Page 68 of The Runaway
“If you want to go to Paris, then we should go. Like you said, these omegas can’t defend themselves. So I guess it’s up to you and me to stop it. Along with anyone else who gives enough of a damn to show up.”
“You’re letting me go?” Connor said. The idea was ludicrous.
“I’m not just letting you go. I’m coming with you.”
“Why?”
“Why am I letting you go, or why am I coming? Actually, the answer’s the same either way. It’s because you’re right. We can’t just sit around and do nothing. They need help.”
“But why are you coming with me?”
Gabriel gave him a sad, stern look. “Because I’m a trained soldier. And for all your fire and indignation, you walking into Paris alone would be like a sheep marching straight into a wolf’s den. So I’m coming to protect you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop you from rioting. You want to burn Paris to the ground, I’m all for it. But if you want to come back alive, you are going to need protection. And I very much want you to come back alive,” he added, with a wry smile.
Connor stood up, without quite meaning to. “So when do we leave?”
“Uh… not right in the middle of the night,” Gabriel said, holding out a hand to stall him. “Tomorrow. I’ll talk to Antoine. We’ll need transport into town, then we’ll need to find a carriage to take us north. As unlikely as this might sound, try to get some sleep tonight. It’s going to be a long journey, and with half the country already creating havoc, it’s not going to be an easy one. Eat a decent breakfast, as well. Food may well be in short supply once we hit the road.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“You’re serious about this?” Antoine asked, over breakfast the next morning. Gabriel had wasted no time in announcing his plans, wanting to give Antoine as much notice as possible, at the same time as needing plenty of time to prepare.
“Absolutely,” Gabriel said. “I’ve spent too long sitting around hoping the world was going to change. It’s time to go and change it.”
“I understand why you want to go, but why are you taking Connor?”
“He’s the one who wanted to go in the first place. Woke me up at one o’clock in the morning to tell me about it.”
“And you really think this is the solution to the army’s decision?”
Gabriel gave a sideways sort of shrug. “One voice alone is never going to change the world. But with thousands of us getting together and all shouting the same message, sooner or later, someone has to listen. It’s not going to be clean or neat or civilised. But it’s what needs to be done.”
“They’re talking revolution,” Antoine said, the same point he’d made when they discussed the issue the day before. “This isn’t just a few thrown bricks and broken windows.”
“I said the same thing to Connor last night,” Gabriel replied. “And we’re both very much aware of how bad it’s going to get. I fought in awar,” he went on, when Antoine didn’t look convinced. “I know what wholescale slaughter looks like.”
Antoine sighed, making no attempt to eat his breakfast. “Fine,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Connor’s yours, so if you want to take him, you’re free to do so.”
“For someone who notionallyownsa bonded omega, I can’t believe you just said that.”
“What do you mean?” Antoine asked.
“He means he thought you were past the notion of dictating omegas’ lives based onownership,” Dante answered the question, calmly spreading butter onto his toast. “Connor said he wants to go. Therefore he should be allowed to go – assuming he’s been made aware of the risks involved and has had the chance to discuss the alternatives.”
“He has,” Gabriel confirmed, sharing a sly look with Dante. “And he still wants to go.”
“Yes, I… That’s not what I meant,” Antoine said, looking a touch flustered. For all that he likely had good intentions by allowing Gabriel to take Connor, his unconscious biases were still showing. “I simply meant that-”
“I want to go with Gabriel,” Niles announced, setting his fork down.
Antoine paused at the interruption, then sighed. “What? No, don’t be ridiculous,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “Paris is far too dangerous right now.”
“Gabriel gets to go,” Niles said, sounding indignant.
“Gabriel is first of all a trained soldier, and secondly, he’s a free man. He can come and go as he likes.”
“Legally, I’m a free man as well,” Niles said. His tone was calm but insistent. “I’m an alpha. And I’m an adult. I’m not trying to abandon the farm, but I have the right to make my own decisions.”
Antoine levelled him a stern glare. “You do have that right. But you also have the responsibility to do what’s right for this estate and all of the people who live here. When we spoke about this yesterday, you didn’t say two words about joining the local protests in town, much less traveling all the way to Paris. But now you suddenly need to run off with Gabriel, just because he’s decided to go? Why?” As the wise and insightful man that he was, Antoine wasn’t about to let Niles run off on a whim.