Page 138 of Choosing Their Omega

“And they said that I can be there?” I really want to be there. I want to look into the eyes of the men who could’ve gotten me killed and I want them to feel my fury.

I couldn’t really do anything when I was harassed at work, besides remove myself from the environment. But now I have four Alphas at my back who love me and support me, and if someone mistreats me, I can fire back.

“They did,” Miles promises. “They weren’t happy about it, but as the most directly injured party, your testimony is important.”

We drop Ben off with some teammates for a playdate with their kids. Ben’s happy to see his friends, and when Knox finishes dropping him off, he tells me that the teammates wished us all good luck.

“Everyone’s behind us,” he says. “They hope we nail the bastards.”

We go to the offices downtown where the meeting is being held. I’m a little nervous, but more because of the NHL people and the lawyers. I want them to believe us that the Grizzlies did this. I don’t want them to think we’re liars or are trying to discredit another team, like we’re the dirty ones.

The actual hockey players themselves… I find I’m looking forward to seeing them. When I think about them all I feel is rage. I want them to feel it.

We get up to the offices and are led into a large conference room. The lawyers for the Titans and my Alphas are already here, as well as the NHL people, but the Grizzlies and their team haven’t arrived yet.

“Great to see you all,” the mediator says, greeting each of my men with a handshake. He looks at me. “You must be the little lady who’s the cause of all this fuss. How are you feeling?”

I want to bristle at him calling me ‘little lady’ like we’re in the 1950s and I’m a child, but I keep my cool. “I’m doing well, thank you for asking. I’ve been taking it easy.”

“Let’s sit down,” Cruz says protectively, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and giving the mediator a stiff look.

That’s when the door opens and another team of lawyers enters… with a set of men behind them who have to be hockey players given how big and built they are, just like my Alphas.

These must be the Grizzlies.

There are three of them that Gary identified as the ones who hired him: the captain of the team and the two assistant captains. It’s unclear if the entire Grizzlies team was in on it, the lawyers are still looking into it, but these three players are the ones accused right now.

They’ve all got a swagger as they walk in, like they know that nothing can be pinned on them and they’ll get away with it. It sets my teeth on edge with anger.

“All right.” The mediator sighs like he’s already tired. “Let’s discuss this, shall we?”

My men and their lawyers lay out the accusations, explaining what happened, and how the man who was paid off to hit me confessed to both hitting me with his car and to being approached by these three men here to do it.

The captain of the Grizzlies scoffs. “This is the stupidest, most desperate lie I’ve ever heard,” he snaps, even as his lawyer tries to tell him to shush. “The Titans are really so offended and scared that they’ll make up this nonsense? Just to try to, what, intimidate us? We’re not going to admit to something we didn’t do.”

One of the lawyers pushes forward a picture with Gary’s face on it. “So you deny that this man was paid by you to hit this woman here with his car?”

“I’ve never seen that man before in my life, and neither have either of my teammates. Why the hell would I care what happens to this random cow anyway?”

All four of my men shoot to their feet. The three Grizzlies players jump to their feet in response, all seven men close to growling.

I stand up and move around the table so that I’m in between the two sets of men, and I glare at the players. My heart thumps painfully in my chest and my legs shake a little, but I don’t let that stop me. I’m not going to let that get in my way.

These men are going to know that they messed with the wrong Omega and the wrong pack.

“It takes a real particular type of man to go out of his way to insult a woman’s body,” I point out. “You know, I think it’s almost funny, in a really sad, pathetic way. You’re so threatened by my Alphas that you couldn’t beat them fairly on the ice, so you had to attack them in an underhanded way. And even then, you couldn’t even go after them! You had to go after me. Do my men scare you that much?”

The captain of the Grizzlies glares at me and takes a step toward me. I can feel my Alphas vibrating with rage and ready to leap at this guy’s throat, but I take a step toward him and cock my eyebrow. Challenging him.

He wants to get in my face, that’s fine. I’ll just get in his face right back. I might be an Omega, but I didn’t live my life knowing that. I thought I was a Beta, and I didn’t think there would ever be anyone to protect me, so I had to protect myself. I’m no fainting flower.

“We’re better players than your second-rate mates,” the captain snaps at me. “You’re the one who should be ashamed. Making these accusations when you were probably drunk or texting on your phone so you crashed the car yourself.”

It hits me in that moment that this man, that all the Grizzlies, have poor self-control. They hired someone to hit me with a car. That doesn’t sound to me like someone who’s good at handling their rage.

And for some reason, these guys are really incensed by my entire existence.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t know you were as stupid as you were ugly!” I say brightly, putting on my best customer service smile from back when I worked in the office.

---