Page 31 of Generation Omega: Claimed
Predicting disaster if Kazimir isn’t redirected, I volunteer my theory. “Maybe it’s the same as it was with me. I scented Tillie from the beginning, but she didn’t smell me until she accepted me.” I take a turn wearing the haughty vibe, mostly because she enjoys my performances. “FYI, our beloved omegastillhasn’t shared my distinct flavor. Even with access to her thoughts, I get nothing about it, so the omegaverse must be running interference.”
“You don’t know?!” Secrets look damn good on Tillie—not going to lie. “I really thought you got that from your backstage pass into my brain.”
I lean closer to her. “So, are you going to tell?”
“Not a chance! Your divine scent is a high-value secret. I’m not just giving it away. You’re going to have to earn it.” After winking at me, she looks at Ethan. “It makes sense now. I’ve accepted Gideon, and I’ve accepted you, so you guys are my first packmates with delicious scents to lure me closer.”
Tillie’s gaze returns to me. “I think we were right that an omega’s perfume is for her packmates, which is why I didn’t know my fragrance until you fed me that taste.” A blush swiftly overtakes her face, and I’m just glad my skin is dark enough to conceal my own blush at the memory of one of the hottest moments of my life. But so close to almost inciting an unapproved heat sequel, it’s good for Tillie and me to just keep on moving. “Honestly, it’s comforting to know that your scents are to attract me and not each other or anyone else.” She grins at Ethan. “We don’t need you attracting attention with your sexy scent either. Besides, who doesn’t love sexy secrets?”
While Kazimir glares daggers at everyone to confirm just how unwise it would be for any alpha to show interest in Ethan, Tillie turns her attention to Mackenzie and Jameson. “I know how Gideon, Thatcher, and Kazimir caught my scent. How did you guys get hooked?”
Jameson and Mackenzie share a look, and then Jameson rises and walks to the couch in the back, retrieving something from a compartment. When he returns to the table, he’s carrying a bag covered in flowers.
Tillie gasps, tears instantly welling in her eyes as she covers her mouth with both hands. When she lowers them, it is to speak one word. “How?”
Jameson hands the bag to Tillie, who glances inside wearing a huge smile. “Pack Darling?!” She turns to Ethan and crows, “My final alphas were snared by special editions of my favorite books. How awesome is that?” Her focus returns to those final alphas. “But how?”
Mackenzie begins, “Ory was guided by the omega legacy, and…”
Jameson continues, “… then they brought those books and dosed me. And here we are,stillwith questions.”
Tillie hugs the books like old friends. “Fine, but one more thing about the scents first. I don’t think the omega legacy is withholding your scents because it cares so much about my acceptance or consent. I mean, once you all caught my perfume, was I really going to escape? Anyone have any other ideas?”
Ethan’s shaking his head, chuckling. “You caught it, Till.Withholdingis the key word there. Think about it. What’s the one thing about the omegaverse that you desperately hoped was real?”
It abruptly feels like Tillie and Ethan are alone in this room, remembering their time at the convention.
Tillie releases a silly snarl. “Darn it. What a snotty legacy!”
“What does that mean?” Thatcher presses.
“Iwantto smell you all and get lost in your yumminess, licking your delectable flavor off attractive muscles—like I do with Gideon—and the legacy iswithholdingyour scents until I accept your bonds.” Her annoyance simmers for a few seconds,before transitioning back to interest as she studies Jameson like she can’t look away. He holds her gaze, openly allowing himself to be assessed without tension.
Given the chance to study him, without igniting his waspish attitude, I can finally see the boy Jameson was in the man seated across from me. He’s not as dark as I am or his mother was, which isn’t a surprise given his dad is white, but his mother’s legendary beauty bestowed him with the best of her exquisite features, creating a deceptive softness in his appearance. His father provided the blocky traits that Josephine gentled, which makes Jameson seem almost angelic, though he’s also a powerful reminder that the devil was an angel too.
Pure dreaminess—that’s the results of Tillie’s inspection, lifted directly from her thoughts. Oh, no… now she’s going on about hisuntamed haloof chestnut curls or, better, honey-brown coils spiraling outward in every direction. Ugh, her mind needs a mute button when she’s waxing poetic about his eyes… amber orbs sparkling with mischief.Blech. Maybe I should drown him, or just give him some floaties and drag him from the back of the yacht. An endangered shark might enjoy his appealingorbs, his fashionable hair, and everything else Tillie finds so damn alluring about the creep.
“I don’t think you’re here just because of your dad.” Tillie’s conviction takes me by surprise, and I wonder if she’s just contradicting Thatcher any chance she gets.
Jameson leans against the back of his chair, his arms now crossed. “How do you figure that,princess?”
“Well…” Tillie gestures toward Kazimir. “… this guy right here came to kill me and got recruited onto my team. It would be easy to think he’s just here because forcing him to protect me, rather than end me, was what the omegaverse needed.”
Tillie looks at Kazimir with profound kindness for the first time. “But Kazimir saved Ethan—abeta—because he didn’tthink Ethan deserved to die. Why did he care? Why did he even notice Ethan? I don’t know many professional assassins, but I’m guessing they do their jobs or face severe consequences. What’s a little collateral damage to a trained killer?”
She allows that to linger before continuing. “I think the omegaverse knew something about Kazimir, maybe even tested him to see if he recognized Ethan’s worth and would ensure he lived to join this pack.”
While Thatcher emotes like a disgruntled fool and Kazimir pales, Tillie finishes her thought. “There were a bunch of killers in that alley, including Kazimir’s brother, but none of them were chosen. There’s a reason for that, and it’s not just location or family ties. It’s what the omegaverse knows about each of us that brought us here.”
Kazimir scowls, locking eyes with Ethan. “I chose you.”
“I know,” Ethan responds in a soothing tone.
“Idid it—Iwantedto do it. I wasn’t compelled by the fucking omegaverse.”
Ethan sets his hand on Kazimir’s. “No, Kaz, youwerecompelled, but not by the omegaverse—by what we were meant to be. It’s easy to think we’re all being manipulated here, but our connection filled a hole in me that’s existed all my life. Even without all of this, the omegaverse, the danger, and my relationship with Tillie, I was waiting for you to find me. And you did. You weren’t bullied into it. You chose to save me and, I think, yourself as well.”
When Kazimir’s intensity spikes, and he clearly has no intention of saying anything else in front of the pack, Tillie easily returns to Jameson. “If that’s true about Kazimir’s selection, then there’s something in you that madeyouthe right choice. Think about it. There are other powerful figures in the government who could have been chosen—the son of the agency head in charge of hunting me or the Chairman of the JointChiefs. I mean, we could have a whole, intense age-gap thing happening here…” Her twinkling eyes meet mine. “… more than the age gap we already have, that is.”
