Page 43 of Generation Omega: Claimed (Originverse #3)

“It’s wrong… this whole pack is wrong .” He’s inwardly flailing, his soul slamming into the barbed wire lining the prison walls within him.

It would be so easy to slide my blade into his heart and stop his needless suffering, but I don’t. We’re waiting, the omegaverse and I, to behold the epic showdown between a man and his monsters.

“Go on. Say it all, while you still can.”

“Kill me, Kazimir. That’s all you’re good for.”

I deliver an entirely performative gasp.

“Is that what has your panties all twisty? That I’m not just a killer?

That I love Ethan, care for Ethan, will nurture and cherish Ethan for the rest of my life?

I’m more than you or I thought I could be, and now that we’re here, at this moment of divine truth, it turns out that you’re so much less than you thought you were.

Hell, you’re even less than I thought you were.

” Who says words don’t make excellent knives? “That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

“Fuck off!”

I tut dismissively at him, unleashing my sarcasm. “It’s so tragic to witness the lofty scholar’s fall from grace, now only able to curse like a vulgar killer or a drunken sailor. Hey, at least, we’re at sea, so you’ve got the right theme going.”

His one visible eye, illuminated by the now-setting sun, looks so empty, like he’s already gone. “Just kill me and be done already.”

“I will—I’ll kill you.” Did I mean to sound so chipper about it?

“I’ll put you out of your misery, but not until you admit to me and yourself what drove you to run from the only thing you’ve ever wanted.

” I raise my arms, the posture of the magnanimous.

“I’ll even sweeten the deal and promise to answer your fussy, little questions about the past.”

Oh, that sparks his interest. He nods, spitting blood onto the deck.

His breathing is as choppy as the sea. “Fine, you win—I can’t do it. I can’t be an alpha and not be an alpha.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, keeping my tone neutral.

“To have that title in name only and not be respected, to not have my will served, to not have the omega look to me for guidance.” He snarls.

“To have a beta more valued than an alpha with my intellect and experience. To be insulted over and over. To not be first alpha. To not command. I’ve devoted my entire life to the omegaverse, and that should have mattered. I’m entitled to be heard and obeyed.”

I’m watching every twitch and every wince, hearing every lie he tells himself.

It’s not all lies, not exactly. He’s speaking the truth as he knows it.

Thatcher thinks he left because he couldn’t handle the ugly reality of what had always been his most beautiful dream.

But the lies are still there, because he hasn’t acknowledged the source for all of this.

The omega legacy is goading me, daring me to take him to the emotional woodshed and wallop him so badly he’ll bear the scars in his next life. The omegaverse’s bloodlust is tantalizing, and perhaps it sees more in common with me than the darling omega it’s meant to protect.

“But why, Thatcher?” I practically croon. “Don’t you want her to live? Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Or does her life not matter if you won’t get credit for saving it?”

He flinches, glaring at me. “No, that’s not it, I…”

“Tell me this.” I pause, making sure he’s fully with me before I give him a ticket straight to hell.

“Were you relieved when I tagged and bagged Sarah McGee?” His expression turns blank, but he’s still listening.

“She didn’t listen to you either. She certainly didn’t respect your guidance.

She was busy making all the mistakes new omegas always make. ”

He’s frozen in place, already feeling the flames but unable to stop me because he’s dying to know what I know about that night.

“You were yelling at her when I arrived at your fancy house. You were furious with her. She was sobbing her eyes out, pleading for understanding. Do you ever think about it? How your rage-filled voice was the last thing she heard before I dealt with her?”

His temper is back, burning hot enough that he’s trembling.

“You know, that refined house never suited you. I’ve seen you brawl in your dirty fight clubs.

I know who you are at your core.” I grin like the sadistic killer I am.

“I know because I stare at you when I look in the mirror every day. You think you’ve tamed the beast, but you’re the same as me, a monster wearing a human costume, searching for any chance to release the evil that lives inside you. ”

“I’m nothing like you!” he storms.

“Then tell me, were you relieved when Sarah was gone? Is that why you feel such guilt toward Sage for what you couldn’t do for Sarah?

” I tap my chin as I ponder another possibility.

“But that’s not how you think about it, is it?

If Sarah would have listened to you, then she’d be alive— that’s what you tell yourself.

But she didn’t. She rushed toward the call of an alpha who’d already bargained for his life with us.

Then I chased her back to you, so that you would see the moment she fell and carry that in your soul forever. ”

“And you’re an alpha?! The omegaverse is evil!”

Kill him. Kill him now. Make it painful.

The legacy is fully triggered, but I’m not done here. “Admit it, Thatcher. If you can’t be the one who saves them, then you don’t want them saved.”

“No! That’s wrong!”

“How is it that I’m not a threat to Tillie? We already know that Gideon, Mackenzie, Ory, Ethan, and even Jameson would never hurt her. But you’re the threat the omegaverse wants neutralized. Why?”

Thatcher is bargaining, still unwilling to engage with his demons. Luckily, I have a honed skill set, and I don’t even have to touch him.

I bring back my alpha power. “Thatcher, do you want Tillie to live?”

“Yes.” Well, that’s a start.

“Do you want the omegaverse to claim power over the world?”

“Not like this.” Until very recently, I would have agreed with him, so I can’t get too prickly about that.

“Why?”

“Because it’s supposed to be an improvement over the order we have now, and it’s not… not like this.”

“Not with a beta in the ranks and an assassin alpha with a heart of gold?” Painted gold… possibly tin? Whatever, my delusions are mine.

“Definitely not. An actor and a politician’s morally bankrupt son… this isn’t the way it should be.”

“According to you?” I press. “You know more than an eternal legacy?”

“I do. I see what’s happening. The omegaverse is corrupting itself to survive. That corruption will destroy everything.”

The chorus of murderous intent from the legacy becomes a cacophony, but I ignore it.

I’ve always believed the same things that Thatcher’s spewing right now.

But I’m still not getting what I want from him.

He’s answering truthfully, so I’m going about this the wrong way.

Instead of reaching for lofty ideals, I grab hold of the imaginary weapons that once upon a time tasted my flesh.

But this is my last attempt. If I can’t get what I want from him, I’ll gut him, toss him overboard, and return to my pack.

“I realized something just now, something that gives me actual peace.” I sound human, almost like I’m talking to Ethan.

The effect on Thatcher is instant—I’ve captured his attention in a new way.

“I always thought I knew my place in the world, but what I see in your struggle to avoid owning who you are and what you’ve done, is an awareness I really needed. ”

I stare into the distance, lulling him by giving him a few breaths that aren’t drawn under the weight of my measuring gaze.

“You see, I always thought I was like my father—talk about morally bankrupt. Jameson’s father is a paragon of virtue in comparison.

But I know something now that I never knew.

I’m nothing like my father, because when I was given the chance to save a decent man, even at the cost of losing everything I recognized about my life, I did the right thing. ”

My heavy stare pins Thatcher in place, as I prepare to deliver a very different kill shot than I usually do. “Your father and mine are no different. Mine slaughters omegas, where yours was more domestically dangerous, wasn’t he?”

Now, he’s not breathing, but I continue.

“You were given the same test I was, and you failed … because you are exactly like your father. A savior in the daylight and a monster in the shadows. He saved thousands of lives, all for the accolades, and then watched your mother die, because admitting what he did would have destroyed his well-crafted reputation. He repaired the spines of other people’s children and tossed you down the stairs more than once.

You had to conceal all your bruises, ruptures, and shattered bones, while he won awards for saving babies. ”

Thatcher’s trying to escape into himself, but I’m there, seizing hold of his mop of hair and forcing him to look at me, using my alpha intensity to lock him with me in this educational moment.

“You wanted to be the hero in the light, just like your dad, and then you tossed Tillie down those hard, wooden stairs into that frightening, musty basement. Didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t,” he stammers, shaking all over, his tears finally falling.

“I left before I did… before I could… I left her to save her. I can’t be there.

I’m everything you said. Every time she disrespected me…

when Gideon disrespected me—when you all fawned over Ethan and vilified me, I wanted violence.

I’m not a man… I’m a monster. A demon. Kill me.

The omegaverse should never have elevated me.

Or you. But you’ve risen to the challenge, and I’ve surrendered to my worst inclinations.

You’re better than me—a literal omega killer is better for Tillie and her pack than I will ever be. ”

A sob bursts from him, and I watch the complete meltdown of our esteemed omegaverse expert.

Kill him.

But you picked him for a reason. Why?

His knowledge, his grasp of the legacy, his understanding about power structures—he could have been instrumental in creating a functioning omega-led ruling body. None of her other alphas have anywhere near the capability that he does, but the cracks in his foundation are unacceptable. Kill him.

The fucking legacy tries the stick instead of the carrot, jolting me with a surge of pain. I laugh. I serve Tillie, not this legacy. I won’t cave for that shit, any more than she did.

Kill him.

I have no idea why I’m resisting, but I am. And it’s distasteful and humiliating, like I can’t get it up for murder anymore. I’m basically a flaccid killer… oh, the freaking inhumanity.

But no, I can still do this. My shiny knives will see me through, after I get one honest answer from the omegaverse—that’s become my pimp, apparently.

I’m just a tawdry murder whore for this ancient legacy.

Oldest profession? It was homicide, not prostitution, and anyone who denies that is a liar or a killer.

Stop stalling and kill him.

Answer this truthfully , and I will.

What?

Is there any other way we can proceed, where the professor is able to serve his role in the pack without endangering it?

Yes, but you won’t like it.

What’s liking got to do with anything? I don’t like your omniscient ass, but here we are.

Fine. You have two options—kill him or claim him.

Claim him?! What the fuck?