Page 54 of The Omega Archives: Part Two

The crease between his brows deepened.

“There was a bit of blank time in there before anyone found us or declared us missing,” he explained. “It wasn’t out of the ordinary for us to go radio-silent for a while, but we never had a chance to send out an alert when things started to go wrong. There was a group of us that went on the mission. In the end, only three of us made it back home.”

“Do you still talk to your team?”

He looked away. “Last time I saw them was at the third soldier’s funeral about a year back.”

“Was he injured?” I asked.

“Not in any way anyone could see.”

Ah.

I didn’t want to say sorry. I doubted that was what Marko wanted me to say, yet I wasn’t sure what else there was. “Are you... doing okay now?”

“Yes. The pack made sure of that even when I wasn’t,”hesaid,gruffly.

“I’m glad.”

“I think I amtoo,” said Marko, eyes pouring into mine. “It’s good to be backherein the house with all of us together. We’ve all beena bitout of place for a long time until now with Demetri’s job and family obligations.”

“Cal said that,” I remembered. “But they’ve been back for a few weeksright?”

He nodded.

“Where were you?”

“Full of questions.” Was that almost a smile? I was the only reason I held back an apology. Then, he answered anyway. “I was with them. Then I was visiting with my mothers.”

A curve started on my lips. “You were raised in a pack?”

“Small one. Yes,” said Marko. “There was my mother and father who were alphas. They also had an omega.”

“Your mother wasn’t the omega? Biologically, I mean.”

“No. Oddly enough. She was infertile after contracting an omega sickness before they diagnosed them more regularly,” said Marko. “That was never a problem though for them.”

“They loved each other,” I put together.

Marko dipped his head.

“I never really understood pack life until I got here andIsaw packs,” I said. “From a distanceanyway.”

And then, I still didn’t understand.

“You weren’t raised by alphas then?”

I shook my head. “My parents passed away a long time ago. They were betas. At least, that was whatI was told.”

It was rare, after all,for two betas to end up with a prized omega in their midst.

“And you didn’t have any other family?”

“I had my brother. He was a beta. He raised me, mainly. He was only about six or seven years older than I wasthough, I'm pretty sure.”

Back then, it felt like he was always a strong adult figure in mylifeeven though nowattwenty-six, around the age he had to have been when I last saw him, I realized how untrue that was.

“Where is he now?”

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