Page 80 of Omega's Faith

Through the window, I can see the photographers who've tripled in number since last week, lining the street outside our property with telephoto lenses and camping chairs. They’veturned our quiet neighborhood into their personal stakeout.

Our neighbors on the left haven’t been able to walk their dog in days and the family on the right stopped letting their kids play in the front yard after one photographer tried to bribe their eight-year-old for information about me.

All because I couldn't make my marriage work for even a full week.

"Jonah?" Mom's voice drifts up the stairs. "Pastor David is here to see you."

My stomach drops. It feels sacrilegious to even think it but I am fed up with Pastor David. He’s been round every single day this week to offer his advice which consists of him telling me how badly I am failing as an omega.

I’m supposed to go back to Alex. Save Alex. Submit to Alex. Bring Alex to the light. I’m just one person. How am I supposed to do that if Alex isn’t interested? I’m starting to feel like I’m not interested either. If Alex and I ever were to reconcile, I’d want to be his omega, not his babysitter.

I find Pastor David in our living room, sitting in Dad's recliner with a newspaper spread across his lap.

I can see in one glance that it’s a glossy tabloid and not a local paper or anything that I grew up with.

My parents hover near the doorway, Mom wringing her hands in that way she does when she's trying not to cry, Dad's jaw is set.

"Sit down, Jonah.".

I perch on the edge of the sofa. "Pastor, I—"

"Explain this." He holds up the tabloid, and my heart stops.

The headline screams: COLBORNE'S OMEGA GONE WILD.

The photos are grainy but unmistakable. Me at the nightclub with Alex, champagne glass in hand, eyes half-closed in what looks like intoxication but was actually just me blinking at the wrong moment. Another shows me pressed against Alex on thedance floor, his hands on my waist, both of us laughing. Out of context, torn from the joy of that moment, they look... damning.

"It was non-alcoholic champagne," I say quickly.

"You expect me to believe that?" Pastor David's voice rises. "You're in a den of iniquity, pressed against your alpha like a—" He stops himself, but the word hangs in the air anyway.

"It's the truth!" Heat floods my face. "The champagne was non-alcoholic. Alex kept his promise about not drinking, and I—"

"You what? Decided to grind against him in public like some common whore."

"David." Dad's voice cuts through, quiet but firm. Even Pastor David stops at that tone.

But the damage is done. I'm shaking, hands clenched in my lap. "I was trying to reconnect with my husband. My alpha. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

"Not like this." Pastor David stands, towering over me. "This is what comes of marrying outside the faith. He's corrupting you, Jonah. First the separation, now this... behavior."

"We were dancing. Just dancing."

"Just dancing?" He laughs, bitter and sharp. "Look at yourself in these photos. Is this the omega your parents raised? Is this who you want your future children to see?"

The mention of children makes my hand drift unconsciously to my stomach. Pastor David's eyes track the movement, narrow.

He opens his mouth and I know that he’s going to say something now about my baby. I can’t do this.

I have sat here every day for days, listening to him and praying with him and saying, “Yes, Pastor David. Sorry, Pastor David. Of course, Pastor David.”

I stand, surprising myself with the steadiness of my voice. "I'm done with this conversation. I'm an adult. A married adult. And I won't be spoken to like I'm twelve years old."

Mom gasps softly. "Jonah—"

"No, Mom. I respect Pastor David, but I won't sit here and be called a liar or whore." I meet his eyes directly, something an omega in our community rarely does with an alpha who isn't family. "That champagne was non-alcoholic. I was no drunk. I was trying to save our marriage. If you choose not to believe me, that's your failing, not mine."

The silence that follows is thick enough to choke. Pastor David's face has gone purple, the color creeping up from his collar.