, I move beside Kaz, who’s still dressed in the clothes he wore to the heat. He didn’t make it to the shower, and I wish I could help with that, but there will be time. I didn’t finish my shower either, so just maybe, we could do that together. For now, I raise my hand to my mouth and run my teeth over our bondmark. The purr that involuntarily emerges from his chest breaks apart all my stress, allowing me to close my eyes and sleep beside my alpha.
CHAPTER 15
TILLIE
Clean, hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wearing a grey wrap dress I found in the closet—probably courtesy of Sage McGee—I leave the suite and climb the circular stairs to the main level. I pass the kitchen and dining area, though I’ll be returning very soon. Hunger is beginning to make itself known, as is a pleasant weariness that will require some enthusiastic cuddling in the near future.
I know I’m just scratching the surface of my true omega life, with my first heat behind me, but I’m already sensing a definite shift in my awareness of myself. Before the heat, I was still me, just with primal drives that emerged in uncontrolled bursts, mostly involving ripping my clothes off and rubbing against the nearest alpha. I’m grateful for the moments between those overwhelming urges, when I was still myself, just a girl living a new and unexpected adventure.
