Page 38 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Melinda’s glare faltered and then she recovered from her shock, looking away from me to the wall like I didn’t exist.

No one other than another omega could ever understand what it was like to be labeled defective.

Omegas were still barely more than breeders, and society could pretend we were long past that as much as they wanted to, but omegas could never forget the reality of our situation.

I took another step closer to Melinda, knowing her fate was in the hands of the alphas of her pack now, but I wanted her to know what she had every right to know – what I suspected Nicolette might keep from her as some kind of punishment.

“The child is Dane Valor’s,” I said as quietly as I could. “The tests show there don’t seem to be any genetic issues you’ll have to worry about either. Your child is healthy.”

This time, tears spilled down her cheeks like they would any normal person and I could scent a different kind of relief this time. One that was almost cozy.

I turned to follow Frankie out of the room, but the sound of Melinda’s voice made me pause. It was so soft, so quiet that I doubt anyone else could hear her.

“I may no longer love Gideon Valor, but I never wanted him dead.”

If there was evidence of that, I would find it and this time, Melinda wouldn’t doubt me.

Frankie closed the door behind me and turned the recording off on her phone. “We can ask Dane if she ever mentioned divorcing Gideon to corroborate her story, but even without proof she was planning to go the legal route…I don’t think either of them were accomplices.”

“Why didn’t you ask if she hired anyone?”

Frankie pulled her hair out of her ponytail and ran her fingers through it as she mentally sifted through everything Melinda had told her, comparing it to what Dane had revealed.

We both read patterns fairly well, but Frankie always looked at them through a different lens than I did.

“I really don’t think she’d do something to endanger herself or her child,” Frankie admitted. “Every choice she’s made was to protect herself while still giving her baby the best chance she could. Not just so they can survive, but so they can thrive.”

That did track with her behavior.

“We make the choices we think are for the best and sometimes…” Frankie sighed and headed down the hall, sticking her hands back in her motorcycle jacket. “Sometimes we’re forced to make shitty choices when our options are limited.”

When the rules created by society leave so few that are tolerable.

Melinda Valor would rather be labeled an adulterer than a defective omega and that made me wonder if my father was forced to make a similar choice.

If I could force myself to look at his case files, maybe I’d finally know why he made the choices he did.

Frankie and I made our way back to the sunroom where Cas and Liam were waiting. Neither of us said a word but I knew she was wondering if our remaining leads would be dead ends as well.

My excitement was starting to dwindle, anxiety replacing it as I ran through everything we could still follow up on.

“Let’s go to the café,” Frankie muttered as she pulled out a stick of gum. “There has to be something we can learn there.”

“I still need to take a look at the servers in the Valor building,” I reminded her. “And the interns are looking through the footage at Buttercuppa Coffee for the vehicle that sent the command. We’ll find it soon.”

The sunlight made the room we stepped into sparkle and I couldn’t help but think how Liam looked like a golden god, even now. And right behind him was Cas, standing in the shadow of one of the support beams holding up the glass ceiling.

Both of them turned toward us and the relief I could see in their eyes reinforced everything I felt through the bond.

I had to find the answer as quickly as possible because if I didn’t, it would affect these two in ways I couldn’t even imagine and it was my job to take care of my alphas.

This wasn’t just about the job or my reputation anymore. They needed me to get this done.

“Ready for some coffee?” I asked, adjusting the strap on my messenger bag.

Cas crossed the room and took my bag from me. “How did it go?”

“As well as can be expected,” Frankie admitted. She tossed a stick of gum in her mouth and watched Cas sling my bag over his shoulder. “But we got what we need.”

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