We all hold our breath, waiting for an attack. For another omega body to wash up on some far-flung shore.
There’s the first body to contend with, too. Ellie and Bitsy badgered Simon until he told them about it after his odd, overprotective behavior around Ellie.
They’re talking about it when Leigh walks into our omega seminar class and finds the atmosphere subdued.
“Simon said the New Jersey sheriff buried the case. That it’s completely gone and not being investigated,” Ellie sighs. “But can you even believe it? An omega without a maginalus washing up on shore somewhere? It’s horrific.”
Leigh shudders, listening to Ellie with rapt attention. “A body, you say? How terrible.” She shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Truly, I’m beginning to fear for our designation’s future.”
“Beginning to?” Bitsy mutters. “You should have started worrying when Junie was attacked on her first day on campus.”
Leigh purses her lips. “There have always been… detractors, shall we say? Those unsympathetic to omegas. They’ve been around as long as I’ve been alive and throughout all of history. Isolated attacks have never been uncommon, but what we’re seeing now is different.”
“It scares the shit out of me,” Alyssa admits.
“I’m scared too,” Leigh says. “For all of you young women. Miss Jordan, Miss Monroe, I wish you’d find mates to protect you. Someone to fight for you. There will come a time when your honor guards won’t be enough. You need packs. Miss O’Neill and Miss Rose are lucky to have alphas who will fight for them.”
Bitsy snorts derisively, her mood black tonight. “Why? Having a pack wasn’t enough to stop Grace Cassidy from being taken, and being mated didn’t save Trinity either.”
Leigh sucks in a quiet breath at the mention of our lost omega classmate. The same classmate Rad tried to use blood magic to control, and the same classmate who saved Grace Cassidy before turning the gun meant to kill her on herself. Mates and packs weren’t enough to save them. If my vision is true, having a pack might not be enough to save me either.
There’sa thick envelope with a green wax seal on it waiting for Cassian when we get home. He picks it up and eyes it apprehensively. It’s a skittering feeling through our bond,almost a tickle. My sour mood lifts. This could be a truly momentous moment for my first mate.
“This is it,” he mutters, running his fingers over the seal, but not breaking it. “My letter from the Saint Galen Consortium.”
“If you don’t open it, I will,” Simon mutters. “Saints, you’ve been worried about this for weeks. Ofcourse you got accepted, dummy. Just open it already so I can say, ‘I told you so.’”
It’s true. Amidst all our other worries, Cassian has been worried about getting into the school of law at the Saint Galen Consortium, a consortium of advanced degree colleges on the New Brunswick mainland. Many of the world’s leading politicians, including Cassian’s father, Gerard, began with an education in law from the consortium. It’s widely regarded as one of the best law schools in the world, and Cassian has been so passionate about following in his father’s footsteps. It’s also a premier medicine and business school, its hallowed halls accepting only the best and brightest. Like my mate.
He shifts his weight from foot to foot, while I don’t dare draw a breath as he considers the envelope. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he lifts the seal and withdraws a letter. He scans it quickly, and his face lights, his dark, smoky brown eyes sparkling.
“I got in!” he says, incredulously.
Simon rolls his eyes but kisses our mate on the cheek. “I told you so.”
“I’m so damn proud of you, Cass,” I murmur, tears welling in my eyes before I throw my arms around him, my mood lighter than it’s been all day. Saints, he’s done it. I know law school means more than just following in his father’s footsteps to Cassian. It’s another way for him to fight for my kind. I’m so blessed to be loved by him, to have a mate whowill fight for me, who believes in justice and freedom. The vision of dining at Promontory Tower suddenly clicks in my mind. “We have to celebrate, and I know just the place.”
When we last dined atthe restaurant in Promontory Tower, Ian had rented it out completely so we could enjoy a meal for the Feast of Saint Valentine, back when he and I had to hide our relationship. But we don’t have to hide anymore, and I can enjoy a night out with my pack. The lights of the city sparkle beneath us like a million stars, and we dine on gourmet food and sip the finest champagne on the menu. Is this what life could be like if we weren’t fighting for it every day? Dinner and celebrations just like this?
“My fathers can’t wait to celebrate,” Cassian admits. “And I’m sure my mom will make a big fuss about it. I hope you all don’t mind a party.”
“Mind? Cass, you deserve it,” Simon tells him, leaning into him. “You worked your ass off for this acceptance, and you’re about to work your ass off even harder when term starts in the fall. A party is the least of what you deserve.”
“Simon’s right. Only the best and brightest are accepted at Saint Galen’s. You’ve more than earned your spot,” Ian agrees.
Cassian’s cheeks redden at the compliments, and I press a kiss to one of them.
I know my mate is going to do great things, and I feel privileged that I’ll be by his side when he does. And that beautiful dream calls for more champagne.
I hold my glass out to Ian, and he’s quick to refill it with a roguish smile.
As I sip my champagne, I glance out across the city, and my eyes land on the Hall of the Council of Nine, andsuddenly the fizzy sensation from too much bubbly vanishes. Cassian takes my hand under the table and squeezes it, his gaze following mine. We share a grave look. Not even the highest institutions of our government, the government meant to keep us free, are safe from the Soldiers of Saint Aldous and their machinations. Already, politicians aligned with the Soldiers’ fight to pass draconian legislation, all aimed at stealing rights away from omegas.
Cassian once told me that going to law school will be a way he can fight back, and while going to law school will give him one way to fight for omegas in the future, the battle that is brewing could be over long before that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next night, we join Pack Leclerc at their sweeping estate to celebrate Cassian with his family. Cassian, his father, Colin, Simon, Ian, Luca and I crowd around the kitchen table, Simon and Colin swearing up a storm as they attempt to track the five thousand or more collars still at large. The problem is they hardly know where to start.
