Page 75 of Generation Omega: Claimed
“But what does it mean? Or how can it help us now?” Ethan’s desperate for an answer, an escape from the absolute misery of uncertainty. I pray that’s what I can give him.
“My heart is a pack detector, I think, and if that’s real and I concentrate—with Mackenzie’s help—I’ll know whether we can trust Kazimir or not.” But there’s something else to this, and they need to know that too. “Look, in some ways, it might not matter, because I really don’t think we have many options. I don’t believe for a second that if my alphas fail or betray, that others will be called to replace them. Maybe, at some point, that’s how this will work, but not for us.”
I mull more of what my omega said. “I thinkwe’rethe origin pack of a new age, so the rules for us won’t necessarily be the same for those who follow us—ifthe omegaverse actually establishes itself in the world. But we won’t know anything about that unless we win.” I pause, studying their faces. “What I need to know is whether you trust me to listen to my heart about our pack’s future.”
In this moment, I’m not sure whether my packmates are the jury or judges, but whatever they rule will alter our journey in ways we may never comprehend.
I start with Ethan for two reasons. He has the most to lose, and I still trust him more than anyone.
“I trust you, Till. You decide our fates—you’re the only one who should.”
“Thanks, and thank you for loving me enough to even question his loyalty, and for defending me when you thought I couldn’t defend myself.”
Ethan’s eyes are bloodshot as he nods, appearing close to losing control of a mountain of emotions.
Freeing him to feel what he needs to feel, I turn to Gideon, who’s staring at me like I’m the queen of the universe.You know where I stand and will always stand—with you.
I already know Mackenzie’s answer—and Ory’s as long as he’s not asked to harm me—so that just leaves the man who will never love me.
“I want back in your head,” Jameson snaps, and I flinch.
“You guys can’t hear my thoughts…still?” I mean, how would I know?
“I can,” Gideon declares with a cocky edge. “And that’s how it’s going to stay.” He bumps Jameson’s rigid shoulder. “Another perk since you elevated my insights into all things relating to the pack. It didn’t really click until Tillie asked me to help her, but now that I’ve got a handle on it, we’re going to keep it like this until Tillie tells me otherwise.”
My lovey vibes aiming at Gideon get intercepted by waspish Jameson, who snarls at me, “This is a mistake.”
Gideon lowers his voice, his bearing changing dramatically. “But is it? Really?”
Something is communicated between them, much more than those simple words.
Jameson takes a step back. “Fine. Whatever.” His burgeoning hostility starts throwing darts at all of us. “Actually, do whatever the hell you want. We’re probably going to die anyway, so I’m going to find myself some whisky and drink until the world ends—even if alphas can’t get roaring drunk.”
Watching him march away, while his alpha power continues slamming into me, isn’t the vote of confidence I was hoping for.It takes a few seconds to realize his lasso disappeared like it never existed.
Baby girl, continue. We’ve got you. Let him find his way. I promise, I’m on this. When it’s something for you to deal with, I’ll let you know.
Rattled, confused, and colder without Jameson’s presence, I raise my hands, palms toward Mackenzie. He mirrors me, setting his palms against mine as we intertwine our fingers. I close my eyes and know that Mackenzie will do the same. A moment later, the fragrance of us is all I smell—orange, vanilla, ancient spices, the beginning of the world I’m now meant to rule.
The garden that holds us is mythic and extraordinarily alive. All is green and growing, with a wondrous array of colorful blossoms and climbing vines. Thankfully, I don’t observe any heads decorating poles anywhere. I’m definitely more than okay with the uglier realities of this place remaining off-screen.
Mackenzie and I aren’t face to face now that we’re here, but beside each other holding hands. He doesn’t speak to me, merely nodding toward something I haven’t seen yet. Just beyond the verdant, overgrown landscape is a clearing, and what’s within that open space fills me with absolute awe.
Twelve ancient standing stones are positioned in a circle, like imposing sentinels around a power too boundless to possibly contain. I haven’t seen these stones in this strange, unreal place, but I have seen them before, though they weren’t exactly like this.
Mackenzie’s memories revealed this setting in the real world. A trip to the north—he visited these standing stones or some like them, but then I realize what’s confusing me. Mackenzie saw these exact stones, but what he observed wasn’t the reality of how they look now. If we were able to reach them in Scotland today, we’d find them worn and broken, with some missing altogether.
Time isn’t kind to the most sacred spaces, because for so many, mysteries are only ever threats. I wish I could cast off that awareness, but its truth hits me right in my heart. The way people deface and destroy ancient mysterious treasures—that’s exactly what they’ll seek to do to us and to the omegaverse that challenges the way they see their world. The greatest foes to a better way of life aren’t gun-toting Beta Dominion assassins. The more perilous threats to our success are fear, doubt, and worst of all, the hopelessness of true indifference.
Without taking a step, Mackenzie and I are suddenly within that circle. Voices carry through the stones, reaching us from times unknown, in languages and accents I’ve never heard. Nothing is clear enough to discern, except the unmistakable thread of power that’s never been broken from the beginning of the omegaverse until now.
Somehow, I just know that no other omega has ever experienced this, except the first one. The alpha and the omega—the beginning and the end—of the omegaverse. If we don’t survive now, all of this ends. The standing stones still in existence will crumble into dust when the last true heir to this lineage falls.
My heart pounds like the thumping base at the rave, confirming everything I know to be true. I’m the last omega this world will ever know, or I’m the first of a new age where everything we believe about the omega legacy will change. If we manage to triumph, then every generation won’t be promised one, lone omega to sustain the lineage. No, there will be thousands of omegas, more alphas, and Ethan won’t be the only bonded beta for long. Society as we know it will never be the same.
It all rests on us. On me. On whether or not my heart is worthy and wise, and whether I make the right choice about the loyalty of Kazimir Volkov.
CHAPTER 36
