Page 74 of Their Perfect Omega

“Woah. That’s at least a thousand people, don’t you think?” Avery stood next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t going to hurt us, is it?”

I hoped not. I could see it going either way, though. On one hand, the number of people on social media saying we should be allowed to do Omega Match again was overwhelming. But on the other, the crowd below was no place for an omega, and we were constantly dealing with crowds like that.

“Look!” Tate pointed. “Kayla’s standing in the bed of a truck with her pack. She’s pointing to us!”

Kayla had a megaphone and was saying something I couldn’t quite hear through the thick windows. But I didn’t need to because soon the entire sea of people was chanting,“Let them match.”

“This is amazing!” Cal waved, and the protestors waved back. “Looks peaceful... right now.”

Even if things didn’t go well today, I hoped things didn’t get out of control on the street. The last thing I wanted was for any fans or my omega’s sister to get hurt.

The conference room door opened, and our legal team came in. We had the best of the best, a pack of three ruthless unbonded alphas who were devoted to representing alphas tied up in the legal system.

“Gentlemen, let’s get our game faces on. We don’t want anyone to get any ideas about you four being responsible for the protests outside.” Hudson, the pack’s leader, was a bit cold-hearted, but he knew his shit.

We sat down in our usual arrangement, although I was less concerned about Avery and Cal after the week of pack bonding we had smashing shit to pieces.

The three alphas sat across from us, leaving the other chairs at the opposite end of the table empty for the OPS and Pack Health representatives.

Everett took a small stack of papers out of his briefcase and placed them on the table. “We’re hoping this will be a quick decision in your favor, but if it’s not, we are prepared to take this to court based on Omega Match’s history of match mismanagement and what transpired at the cabin.”

Tate ran his hand down his tie. “They won’t want to take this to court. Omega Match has been good about keeping their fuck ups out of the limelight.”

“Even if they don’t allow you to match, there are other options.” Jace grinned slyly and then cringed when Hudson growled. “We’ll talk later if it comes to it.”

There was a soft knock on the door, and we all turned to watch the head of Omega Protective Services and a Pack Health official and lawyer file into the room.

I could feel the anxiousness in my pack bond and tried to turn my own into something more positive: optimism. There weren’t Pack Health agents, which was a good sign. Of course, they could have been waiting on standby down the hall to take us if things got bad.

I grabbed Avery’s hand and then Cal’s, hoping the contact would keep them calm. Avery reached for Tate’s hand, and we were connected. One pack to face whatever decision was made.

Tape recorders from both parties were turned on and the head of OPS started the meeting off. “This has been a very complicated matter for my organization. After our evaluation of the assessments, interviews with those close to the pack and the omega, their previous match, and Kara, we feel Pack Estrada is fully capable of welcoming an omega into their pack.”

I squeezed the guys’ hands. One hurdle down, one to go.

The representative for Pack Health spoke next. “This decision will set a precedence for all other packs excluded from Omega Match for very serious reasons. Ignoring that they mated with an unbonded omega during her heat opens our communities to more widespread abuse.”

No.

“Two consenting parties doesn’t equate to an abuse of any kind. It is a barbaric practice to let omegas suffer through heats without a pack, even if the pack isn’t the one that they intend to bond with.” Hudson took a paper off the top of Everett’s stack of papers. “Here we have a study done by the leading doctors in omega medicine that details that even during suppressed heats, omegas are ten times more likely to have a cardiac or psychological event and have pain the equivalent of a heart attack.”

The Pack Health lawyer took the paper and skimmed through it. “There are medical interventions in place to support omegas during their heats.”

“Even with those medical interventions, heats are painful. As was the case with Kara, she was on suppressants and had a breakthrough heat. Our bodies do not take kindly to medicines that go against our very nature.” The head of OPS, who was a bonded omega, sat a little taller in her seat. “While I don’t think it should be a free for all with packs, I think Kara and the pack were in a situation where there was no choice.”

“Precisely. The omega didn’t have a choice whether or not to mate with them. They could have very easily called OPS to come and get the girl.” The Pack Health official gave me a disapproving look that made me feel like the worst alpha in the world.

“They were already in a long-distance relationship.” Hudson handed another piece of paper to the lawyer. “This shows the long history of communication between the omega and the pack. Unlike with Omega Match, they got to know each other for months before Ms. Sterling decided to go to them during her heat. This is how things should be; not a five-minute session and a profile with a scent card.”

They looked over the paper, and the impassive looks on their faces were not giving me any indication of whether what our lawyers were presenting was helping our case.“We’d have to see the actual conversations to know if the omega was being manipulated.”

“I’ve reviewed the text conversations. They are in line with what an omega and a pack should be discussing.” The omega turned the faintest shade of pink. She was a middle-aged omega, probably already having gone through omegapause, which was most likely why she’d come into a room of alphas with no guards.

Our lawyers had reviewed the conversations too, but with omissions, and we’d mutually decided not to share them unless it was absolutely necessary. We didn’t want other alphas seeing our omega sexting us and vice versa.

Jace took the next piece of paper on the stack. “I have a statement here I’d like to read from the omega the pack matched with who later decided to reject their match.”

My eyes widened and I gave Hudson awhat the fucklook. He hadn’t discussed talking to Jenna. Avery shifted in his chair, and I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

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