Page 27 of Generation Omega: Claimed (Originverse #3)

Pure dreaminess —that’s the results of Tillie’s inspection, lifted directly from her thoughts.

Oh, no… now she’s going on about his untamed halo of chestnut curls or, better, honey-brown coils spiraling outward in every direction.

Ugh, her mind needs a mute button when she’s waxing poetic about his eyes…

amber orbs sparkling with mischief. Blech .

Maybe I should drown him, or just give him some floaties and drag him from the back of the yacht.

An endangered shark might enjoy his appealing orbs , his fashionable hair, and everything else Tillie finds so damn alluring about the creep.

“I don’t think you’re here just because of your dad.” Tillie’s conviction takes me by surprise, and I wonder if she’s just contradicting Thatcher any chance she gets.

Jameson leans against the back of his chair, his arms now crossed. “How do you figure that, princess ?”

“Well…” Tillie gestures toward Kazimir. “… this guy right here came to kill me and got recruited onto my team. It would be easy to think he’s just here because forcing him to protect me, rather than end me, was what the omegaverse needed.”

Tillie looks at Kazimir with profound kindness for the first time.

“But Kazimir saved Ethan—a beta —because he didn’t think Ethan deserved to die.

Why did he care? Why did he even notice Ethan?

I don’t know many professional assassins, but I’m guessing they do their jobs or face severe consequences.

What’s a little collateral damage to a trained killer? ”

She allows that to linger before continuing. “I think the omegaverse knew something about Kazimir, maybe even tested him to see if he recognized Ethan’s worth and would ensure he lived to join this pack.”

While Thatcher emotes like a disgruntled fool and Kazimir pales, Tillie finishes her thought.

“There were a bunch of killers in that alley, including Kazimir’s brother, but none of them were chosen.

There’s a reason for that, and it’s not just location or family ties.

It’s what the omegaverse knows about each of us that brought us here. ”

Kazimir scowls, locking eyes with Ethan. “I chose you.”

“I know,” Ethan responds in a soothing tone.

“ I did it—I wanted to do it. I wasn’t compelled by the fucking omegaverse.”

Ethan sets his hand on Kazimir’s. “No, Kaz, you were compelled, but not by the omegaverse—by what we were meant to be. It’s easy to think we’re all being manipulated here, but our connection filled a hole in me that’s existed all my life.

Even without all of this, the omegaverse, the danger, and my relationship with Tillie, I was waiting for you to find me.

And you did. You weren’t bullied into it.

You chose to save me and, I think, yourself as well. ”

When Kazimir’s intensity spikes, and he clearly has no intention of saying anything else in front of the pack, Tillie easily returns to Jameson.

“If that’s true about Kazimir’s selection, then there’s something in you that made you the right choice.

Think about it. There are other powerful figures in the government who could have been chosen—the son of the agency head in charge of hunting me or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

I mean, we could have a whole, intense age-gap thing happening here…

” Her twinkling eyes meet mine. “… more than the age gap we already have, that is.”

Very funny, baby girl. I deliver that right into her head, along with just how impressed I am in her perceptions about the pack.

Don’t distract me. I’m on a roll, but later…

“Jameson,” she says, testing out the sound of his name like it’s decadent chocolate, “I’m curious to really meet you.

I already know you fuck like a god, even without any memories of what happened downstairs—I watched your sexy tape many times—but I’ve got a stable full of capable alphas here.

So, you must have more to bring to the pack than that. ”

Our resident bad boy can’t summon a single snarky retort, and Tillie is pleased to have won this round. To me, she asks, “What’s next? I’m going to need a nap soon.”

“Bondmarks,” Thatcher announces, as though the word was trapped inside a shaken champagne bottle.

“You need them. We’ve evaded notice for five days during your heat.

We don’t have long before we need to announce ourselves and begin the process of not just surviving, but claiming power. Without bondmarks, this won’t work.”

“I’m not ready.” Tillie’s words lack any doubt, and I’m primed to stop Thatcher if he makes a move toward her, though Ory will get there first.

Thatcher, of the ruffled feather brigade, chooses violence in the form of increased volume.

“I’m sorry, Tillie, but that doesn’t matter.

What happened to you in that helicopter will happen again.

If we’re discovered and forced to run, and you don’t have bondmarks, it will tear you and your unbonded alphas apart and make survival impossible. ”

“Wait.” I’m jumping in here before Tillie gets too riled. “You’re saying that it won’t harm her if I were to leave, but it will if you do?”

Thatcher grimly nods, his lips pursed so tightly they’re a disturbing shade of white.

“I’ve seen it before… once. It wouldn’t make sense to never be able to leave your omega—life still needs to happen.

Your bond with her is solid and unbreakable, so yes, you could leave and not hurt her.

But if we all must flee, or if we get caught, the bonds we didn’t forge will damage us more than our enemies ever could. ”

Fuck—I want him to be wrong. I turn to Mackenzie, hoping for some confirmation from Ory. Mackenzie nods, providing exactly that. Ethan and Kazimir confront that news with the same discomfort, where Jameson grins like he’s more than ready to bite Tillie.

I know I’m still bargaining, but I can’t help it. “What about Ory and Mackenzie, with the feral omega’s bites?”

Thatcher raises his hands in the universal declaration of who fucking knows? “This situation with the origin alpha is new. I never imagined it could be possible, so I can’t even begin to fathom what it means.”

Mackenzie’s thick accent takes some work to understand, but I finally manage to translate—I know he’s basically speaking English, but isnae and isn’t aren’t the same. “Ory isn’t sure either, since it was the omega who claimed him, not me claiming Tillie.”

Tillie is now rigid with a firestorm about to launch from her eyes. “If you—if anyone —tries to compel me…”

“Hey, stop that right now.” I grab her hand and hold it over my heart. “I won’t, and I’ve made that clear to the omegaverse and Professor Bondmarks Now .”

“This is a mistake,” the professor snootily pronounces, like he can’t imagine how he ended up in this pack of idiots.

“Maybe,” Tillie snaps, “but it’s certainly not the first mistake the omegaverse made with this pack.” Her fury only burns hotter, until she notices Mackenzie wincing from the pain of his untended bites.

Tillie pushes her intentions at me, seeking understanding more than approval, and I raise her hand and kiss her palm to convey my support.

“One last thing,” I say, knowing this gathering needs to end before all our progress goes up in smoke, and Thatcher’s bobbing body is left in our wake. “What do we do? Do we head somewhere? Remain here?”

Thatcher erupts. “We can’t go public until the bondmarks have healed, so we must continue evading thousands of well-armed, well-funded, and well-trained omega hunters, because…”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Kazimir barks. “I think we have a little time. I set some things in motion that are already playing out. It should keep them busy, but we need to keep moving all the same.”

Tillie leans toward Ethan, whispering to him. He kisses her head, before leaving the table with her books and walking toward the stairs. “Kazimir, could you drive the boat from this level?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I’d like some time with Mackenzie upstairs.”

“On the flybridge,” Kazimir provides, and Tillie nods, smirking as she cheerfully declares, “It’s a really lovely boat you have here.”

His low, rumbling growl is more amused than punishing. “Keep calling it that, little minx, and you’re going to earn yourself a punishment. Ethan will deliver it, of course—you probably don’t know just how aroused he is at the idea of doing exactly that.”

Tillie gasps, her face heating, her core pulsing. She holds up both hands like that will stop desire from overwhelming her and unleashing all the alphas surrounding her. “I need a rain check on that for now, but just for now.”

Kazimir seems to be seeing Tillie for the first time, and I know what I’m witnessing, the bonds forming before the biting commences.

I feel Thatcher’s deep concern that this decision will destroy our chances, but I have to trust Tillie’s instincts and my own.

I also observe what Thatcher refuses to acknowledge, something he’s about to hear in great detail—he’s still not even attempting to get to know Tillie.

He’s talking at her like she’s one of his students, not his omega, the center of this pack, and the most important person on the planet.

Thatcher is correct. He doesn’t want to be, but he is. This mistake risks everything. Well, the omega legacy doesn’t mince words sometimes .

I’m still not changing my mind—I can’t betray Tillie like that—but a certainty enters my awareness, and I’m grateful I can now conceal my thoughts from her.

If it comes down to Tillie’s survival, I will force her and any resistant alphas to bond.

I will betray her trust to keep her alive.

It’s what I was put here to do. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.