Page 79 of Generation Omega: Revealed

“I need to talk to her about this. Can you make that happen?”

“Yes.”

CHAPTER37

GIDEON

I’m petty sometimes—it’s true. I should be a better man. I aspire to betterment, but just now, I’m reveling in my pettiness. With Tillie on my lap, scrolling madly through a million omega-related posts—faux sightings, all that happened at the venue, and live protest feeds—I’m sitting here smugly delighted to befirst alpha.

Of course, I’m first alpha. It’s top billing for alphas, so naturally, it’s all mine. If anyone thinks they’re going to take it from me, they are in for a rude awakening. And if Dr. Thatcher James Wellington theThirdthinks I was using my full force to control him, he’s also in for a surprise. First alpha has some nice perks, namely the right to claim Tillie’s attention whenever I want.

“Kypsie is a posting machine and she’s got a bazillion followers.” Tillie looks up at me, eyes bright. “She’s the one who helped get us out of the auditorium and away from the hotel. They would have caught me without her help.”

Unable to stop myself, I run my fingers through Tillie’s hair at the nape of her neck. When I tighten my hold, her gaze grows softer and needier.

“I love that,” she whispers, as if I don’t already know just from the beating of our hearts.

“Focus,” the killjoy professor murmurs while staring at the screen on his laptop.

We’ve been at this for a couple hours and my attention keeps wandering back to Tillie, rather than all the information that’s already merged into one unhelpful, stinking heap in my brain.

“If you told us what we’re looking for, that might motivate us to continue searching for a random needle in a haystack the size of the moon.”

Thatcher’s jaw clenches. I shouldn’t enjoy vexing him when he’s already struggling to control himself, but I do.See above… petty.

“As I’ve said,repeatedly, if we search for something specific, we could narrow our focus and miss important data.” He has said that repeatedly, and each time is somehow more annoying than the last. I could be at aknot revealparty with my willing omega right now.

I sigh with dramatic flourish—a sigh that won me more than a few awards for a film that wasn’t all that good. “But if wedon’tnarrow our focus at all, then we’re just gaping into the void of all humanity and will miss the canon aiming at us.” I’m not just rolling my eyes—my entire aura is involved—and I’m almost ready to issue aFirst Alpha Edictto end this knowledge-seeking session from hell.

Tillie grins at me, amused at watching her alphas getting snarky. “Look at this. Kypsie has a bullhorn.”

I stare at the screen showing the rally that’s occurring on the street fifty-nine floors below us. A fresh-faced woman about Tillie’s age—who would absolutely be cast as an omega—shouts ferociously to the crowd and the police presence beyond them. She demands accountability for the raid on the convention and calls on all elected officials and powerful members of society to protect the newly revealed omega.

“I approve.”

Tillie can’t take her eyes off the screen. “Authors are there.” She points at one woman. “She writes noir omegaverse—dark and delicious.” Tillie nibbles on her lip, and I want to help her with that. “Singers, actors, and so many fans—they’re all rallying forme. It’s hard to believe.”

“It shouldn’t be.” Thatcher ends his staring contest with his laptop for the first time in more than an hour. “Of course, they’ll rally to defend you and support you. They’re true believers, and we’ll give them proof that all their years of believing were justified. They embraced the truth even when they were mocked for it. They came together. They celebrated. And now, they’re ready to be activated into more than fans—they are an army awaiting your guidance.”

I may not enjoy staring at devices, but I do like clarity when it arrives. “Sage McGee arranged all of this to bring together this unknowing army and give the omega legacy the chance to dothis—summoningusin this place at this time.” I don’t mean to, but I send some of myfirst alphamojo at Thatcher and he tenses. “You helped her, didn’t you?”

Tillie glances from me to Thatcher, her expression taut as though she’s trying to work out an equation. “You did, didn’t you? This was your plan.”

Thatcher’s discomfort isn’t coming from me—there’s a swamp of shame and guilt in his core. “We kept failing the omegas and their alphas. We needed infrastructure around us equal to what Beta Dominion employs. Random reveals around the world didn’t allow that, so yes, Sage and I planned this and she executed it.”

He blows out a breath and leans back in his chair, roughly shoving his mop of hair out of his eyes. He’s debating something, deciding whether to share the bigger picture. Is he worried we’ll feel betrayed or does he think we’re not ready to see the true landscape of this new world that’s claimed us? Is he more concerned that the truth will upset Tillie or anger me?

I continue to rub Tillie’s neck and release a small purr to soothe her as we await Thatcher’s decision. If he doesn’t choose wisely, I’ll guide him to a better choice.

He winces from my power, his squinted eyes proving he’s aware that I held back during our last round. Just wait until he gets a full taste of what his first alpha can do.

“It’s not an accident that we’re here in San Francisco, where Sage owns blocks of property, where extra cameras hanging on buildings aren’t even noticed, and where sea, air, and land routes are available. All of that plays a role in why they haven’t found us yet.”

Thatcher searches Tillie’s eyes, but she gives nothing away and her heart is deceptively calm. “Sage is capturing video from dozens of cameras, including inside federal buildings, police headquarters, and the governor’s office. We’ve never located any BD compound—rumor is they have a hollowed-out mountain somewhere. But we know they function in seats of power, and that’s where we’ll catch their trail.”

“We’ll?” Tillie asks. “We’regoing to do that? Chasethem?”

“No. Not us. Your army is more than the thousands of omegees, though they are vital.” Again, he’s weighing what to share.

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