Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Igo over the same documents for what feels like the millionth time in a matter of days with Cal, Vic and Olis.
The week with the three Alphas goes surprisingly fast even amongst the pressure of sifting through what we know about the Omegas.
The majority of the time we spend together is just simply that; spending time. The rest of our days are filled with information sent through from OPA.
Mornings start with a cup of coffee and a plate of breakfast from Olis. After that first morning when he woke up without me beside him, he seemed to make it his mission to be up before me. I’m becoming dangerously used to the princess treatment.
I know that I shouldn’t, but fuck if I don’t just want to enjoy whatever time I have with them.
It has been strange watching my little girl develop a relationship with these men as well.
Due to my hate for the opposite designation, Amity has never interacted with an Alpha before.
It was a surprise to me that she didn’t even think twice about allowing them into her life.
Her little mind doesn’t hold the same reservations that mine does.
If anything, she adores them. Something she reminds me in whispered tones when the four of us tuck her into bed each night.
While I have been hesitant in adjusting to the more mundane parts of living with these men, the more nefarious side has been like sliding on your favorite pair of jeans.
There have been three more deaths since finding that first body behind Flame. It brings the death toll to fourteen.
Each bit of news in regards to the now extensive case about the Omega murderer heightens tensions tenfold.
I have found Vic multiple times pacing his office with a very unsettled look on his face.
The murders have also changed how the Alphas have been in regards to me.
Especially Cal. He has hardly left my side since that first night. I can see the terror he tries to hide behind his jokes and laughter.
It's because he knows.
He knows what my true designation is. That without the blockers and sprays, I am a perfect candidate for the killer.
Maybe even more so than any of us first realized. Because the similarities between these Omegas and I are staggering.
Cal’s breath hitches beside me, making me pause reading the document I have been reading.
Looking over to him, I find his eyes already on me. Terror and disbelief dampen his once bright features. The expression on his face has my stomach twisting because I know that whatever he has found, I’m not going to like it.
I remain frozen as his gaze travels across my skin. Normally, that kind of attention from him sets me on fire.
But not tonight.
Conall looks back down at the A4 size images of the victims he is holding before looking back up at me. He repeats the same process a few times before Vic becomes sick of the silence.
“What is it, Cal?” he questions, drawing my attention towards him. Vic’s glasses are perched on the end of his nose. His hair is a mess from where he has spent the last few hours torturing himself with information.
Looking back at Conall—finding him looking frighteningly similar to his brother—he finally clues us into his findings.
“Something about these images of the Omegas has been bugging me for days. While the pattern of their deaths has been consistent, there was something else that I couldn’t understand.”
He takes a moment before he looks back at me.
“Each of these Omega’s holds a striking resemblance to Valentina.”
You could cut the silence with a knife, the room is that quiet. I remain frozen in my seat as I all but glare at Conall.
I hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself. It was much easier to just deny it. To say that it was a brutal coincidence.
But apparently, I was wrong. Because it's not just me that has drawn that conclusion. Because Cal sees it too.
Vic snorts, drawing our attention back to him as he stands. “No, Conall. No. There is no fucking way that our girl is related to the situation.”
Vic paces, shaking his head repetitively before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. I look over to Olis who is looking down at the images Conall was analyzing before looking up at me.
“I see it.” Is all he says, making Vic pause his pacing.
The Alpha scoffs, shaking his head looking at his brothers with a hint of disappointment on their faces.
“How the fuck could you think something so vile? It is clear that Valley has gone through enough. Now you are wanting to tie her in with the likes of murder victims?”
Shaking his head again, this time in disappointment, he goes to leave the room but pauses when I speak up.
“I see it too, Vic.”
He turns towards me before eating up the distance between us.
“What the fuck do you mean, you see it?”
Grabbing the images in front of Conall, I fan them out so they are side by side.
“It’s impossible to not see the similarities between myself and these Omegas, Victor.” I point at each of them as I list it all.
The hair, the face shape, the color of their skin. Fuck, even down to the fact that these women were all single at the time of their death.
“It’s not only these physical attributes that are similar to me, Vic.” I swallow roughly before looking down at Conall. He rises from his chair, coming to stand beside me for what has to happen next.
It's time.
Time that Vic and Olis know the truth of who I am.
Olis comes to stand beside Vic, no doubt able to see just how precarious what I have to tell both of them is.
Swallowing roughly, I look up at them. Slowly, I begin telling them my story. I don’t let a single detail slip my mind as I explain to them my life with my parents, the events around the time I designated and then finishing with my life as the Andrews Omega.
“Once I left that god's forsaken house, I knew that my old life was over. That everything about the old Valentina was gone. That I had to start anew. Not only for me, but for my daughter.”
Taking a deep breath, I look up at Vic and Olis who remain frozen in front of me. Their faces are completely void of emotion as they process my words.
“For the last four years, I have been an Omega hiding and living as a Beta.”
If I thought the silence earlier was thick, it is nothing compared to what it is now.
I feel raw, split open. My deepest and darkest secrets laid bare for the two men before me to hold judgement over me.
I know that nothing will ever be the same as it was between me and these two. While I know that Conall will remain steadfast—like he has both times I have laid myself bare—I can’t seem to say the same for these two.
They are the wild cards. The ones that I can’t say for sure will be okay with what I just said. Especially not Vic.
I watch as he takes a step forward before he takes another. Each inch closer to me seems to darken his features.
“You fucking lied to me,” he growls, the sound making me gasp sharply. In an instant, I sink into myself under the weight of his stare. I try to stop the shake of my body but it is futile.
After years of running away from this exact situation, it's nothing short of terrifying facing it again. My stomach threatens to empty itself. My bladder not fairing much better.
But I fight it. I won’t be what my designation demands of me because fuck that.
And fuck Victor if this is how he is going to react.
Doesn’t he realize that I did it to protect myself?
To protect Amity? To not allow us to become another fucking statisic!
To run from the same damn thing that we have strawn out in front of us.
“You have been an Omega this whole fucking time and have hidden the truth from us. You fucking deceived me and my brothers.”
Victor chuckles but there is nothing remotely funny about what he is saying, “You had us all fooled, didn’t you?
You just thought you could play hard to get, shake your ass on stage and we would come crawling.
Like the fucking idiots we are, we did exactly that.
We fell right into your little Omega trap”
“That is enough, Victor!” Olis growls, but it falls on deaf ears.
“Who sent you, huh? Are you a spy? Is Amity even yours? Fuck, is any of what you have shown us even real?” His voice is like ice, each word hitting me like barbs.
Stepping around me, Conall comes to stand right in front of his twin. It seems to anger Victor more as he faces off with him.
“That’s fucking enough! Tell me brother, when the fuck did Valley ever lie directly to your face about not being a Beta? Huh? Fucking never. Why do you think she has tried to deny all three of our advances no matter how fucking insistant we have been?”
Conall shakes his head in disappointment before continuing, “It’s for this exact fucking reason. Your reaction to her letting you both in on her secrets is why she has had to hide herself from our designation!”
Vic takes a step back from his brother, processing the weight of his words. It doesn’t seem to process in his brain in the way that Conall had planned.
Victor is beyond angry. In fact, I think it would be fair to say he is almost feral.
His eyes are almost completely black. His hands keep clenching and unclenching like he is trying his best to hold back the beast. A vein in his neck throbs as he glares at me.
If we were still wolf shifters, like we had been hundreds of years ago, he would have shifted and torn me apart by now.
A fact I have know isn’t an over statement.
Never in all my years facing off with angry Alphas have I ever seen one in this state. Not even when the Andrew’s pack killed my parents.
“Because what happens when an Alpha thinks he is slighted in some way? They turn into fucking monsters. Which is exactly what you are proving to be right now.”
I bring up a hand to my mouth as Conall’s words wash over me too.
He is right. Damn him.
Vic takes another step back, looking between both Conall and me. His expression is a mixture of emotions; each fighting the other to win.