Page 56 of Generation Omega: Claimed
Thatcher’s trying to escape into himself, but I’m there, seizing hold of his mop of hair and forcing him to look at me, using my alpha intensity to lock him with me in this educational moment.
“You wanted to be the hero in the light, just like your dad, and then you tossed Tillie down those hard, wooden stairs into that frightening, musty basement. Didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t,” he stammers, shaking all over, his tears finally falling. “I left before I did… before I could… I left her tosaveher. I can’t be there. I’m everything you said. Every time she disrespected me… when Gideon disrespected me—when you all fawned over Ethan and vilified me, I wanted violence. I’m not a man… I’m a monster. A demon. Kill me. The omegaverse shouldneverhave elevated me. Or you. But you’ve risen to thechallenge, and I’ve surrendered to my worst inclinations. You’re better than me—a literal omega killer is better for Tillie and her pack than I will ever be.”
A sob bursts from him, and I watch the complete meltdown of our esteemed omegaverse expert.
Kill him.
But you picked him for a reason. Why?
His knowledge, his grasp of the legacy, his understanding about power structures—he could have been instrumental in creating a functioning omega-led ruling body. None of her other alphas have anywhere near the capability that he does, but the cracks in his foundation are unacceptable. Kill him.
The fucking legacy tries the stick instead of the carrot, jolting me with a surge of pain. I laugh. I serve Tillie, not this legacy. I won’t cave for that shit, any more than she did.
Kill him.
I have no idea why I’m resisting, but I am. And it’s distasteful and humiliating, like I can’tget it upfor murder anymore. I’m basically a flaccid killer… oh, the freaking inhumanity.
But no, I can still do this. My shiny knives will see me through, after I get onehonestanswer from the omegaverse—that’s become my pimp, apparently. I’m just a tawdry murder whore for this ancient legacy. Oldest profession? It was homicide, not prostitution, and anyone who denies that is a liar or a killer.
Stop stalling and kill him.
Answer thistruthfully, and I will.
What?
Is there any other way we can proceed, where the professor is able to serve his role in the pack without endangering it?
Yes, but you won’t like it.
What’slikinggot to do with anything? I don’tlikeyour omniscient ass, but here we are.
Fine. You have two options—kill him or claim him.
Claim him?! What the fuck?
CHAPTER 29
KAZIMIR
Killhim orclaimhim? I willnotbe fucking the professor—that’snevergoing to happen.
The omega legacy sends its disdain, almost like it agrees with my assignment of a negative fuckability rating to Thatcher.
Not that kind of claiming.
With my entire soul in open rebellion of the most disturbing mental pictures imaginable, I fight to remain focused on the issue at hand.
Explain yourself. And also, why didn’t you stipulate the kind of claiming before you abused my sensibilities like that?
You’re the one who didn’t just kill him when we commanded it. He could be on his way to the bottom of the ocean by now.
I’m waiting for an explanation. Great, the legacy and I are attempting toout pouteach other, when we really have better things to do.
Fine. Thatcher isn’t the legacy’s first mistake, and there is a protocol for such cases. No matter how much we observe, free will and unfaced emotional damage can lead to an unsafe situation like this. Thatcher can’t be trusted around Tillie—ever. He is and always will be a rogue alpha. If you elect to lethim live—against our recommendation—you must claim him as your responsibility and bite him.
Rogue alpha? Is this a joke? If I didclaimresponsibility for him, I wouldn’t tend his bite oreverlick him. That’s a bridge eighty million miles too fucking far.
