And it’s not like Mathew is some entirely unknown person, he’d been rubbing shoulders with rich people for years, so there are plenty of articles about him.But to have the rest of us so prominently visible in the pictures, that’s making me worry more.
People who knew Vera and me when we were on the run, will now find out that we’re not two Betas, as we used to claim, but an Alpha and an Omega.I have no idea if that’s going to have any impact.Though, I suspect most people will be smart enough to realise that with Mathew’s high status and rumoured —but never confirmed— connections to organised crime, it’s probably a good idea not to reach out to anyone to gossip about us.
Vera’s family and the pack she was supposed to marry into might have other ideas, but we’ll deal with that if the problem arises.We already know that the Hearts are connected to them, so if they try anything, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
People who’ve worked with Jorge and Riley in the past know that they have very loose connections to the law, but they also already know that they’re in Mathew’s pack.So photographing them together won’t make any difference in that way.
Though, that was when people thought Mathew was an Alpha.Having questionable morals and a reputation of being ruthless to get what you want is expected from Alphas, celebrated even.From Omegas, not so much.
Some of their clients who care about status might even drop them for ‘demeaning’ themselves for ‘working under an Omega’.Which is bullshit and I’d say, good riddance.Those people are weird and probably have many other ideas about Alphas, Betas and Omegas that are gross.
And Luca...The poor guy finally found some semblance of normalcy —as much as he can around us— and now everything is all getting messed up again.His parents already called him, panicked, but once he explained that he was safe and that everything was being handled, they calmed down.His family is protected by Erika and her pack, so even if people know that Luca is their kid or sibling, they shouldn’t be in any trouble.
Since the initial article released a couple of hours ago, there’s been plenty of chatter online, and a couple of new articles too.Most of them insisting that ‘they always knew Mathew was an Omega’ when they very clearly didn’t and that ‘he’s only the pretty face, the Alpha who knocked him up must have been running everything behind the scenes all this time’.Most of the articles insist that Derrick or Timothy are the ‘real brains’ of the organisation, since they’ve been with Mathew the longest.Those articles have been interesting to read because of how confidently they’re wrong.
There was one post I saw somewhere that said that I —being the tallest, oldest and most imposing— was ‘clearly’ the Alpha behind it all, and that I’d simply been ‘waiting’ behind the scenes until I got Mathew pregnant so I could take my ‘rightful’ place as the head of the organisation.
I have no idea what the logic behind that one was.Why would I wait for a decade to show myself?Why would I ‘let’ Mathew be the head of the organisation when I’m right there?Why would I have to get Mathew pregnant before I took my place as the head?
None of it makes sense.
People are twisting themselves into knots to try and undermine everything Mathew has done for the last decade, trying to say that his achievements are ‘really’ the achievements of Alphas around him, that he’s ‘only’ a figurehead or that he’s a pawn.
It could be funny, if it wasn’t so sad.
This so clearly shows why Mathew pretended to be an Alpha for the last decade, because it makes life so much easier and he’s taken much more seriously.And I don’t fault him one bit that he chose the path of least resistance.
He didn’t have noticeable pheromones, he was built like an Alpha, he had a presence like an Alpha, so nobody even thought to doubt his words.
It’s not that different from what Vera and I did when we were on the run, though hiding our pheromones was more work.
Sometimes, hiding who you are makes life so much easier, and quite often safer too.
But we’re all out of hiding now.Those pictures and articles have exposed our secrets all in one go.
And now we’re going to have to deal with the fallout, whatever it may bring.
5
Riley
I’m waitingfor the other shoe to drop at any moment, bracing myself for the impact.
The fact that Mathew is an Omega is now all over the internet.People everywhere are talking about it.
Within ‘our’ circles, people seem to mostly try to downplay the influence and power he has.Pretending like accidentally letting his name slip wouldn’t make half of them shit their pants and pray to whatever deity they worship for protection.
But in ‘other’ circles, people are focused on totally different things, mostly his looks.There’s a group of people out there who are talking crap about him, that he’s ‘too muscular’ and ‘too big’ for an Omega, that he’s ‘ugly’ because he’s so tall.While there’s another group —luckily much louder— who are drooling all over him because of those exact same features.
It’s interesting to watch, but also gives me uncomfortable feelings.Because that’smyOmega they’re talking about.That’smyOmega they’re ogling.He’smine!
I’m reading all the reactions to try and distract myself from the constant feeling of doom, from waiting for the Hearts to do something.From waiting for the Hearts to reveal who he was before he was Mathew Page, when he was still ‘Michael, King of Hearts’.
Many people won’t care that he was underage, that he was forced into the work, that he didn’t have a choice.They’ll only see that he worked at a brothel and see that as enough reason to hate him, to reject him.
All the while, for the people who run the brothel and those who frequent it, there are no repercussions at all, while they’re the ones at fault.
But the Hearts have been quiet so far.Maybe Mathew’s threat to them still works.
