Page 139 of Your Wild Omega

A tall man stands near the judge’s box, his back to me as he talks to a woman in the witness box. “And in your expert opinion, does an omega need an alpha’s sexual intervention in order to survive her heats?”

As if pulled by an industrial magnet, my gaze tracks to the right. Ray sits at the table, leaning back in his chair, his mop of dark-brown hair neater than I’ve ever seen it. Traces of his disgusting scent hit me, torturing my already queasy stomach.

The faceless mass from my nightmares takes shape. Graying beard trimmed short, prominent eyebrows that shadow his eyesockets. The slight extra width of features that most alphas possess. Other than that, I can’t assign him a status as handsome or ordinary; the being sitting in front of me exists in a category different to humans. He’s a monster.

“Yes,” the lady on the stand with a severe bob hairstyle answers, dragging my attention back to the question about heats. “That’s right. Without the pheromones and hormones produced by an alpha and shared through their sexual releases, an omega cannot survive her heat. That’s precisely the reason our society has emergency omega-intervention licenses, after all. Omegas need alphas to survive their heats.”

“That’s a lie.” My voice drops like a bomb blast into a quiet pause between her sentences. Everyone turns to pin me with their curious gazes. “I’ve lived through two heats without an alpha in the room.”

“Quiet in the court,” the judge demands. His face shutters as he scans me. “Who are you?”

I swallow hard as the broad-shouldered defendant turns slowly to stare at me, his faint smile morphing into an expression I can’t interpret. Hatred, desire, shock. Maybe it’s all there in one big ever-changing mural.

The same sticky morass of emotions slides through me, staining my soul. But I didn’t come here to keep silent. “I’m the omega he brutalized and raped for ten years.”

“Objection!” shouts the tall, distinguished-looking lawyer, jumping to his feet.

The judge holds up his hand. “Sustained. Members of the jury, disregard those remarks as they didn’t come from the witness stand.”

I tear my gaze away from the scowling monster. “I’m here to testify, Your Honor. My name is Red Jones and I’m a survivor of the Laversham omega trafficking center.”

Lawyers on both sides of the room scramble across their desks, searching for something. Callisto jumps up and stalks through the swinging gate right up the aisle, face pale as a sheet.

His coal-black eyes glisten as he reaches for my hand. “How? Why are you here?” he chokes out.

“I’m here to testify,” I tell him, resting my other hand on top of his.

Callisto trembles, and a desperate noise slides through his throat. “Red, I’m sorry, but you can’t. You’re not on the witness list.”

I jut my chin over his shoulder to where his partner lawyer hurries down the aisle, flapping a piece of paper. He shows it to Callisto, a fingernail lined up under my name.

“Wait,” Callisto gasps, blinking furiously. “How?” His gaze jumps behind me to the man who ushered us into the courtroom. “Hale?” he murmurs in shock.

I nod. “Yes. Hale.”

Callisto shifts his grip until he holds both my hands in his. “I thought you wouldn’t . . . The case—” His mouth tightens, and he shakes his head. “No, I mean, are you all right to be here? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He shifts his body to block my view of the defense team.

I stare up at him, touched by the compassion burning in his gaze. He’s not worried about his court case going down in flames. This time, he came straight to me.

“I can do this,” I murmur. “I need to.”

He nods, thumbs massaging the back of my hands. “If it helps, they do not look happy to see you.”

I peek over his shoulder to see Ray and his lawyer in a whispered conference, the lawyer making agitated motions with his hands. “Is that a good thing?”

Callisto grins and nods. “I don’t know how Hale pulled it off, but they didn’t see you coming at all.” He bends until his lipsjust about brush my ear. “They’ll have to change their story in a hurry. Do not let them trip you into saying you requested, asked, or begged for sex, okay?”

I nod. Strangely enough, I knew all along that was a big issue, even when Ray was raping me. “It’s okay,” I reassure him. “Hale’s already coached me.”

“Damn. I’ll have to buy him a private island as thanks.” Callisto squeezes my hands, dragging my thoughts back to the present. “We have the element of surprise, so I’d like to put you on the stand as soon as the current witness finishes. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes.” That’s why I came here, and frankly I’d rather not have a thousand gory case details chip away my confidence before I get up there. “Let’s do this.”

Chapter fifty-two

Red

Callisto smiles reassuringly as I settle into the seat. “Please state your name for the records.”

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