"When they heard an omega was coming to speak to them, most of them left, sir," Samantha informed me from her seat.
"It's no surprise," said an older alpha, Aloysius. "There's not three brain cells between them. I'll hear the boy out."
I looked around at the half dozen who populated the space. A beta. Five alphas. Me, Parker, and they were going to lead a revolution. It looked like thin goings. I sat down at the head of the table and watched as Parker made his way down to the opposite end.
I nodded for him to speak. And speak he did. The twenty-five minute speech left me breathless. My mate had been beaten, starved, locked-up; simply tortured for the alignment of his body. Talewah had a reputation as a kind camp, but in the next half-hour, the illusion was lost on me--and everyone else that sat in that room with us.
"I want a better world for my pups, and for all of you," Parker said. "That's what it comes down to."
"And I'm with him," Scott said. "I have two alpha daughters and an omega son. I can't imagine pulling their little brother away from them when he gets older. I've been a member of Rise since my brother was taken from me. I don't intend to stop any time soon."
Parker smiled at him. I did, too.
"As pack alpha and the CEO of this company, take this as your formal announcement. Roll Over will be experiencing a radical change of pace over the next several months, and throughout the next few years," I started. "Those who refused to hear an omega's words, his experiences, with regard to this change, will soon be seeking employment elsewhere unless they have a very good reason for their absence. I assume that none of them will satisfy me."
I began to pace. "I want to see all of you, in public, on the street, behind closed doors, supporting our omegas and this alpha-omega bond that we need to nurture. In addition to that, a wolf's ability to reproduce should have no bearing on their importance to our society."
Samantha stared at me as I turned to her. "A beta support group will begin meeting in our offices. We will encourage the employment of all comers, not just those who happen to be alphas. This movement isn't just about omegas. I want to see improvement for you, too."
"Thank you, sir," Samantha said.
"Graham."
"Graham," she echoed.
"You're going to be my vice president. Calling me sir all the time is silly," I told her.
"A beta vice president," Aloysius said, raising a brow.
"If you have a problem with it, you can find work elsewhere, too," I said.
"It's not that, boy. People will talk. They didn't dare do so when a pack alpha stood below you, but a female beta?"
"I assume they won't dare do so when a pack alpha is CEO of the company, either," I shrugged. "And if they do, we ferret them out and stomp it down. She deserves it. She's worked hard for it, and she knows the company inside and out. Parker will be taking over for her as my secretary and, in time, hopefully moving higher into the company. Roll Over will begin an educational program for our omegas, as well. For those that wish to learn."
"You have strong dreams," Aloysius said.
I looked over at Parker and smiled. "That's what happens when you're in love."
The meeting adjourned. I listened to the cantankerous old wolf mutter about puppy love on his way out, but he had eventually voted his support. He'd even hugged Parker. If anything, he was evidence that traditionalists could change. If I had my way, they would have to do so over the next short while.
Work was a quiet affair, the first one since I'd chosen Parker's name all those weeks ago. I spent most of it helping Parker remember how various computer programs worked. He'd been away from them for so long, but he had a talent for making word processing programs do things that I could never make them submit to.
And it was nice to hear his voice come over my intercom, inviting me for lunch or telling me that I had a call. He'd go on maternity leave and I'd have to find a substitute but until then?
Until then, my omega sat outside my door, guarding me against wandering journalists and protestors who hadn't heard the news yet.
Or maybe they had. I glanced out my window. There wasn't a single Rise protester in sight for the first time in months. And I still had no idea how those omegas had managed to hide their scent from me the night previous. It was a mystery for another day.
I settled in to write Kyle an email. PACK had made it easy enough to find him.
That evening, I made Parker a bowl of thick stew. He hadn't felt up to eating much throughout the day and I hoped it would be enough to settle his stomach. As much trouble as he was having with the pups, I considered breaching the topic of allowing these two to be our only two. It was something to talk about after they were born. His choice, not mine.
"Thank you," Parker sighed as he laid in bed.
He sipped his stew down and I just hoped it held. "You poor, beautiful thing."
"I've got to break you of calling me a thing."
"You poor, beautiful muskrat."
"Thing," Parker grumbled. "Thing is better."
I smiled and kissed his cheek. "You considered what we're going to do for free time once the pups arrive?"
Parker frowned. "I assumed we'd let uncle Scott watch them sometimes."
Running my hand over his belly, I nodded. "That's exactly what we're going to do. He'll love us for it. Five kids tearing up and down his hallways instead of three."
"I knew you were evil somewhere under all that flash and charm," Parker said.
"It's hard being so good when I'm really so bad?" I suggested.
"Ugh," Parker said, shoving me away. "You should've left and run off to Hollywood, as addicted to movie quotes as you are."
"You love it," I smirked.
When Parker finished, it took him all of a few seconds to fall asleep. I turned off the television and enjoyed the silence for a while. Yet, when it got to be too much, I realized there were only three of us aware in the room. I cleared my throat, glanced at Parker, and leaned in close to his stomach.
"I know things were rough for a while," I told the twins. "But Daddy's trying to make the world a better place for you two, and I'm on board with it, now, too. I promise you'll be born into the best place we can have you."
Parker stirred when I kissed the mound beneath his nightshirt.
So did the pups.
Epilogue
Parker
I placed Garrett in the crib next to his brother, Peyton. The doctors had suggested I stay on bedrest, but I couldn't let the pups look after themselves. Scott was with me, making sure that I didn't exert myself too much. And Graham?
My mate was on a mission.
He'd be home when he was home, but the flight tracker app said his plane had landed in El Paso almost an hour ago. I licked my lips in anticipation... and perhaps just a little fit of nerves. He'd managed to be home for the birth, but only just. He was fighting a never-ending battle in the wolf council.
I looked at our boys. Graham had to win, and so my brother babysat me as much as he took care of my twins, eyeing me when I started to get winded and shoving me full of pain medication. I didn't much care for the second part of that. The liquid the doctors had given me was awful, but it made it possible for me to breastfeed when my pups were hungry.
"Any sign of him yet?" I asked.
"Nothing, but I'd expect him in soon. He said he was going to be home today. He's yet to break a promise to you since he joined Roll Over with Rise," Scott answered.
He was right. Graham had stood behind every single word, down to bringing me sundaes on his lunch break. Now that Roll Over had joined the Rise charity in a cohabitant... something or other, I couldn't remember the exact term, Graham was working harder than ever to try to secure a brighter tomorrow. With all the marketing he'd done for Roll Over, he was the perfect spokesperson for Rise. He was comfortable on camera, he brought with him a slew of followers, and he'd even organized an omega-only gathering in that same park where I'd been harassed so long ago.
With
the birth of our boys, Graham kept trying to stay home. I told him to get lost--they needed him out there, pushing for better living situations for people just like them.
The door slammed open and I was greeted by the scent of jet fuel, a plethora of other wolves, and cherry soda.
Graham.
Ignoring all my doctors' orders, I raced across our house and flung myself on my mate. He caught me, spun me around, and kissed me, bowing me back for all the world to see I threw my arms around his neck and dragged him closer, mmm-ing into his lips and trying my best to merge with him.
"You missed me just a little bit?" Graham asked when we broke to breathe.
"Not at all. I didn't even know I was aiming at you," I told him, brightly.
"There's a twenty minute recess before the vote," Scott interrupted. "If you get to it, the two of you can eat something before they start talking about considerations and alpha rights. Again."
I pulled away and yanked open the fridge. As quick as I could, I put together a platter of sandwiches and smacked it on the table. Graham and I took our place on the couch as Scott watched from the kitchen counter, leaning against the granite countertop.
"What happened while you were gone?" I asked.
"A whole lot of nothing," Graham said between mouthfuls. "They took our statement, nodded their heads a lot, and said they'd take it all into consideration. Kyle and I said our piece. If it doesn't go in our favor, there's always the March session. They've invited us back twice, now, and delayed the vote just to hear us speak. I hope that's a good thing."
"If they want to listen to you run your mouth, they're interested," Scott said, staring intently at the screen.
There wasn't much to watch. A few people wandered idly on the floor of the wolf council, chatting or picking up paperwork from various desks. My heart beat too fast and the world looked foggy around the edges of my vision. Yes, we could keep trying if this vote didn't work out. An ant could throw itself at a wall a thousand times and get nowhere. I had to hope they would listen to reason. I had to hope they would listen to a pack alpha.
I put my sandwich down without looking at it. What if they barred Graham in the future? Would another pack alpha find it in his heart, in his mind, to speak up for we omegas, or would we be again without representation from the common crowd? I shifted uneasily. This could all go so wrong, but I had to believe it wouldn't. Graham had done his best. What if his best wasn't good enough?
"What's the process like if they say no?" I asked.
"We file for an appeal," Graham said. "And then another, and another after that. We keep filing until they get sick of seeing our faces and vote for what we want. We make their lives difficult. Rise starts working through local governments to push for better treatment in omega camps, or get rid of them altogether. Roll Over pushes through its political network. We don't shut up. We don't surrender. And we find a better life for everyone--the same goal that we've had all this time."
"Right now," he continued. "We hope and pray that they see reason in our argument and change the Omega amendment."
The Sassagoula pack had been on its original territory when the amendment had been handed down. Jenard's great grand-cestor had been alpha at the time, and he'd been all for it. My tutor had been teaching me pack history specific to my lineage. It was what I wanted my final essay to represent. Apparently, we omegas had been more trouble than we were worth. A great war was fought over the possession of an omega who refused to make a decision between two alpha wolves. So much blood had been shed.
That was why the alphas picked us. It was a long-forgotten representation of order, not one of oppression as I'd always taken it. Considering the books I'd read recently, I didn't think that the tradition was supposed to have gone on as long as it had. Most ancient writings talked about the "temporary" solution to the omega problem and the alpha's desperate desire for romance being removed from him.
I wondered how many alphas had suffered heartbreak like Graham and I had faced, when they simply drew the wrong name at the wrong time in their lives. It wasn't a surprise alphas were a surly group. Look at what they had to deal with.
"If the council will please come to order," said a voice on the television.
My attention leapt from my nearly-due paper to the screen in front of me. Streaming directly from the capital, I held my breath and watched as the room filled with alphas of high rank. There wasn't an omega in sight.
If we received a vote to knock down the amendment, that would change. There were omegas trying to make their way into government as we watched. They would have a place to try to succeed.
"In the matter of the Omega amendment receiving a revision, specifically to that which organizes and involves itself with omega safety zones, will those opposed raise their hands?"
So many paws and hands shot up in the room. I reached for Graham and clutched his hands in mine, a terrible cold crawling from my chest and into my veins, trickling into my neck, and continuing until it met my head. There, it started a hell of a headache.
"Those in favor?"
More than half raised their hands at the request. The world stood still, and confused, I looked around the room I sat in. Beyond my brother was a pan full of bacon grease I needed to clean. The trash needed to be taken out. The pups were soundly asleep, tucked in their crib and safe. The robomop I'd named Bruce smacked into the kitchen counter once, twice, three times before it understood that there was a wall in front of it.
Graham was shaking me. I turned my attention back to the television, staring. More than half were in favor of fixing the Omega amendment. It took my brain an extra five seconds to catch up.
Had we won?
"The yeas have it. We will extend an invitation to Rise and Roll Over next week to continue their proposal. On to the next matter of business--"
"Parker?" Graham asked.
"They voted yes," I said, dully.
"Parker, that was the good vote! We wanted a yes vote!"
"They voted yes," I repeated.
"Is he alright?" Scott added, from behind me.
And I broke down into tears. Graham, teary-eyed himself, wrapped his arms around me and buried his head against my shoulder. I think he was probably touched because I was so touched. So many years, so many generations, that had come together in the same way we had. There were so many alphas and omegas who had suffered so much because of a stupid rule that had taken all of two minutes to change because someone finally stood up and said no.
Because I helped him see what was wrong with the world.
Our sons would be the first generation who found their own mates in time unknown. The feeling was overwhelming. I was sorrowed for the wolves who had seen so much pain. I was overjoyed for my sons. I felt the hardship of my own years dying in the distance, an echo of someone else's life.
I hiccuped, sniffled, and laughed as Graham wiped my tears away.
"You have to go back," I choked. "They want you back. You heard them. You're going to be on some kind of advisory board for all this. That's how the textbooks say it works."
"I don't know if they'll do everything we ask them to, but it's certainly a start. We can work with it, and we can come up with new regulations. Ones that work better in this day and age. Did you know that half our laws are more than thirty generations old? There's so much to do at the capital, it's astounding," Graham said.
"Next thing you know, he'll be running for a spot on the council," Scott drawled.
"Not until the boys are older," Graham replied. "And not without Parker supporting it."
Leave Anthony? Move across the country to the soaking wet East Coast? Our lineage came from back that way, but I'd grown up like a desert wolf. I didn't know what I'd make of myself out there.
"We'll see," I told him. "I'd want to visit a few times, first. Maybe when the pups are grown and with their own mates."
Graham nodded and pushed himself up. His phone skittered across the coffee table, threatening to jump onto the f
loor. He caught it a second before it escaped. With a well-practiced flick and tap, he answered it and grinned from ear to ear.
"You were watching too, Kyle? Yeah. Parker's ecstatic. Relieved. Are you fielding this or am I?" Graham asked as he left the room.
I watched him go, listening until I couldn't hear him any longer. I rested my chin on the back of the couch and sighed. My eyes slid closed. My sons were safe. My husband was a miracle worker. My brother was on board, and the guy who'd handed me a hot dog so long ago was the hero we all needed in our lives. People like Jenard prowled the streets, and no one had seen him since his omegas had gone into hiding. It didn't matter. The first challenge had come, and we'd won.
There was so much left to do, but we'd taken the first step on the path. And we were going to get through this journey, together.
No matter what life threw at us, we were ready for it.
Furbitten Falls Alpha's: A Wolf Shifter Mpreg Romance Bundle Page 48
