"They had to refocus their efforts after successfully conquering the gun lobby, you know. Nobody is ever happy with taking away rights from law-abiding citizens, they simply look for the next cause they can latch onto and make life more difficult for the rest of us." He shrugged. Camelia's eyes narrowed a little, committing his face to memory. This man was a little younger, n his forties, probably, with dark hair and blue eyes that were hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses. His suit was a black on black tuxedo, and a silver ring with a red gem glimmered on his left pinky finger.
The sight of him unnerved Camelia, though she didn't outwardly show her emotions other than to stab a little more viciously at her salad. She pretended that she was absorbed in her food, so much so that her hands barely trembled at the next words that were said.
"The bill that's passing through committee should ensure that they're not a problem, anymore. After all, Alphas and Omegas are meant to exist in harmony with each other. It doesn't make any sense for Alphas to go without their Omega when it would improve their ability to do their jobs in society so much better."
Camelia's blood chilled, and she surreptitiously swept her gaze around the room. Ninety percent of the people in the room were betas; she spotted two Alphas in the security team, and another one seated at a table all the way across this room. His hand was wrapped firmly around the hand of his companion, though, and she was looking at him with an adoring look in her eye.
None of them made Camelia feel as threatened as the benign looking senator sitting across the table from her. But she knew that if she didn't continue to listen, if she excused herself to go off and hide in the bathroom the way that she really wanted to, she would kick herself later.
So she focused back in on the conversation, taking a small sip of white wine. Her father continued chatting with the man on his left, oblivious to the turmoil that Camelia was feeling, and she tried to ignore the way her hands shook as the older gentleman chuckled.
"I'm sure there will be some backlash from these groups once the vote comes to the floor. You know how they are, insisting that Omegas have rights beyond the gifts that nature granted them."
Camelia's blood ran even colder, and she forced herself to swallow against the lump in her throat as the younger senator nodded, his expression serious. "There's already whispers of protests, but I'm certain that the votes are there in both the house and the senate." He leaned a little closer, lowering his voice as if he didn't want to be heard, but not enough that Camelia couldn't hear what he said. "The president has already assured me that he'll sign the bill if it comes to his desk. Between you and me, I think that he's tired of the social friction between Alphas and Omegas. Requiring Mating for all registered Omegas will make things much simpler, in the grand scheme of things."
Camelia cleared her throat, unable to stop herself from drawing attention to herself. She smiled sweetly as both senators looked at her, mild surprise on their faces as if they were genuinely shocked that she had been listening in. "And have you considered what Alphas or Omegas might have to say about such invasive legislation?"
She spoke loud enough that her voice carried clearly across the table, and the low conversations that had been happening around her halted as all eyes turned to her. It was more attention than she was generally comfortable with, but she couldn't keep quiet.
Not about something so deeply personal to her.
The older gentleman scoffed a little, as if insulted by the very audacity of her to speak up, but the younger man merely took a sip of whiskey, meeting her eyes steadily. His eyes were smooth and cold, and Camelia suppressed a shiver that wanted to run down her spine. She didn't like the way he scrutinized her, the way he evaluated her. But she wasn't going to back down, not on this.
He cocked his head to the side, as if considering what she'd said. "Surely you can see the benefit of removing a certain level of choice here. After all, Alphas and Omegas were intended by nature to be together. The science of heat cycles has proved it time and time again; they need each other, and they make each other better. Why allow such a rare bond to be wasted, if there's another way?"
Camelia cocked her head to the side, her blood boiling a little. She forced her expression to stay smooth, though, ignoring her father's hand when it gently touched the top of her knee, as if warning her to keep calm. "Because some people don't want to be bound to another person without a choice. That would be a good enough reason for a lot of people."
The older senator scoffed again. "Most people don't know what's best for them, young lady. The point of Congress is to..."
"Take away people's rights?" Camelia interrupted. Her voice was sharper than she had intended, and her father squeezed her knee again, warning her for firmly, if silently. She smiled, continuing to meet the younger senator's gaze even as he smiled coldly at her. "That's what you're referring to here, right? Forcing a pair bond between Alphas and Omegas, removing the choice with...what, a lottery? Or are Omegas going to be forced to register at eighteen and Alphas will have their pick of the free agents?"
The younger senator opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, Carson interrupted smoothly. "Ah, well.That's enough of that sort of talk over dinner, wouldn't you say, gentlemen?" He laughed, the sound tight. The younger senator slowly closed his mouth as he cocked his head to the side, not looking away from Camelia as Carson continued, "Apologies for my daughter. You know how they are in college, these days. So many strong feelings about the world around them before they've even had the chance to live."
A few of the people are the table chuckled and nodded, looking at Camelia knowingly as she forced her mouth shut with a snap. She looked up at her father, glaring, but the glint in his eye as he squeezed her knee halted any acidic words in her throat.
He was worried. She had shot her mouth off a little too strongly, and now everybody was looking at her. Eyeing her.Evaluatingher.
So she forced herself to look back at the younger senator, who was still watching her with that cold, unnerving smile, and forced herself to smile placidly, picking up her fork again where she had dropped it. "Apologies, good sir. My opinions must have gotten away from me."
He didn't respond, but Camelia could feel his eyes on her for the rest of the night, and she couldn't help the feeling in her gut that somehow, she had just made a powerful enemy.
Chapter twelve
Camelia fell into a routine, and a month or so into the school year, she was fairly comfortable with her place at Ridgeview. She still couldn't help feeling on edge anytime she was in a crowd – her outburst at the dinner with her father hadn't helped her instincts to calm down in that respectat all– she and Aria grew closer by the day, and she was passing her classes with flying colors. One of her professors even asked if she would step in as a guest lecturer when she suddenly had to go out of town, a request that had Camelia feeling like she was floating on a fucking cloud.
The only thing that niggled at her, that kept her awake at night as much as she allowed it to, werethem.
James and Evan.
Not that they were making nuisances of themselves. Far from it. James had taken to avoiding her at all costs, though she could feel his gaze on her at all times whenever they passed each other in the commons or they were in the same room together for anyreason. And Evan...well, Evan seemed like he had turned over a new leaf. Or was trying to, anyway.
That was the only explanation that Camelia had for how polite Evan was suddenly being to her. He didn't go out of his way to contact her or to find her, but when they ran into each other, there was none of that cocky antagonism that she had come to associate with him in their few short interactions, none of the attitude that got her hackles up so intensely.
The pull that she felt towards them didn't diminish as the weeks passed, though. In fact, with each passing day and each painfully polite interaction that she shared with Evan and each intense stare that she and James exchanged, the pull to be near them seemed to be worse. It was an itch under the surface of her skin, impossible to ignore when they were around, and barely tolerable when they weren't.
It terrified her. She didn't feel the same pull towards any of the other Alphas on campus, as few as they were, and she knew that if she were around Evan or James for any length of time...fuck, she wasn't sure if she would be able to control herself. She had never had her instincts go so haywire before, and the idea of what she might do if she lost her control for even a second...
Thank God for her suppressants. They were the only things that were keeping her sane. She was running low, though, and hadn't had the chance to run to the pharmacy for her refill yet. Not a concern, yet, but definitely something that lingered on her mind as she went through her day-to-day routine.
