Chapter Nineteen #2
“I was just making sure we won’t be bankrupt after this case,” I told him. “Make sure you don’t take any of the water or snacks unless they say it’s complimentary. I bet a bag of chips here costs more than I spend to make us dinner.”
Atlas chuckled. “Damn, I was just starting to crave those salted nuts I saw while walking in.”
“I can make those at home.”
“I’m surprised you aren’t more into homesteading,” Oaks said.
He was on the other side of the large oak table for ‘strategic positioning’ he’d assured me.
I’d thought that was unnecessary since we were meeting with my lawyer who was on my side, but both Atlas and Everett had nodded solemnly like Oaks’s idea was a good one.
“Homesteading?”
“Yeah. Growing your own vegetables and food. Milking your own animals or caring for chickens for eggs. Trying to be as self-sustained as possible.”
“I don’t know, I think I’d rather do those little markets and buy wholesale from farmers than grow the plants and food myself. We already have that garden in the backyard, and I’m pretty sure it hates to see me coming.”
To my dismay, Atlas said, “To be fair, I’m pretty sure the only reason it’s still alive is because I check on it.”
“What?” I whipped my head to look at him.
Atlas was saved from answering as Bartholomew knocked on the door, announcing his presence as he entered the room.
The tan colored blinds blocked out the large space from the rest of the office, giving the illusion of privacy in the meeting room.
At least, as private as it could be, considering the windows showed off the view of the entire city.
We were so high up that I was pretty sure the building swayed on a harsh wind.
“Hello, pack Wilder,” Bartholomew greeted us. “Thank you for coming in. I’d like to extend introductions to Lilith Vidalii. She has requested to speak with you, Eve, as well as your pack.”
The woman—Lilith, apparently—was an alpha.
I could tell just by her simple physical appearance.
Her hair was bright red and so curly that not even the knot she’d put it up in had managed to contain it.
She looked to be about six feet tall, if not more, and she was covered in lithe muscles that showed she was active daily.
Freckles covered her skin and face, attempting to soften her appearance considering the hard set of her jaw and the natural ways her eyes narrowed in automatic defensiveness.
She seemed to glare at the males in the room, Atlas included, before her gaze landed on me, offering the faintest of smiles. Her presence was loud, forcing everyone’s attention toward her like she was the ultimate predator in the room.
“Hello, Ms. Tellus. It’s an honor to meet you,” Lilith said. Her voice was raspy, like she was just getting over a cold, except she didn’t look like the type of alpha that ever got sick.
“Just Eve is fine. And it’s nice to meet you, too, although if I’m honest, I’m not sure exactly why you’re here.” My gaze flittered to Bartholomew who was still standing, I suspected, because Lilith was.
I was proven right a moment later when Lilith finally took a seat and Bartholomew did the same.
Both of them were a few chairs separated from Everett and the rest of my pack, probably because of how large this table was.
With all the space, I couldn’t even make out Lilith’s scent, and I wasn’t sure if my packmates’ stronger sense of smell could either.
“Eve,” Lilith started, “Do you mind if I’m blunt? I find it’s best to just speak plainly so there’s no confusion or room for misinterpretation.”
“All right.”
Atlas’s hand came to my thigh, his touch equally grounding and possessive.
“For the last few years, I’ve been working on bringing up a case against the OC.” She leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other as she waited for us to absorb her words. “Not merely the local, city one, but all government funded compounds across the country.”
Okay, her presence was starting to make more sense.
“I would like you to take my information public.”
She paused, raising a single eyebrow, apparently waiting for some sort of response.
“I think I’m going to need more information,” I admitted.
Lilith nodded, like she’d been expecting the request. “Bartholomew has filled me in on your case, on your actions to protect your omega friend. While you’re being punished for such actions, there are plenty of omegas and alphas who didn’t have someone like you to protect them.
Plenty that were abused and rejected by the system put in place to protect them.
I’ve spent the last few years collecting cases and names and instances of such abuse. ”
“Why not come forward, then?” Everett asked. “Yourself or one of the other cases?”
“Mostly because of the OC. For the alphas, it’s a fear of what the OC controls.
Needless to say, getting on the bad side means you’ll effectively never pack up with an omega—that’s if the OC’s lawyers don’t scare them into not talking.
And the omegas aren’t given the right platform.
The ones that are willing to speak out aren’t the right spokesperson for a cause this big.
It’s not as easy as just taking a disgruntled customer and putting them behind a camera.
I’m talking about being the face of a movement. ”
“You want Eve to be that face?” Oaks asked.
I stared at him, shocked he would suggest the idea. No way was she meaning—
“I do,” she agreed. “A beta who devoted her whole life to the OC? Who is bonded in a pack? Is an only beta in a family of other designations? Who broke the OC’s rules to protect an omega and then is fired for the act?”
“Let go.”
“Pardon?”
I licked my bottom lip, trying to infuse some sort of moisture back into it. “I wasn’t fired. I was let go due to low budget and over staffing.” I used air quotes on that last bit although it was technically, and legally, the truth.
“Right.” Lilith waved a hand in the air, like she was swatting my words. “The reasoning doesn’t matter. Or it would’ve mattered except for Adam. It’s because of him, and this case that he’s bringing against you on the OC’s behalf, that truly puts you in the best position.”
“How come?”
“Wouldn’t the spotlight on Eve be worse for her?” Everett asked. “For her case, I mean.”
Lilith shook her head. “I’m not referring to her case with Bartholomew.
I’m referring to the position she’s in to take a stance against the OC.
One of the reasons that it’s impossible to find the right person to face off against the compound is because the OC silences them.
Upon firing—not being let go—confidentiality, or some sort of NDA clause, is enforced. They didn’t do that with Eve.”
“Why not?” Oaks was leaning forward, nearly laying on top of the table, like he was sucked into the story that Lilith was weaving.
“I assume Adam’s ego is to blame. He wanted to have a case, something loud and boisterous to ensure he remains in office.
NDAs work both ways. In order for Eve to not comment on anything, the topic needs to remain undisclosed.
You can’t have either of those if you want a public spectacle of a case. ”
“Why would Adam set his sights on Eve?” Everett asked. His hand came to my other thigh, just resting like Atlas. With both males touching me, sitting so close, I was nearly starting to sweat.
“Happenstance. She was a beta, unbonded in a pack at the time, who had been let go by the OC for reasons I’m sure he considers valid.”
For the first time, Bartholomew spoke up, adding, “We also can’t reject the notion that he did remember Eve from Hannah Zeal’s case.
If he recognized you, or remembered you, it is quite possible he had a vendetta against you.
Unfortunately, that would be nearly impossible to prosecute unless he wrote down how much he hated you and the exact steps he took to hurt you in a diary. ”
Considering the macho-alpha vibes that Adam wanted to stereotype, I doubted he was expressing his emotions. Even his negative ones.
I didn’t understand the alpha-strong persona that Adam and the other designation elitists like to tout.
Then again, it wasn’t for me. That persona was supposed to be a comfort to omegas.
Proof that the alpha and pack they bonded to could protect them.
Except, the alphas weren’t protecting omegas, they were just beating against other alphas.
Sure, omegas wanted safety, but safety in terms of their whole body, including their heart and soul and passions.
That was what the alphas like Adam didn’t understand.
They merely wanted to “protect” omegas from bodily harm.
Which was ironic considering most bodily dangers to omegas came from alphas.
“Whatever the reason,” Lilith continued, her gaze still locked on me, “this means that you are in a perfect position to fight back.”
My fingers twitched, wishing I had grabbed a notebook and pen to bring with me. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t. I knew I was coming to a meeting with Bartholomew, albeit Lilith’s presence was a surprise.
I reached out to the hands on my thighs, squeezing them like they were anchors to keep me from panicking.
“What does that mean exactly?” Everett asked. “To fight back?”
I was glad that my mates were able to talk, because I couldn’t think at all.
Maybe having my pen and notebook here would have been useless because I couldn’t think of a single question to ask.
It might have been the shock or the fear or the stress, but my mind was completely blank.
Not a single thought. I was just hoping I remembered this conversation when we got home.
“That is probably a conversation for later. The first question you have to ask yourselves is if this is something you’re willing to do.
” Lilith forced her gaze away from me to meet each of my packs’.
“As much as Eve will be our spokesperson, your entire pack will be under scrutiny. Your lives will become very public, and I can say, with certainty, that you will automatically make enemies. Those like Adam and other elitists. But I urge you to consider how beneficial this cause could be.”
She took a deep inhale before admitting, “The OC is a strong opponent. A lot of people believe that any admonishment to the compound is an attack on omegas. That trying to better the system, in admitting faults, is somehow worse than covering their eyes and letting people fall through the cracks unknowingly. And of course, you have the elitists. Those who do not want the system to change because they currently benefit from it.”
Lilith stood, wiping away imaginary wrinkles from her suit.
“Think about it. I know this is a lot, but I do hope to hear from you, Eve.” She nodded her head toward the rest of my pack and then she walked out without so much as a glance behind her.
This wasn’t her office, but she left the meeting area like she’d been here a hundred times before.
For a long moment, silence lingered in the room like a bad smell. Then Bartholomew rapped his knuckles on the table, drawing our attention.
“Whether you decide to take Lilith up on her offer or not, I will still be representing you in this case against Adam. Speaking of which, a date has officially been set to go in front of the judge and plead our case. This is just a preliminary hearing. Essentially, the judge will decide whether or not the prosecution—Adam—has enough of a case to take this to a trial.”
“When is this?” Oaks asked.
“In about two weeks.”
“What do you need from us?” Everett asked. He glanced at me for a moment before turning back to Bartholomew. “From Eve?”
“Nothing. I’ll go in front of the judge and hopefully end this whole thing. If this case does continue, then we’ll start worrying about how to fight back. For now? You all need to decide if you’re going to take Lilith up on her offer.”
I nodded, but it was an absent motion. It was simply what you were supposed to do when someone spoke to you—acknowledge them. My fingers twitched again, desperate for something to write down. I didn’t even know what words I’d put on paper if I had some.
This was not how I’d thought the meeting was going to go.
During my first meeting with Bartholomew, I had agreed to fight for myself.
My motivation had been about protecting other betas and omegas, but that outcome was solely based on one, singular case.
My case. To take on the responsibility to bear the others?
That was a task I wasn’t sure I was capable of. Wasn’t sure I wanted.
But I didn’t think want had anything to do with it.
I hadn’t wanted to lose my job at the OC, but I wasn’t going to allow Hannah, an innocent omega, to be attacked.
I hadn’t wanted to wear descenter all day every day. I did it for the comfort of others.
I hadn’t wanted to be a beta—that was a choice I didn’t even get to make.
What did want really have to do with doing the right thing?
“Come on, Babygirl. Let’s go home.”