Page 68 of Generation Omega: Claimed
The silence stretches until I’m about to drag Mackenzie from the garden again. But then my words just arrive. “Does it bother you?”
The warmth of her hand reaches me, even through the thick jeans. “No. We don’t have to be anything other than packmates. As long as you’re good to Mackenzie, that’s all I care about.”
“He adores you, heart, body, soul. He thinks about you constantly—he’s thinking about you right now. You were the answer to all his questions, and meeting you made him complete for the first time.”
Tillie’s hand moves over my leg, exploring the definition of my muscular thigh. “Do you know everything he thinks about when he’s in his garden?”
I consider that while my body continues to react to her touch. “I probably could, but I don’t focus on him much when he’s away, unless I need his guidance. During the heat, I could barely recall his existence.”
“I bet that was really something, huh? Being with your omega for the first time after so long, and then the heat on top of it.”
Something in her tone sets me on edge, like a battle began and I can’t determine the direction from which my adversary will strike. “In truth, I scarcely remember it, such is the nature of ruts. The time you gave me with my omega was different, entirely more satisfying.” I scan all directions, my eyes searching for danger, while the sense of peril sits beside me in this vehicle.
“Do you wish…?” She whispers those words but doesn’t complete her question.
“Wishwhat?” I push, close to demanding.
When my gaze veers toward her, I catch her nibbling on her lip, worrying it. “That I was more generous, like Mackenzie is?”
“Generous?” I think about that word, attempting to understand the meaning she intends. Mackenzie, lurking near the surface, is yammering at me, but Tillie asked me this question, not benign,perfectMackenzie, who always knows the correct responses to all her queries. I shove him right where he belongs. “Do I wish you gave over your time and life to your omega, so that I could spend more time with her?”
“Yes,” she answers, relieved at my understanding. “I know you were there when Jameson—clearly Gideon too—ordered me to stop letting my omega take over, but I didn’t get the chance to ask how you felt about that.”
“No.” My definitive response surprises her, and her hand grips my leg.
“Do you mind telling me why?”
I dare to turn my focus toward the beautiful woman seated beside me, just for a moment, one I value instantly. Her compelling mouth is tense but slightly open, as though shock froze it in place—the weight of my powerful attention affects her much like a deer that catches sight of its hunter. “Let me rephrase your question and perhaps you will better comprehend my thoughts on the matter.”
“Okay.”
“Do I wish the sole omega with the chance to alter the course of a disastrously mismanaged world wouldgenerouslysurrender her body and consciousness so that the long-dead first omega and alpha could…fuckmostly, if we’re being honest—that’s what you’re asking?”
She releases a nervous giggle. “Wow, that sounds really different, doesn’t it?”
“Tillie, Mackenzie is generous, perhaps to a fault, but right now, we both serve distinct purposes in this pack. The sameisn’t true for you and your omega. She has a role to play, ensuring heats occur, but she can’t exist in this time. It was a grievous offense we suffered, and you were incredibly generous and tolerant about our desires, but more than that would not be appropriate. It would be a dereliction of the sacred trust placed in you as this generation’s omega.”
She’s thinking, but I can’t hear her thoughts. I know they exist, but like static on a phone call, they are concealed, almost like they aren’t meant for me. When her omega is in control, I certainly know what that sexy, feral beastie wants, but Tillie is not her inner omega. Mackenzie has been with her for most of the past three days, so I don’t know whether this is a new development.
“Will you tell me what you’re thinking?” It was meant as a request, but it emerged on the more tyrannical side.
Her hand stops moving on my leg. “You don’t know?”
“Apparently not.”
Hopeful bubbles of joy seem to float all around her. “Really? What about Mackenzie?”
“He can only hear your thoughts when he’s at the surface, not when I seal him in the garden—where he is now.”
She claps her hands together, her excitement overflowing. “That’s so cool!”
“Whycool? It is tactically unwise.”
Tillie delivers an assessing sort of nod. “That’s probably true, but it’s also your ticket to becoming my favorite alpha—so, there’s that.” She’s teasing me, and I rather prefer her mirth to her uncertainty. Mackenzie is rubbing off on me in the worst way, but it’s also possible that my association with Maisie contaminated me with kindness long ago.
“Mackenzie doesn’t experience much privacy, but it doesn’t trouble him because he felt so alone most of his life. Do younot find consolation in your alphas’ constant attention to your needs?”
Seeming unaware that she’s digging her nails into my thigh, Tillie muses, “Sometimes, but other times, I just want to think my thoughts without having to worry how others will react. In fiction, having your lover read your mind is super sexy, but in reality, how do you keep any mystery in your life or even know yourself as you evolve, if you can’t ask yourself questions and give unguarded answers?”
