Page 152 of Omega's Flight
"Or burn them," Bax said in a meditative tone. "You have others."
I muffled a snort of laughter, because it wasn't really funny. "There's a big tub under the sink, or there used to be. We can put that on the floor and wash them in it one at a time."
Bax left off scrubbing at Henry and bent to peer into the darkness beneath the sink. "I see it." He pulled it out and grimaced. "I'll just wash this first."
Degan's deep voice came from the direction of the hallway. "I can go turn the water back on."
"That would be appreciated," Bax said, with the return of his more usual charm. I watched Degan and noticed him blushing. It didn't bother me at all, and I realized that if the bond between us had broken at my end, it was broken too at his, assuming that alphas felt anything like we omegas did.
Degan left to shimmy under the house and turn the tap that controlled our water. Bax set the tub in the sink and opened the tap and I kept working at the dirt that Pip had covered herself in. I'd almost think she was one of those bugs we read about, that cover themselves in a mix of mud and sticks to camouflage themselves on the forest floor.
"Ah," Bax exclaimed as the pipes gurgled and spit, then water rushed out of the tap. "We'll get this cleaned up, then get you guys cleaned up. Then you can see what Papa brought you."
C H A P T E R 1 0 5
T he next morning, Holland dropped a bomb on Roland. We'd eaten breakfast together, us three plus the Alpha and his Mate. Holland had forbidden us omegas from cooking it ourselves and Roland, after some long awkward moments, had called his Mate in to make something for us all to eat.
The tension had screamed in the room and even once the decision had been made, it didn't get much better. My stomach churned as I forced down the toast and eggs and oatmeal that Roland's mate made for us. Holland and Bax looked calm and collected as they ate theirs and complimented Miranda on her cooking, but didn't offer to help clean up. I understood why they wanted to do this—we were guests of the pack, and envoys from another—but it still made me anxious.
After the meal, Holland asked Roland to come sit out on the front porch with him while they drank their tea. Bax squeezed my knee hard, alerting me that something else scary was going to happy. Oh, please don't play around in his brain. But it turned out that wasn't his goal at all.
The warm stickiness of summer was already starting to make itself felt. I sipped at my tea and waited for Holland to say his piece, anxious to go see my pups again.
"Well, Mercy Hills, are you going to try to browbeat me again about your omega there? If the alpha doesn't want to go, I'm not going to force him to. And the pups belong in Jackson-Jellystone.“
"I think we can sort that out," Holland said smoothly. "I suspect it's just a bit of confusion on his part. And yours.“
Roland harumphed and drank a mouthful of tea. "I don't see that."
Holland shrugged gracefully and reached into the canvas bag resting at his feet. "Quin and I wanted to talk to you about something." He pulled out a thick sheaf papers and passed them over to Roland.
"What's this?" the Alpha demanded, then fell to reading with a frown that slowly changed to wide-eyed surprise. He paused to squint up at Holland, who sat calmly drinking his tea, then went back to reading.
Ten minutes later he was still reading and I was hard pressed not to drum my fingers in frustration. I'd finished my tea and was getting anxious to go get the pups. And, honestly, not looking forward to the fight it would probably be.
Finally, Roland sat back, the papers resting carelessly on his knee, and looked at Holland. "So what does this mean?"
"Mercy Hills has been charged with helping choose the next pack to get the same offer as Mercy Hills. My understanding—and Garrick agrees—is that there will be trusts for all the packs, but Mutch and his family want to do it one pack at a time to minimize the disruption."
"Disruption?" Roland looked incredulous. "You don't think Mercy Hills taking all our omegas and now this doesn't cause disruption? No tension in the packs?" He slapped the papers against his thigh and snarled. "This is what comes of giving omegas more power than they're capable of dealing with. This money should have been shared among all the packs! Do you know what it could have done for us here? What about Buffalo Gap? You have no feelings for your kin, or are you too good for them now?"
I froze, knowing that Holland had a temper and not sure what he'd do in the face of such an insult.
But I should have known—Holland was here as his mate's representative, and talking about something very near and dear to his heart. Roland's insult, while I thought that it did indeed hit the target, at least by a little bit, mostly rolled past him and was ignored.
"I do have feelings for them," he said in a quiet voice. "But this is bigger than just my own feelings toward my birth pack, or Abel's toward Salma, or Seosamh's toward his pack. This is a future for our people and the first lever against the laws that keep our people behind walls. We need to be sure that the second pack to get this gift from our past will use it wisely and help prove to the humans that we are more than the monsters they want to paint us as." He glanced up at the sky for a moment, as if fighting some strong emotion, then turned his gaze back to Roland. "So you can see why we toe the line, somewhat. This isn't just about Mercy Hills. It's about a hospital in every enclave, with packmembers trained to work in it. Money for new buildings, money for education. Money for repairs. Money that has to be used in the most responsible way. And because of the way the Mutches set this up, it also has to be used to bring omegas back to the status they were entitled to before the Enclosure." He reached down into his bag again and brought out a binder, red with black edges and obviously brand new. "I've brought you a copy of the journals that were written by the first Alpha's Mate in Mercy Hills. He was omega and his stories explain a lot of what was and how it came to be what is now." Holland held out the binder. "If you're willing to accept it."
Somehow I knew that this would be the turning point. If Roland took the binder, if he read it and thought about what was in it, made some move to influence the pack toward the old ways, Holland would vote for Jackson-Jellystone to be the next pack to have access to the trusts.
Roland stared at the binder as if he thought it was going to bite him, then slowly reached out and let Holland set it in his hand.
"Think about it," Holland told him. "I mean, seriously think about this, and think about the ways that Mercy Hills has changed since Jason climbed our wall."
Roland opened the binder briefly, just long enough to see how many pages there were. "This will take some time to go through," he said uncertainly.
"I expect it will. We're not planning to make a final decision on this until spring." Holland stood up. "Bear in mind, Alpha Jackson-Jellystone, that I will also be visiting Salma Wood and Honisloonz to discuss this opportunity with them over the next couple of weeks. In respect for Bax's and Raleigh's roots in the community, we came to you first. But this is larger than any one pack, and being first on the list does not imply that your pack will be chosen. If you want to back out of the opportunity before spring, let me know. If you decide that you want to try for this, let me know. The Mutches will send some of their accountants and experts, they'll want to see your books, interview pack members."
"I won't have them dictating to us," Roland said with a grimace of distaste.
