Omega

Chapter 7

Returning to the bar without a pizza was met with a curious gaze from Alec. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

"The bastard bought out Peter. We're not allowed to buy from him."

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Not surprised at all. Do us all a favour and stay away from the Chinese restaurant."

"Yeah," I said, pulling myself up on the stool.

"They're still going at it. Things got a little heated a few minutes ago. You might not be the only one that wants to take the passive approach."

I wouldn't call it passive.

"I just don't want anyone to die because of this mess."

"That's something that you have to accept is a part of our way of life. We're pack wolves. We have our territories. Most are happy with that, but some are never happy with what they're given. They always want more and are prepared to do anything to get it. For Marlowe and his cronies, you're never really going to make them happy. You could hand everything over and they'll still think it's not enough."

And I really would be handing everything over. Not just the clan or the territory but my life.

"But you can't negotiate with them. No matter what any of the elders tell you, you can't do it. Because you know that the only ones left standing after the slaughter will be the women, right?"

I nodded.

"And life for them would not be worth living. They would be second class citizens, not a Black Ridge but a West River mate. Their acceptance would be limited, and they'd be nothing more than servants. A mate on paper but a maid in reality. No Black Ridge mate would accept her partner sleeping with the lowly West River female."

"And no elder would allow the alpha to let their young mate and create their next generations with our pack."

Alec nodded regretfully. It was a terrible life for any wolf, and I would not wish it upon anyone.

There had to be an answer. Something that would stop Konrad and his games. I had to figure it out before Konrad made his next move, but I had no idea what to do.

I didn't want to start a war. I didn't want my pack fighting and dying for something truly ridiculous. If Konrad just kept to his own area, if he was happy with what he had then none of this would be happening.

How could I make an almost stranger accept that their territory was enough?

"You know they did it, right?"

I looked up from the worn wood counter and tilted my head, rather confused.

"Did what?"

"The car accident."

I knew it was not an accident as the police initially indicated, but to point my finger at them? The thought filled me with dread. Pointing an accusatory finger was like the President pushing his little red button. One statement could fire those nukes.

"I believed that it was not an accident, but what makes you think that they did it?"

"Come on," Alec said with an amused huff. "Think about it from an outsider's perspective of this club. Anders, the alpha who has been in charge for a long time. He's seen as strong, a dominant powerhouse that has maintained order in his clan for decades. He names his firstborn, Stephen, as his beta, another powerful wolf. Together, they appear to be unbeatable. We were a pack to be feared. No one took on our pack because they knew that with Anders and Stephen, it was not worth the effort or the casualty loss. So, how do you take out two formidable foes?"

"With an inescapable death."

Alec nodded.

"While making it look like an accident. That way, when they started to make a play for the pack, they could appear innocent and not have any fingers pointed at them."

Alec's theory made my mind turn over with thoughts. The night that my father and Stephen were killed, I was supposed to be with them. Instead, my father agreed that I could miss the meeting to go to the festival.

"I'm not trying to put you down, but you know the consensus of everyone here. It's known that Anders said you were an omega and that kind of burden follows a wolf around. It wouldn't take much for another clan to find out."

And then make a plan to put me in a position where I would be the new alpha. I would be an easy target. Did that mean that Konrad killed my father and my brother? I would not put it past him.

"You know that I think that you can lead this clan, right?"

I nodded, taking the drink that Alec put on the counter in front of me. Straight soft drink, nothing added to it.

"You don't spend years growing up in the house of the great Anders Nolan and not learn a thing or two. All you need to do is to convince those who think differently."

"But no matter what I do, it will be wrong."

Which was the truth, considering that I'd screwed Konrad twice now. They would never accept me as alpha if they learned the truth. What I really needed to do was keep my legs shut when I was around Konrad. It had worked earlier. I didn't screw him. Maybe things were getting better and I'd behave myself the next time we crossed paths.

The door swung open, and before Alec could grumble about the wall, he jumped the counter. Liam staggered in, gripping his stomach. His words were nothing but a groan that could barely be heard. I looked down at the floor and saw the trail of blood droplets.

I gasped, my eyes widened at the sight and I began to get off the barstool.

Alec caught him as Liam began to collapse.

"Megan, get the kit."

I rushed around the bar to grab the medical kit. Liam was moaning about the Black Ridge clan.

"What about them?" I asked, kneeling next to him.

Alec began to work on Liam. Stopping the bleeding was paramount.

"There was a guy. He said that we were the joke of all the clans, and everyone was laughing at us. He said that everyone knows that you are screwing the Black Ridge alpha. I said it wasn't true. You'd never betray your pack like that."

Liam winced as Alec gave him an injection. Once the area was ready, he'd start stitching the wound.

It was small and clean for a knife wound. All Alec needed to do was to stitch the wound shut to stop the bleeding and allow Liam's body to heal itself. Once it stopped losing blood, the body would focus on the repair.

Liam held out his hand. I took it and saw the fear and pain in his eyes as the tears rolled down over Liam's temples.

I'd done this. He was suffering because of me.

"You wouldn't do that, would you, Megan? You wouldn't betray your family for him, would you?"

I didn't get to answer Liam, not that I wanted to. The elders had emerged and pushed me out of the way to help Alec repair Liam.

I stepped back, staring at them as my heart raced. I could feel something sliding over my hands. Looking down at them, I saw blood.

I had blood on my hands.