I felt like I could eat a horse. What I got was a plate of pasta and meatballs. Officer Riley ate too, and I felt less like a prisoner and more like a guest. Especially when there was chocolate pudding for dessert.
“What happens after this?”
“Well, we do need to ask you some questions. But if you’re very tired, you can have a nap first.”
“If I answer the questions, will I get to see Jethro?”
“I’m afraid that’s not up to me. What I do know is that there’s a bond mark on your arm which means legally we can’t keep you apart for longer than seventy-two hours. So while I can’t promise you’ll see Jethro today, I can promise you and he will be reunited in three days’ time or less.”
It wasn’t much, but it reinforced what I knew to the true from Jethro. They couldn’t keep us apart indefinitely.
“I can answer some questions now. I’m not too tired.”
“Okay then. I’ll let them know.” He got up and went to a phone on the wall, having a quick and quiet conversation. By the time he returned, I had more queries.
“Will Commander Tate be asking the questions?”
“No. But he will be there. And so will the southern Ambassador. And your Omega Advocate.”
That gave me pause. “Omega Advocate?”
“Yes, an Omega who is here to support you through this process. You’ll meet him in a few minutes and have some time to talk. He’s not local, but Rathlin State is within his jurisdiction and he has plenty of experience.”
It sounded good, if strange.
“If you’re ready, I’ll ask him to come and join us.”
“Okay.”
Officer Riley made another phone call and a few minutes later a young man pushed through the double doors into the canteen.
“So here’s where they’re hiding you. Miles, I’m Jonathan. It’s good to meet you.”
He came toward us and I stood up. When he stepped forward, I assumed it was to shake my hand but he hugged me instead.
“You look like you’ve been through the mill. Don’t worry, we’re going to go through everything and get you up to speed with what’s happening.”
He turned to Riley. “Can you give us some space, please, Officer?”
“Of course. I’ll be just outside the door.”
As he left, Jonathan took a seat at the table.
“So, let’s start from the beginning. I’m Jonathan, and I’m your Omega advocate. Every Omega who comes online gets one. I specialize in advocating for Omegas who get across the border from the South.”
There were others?
“How many do that?”
“A few every year. Last year, just shy of a dozen actives.”
That was a lot more than the Intake Center had admitted to.
“Why?”
“Why do you think? Why did you cross the border?”
He paused and I realized he was waiting for an answer.
“They were hurting me.”
He smiled sadly. “You’re the first we’ve had who’s been to the Intake Center. The ones we usually get are those who knew a bad thing when they heard it and got out first.”
“I thought it would be different. I thought I was doing my duty, doing what’s right.”
A single, solitary tear escaped and trailed down my cheek. I lifted my hand to wipe it away.
“Yeah, they really got you drinking the kool-aid, didn’t they?” He sat back, tapping the tabletop with his fingers. “The Omegas in military families tend to fall into two groups. The families are either like yours, loyal to a fault and big with the brainwashing, or the families themselves are the ones smuggling them across the border the day they turn eighteen.”
I couldn’t picture my family doing that. They’d known the truth and the only place they’d driven me was to the door of the Intake Center.
“Okay, so they’ve arranged the interview for four pm. That gives us forty-five minutes to get you prepared.”
“Who’ll be asking the questions?”
“Our AO Liaison officer, Rachel Andrews. The southern Ambassador may also ask you some questions.”
“And Commander Tate?”
“Ah, you’ve met the esteemed commander, have you? Strictly speaking, he won’t be the one asking the questions but he might ask for clarification of your answers at the end.”
“Can they force me to return to the South?” It was the only question that mattered.
“I’d love to tell you that they can’t but it’s not quite as simple as that. But handing you back isn’t a simple matter either. There are protections, enshrined in our laws, for an Alpha and Omega with a bond.” He glanced at my arm. “And there’s no denying you’ve got one of those.”
There were a lot of people in the room. I was glad of Jonathan sitting beside me. And Officer Riley standing by the door. But even that wasn’t enough to stop me shivering under Commander Tate’s cold gaze.
The Ambassador was a quiet man who sat in the corner taking notes as Officer Andrews spoke to me.
“Tell me, Miles, in your own words, how it is that you came to be in the North?”
Jonathan had told me to expect that question and to answer honestly. So I did.
“I was at the Intake Center. I’d been there for days, locked in a room. It was cold and dark, and I was naked.”
Commander Tate tried to interrupt but Officer Andrews silenced him with a look. “Please, Miles. Continue.”
“Alphas kept coming in, touching me, holding me down. One of them tried to push their mark against mine and it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever…”
As my hands started to shake, I hid them under the table, clenching them into fists as I tried to get a hold of my emotions.
“And then Jethro was there. He told me who he was, that he was my Alpha, and he showed me his mark. Then he asked me to come with him. I told him I couldn’t because it was my duty.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Commander nod in agreement.
“But he was kind and… and he told me I could be more. So I went with him.”
“You left willingly?”
“Yes.”
There were some significant looks around the room, the Ambassador glancing at me above his glasses.
More questions followed, about what happened after we came to the North. Jethro had told me to be honest but asked me to keep quiet about the names of those who had helped us. That didn’t seem to matter so much. They were more interested in what had happened between me and Jethro and the circumstances of our bond. I made it clear that at every stage, it had been my choice, had been what I wanted.
“So you weren’t forced or coerced in any way?”
“I didn’t need to be. He is my Alpha. I love him.”
Commander Tate scoffed. “And they say we’re the ones doing the brainwashing?”
“Commander Tate, you will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session,” the Liaison Officer said sharply.
And when the end of the session came, he did. The worst of them Jonathan neatly parried, the phrase ‘asked and answered, Commander’ thrown around more than once. The angle the Commander seemed to be coming from was that I’d publicly declared my support and willingness to partake in the South’s Omega program so I must have been forced or otherwise coerced by Jethro.
Jonathan was quick to point out that, when it came to the South, legally I hadn’t had any choice in the matter. Or knowledge of the reality of what processing would entail. My favorite point he made was that all that was meaningless anyway because I was in the North and bonded to a Northern Alpha by choice.
“Because his Alpha broke the law,” Commander Tate started to say, only for the Ambassador to interrupt.
“I think we’ve heard everything we need to hear. And I assume this interview was recorded?”
“That’s right,” the Liaison Officer said. “An interview whose contents we’d be happy to release to the public should it become necessary.”<
br />
There was some undercurrent to the conversation that I didn’t understand.
“As is within the North's rights. What we request are disciplinary procedures to be initiated against the Alpha in question. And a six-month return clause if there’s no progeny.”
I didn’t know what was being said but Jonathan smiled at me and the Liaison Officer relaxed back into her seat.
Commander Tate tried to speak again, but the Ambassador silenced him. “Defeated before we’d even begun, Commander. It’s time we take our leave.”
They exited the room, Officer Riley accompanying them.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jonathan asked.
“What… what just happened?” I asked.
“They’re not going to contest the presence of a consensual bond,” Officer Adams said. “We’ll release you to the custody of your Alpha as soon as that can be arranged.”
“I can stay?”
“On condition that your bond with Jethro leads to a pregnancy within six months.”
“Don’t worry,” Jonathan said to me. “That’s plenty of time.”
Six months seemed like a long time. And with Jethro by my side, I was sure there was nothing we couldn’t do.
Jonathan and I waited out in the lobby for Jethro. They’d promised us he wouldn’t be long but every minute seemed to drag. Jonathan gave me his phone number, promising to keep in contact with me to help with what he called ‘the adjustment period’.
“It’ll seem strange at first but soon you’ll feel like you always lived here. You’ll make friends and get to know Rathlin like the back of your hand.”
What little I knew about my new home I’d learned in geography class in high school. It was a sparsely populated state right on the border with the South, with Rathlin city being the only big center of population. South of the border was Sherlow, where I lived. It was a densely populated area, and I guessed that was where the disparity arose about where the Omegas became activated.
I was just about to ask Jonathan about that when a door to our left opened. I near enough bounced to my feet, excited to greet Jethro. Only it wasn’t Jethro. It was the last person I expected to see. I stumbled backward as the imposing figure of my father stepped forward, rounding on me. He was furious, lines of anger etched across his face.
“How dare you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jethro
The questioning was grueling but nothing I hadn’t expected. I didn’t bother with lies, and was clear about the actions and motivations behind my bonding with Miles.
They left me alone with my thoughts and I hoped Miles was getting on okay. Questioning like this could be intimidating, to say the least.
The AO Officer returned and took a seat opposite me.
“Miles has confirmed everything you’ve told us. The Southern Ambassador has made the usual stipulations.”
“Which are?”
“That disciplinary procedures be initiated against you as per our military protocol. And a six-month stay in them initiating deportation proceedings on condition that your bond is fruitful.”
“Fruitful?”
“Get him pregnant and they won’t try to take him back.”
Well, that didn’t sound like the worst punishment in the world.
“We won’t be making it easy for you. The usual outcome of the disciplinary procedures is deployment overseas. The South knows that, which is why it’s part of their stipulation.”
“And if I resign my commission?”
“You’ll be court-marshaled and the likely outcome is imprisonment for a minimum of-”
“Six months,” I finished. “I’m beginning to see a pattern.”
The officer smiled. “It’s not an impossible situation but we can’t be seen to condone your actions as much as we might comprehend them.”
“I understand. What now?”
“Now you and your Omega go home and enjoy the first weeks of your new bond. The AO Office will be in touch. We’ve been waiting years for an Alpha Prime in Rathlin. You’re all anyone has spoken about for days. A clan at last. We’re going to be very busy in Rathlin State these next few years.”
“It’s about time.”
They let me out and escorted me to the main entrance. Before we’d passed through the last set of doors, I could hear Miles. Not his voice, though I’d know that anywhere, but his heartbeat. It sounded steady until, without warning, it sped up.
The change alarmed me and I surged forward through the last set of double doors between us, hearing raised voices.
Miles was standing with another Omega, facing an imposing man in uniform who towered over them both. It wasn’t just his appearance that intimidated them, but his voice that rained like thunder down upon them.
“There is no question of you remaining here. You will come with me, you will return to the Intake Center, and you will submit to your Alpha team.”
Pushing past my escort, I ran toward Miles knowing only that he was frightened and I needed protect him.
He was ashen-faced, his eyes staring unseeingly ahead.
“Yes, Father,” I heard him whisper.
“Miles!”
My voice caught his attention and he turned, reaching for me. I tugged him behind me, using my body to shield him from the threat I now recognized as General Benson.
“So, you’re the Alpha mongrel who stole my son,” the man said, glancing at me dismissively.
“I’m Miles’ Alpha. I’m guessing you’re the man who handed him over to be used and abused by your Alpha soldiers.”
“Enough of this nonsense,” the General growled. “Miles, we’re going. There’s a car waiting.”
I felt Miles push closer to me, his whole body shaking.
“Father,” he whispered. “I can’t.”
“Now, Miles. I won’t ask again.”
“You can ask as many times as you want, the answer will be the same. He’s staying here, with me.”
General Benson snarled at me and tried to snatch Miles out from behind me. I edged us both backward, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck.
“This doesn’t concern you,” the General said. “He’s my son.”
“Who legally became an adult at the age of eighteen. And legally became my Omega yesterday. You have no right to take him.”
“I have every right. Miles, this is your duty.”
General Benson wasn’t hearing me and I realized that as much as I would and could protect Miles from him, the only person who could truly banish the demon that was his father, was him.
“Miles,” I murmured gently. “He needs to hear this from you. Remember what I told you?” As I spoke, I ran my hand along his mark, feeling it come alive beneath my palm.
Miles, whose eyes were scrunched closed as tears leaked from them, took a deep, hitched breath and lifted his head. Stepping out from behind me, he tightened his grip on my arm.
“Father.” His voice shook but he persevered. “I’m not going back with you. Jethro is my Alpha. I belong here, with him. My duty is to him and to our clan.”
I saw a flash of movement and caught the General’s hand before it could make contact with Miles’ face. The enhanced reflexes that came with bonding hadn’t been exaggerated.
“That’s enough, General,” a voice said. I turned to see a man I vaguely recognized as the southern Ambassador.
I let go of the General’s hand, shoving him away from us as I pushed Miles protectively behind me again, nudging him back toward the other Omega who put an arm around Miles’ shoulders.
“Why don’t I show you to the door, General,” I said, stepping forward.
“You’re no son of mine,” the General said to Miles before turning on his heel and marching to the door.
I followed at a distance, aware there were officers all around us ready to intervene. They wouldn’t need to. Once the General was gone, the threat would go with him. The ambassador followed him out the door and there was a co
llective sigh of relief in the lobby.
When I turned back to Miles, he was sitting next to the other Omega who, now that I got a proper look, seemed familiar. As soon as Miles saw me making my way back to them, he sprang to his feet. I strode toward him and took him in my arms.
“I missed you,” he said, clinging tightly to me. I kissed him and he melted into my embrace.
“Did they hurt you? Did he?” I was certain they hadn’t but I still had to hear it.
“No, they were kind. And with Father… he mostly shouted.”
“You were brave Miles, so brave.” I caressed his cheek, staring into his deep blue eyes.
“So were you. Not many people would stand up to my father like that. Is that it? Can we go?”
“Yeah, we can go. Just as soon as we organize some transport.”
“I’ve got that covered,” the other Omega said.
Miles turned in my arms. “Oh, thanks, Jonathan. Um, Jethro, this is Jonathan, my Omega Advocate.”
I didn’t try to shake hands. It wasn’t the done thing with bonded Omegas.
“I think we’ve met before. Grant is your Alpha, right?”
Jonathan grinned. “That’s right. We moved closer to Ashton after we bonded because of the clan there. But officially I’m the Omega Advocate for the border areas, including Rathlin City and the surrounding state.”
“He was really great, there was an Alpha from the South, Commander Tate. He… he was… but Jonathan was there and he spoke up for me when I couldn’t.”
I sighed and tugged Miles closer. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry you had to face your father alone like that.”
“You said it yourself, we needed to do this, to get to the other side. And now we’re free.”
Miles was taking the confrontation with his father a lot better than I would have.
Jonathan pulled the keys from his pocket and rattled them.
“Come on, let’s get your guys out of here. You’ve been through more than enough for one week. Newly bonded, all I wanted to do was stay in bed.”
He grinned at us and I had to grin myself when Miles blushed. But I could see from the look on Miles’ face that he agreed with Jonathan’s view.
Love Before Dawn: An Omegaverse Story (Kindred Book 1) Page 10
