Page 55 of Generation Omega: Claimed

“But why, Thatcher?” I practically croon. “Don’t you want her to live? Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Or does her life not matter if you won’t get credit for saving it?”

He flinches, glaring at me. “No, that’s not it, I…”

“Tell me this.” I pause, making sure he’s fully with me before I give him a ticket straight to hell. “Were yourelievedwhen I tagged and bagged Sarah McGee?” His expression turns blank, but he’s still listening. “She didn’t listen to you either. She certainly didn’t respect your guidance. She was busy making all the mistakes new omegas always make.”

He’s frozen in place, already feeling the flames but unable to stop me because he’s dying to know what I know about that night.

“You were yelling at her when I arrived at your fancy house. You were furious with her. She was sobbing her eyes out, pleading for understanding. Do you ever think about it? How your rage-filled voice was the last thing she heard before I dealt with her?”

His temper is back, burning hot enough that he’s trembling.

“You know, that refined house never suited you. I’ve seen you brawl in your dirty fight clubs. I know who you are at your core.” I grin like the sadistic killer I am. “I know because I stare at you when I look in the mirror every day. You think you’ve tamed the beast, but you’re the same as me, a monster wearing a human costume, searching for any chance to release the evil that lives inside you.”

“I’m nothing like you!” he storms.

“Then tell me, were you relieved when Sarah was gone? Is that why you feel such guilt toward Sage for what you couldn’t do for Sarah?” I tap my chin as I ponder another possibility. “But that’s not how you think about it, is it? If Sarah would have listened to you, then she’d be alive—that’swhat you tell yourself. But she didn’t. She rushed toward the call of an alpha who’d already bargained for his life with us. Then I chased her back to you, so that you would see the moment she fell and carry that in your soul forever.”

“Andyou’rean alpha?! The omegaverse is evil!”

Kill him. Kill him now. Make it painful.

The legacy is fully triggered, but I’m not done here. “Admit it, Thatcher. If you can’t be the one who saves them, then you don’t want them saved.”

“No! That’s wrong!”

“How is it thatI’mnot a threat to Tillie? We already know that Gideon, Mackenzie, Ory, Ethan, and even Jameson would never hurt her. But you’re the threat the omegaverse wants neutralized. Why?”

Thatcher is bargaining, still unwilling to engage with his demons. Luckily, I have a honed skill set, and I don’t even have to touch him.

I bring back my alpha power. “Thatcher, do you want Tillie to live?”

“Yes.” Well, that’s a start.

“Do you want the omegaverse to claim power over the world?”

“Not like this.” Until very recently, I would have agreed with him, so I can’t get too prickly about that.

“Why?”

“Because it’s supposed to be an improvement over the order we have now, and it’s not… not like this.”

“Not with a beta in the ranks and an assassin alpha with a heart of gold?” Painted gold… possibly tin? Whatever, my delusions are mine.

“Definitely not. An actor and a politician’s morally bankrupt son…thisisn’t the way it should be.”

“According to you?” I press. “You know more than an eternal legacy?”

“I do. I see what’s happening. The omegaverse is corrupting itself to survive. That corruption will destroy everything.”

The chorus of murderous intent from the legacy becomes a cacophony, but I ignore it. I’ve always believed the same things that Thatcher’s spewing right now. But I’m still not getting what I want from him. He’s answering truthfully, so I’m going about this the wrong way. Instead of reaching for lofty ideals, I grab hold of the imaginary weapons that once upon a time tasted my flesh. But this is my last attempt. If I can’t get what I want from him, I’ll gut him, toss him overboard, and return to my pack.

“I realized something just now, something that gives me actual peace.” I sound human, almost like I’m talking to Ethan. The effect on Thatcher is instant—I’ve captured his attention in a new way. “I always thought I knew my place in the world, but what I see in your struggle to avoid owning who you are and what you’ve done, is an awareness I really needed.”

I stare into the distance, lulling him by giving him a few breaths that aren’t drawn under the weight of my measuring gaze. “You see, I always thought I was like my father—talk aboutmorally bankrupt. Jameson’s father is a paragon of virtue in comparison. But I know something now that I never knew. I’mnothinglike my father, because when I was given the chance to save a decent man, even at the cost of losing everything I recognized about my life, I did the right thing.”

My heavy stare pins Thatcher in place, as I prepare to deliver a very different kill shot than I usually do. “Your father and mine are no different. Mine slaughters omegas, where yours was more domestically dangerous, wasn’t he?”

Now, he’s not breathing, but I continue. “You were given the same test I was, and youfailed… because you areexactlylike your father. A savior in the daylight and a monster in the shadows. He saved thousands of lives, all for the accolades, and then watched your mother die, because admitting what he did would have destroyed his well-crafted reputation. He repaired the spines of other people’s children and tossed you down the stairs more than once. You had to conceal all your bruises, ruptures, and shattered bones, while he won awards for saving babies.”

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