Page 126 of Knot All is Forgiven

Tall, dark, and handsome? He certainly is.

"Why'd you want to come, anyway?" Cyrus asks his agent as he flops into the chair beside his packmate. He's got his curly brown hair slicked back in a low pony, with a pale pink button-up shirt stretched so tightly across his broad chest that I feel like I should buy stock in the company that makes it because it is impressive how well those buttons hold on.

Ronda sits at the head of the table, all business now, as she folds her hands on top of a portfolio she brought with her. "This may not be my area of expertise, but I've worked with enough legal teams on contracts to be a little dangerous. It sounded like you needed someone else in your corner, so here I am."

As much as I wanted the whole pack here with me, it didn't make sense for everyone to take off work. Cyrus doesn't work until the evening, and Ronda is his contact, so he was a given. Rafe would hear no argument about him not coming, so he called in sick.

Truthfully, I don't think Simon minded all that much about missing out on the meeting, and Icarus could not reschedule all of his appointments for the day.

This leaves me here, with two of my unbonded Alphas and another one I've never met before, to meet with a stranger and determine if there will be a way to salvage my career.

Before I can reflect more on my future, the door opens, and two people file in. The first is a man with deep brown skin and tight braids that hug his scalp, wearing a grey suit. The pleasantbut unimpressive scent drifting off him tells me immediately he's an Alpha.

The woman who enters behind him has olive skin a few shades lighter than Rafe's, with curly brown hair that barely brushes her shoulders and plush pink lips. Her hips sway in her black pencil skirt as she extends a hand to me. "Julia Johnson," she says as I place my hand in hers.

"Jordan Cross. Well, Knight at work. And I'm unsure if my name change to Valentine ever went through." I chuckle nervously. "I have a lot of names."

The Beta woman laughs and gestures towards the dark-skinned man she entered with. "This is Robert Johnson, my husband."

"Call me Bob." His deep voice is warm as he shakes my hand before we settle into our seats.

Remembering my manners, I gesture to Rafe and Cyrus. "This is Rafe, and that's Cyrus Stargazer. They're my," I gulp and inhale deeply, "Alphas. They're my Alphas."

I try to ignore the shock that flashes briefly across the men's faces. Ronda doesn't look shocked, though. She looks smug.

"Should I add Stargazer to your list of names, too?" Bob jokes.

"Well, I'm Jordan Cross. I do business under Jordan Knight. But I mated Icarus Valentine, and we filed pack paperwork, which makes me Jordan Valentine. And then I scent matched with Pack Stargazer as well, but we haven't blended packs yet, and I'm not bonded to them and-"

"Jordan, it's okay," Julia says gently. "All families and packs look different. What's the name on your driver's license?"

"Jordan Cross."

"Okay, then that's what we'll use." Her voice is melodic, a surprising departure from her stern appearance. "Ronda only gave us the basic information about your situation. Can you fill us in on everything?"

After several minutes and the whole story of what happened, the room is silent longer than I'd like. Bob and Julie exchange several tense glances as they look over their notes.

"I'll be honest with you, Jordan," Bob says as he pushes his notebook away. "I'm not sure you have much of a case."

"How could she not?" Rafe nearly snarls. "Her boss basically attacked her, and then they fired her. It feels pretty cut and dry to me."

"Not if she never filed her paperwork. And since she did not put it in HR's hands, she cannot prove it made its way to them." Bob leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "It doesn't bring me any joy to say this, but I don't think we can help you."

"What about the fact that this only got brought up because my boss was angry that I'd bonded someone without giving his pack a chance?" My voice is smaller than I'd like. Their hesitance to take my case takes a lot of the wind out of my sails, and I can't help the hopelessness that travels over me.

Julia reaches out to place a hand over mine. "It's your word against his. And let's be honest about our world for one second, okay?" She smiles sadly, and my shoulders slump. I know where this is going. "Who's going to believe the word of a respected Alpha versus an Omega they say was hiding her designation."

It's sad that I knew what she would say, but it's true. No matter how hard Omega rights are fought for, and objectively, it is worse for Omegas in other countries, there is still a long way to go.

We are still seen as a step below the other designations, something to be coddled and protected. But their misguided means of protecting us have us shackled, with only a few job options and restrictions that make us basically our parents' property until they sign off on us bonding someone.

But this is what I wanted, right?

This is what I've spent sixteen years begging for.

Suddenly, presenting as an Omega doesn't feel like such a victory. It feels hollow.

I had tuned out while Cyrus and Rafe asked questions, so Bob's words surprise me. "…and we will at least go to their legal team and suggest mediation or a layoff payout. Given how high profile Cyrus is, I think the threat of negative publicity for affecting his pack may be something that can work in our favor."

---