Page 88 of The Wronged Omega

Mine

It took hours, but everything was ready for dinner, and everyone had arrived, even Sloane.

Although we helped with the preparation, we left the final steps to the staff while we all got situated at the dining table. Gerard took up one end of the table with Oliver to his left followed by Iker, Alastor, and Ellie. Odie took the other end next to Ellie with me to her left, then Cy, Sloane, and Leona were up the end to Gerard’s right.

It took a good thirty minutes to get this seating chart sorted, but we figured it was the safest bet.

Oliver had to be far from Odie and Cy, but I wanted to be between them with Ellie by me as well. Apparently, Gerard liked Leona, and she handled him well enough, so that made things a little easier once we figured that out. Alastor was truly the odd man out, but sitting him anywhere besides next to one of us or Ellie felt odd. Iker was a fairly powerful Omega and trained to kick ass, so he was between Oliver and Alastor and across from Sloane in case anything happened. Gerard was stronger, but who knew how he would step in.

We all had our roles, and we were to play them well tonight so Ellie got what she wanted.

Everyone was in the middle of small talk, and the room was filled with chatter. My cheeks were starting to hurt with how much I was smiling.

Drinks were served, and despite his protests, Odie and I won the battle against Gerard saying Ellie couldn’t have a drink. For Humans, the drinking age was twenty-one, and most establishments followed that rule for Primarchs as well, but there wasn’t a true law when it came to them. Besides, the drink was a mimosa that was ten percent champagne because Ellie still didn’t like alcohol. It would be her one and only alcoholic drink tonight.

I chose to have the same but a fifty-fifty pour for my mimosa. I wanted something refreshing, not something that would land me on my ass.

Everyone else had a variety of mixed drinks, sodas, and straight whiskey—Sloane kept surprising me.

Dinner was served, and per Ellie’s request, it was all tossed out here at once, so it was more like a buffet and family-style meal than they usually had.

We all filled out plates and laughed at how odd it all was. I had a small bowl of the stew next to my larger plate that held one of everything or a heavy spoonful. I was starving but waited to get my hands on the salad before digging in. Once I had that in another bowl, I stuffed my face.

The table was thankfully large enough that no one was cramped even with the extra dishes. The sound of clinking silverware and satisfied moans filled the room now. Everything was delicious.

“This is your mom’s recipe?” Ellie asked Alastor.

“It is. She used to make it at least once a month for us until Cira disappeared.” That must be his sister.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Ellie was quiet, but care filled her words.

“It was a long time ago. I’m just happy Lucinda is handled now.”

Everyone stopped eating and looked at him. Had no one told him that she had gotten away?

“Alastor, Lucinda wasn’t captured. We arrested many others and saved three times as many people, but she vanished before the dinner even started.” Odie shared the news, holding

Alastor’s gaze. “I’m sorry no one told you. We will be on the hunt for her until she’s in captivity. Nothing will stop us.”

Alastor was quiet for a moment, then wiped the sides of his mouth with the napkin. “I see. That’s—”

Shit.

He chuckled. “That’s one word for it. I spent years working my way up so she’d accept me and spill information without worry. It was all for nothing. Cira is gone. Lucinda is gone…”

“You saved me, so it’s not all bad, right?” Ellie’s lips turned down into a frown.

My eyes bounced between them, wondering if there was more there than I had originally thought. I didn’t see any markings, but that didn’t really mean anything. Besides, they might not be mates, and maybe I was making things up in my head.

Alastor turned toward Ellie and grabbed her hand that was resting on her lap. “I did, and you’re right.” Although he smiled, the sadness at the loss of his sister and his life goal being yanked from him still glimmered in his brown eyes. “I’ll focus on that until we find her.” He faced Odie, who had a smirk on her lips as if she knew what he was going to say. “I must insist that I help. The information I have is probably useless by now, but I know how her system works and can drop many names that are involved.”

“I assumed as much. When things settle down around here, we will be on the hunt again. Others are already doing as much without us.” Odie nodded toward Sloane.

“Ah, yes, there are many teams on this already. Thanks to the busts we made this week, there will hopefully be many more—well, not hopefully, I mean—”

“They know what you mean, Sloane.” Leona stopped him from rambling too much.

“Sloane was offered a new position.” Iker sat back with a playful smile on his lips.

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