Page 84 of Shared Omega

With a mate like him, it’s no wonder Lily is here to stay.

Then again, I still prefer my own motley pack of Alphas. I have a special bond with them, and I feel it growing stronger all the time.

With one exception.

Kane.

I haven’t seen him since we left the chamber of the Source. He is a broody one.

I still feel guilty for tricking him before, and I wonder if it will ever be possible to set things right with him. But I’ll have to worry about that later. For now, there are other, more pressing concerns.

The gathered throng of Alphas occupying the seats and balcony grow quiet at their leader’s command. Addom takes a moment to survey the crowd, his face dark and thoughtful in the diffused light of a hundred candles.

“You all know why we are gathered here today.” His deep voice carries easily over the crowd, “For nearly a year now, Lily has been sending transmissions to the outside world in an attempt to reveal to the hive dwellers the atrocities that their leaders have tried to hide for so long.”

There are unhappy grumbles from some corners of the crowd.

“I know that some of you feel that we should not be sending these messages.”

A voice calls out from somewhere in the back.

“Why should we care about Outsiders? Leave them be, I say!”

“It will only bring more of them into our homeland!” another voice shouts.

Addom calmly holds up his hand again, and waits for the crowd to settle down.

“The Outsiders were invading our lands long before Lily began sending messages. That’s how she came to be here in the first place, after all.”

Addom casts his eyes down toward me and Dog.

“Besides, if what these Outsiders say is true, Lily’s messages have not been reaching the ears of the outer world. But the female, Sloane, has a plan to change that. She is going to lay it out for us now.”

He gestures for me to come up on stage.

My heart skips.

I thought I was ready for this. Even though I’ve never been much of a public speaker, I’ve never had a problem with stagefright.

Then again, I’ve never faced a crowd of savage Alphas.

I whisper to Dog and Truk. “I need you guys to help me through this, okay?”

The two steadfast Alphas take my hands and give me a comforting squeeze. Just that simple touch fills me with renewed confidence. Together, the three of us rise and get onto the stage—Dog and Truk leap up first with no problem, then they pull me up with them.

I turn and face the crowd of Alphas, and my stomach suddenly feels like I just swallowed a lead weight. Hundreds of pairs of eyes are on me, and not all of them are friendly.

“You can do this,” Dog whispers beside me.

I look at Truk, and he nods, urging me to speak.

After a gulp and a deep breath, I steady myself against the two masculine pillars on either side of me and begin to speak.

“Right. As Addom told you, I have a plan. It won’t be easy, though…”

Once I find my rhythm, the words begin to tumble out smoothly, and over the next few minutes, I outline the plan that I have already discussed with Lily.

We knew that her messages about the coverup were not reaching public of the city hives. However, the fact that I was sent here to kill Lily means that somebody inside SynerGen must have been receiving the messages at least. Based on that, we figured out the problem.