Page 8 of Omega's Fire

“Hey, I’ve only been arrested twice,” I protest, feeling a smile tug at my lips despite everything. “And the charges were dropped both times.”

“Only because I’m a brilliant lawyer,” Jules points out, adjusting his glasses with exaggerated importance.

I laugh, feeling better. Jules is brilliant. So is Meg. And yes, so am I. There’s a reason that the Bureau feels threatened by me.

For the next hour, we build our battle plan, legal challenges, media statements, protest schedules. My hands are no longer shaking. I’m still worried. This is going to be a hard fight, but I find myself almost looking forward to it. I am so angry that they think they can do this, that it feels like my skin is on fire.

“Have there ever been any successfully rejected prime matches?” Jules asks, already pulling up legal databases on his laptop.

“The Ramirez case got closest,” I recall and I watch Jules type the case details into his system. “The judge acknowledged coercive elements but still upheld the match based on ‘public health interests.’”

“That’s because Ramirez argued biological incompatibility,” Meg counters, leaning over Jules’s shoulder to study the case details.

“There’s no way I’m compatible with that creep,” I state.

Jules shrugs. “We can ask for the blood work markers. Get the tests done independently, but I don’t think we can rely on that,”

My phone buzzes again - another message from my mother.

Remember I love you. I know you’ll make the right choice.Something twists in my chest. I know she loves me. I know she wants me to be happy but this is not it.

My future is mine, I type back. Not the Bureau’s. Not Thorndike’s. Mine.

I silence my phone and turn back to the group, now clustered around the whiteboard where Meg is outlining our media strategy.

“We need to frame this perfectly,” she’s saying. “This isn’t just about Leo refusing a match. They’ve overplayed their hand. No one is going to believe that Leo Torres matched with NashThorndike of all people by pure coincidence. And we need to prepare for Thorndick’s response,” Meg adds. “He’s not just going to walk away from this. He’s built his whole career on defending the matching system.”

The thought of Nash Thorndike makes my hands clench into fists. I’ve watched him on talk shows, calmly explaining why omegas like me should be grateful for being matched off to alphas we never asked for.

“Let him try,” I growl. “I’ve been taking down his arguments for years.”

“We need to be careful. This’ll be personal for him now,” Jules warns. “He’s got a lot riding on this.

“Good,” I say, feeling the fire rise in my belly. “It’s personal for me too. And this is perfect. We don’t just take down the system. We take down Nash Thorndike. They keep saying prime matches don’t say no. They’re about to find an omega who will. They won’t know what to do. All I have to do is keep saying no. “

By midnight, we have the bones of a plan. “We’ve got your back,” Meg tells me as people start to disperse, each with assignments and action items. “Every step of the way.”

I nod, throat tight with unexpected emotion. “I know.”

Jules is taking point on the legal side of it. Meg is my media guru.

But firstly, I need to draft the formal challenge and prepare for whatever Thorndike’s response will be. I sling my bag over my shoulder, squaring my stance like I’m heading into battle.

Meg reaches over and gives me a hug, followed by Jules.

Meg pulls back and surveys me. “We have to move fast. Your first meeting with him is supposed to be tomorrow. You sure you don’t want help writing the challenge?”

I shake my head. “I’ll write it tonight and submit it right there. He’ll think I’ll fold the moment I see him.”

“Then he’s in for one hell of a surprise,” Meg says with a grimsmile.

“Damn right he is,” I agree, feeling something like a smile pull at my lips for the first time since that notification hit my phone. “They picked the wrong damn omega to try this on. Nash Thorndike has no idea what’s coming for him.”

Nash

I arrive at the Bureau thirty minutes early, settling into the introduction room. My opponents assume the Bureau is a harsh place where omegas are treated like breeding stock. The reality is the complete opposite. Everything in this room is geared towards omega comfort.

The air is carefully filtered so that no external scents intrude, especially those of non-matched alphas in the building. It’s comfortable and soft. There are choices of seating: a formal chair and tablet set, a soft pair of sofas. There’s a bookcase and a TV, in case the omega just wants to sit quietly for the first introduction, ease themselves into their alpha’s scent. There’s even a set of bean bags in the corner. Is it perfect? No, but the Bureau makes a real effort.

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