Page 6 of Omega's Reign

I sit in silence, not surprised. I expected it to be the asshole who argued about the amount of time I put into motion over the census, but it’s one of the quiet alphas that has been behaving. Not behaving, actually. Amy has proven he’s just been quietly plotting.

“You can’t give me back to him. He will kill me because I told you.” Amy wrings her hands together. “I don’t want a pack. I was alone before someone kidnapped me. I was from the Gutter District, passing as a beta.”

Her history sounds like Kinsey’s, and I can tell that it awakens something in my sister-in-law. She grips her fingers on the table, just staring at her empty plate.

“You didn’t mention this when we first met,” I say, keeping my voice even. “I wish you would have. I’d have helped you sooner.”

“I was scared. We all were—are. We didn’t know if this was some sort of test of our loyalty set up by our alphas.” Amy glances at the others.

I rest my elbows on the table, my mind whirling with a dozen thoughts. This is bad. This is really bad. “What about the rest of you?” I ask. She included them in her admission.

All of them agree with quiet nods, their faces shifting with their fear and sadness. I know I wonder if I’ve made a grave mistake, taking the initial word of all of the omegas in my territory. Some of them were happy—at least, I thought they were happy—to stay with her packs. But now it seems that I was wrong.

“Okay. None of you will be going back with them.” I sit up straighter, and Bonnie begins to cry.

“I can’t leave my pack. I want to, but I can’t.” Grabbing a napkin, Bonnie covers her face.

“You have children,” Kinsey says, not questioning. It’s obvious that having a child or someone you love will make you stay in even the worst situations for them.

I push back from my chair and stand up, my idea of an afternoon with the omegas turning from something I thought would confirm the goodness still left in the world into my worst nightmare. I don’t even know how we’re going to handle this without a complete fight. This territory isn’t like the others. There is no loyalty.

“If you guys don’t mind, I’d like to bring in my pack and my family. We can come up with a strategy together. I have an idea, but it’ll be a bit complicated.” My life has been one big lesson, and I unfortunately know I must teach the other omegas that same lesson now.

“Our alphas will know. They always know,” Mary says, resting her head on her arms, obscuring her face.

“That’s the plan. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you all safe. You have my word.” If only I knew they believed it.

Beckett remains expressionless, listening as I whisper my words, telling him and the rest of our pack about the omega’s confession. My brothers loom behind my pack, their tall presences distracting.

Wilder’s expression grows harder, darker, angrier with each of my sentences. I can tell it takes everything in him not to push between Beckett and Wesley to take control of the situation. It isn’t unlike him to start pissing matches with other alphas, but Beckett is the only one out of the Silversteins. He won’t intervene especially after he had given Beckett the power to make these decisions by my side.

“So I think the only way we will get out of this without a huge fight or war within our territory is to fake an accident. It could be easy enough. We can act quickly. It could even be today. I’ve always wanted to board the Platinum Shores yacht and see more of our shores from the ocean. We could call it a family thing. The omegas and their children. We could drug the alphas we allow on board. The yacht can capsize. Burn it up. Something.” This is exactly how my brothers saved me from my former soon-to-be pack. They faked my death in a fire. They put the blame on the alphas.

“Something like that will take days to plan, Holly. It’s not feasible.” Beckett scratches the back of his neck, his nerves clear with the presence of my brothers looming behind him. I know he worries that they’ll change their minds and decide that the Silversteins aren’t good enough for me.

I won’t let it happen though.

“Then how about we invite the alphas to stay at the palace with their packs? We have cameras everywhere. It will keep them in control until we can enact my plan.” I keep my gaze on Beckett, trying not to glance at Wilder to see if he likes my idea or not.

“That’s a huge risk. Opening our palace for them to stay? I don’t like it. I can’t properly protect you and ensure the safety of everyone here. We don’t have enough security.” Beckett twists his lips to the side.

“I’m sure we can stay and help,” Kinsey says, speaking up.

“No.” Wilder crosses his arms over his chest. “We can’t intervene unless it’s absolutely necessary. All of this should go through the Pack Regime leaders for a discussion.”

I place my hands on my hips. “You know that they’ll tell us to let them be to maintain peace. They’ll tell us that we’ve already changed enough, and that risking our territory isn’t worth protecting a handful of omegas. Platinum Shores isn’t like their territories. This one is like a pumped-up version of the Gutter District. They only kept it in place because it belongs to us.” It hasn’t always, but my brothers gained Platinum Shores as restitution for the atrocities caused by the former leader. “Please, there has to be something we can do immediately. I know you are concerned about our safety, but I’m capable of taking care of myself. You have seen it. My brothers have guaranteed it. Don’t make me demand to have the final decision. This is important to me.” Is it shitty that I basically threatened Beckett? Absolutely. I’ve put him in a hard position, but he doesn’t understand things like I do. These omegas are terrified. They don’t deserve the constant fear, and they asked me for help. That is why I agreed to take over this territory. To help omegas. Not to placate alphas. Not to be some sort of face of change. I accepted this to prove that I’m capable of ruling. I’m capable of having my own territory and helping others get the rights that they deserve. The rights that only an omega understands what it’s like not to have.

“If you think this is a good decision, then I stand by you,” Beckett says, straightening his back.

Wilder raises his hands. “It’s not a good decision. It’s—”

Arsenio and Enzo each lunge for Wilder and pull his hands down, restraining him. Enzo slaps his hand over Wilder’s mouth, shutting him up before he can say something. I’m thankful for my brothers’ quickness because Wilder can’t always control himself. He’s always been hotheaded.

“I think this will be a great thing,” Isaiah says, speaking up for the first time. He, Wesley, and Jordan are usually quiet when it comes to meetings because they’re used to having Beckett always lead. And it even intensifies around my brothers. They’re not exactly afraid of them, but they also don’t want to cause problems. “I have a few things that will keep the leaders busy. We can make this work, and quickly.”

I smile at Isaiah, my heart picking up pace because he believes in me and my plan. It’s not that Beckett doesn’t; it’s that Beckett is afraid of the risk.

But there’s always a risk. There will always be something in our way.

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