Page 2 of Brave New Omega, Part 2

Chapter 2

KATIE

" Y ou can't be in here!" Dr. Ambrose says, pointing at the door. But a stream of people pour through, ignoring her and the scowls the nurses shoot their way.

"Where the fuck is my sister?" Maddie stands with her hands on her hips, eyes blazing. Layla is behind her, her thin fingers clenched in a fist. Norah and Molly Beth crowd in, both looking pale and worried.

Fuck .

"What the hell happened?" Layla says, turning the full force of her electric blue gaze on Aurelia. She's not playing the pouty princess now; this is full tantrum-level Layla. "Do not lie to me, because Maddie is ready to knock your teeth in, and I won't say a word to stop her."

Jesus.

"I'm fine," I try to say. Molly Beth slips from around Layla's shoulder to dart to my side, pushing past one of the scowling nurses.

"You are not fine," she says. "Look at how pale she is." Molly Beth points at me, but glowers adorably at the doctor. "Katie, did you break any bones? Or throw out your knee?" She fusses over me, patting the back of her hand against my forehead, then lifting my wrist to check my pulse.

"What's wrong with her knee?" Dr. Ambrose asks, as the rest of my sisters surge forward, displacing all the medical staff.

"It was only blown apart when she was on deployment!" Layla snaps. "Honestly, you call yourself a medical professional. Didn't you even bother to read her file? No, you just assumed she was exaggerating because she's an Omega. I've been reading all about how Omegas are treated in medical facilities." Layla snorts. "Seems like we need serious reform around here."

What in the actual nine circles of Hell is happening? Layla used to be legendary for her outbursts; she was a serious mean girl in middle school. But then mellowed out in high school, moving away from the catty in-fighting for a more boho-go-with-the-flow crowd.

Although, right now, she channels every ounce of her inner bitch and turns all of it on Dr. Ambrose. "Can't you tell that she's in pain? For fucks sake, woman. Let's get her some pain medication. Now."

"Layla, it's okay," I croak. My throat is dry. My limbs weigh about ten thousand pounds. I need to rest. It will be fine. It's always fine. I don't need all of this fussing. "I fell and tweaked my knee, but it's nothing I can't handle."

Layla glares at me this time. "Don't you dare do this. Don't you dare pretend you're okay when you're not. Katie, you went out in the middle of the night. Alone! Without telling us or your Alphas! You could have been hurt worse! Or killed! Or stolen by a rogue pack and forced to bond!" Layla breathes hard, her cheeks red and her eyes shiny.

"I just needed to know if we could get home," I say, keeping my back straight and my gaze level. I will not cower before my little sister, even if she has a point. Several points, in fact.

"Dr. Ambrose, if you could give Captain Wilder a dose of pain medication. Then I think we should give the Omegas a little space." Aurelia shoos the nurses from the room, as the doctor huffs and offers me two pills and a cup of water. I hesitate, but with Maddie and Layla glaring at me, and Molly Beth and Norah both patting me gently, I take the pills.

The relief is nearly instant. The pills don't completely block the pain, but the sharp bright edge dulls almost immediately. The fog in my mind slowly lifts and I can focus back on the room, and my sisters crowding around me. From the corner of my eye, I notice Aurelia herding the doctor and nurses out, leaving just the Wilder Omegas.

"I'm sorry I worried everyone," I say, steeling myself for their questions and their concern. "I just got focused on the mission—of trying to find out every possible way we might get home. With the time-space not aligning, I just needed to know now, in case we missed a window of opportunity. But I could have waited, could have made a better plan. I guess I panicked and didn't think it through." I take a deep breath in, then let it out slowly.

For a moment, my sisters are silent, all watching me. Shame rises like a tide, burning through me. God, I have let them down. I have stranded us here. I have failed them and our parents. I close my eyes against their scrutiny.

“Well, we knew that, right? We knew that Travelers only ever travel one way?” Layla says, her voice even. Her eyes are still sharp, but she's lost the angry set of her mouth.

“Yeah—I mean Professor Bellrose gave me access to the digital archives and none of the records show there ever being a Traveler that returns home. Even in areas that had more than one Traveler cross through, there never seems to be anyone that goes missing from there.” Norah says, gently squeezing my right hand, where she's looped her fingers in mine.

“What?” I look from face to face. None of them are angry.

“We know going back was probably impossible. Now it’s confirmed, so we move on to Plan B.” Layla shrugs. "We told you it was okay, Katie. I swear, sometimes you're just like mom, making plans about what you think we need, instead of actually listening to what we want."

Molly Beth lays her head on my shoulder. “We’re all so grateful that you’ve been trying to find ways to help us. But, we know that Amaata is home now. We just need to figure out how to really live here–and live well.” She smiles at me, that same freckled grin that she’s had since childhood.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find a way home,” I whisper.

“Don’t be—we are home,” Molly Beth says gently.

“Bitch, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go find one of your hot Alphas to fuck you silly,” Maddie says from beside Layla. "Honestly, you could be hip deep in hot dudes who are begging to get you off, and you're looking for every excuse to leave. I don't know what kind of therapy you need, but you should go get it. Stat."

I roll my eyes.

But Maddie isn't having it. "Katie, are you serious right now? Those men are beside themselves with worry over you. I know that things here are crazy-different from home. But have you not listened to anything that Aurelia has said? Omegas here are vulnerable; it's shitty and unfair. But, that's the reality we're in. An Alpha could have barked you into submission."

Maddie's blue eyes smolder with her anger. "You could have asked any one of us for help and you didn't. You didn't even tell us. You could have been kidnapped, or killed. We--We can't go through that again." Maddie's voice cracks and she turns away from me.

All the frustration that I had wrapped around me like a shield disintegrates.

"The last thing any of us need is to lose you, too," Norah says, nuzzling into my side. Suddenly she seems so young again, the little girl who would crawl into my lap when dad got his first round of chemo treatments.

Tears pool at the corners of my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to bring us home."

My phone pings . Layla hands it to me, one eyebrow raised.

It's a message from Loren. The first one since his frantic texts when he discovered me missing.

Loren: We need to talk

My heart drops out of my chest, falling, falling, falling.