From the corner of my eye, I saw Meeko listening closely.
Zak shrugged. "Yeah, but... everything worked out in the end, right?"
"That is not the point," Kamari grumbled. "And I still think you should care a little more considering this happened toyourgrandfather."
"Well, Gramps is totally fine. Besides, he's way stronger than Animus. He could kick his butt any day of the week."
Kamari sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You don't trust him, do you, Kamari?" Meeko asked, focusing on the other omega.
"No," Kamari said curtly.
Meeko gazed around the circle. "What about the rest of you?"
Something about the way my mate took charge of this discussion warmed my heart. He was my strong little mouse.
It was Farley who spoke up next. The finch omega scoffed, crossing his arms. "Dude's harmless. He barely has magic of his own. That's why he needs ours, right?"
Kamari raised a brow. "With all due respect, you weren't there when Animus was literally fighting us."
Quinn interrupted with a mild remark. "But he stopped when he found out you were pregnant."
Kamari shrugged like that still didn't change his mind.
"I don't blame you for holding your ground," I said to him. When Kamari looked surprised, I added, "I've been on the receiving end of his claws, too. It, uh, wasn't fun."
"Thank you. I'm gladsomeoneagrees with me."
Ashe was shaking his head. "Listen, I'm no big fan of Animus either, and I know he hurt you guys. But he literally saved our lives." He gestured to himself and his silent alpha mate, Bear.
Nodding, Bear signed, "Earth spirit attacked out of nowhere. Not sure what we would've done without his help."
I quickly translated for Meeko, who was still learning sign language for the members of our pack who used it.
"He saved me, too," River mused, running his fingers through his hair like he did when he was concentrating. "I mean, he could've done more andactuallysaved me, but he let Castor do the heavy lifting. I guess alerting the rest of you and mind-wiping the poachers was good enough."
Kamari was unconvinced. "When does a man who wipes people's memories become a good person?"
River bristled. "Um, did you miss the part where theykidnappedme?"
As the two water shifters glared at each other, Castor jumped into the conversation. Rubbing his mate's back to calm him down, he said, "When Animus appeared to help us, hedidsay he wasn't a nice guy. Maybe he was trying to manage our expectations."
"If so, he's doing a damn good job," Farley said with a snort. "Nobody knows what the hell he's up to."
A moment of quiet passed before Meeko said, "I think I do."
Everybody faced him. Before Meeko spoke, he looked at me as if soaking up my support.
"Cloud and I discovered something about Animus," Meeko said to the rest of the group. "He's an omega."
The reply was a spectrum of confusion and agreement. A few had similar suspicions while others doubted if that was even possible.
"Even if that's true, how can you be sure?" Kamari asked.
Meeko stood up and pulled out his ace—the sword. The blade propelled to its full length, glinting silver in the sunlight. I noticed the black was gone, now that Animus was no longer the one holding it.
"Animus forged this sword with his own magic, a long time ago," Meeko explained. "It only works in the hands of an omega."
