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"Is that what you think it means to be an omega?" he asked, tilting his head.
"Isn't it?" I challenged.
He paused. "Well, packs have fought entire wars on account of omegas, so I can't say I believe that, no."
"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like we’re just glorified sex toys for alphas."
"I'm not exactly the world's foremost scholar on these things, but I do know quite a few shifters, and I think I can safely say that isn't the way things are,” said Father Marius. “Not for most of them, at any rate. Omegas are invaluable to a pack. In fact, I daresay that if your pack had known what you are, we wouldn't have ever found you.”
I bristled at his words. "They’re not my pack.”
"Perhaps not,” he said. “But I think they might disagree with that.”
"You really think they're going to come looking for me?" I asked warily.
"That's difficult to say," he answered. "The truth is, it's possible that they already know about your existence—and if that's the case, yes, I do think it's likely."
"How would they know?" I asked, feeling a fresh surge of panic at the thought.
"As you yourself have experienced, wolves often share a telepathic link," he explained. "It is feasible that when your sire died, some of the information he knew could've been transmitted to one of the others. His pack is quite powerful, which makes the odds higher."
"If they do come, what happens?" I asked, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the truth. While it had become clear to me that there were plenty of things Father Marius simply didn't see the need to divulge, he wasn't a liar.
"You needn't worry about it," he said after a moment's contemplation. "As long as you're within these walls, you're safe. Protected."
I stared at him as he confirmed exactly what I had feared, even if he seemed to intend the exact opposite. As long as I was here, Castor and the others were in grave danger. "You’re hunters. Why would you be willing to risk all that just to protect one wolf? Because I’m an omega?”
He stopped to consider that as well. "I am a hunter, and I always have been. But if there is one thing that separates me from my kin, it's the belief that being a beast in and of itself doesn't make someone worthy of death. There are plenty of human monsters I couldn't say the same for. If what we do isn’t for the sake of protecting the innocent, I’m not sure it matters at all. Omegas are typically among them."
I frowned, taking in his words.
Before I could say anything, he added, "In any case, that is part of the reason, but not all."
"What else?" I asked, admittedly curious.
Father Marius smiled. "Isn't it obvious? You're one of us, regardless of what you are. The Church takes care of its own."
I was at a loss for words for a moment, and more touched than I wanted to admit. "I… don't know what to say, Father Marius. Thank you."
"You don't need to say anything," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Now, shall we begin with our session?"
"Yeah," I said, taking a deep breath to prepare myself. I just hoped he was telling the truth when he said he couldn't actually read my thoughts, because I was pretty sure he would have something to say about the decision his words had helped me come to.
I couldn't stay here. Not when my very existence was putting the people I loved in danger. The Church was a family I had somehow gained after losing everything, and I wasn’t going to lose them, too.
I wasn't going to make that mistake again.
ChapterThirty-Two
CASTOR
When I managed to get out the door to the Abbey that night without Eddie harassing me, I was immediately suspicious. I had expected him to put up a fight about me going out alone, and he had an impeccable sense for knowing where I was when I least wanted him to find me. I knew he wouldn't give up that easily.
Once I made sure he was, in fact, still in the Abbey, I headed out, deciding to keep the errand brief. I wouldn't at all have put it past Eddie to try sneaking out to follow me, so I had asked Baker to keep an eye on him and tell me the second he so much as glanced at the front door.
For the next three hours, I scoured the territory, looking for any sign that the Graystone wolves had come to avenge their fallen brother.
I found three rogue vampires, but nothing else. I didn’t let my guard down, though—not when the threats facing us were much too real. But for the moment, it seemed we had escaped any direct consequence for what had happened in the forest.
