Page 83 of Generation Omega: Claimed
I do manage to acknowledge some small relief to still be located in this room. I don’t complain about it, but waking in different places, without remembering where I’ve been, unsettles me deeply. But then, my entire existence is one disconcerting moment after another.
“Ugh, Iknow,” Kazimir groans, his frequent response to accessing my mind. I can’t help him with what so clearly vexes him. Thinking is the only thing that still belongs to me, though it’s only possible if he permits it. He can and does entirely silence me, which seems the cruelest power he holds over a man without recourse.
“Thatcher,” Kazimir warns, “we’ve talked about this. I get that you’re in a period of adjustment and have a true affinity for dwelling on your great misfortunes, but if you want to be useful to this pack, you’re going to have to suck it up and cope already.”
“Easy for you to say.” I shouldn’t bait him, but if I were as wise as I always believed myself to be, I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.
His laugh is dismissive. “Yeah, it is easy for me to say, because I didn’t betray my calling like you did.” He angrily runs his hand through his hair, while possibly considering shaving mine. “Nope, she likes your messy mop, so you get to keep it.”
She. Tillie. Oh, god. “She’s here, isn’t she?They’rehere? They know.” It’s like discovering there’s always something worse, even as quicksand begins swallowing your body.
“Yes.” His eyebrows raise as he waits for me to deliberate on this situation.
I knew it was coming, but now that it’s here, I want to plead for mercy, for somewhere to hide from their faces, their judgments, their gloating. Did they rally behind Kazimir for his benevolent willingness to abstain from homicide, or did they show only disdain for my continued presence? Am I about to die, or is it as I’ve been contemplating, that I’m already dead?
Kazimir grabs a chair and sits, his posture one of thoughtful intensity. “That might actually be a good way to adapt—right?”
“What do you mean?” As much as I wish to remain in denial, my voice has changed, so rough now it might as well be constructed entirely of broken glass and treachery.
“Dr. Thatcher James Wellington theThirdis dead, isn’t he?”
The harshness of the concept strikes me as more abhorrent than beating a fallen man, but should I really expect more from an assassin?
A mumbling growl emerges from my captor. “Do you want to go back into your body bag? Because I’ve got it in the van,and you’re on my last nerve,mister.” He shudders. “I sound like a fucking parent. I willneverforgive you for this. Now, focus, asshat. Your old life is over. I couldn’t free you even if I wanted to, and Ido! I would like nothing more than to set you free, knowing you’ve been cured of being a total…”
His words cease, and he emits a petulant breath. “I’mtryingto help you here, and we both know I wasn’t trained for this. So,maybe, consider listening, reflecting without whingeing, and giving me a little grace. Otherwise, I’m going to have no choice but to turn you over to Jameson and let him become your warden-teacher. The two of you deserve each other.”
I straighten in my seat, surely projecting as much dread as I feel. To be controlled by a monster is preferable to being given as a toy to a vapid, narcissistic nepo deviant.
“Finally, we agree on something. Now, take it in. Your old life is over, so who is Dr. Thatcher James Wellington theFourth? It seems unnecessary to remove your honorific, but if you keep pissing me off, I’m going to rename youJuniorand make you start school all over again… withkindergarten.” He chuckles sadistically. “I can make you play with marbles and relearn Latin using flash cards, after I wipe all the knowledge from your brain.”
My mouth drops open, my gaping maw impossible to conceal. “You wouldn’t.” The idea of it hits a deeper wound. Without my experiences, memories, and intellect, I’m beyond nothing.
“Buddy, an earnestnothingis better for this pack than a self-indulgent prick who’s too stubborn to evolve. A kind man, with no formal learning at all, would try to make his pack better just because it’s the right thing to do.” A lecture in ethics and morality from a mass murderer… how is this my life? Kazimir isn’t even reveling in the prospect of erasing me—he’s matter-of-fact about perpetrating another crime against me.“Do you really expect me to be all broken up about distributing the consequences you deserve? Dude, read the fucking room. Whether I like it or not, giving you a clean slate may be our best option.”
“How can that be true?” I’ve never sounded so bleak in my life.
“If I gave you selective amnesia, retaining everything you know about the omegaverse and nothing about your actual past, we’d have an entirely helpful librarian—not the angsty malcontent who had to be shackled to prevent him from attacking our queen. Can you see what I’m getting at here?”
Queen? Is that really how he sees her now? Because, if so, evolving isn’t just something he’s expecting of me.
Kazimir nods without explanation. “Tell me you understand my threat or educational recommendation—however you choose to see it.”
“I understand. I need time to consider who theFourthof me would be.”
“That’s fair. Now, let’s get to your next test. Tillie wants to see you.”
Surprise? Relief? I’m not sure what to feel. “You’re not parading me around for the pack’s enjoyment? Granting them all a chance to laugh and congratulate themselves for succeeding where I failed?”
I’m baiting him again—I know it, but I still did it. I’m doing exactly what won me this fate, and it stems from the same poisoned well. My response to adversity is to lash out immoderately at whatever I perceive to be lesser than me, baser than me. When my mind presents the many instances of exactly this failing over the course of my life, I force those memories away, while knowing only a complete mental reboot will ever quiet them for good.
Nothing—that’s what Kazimir reveals about his opinions on my inner monologue.
“We’re going to take this slowly. They all understand my rules regarding your treatment, and I explained what I could about the mark. You’ll need to fill in the rest when it’s relevant.” Kazimir’s jaw clenches, and he grimaces. “Look, Tillie wants to see you alone. She…”
I frantically shake my head, ignoring the corresponding surge of pain. “No, please, I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Well, you can’tphysicallyhurt her, since I’ll command you to stay where you are. As far as other ways of inflicting harm, I don’t think it serves any of us to leave your training wheels on too long. We’re going to be in close quarters for the foreseeable future. What other choice do we have than to move forward? And that means facing what’s happened to our pack.” He abruptly appears infinitely displeased, but I’m not the source of his agitation for once. “Besides, opinionated omegas don’t listen any better than sullen professors, and I’m not supposed to kill anyone, which was my favorite form of relaxation.”
