Page 70 of Marked Omega

She senses this. Her eyes widen and she places her fingertips on my jaw.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she says softly. “I love it here with you and the others. I just mean, it seems so unfair that I should have survived as an omega while Eva and Sara were both…”

Her voice trails off.

“It just seems so arbitrary,” she says at last.

I’ve never heard that word before, but I can tell that it tastes bad in Lily’s mouth.

“It is the way of the Source,” I say.

Lily nods and nestles into my embrace. For a few minutes, she is quiet, then she speaks again.

“I would like to go see her.”

“See who?” I ask.

“Eva,” she says. “I would like to go see the place where she is buried.”

My body stiffens. The place she is talking about is outside of the city, far to the south. Hannah’s Alphas buried Eva’s remains there, as it is forbidden to bring a beta, living or dead, inside the city limits.

The place where they buried Eva is not in the far lands, but it is close. It would take a while to get there and back. And I know that Addom and Hasker would not be on board with the idea.

“Lily, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I tell her. “You should stay here, where it is safe.”

“Oh you sound just like Addom,” she says.

I feel a surged of pride at that statement. Addom, our leader, is everything I aspire to be one day. He embodies all of the best qualities of an Alpha. But I understand that Lily did not mean it as a compliment in this case.

“Addom is usually right,” I tell her. “You are too valuable, Lily. We need to keep you safe.”

The little omega sighs.

“I’m not sure I like being valuable.”

She lounges back and turns her body to gaze up at me.

“Eva is the whole reason I came to the zone in the first place,” she says. “I just feel like I need to visit her one last time. For closure.”

I sweep a stray curl back from her face.

“Addom and Hasker would never allow it,” I tell her.

Lily gets that naughty look in her eyes that I’ve seen before. It’s a look that she reserves just for me. As the two youngest members of our pack, we share a special bond.

“They don’t have to know,” she whispers.

I know what she is getting at. Addom and Hasker are both busy these days. As older Alphas, they are both part of the tribal council, and they have been called into a conclave to discuss how to deal with the threat of recent outsider incursions into the zone.

No doubt the conclave will also discuss what happened between Lily and the Source, although no one has said that outright.

But Lily’s suggestion is dangerous. I shake my head sternly.

“We won’t keep any secrets from them,” I tell her. “We are a pack. We share everything.”

Lily frowns and looks away.

Addom says that I spoil her too much. However, I feel like I should do something to cheer her up now. I hate to see her feeling sad like this.