A shuffle of movement and more than half of the omegas take up Lennon’s offer. Bailey included. Lennon wipes her eye as her best friend moves to sit on Koda’s lap, with Reno cupping her ears. Ashton stands in Bailey’s place in his show of support, while Henley looks like he wants to put my omega on a pedestal, his thanks and relief clear as day. Once the room returns to the earlier quiet stillness, Lennon starts talking again.
“We suffered. We’re still suffering now. Not only were we subjected to inhuman living conditions, being kept in cages a dog wouldn’t be able to move in, but we were also subjected to painful and horrific experimentation. The conditions in the lab were not for living, they were barely survivable.” She takes a deep breath before she goes on. “We were not fed three times a day, we barely drank water. Twice a day we were taken to a room where we were physically restrained and forced with tasers to use a small bucket as a toilet. Some of you won’t see that as suffering, but the abuse we endured came in every form imaginable—physical, mental, emotional, sexual. Some omegas were raped and sexually abused on a daily basis. Others were traumatised by having to watch the most disgusting things imaginable happening in front of them and being unable to do anything to help. We were belittled by abusive alphas who ripped our submission from us, or they inflicted enough pain until they believed we were obeying. It goes on and on and on. Use your imagination and conjure up what’s the worst you could do to a person, and I’d say you’re slowly understanding what we were subjected to. We’ve all been left with terrible scars, but those scars are our own. I assure you, only my pack will ever see mine and know the true extent of what happened to me. That is all I want to say about what we went through.”
Reno removes his hands from around Bailey’s ears, and Lennon waits while Pack Bailey gets their omega back on her feet, looking beautifully proud again. Bailey and Lennon share a moment where no words are needed, hell, they don’t even need to be near each other. The love they have comes in the unique way omegas communicate—Lennon’s jasmine scent and Bailey’s tropical flowers and sweet fruit scent fills the room before other strong smells join theirs as the other omegas perfume together. Such a simple, natural action but one that has brought danger to them, but hopefully not anymore.
Lennon closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before she starts again. “We lost omegas and other people. I know for a fact we did, because I can assure you the number of omegas kept in the lab far exceeded the number of people here today and those registered with the Alpha Alliance. There’s no sliding scale of pain and suffering for what occurred in the lab, we endured. End of story. One of the worst things that happened after, was the loss of our voice. The minute we were found was the moment people stopped hearing us. Again. All of a sudden, we were told how to heal, we were going to be taken to a place you decreed we had to go, is it any wonder we ran again? Even now that we’ve sat through witness recounts from me and other brave anonymous omegas, from whistle-blowers in the government, even from those involved in Regalo. The recurring concerns about omega welfare raised back then are the ones I want to focus on today. For even though as a society we talk about moving forward, omegas are still having their basic human rights removed. We say it will never happen again, yet here I am in front of you, on trial. One of the victims.”
Lennon is shining. Her strength is mind-blowing and awe inspiring to watch.
“And you say, surely not? We’d never treat an omega like a second-rate citizen after what they’ve suffered. But I doubt any of you have had your accounts and assets frozen because of your genetics. No alpha in this room has their mental function looming as a threat over their head despite alphas displaying similar behavioural and emotional traits as omegas when they drop into rut. Though, for some reason, you add a vagina to the equation, and those most precious in our society are deemed incapable of making decisions because we’re emotionally inept.”
She laughs. “Interestingly, and completely out of context, my accounts were only unfrozen two weeks ago. That’s despite a court order being signed by this very panel of judges almost twelve weeks ago instructing me to gain full control ofmyassets again.”
Lennon stands at the front of the witness stand, looking down upon us like the queen of the world. Her attention is back to us, and only us.
“The contradictions continue. We’ve spent a large part of the trial, so far, arguing if I’m an omega. And even though you know I was in the lab, and I’m a victim of Regalo, there are people here who want to test my blood to make sure what I say is true. In the same breath, this court, our society, refuses to acknowledge I am one of the country’s most successful businesswomen in my field. Everything I have done has been forgotten because I’m an omega, although I’m not recognised as an omega until you’ve got your pint of blood.”
She throws her hands out, getting her roll on, and I’ve never seen anything as stunning as her owning this moment. And I’m not the only person spellbound. Every person here, even the lawyers on the arguing bench are lost.
“The insults continue. In this very court, it has been suggested that my relationship with my pack needs to be reviewed. Though first, it needs to be established iftheyare suitable alphas. Are they ‘allowed’ to have an omega? No weight is given to what I want, or what they want, only what we can do. Because suitable alphas mean tests to determine sperm count, genetic defects, even their own alpha heritage is investigated. We were asked to meet with physiologists to establish if we were of sound mind, people who don’t know me, don’t know my pack were once again trying to make decisions and be responsible for my future. Not happening. Ever. The same as anyone ever getting a drop of my blood or any of the omegas’ standing with me.”
She turns to face the judges.
“Am I a victim, or am I the perpetrator of a crime you can’t define? Am I a woman? I’m pretty sure I’m an omega, but are you? Those men that sit there, desperate to stand and support me, are my pack. They’re the ones that have to put their lives at risk every time we go out because we’re constantly under attack from the government. But what side of the government are we fighting today—the ones that support us or the ones that want to lock us away? The community out there is telling you what to do.
“The Alliance is a step in the right direction, and always has been. But the regulations, the laws, the threats hanging over them can easily push us as a society to one of oppression again. And I realise I’m talking quickly, skirting over major issues, but the issues raised because of Regalo are nothing new. As a community, I think we can find a way forward, but you need to be willing to see that your way may not be it. My claim is based on accountability and responsibility. It’s pushed me to stand up here because for us to heal, you need to stand up next to me and say we’ve screwed this up a few times. And yes, I’m seeking compensation. A penance of what is owed, really. But with the compensation comes the important removal of the restraints on how the money already being held in trust for the Regalo omegas is utilised. There should be no additional background checking, there should be no regulations or stipulations for me, or any of the omegas who want to access that money, because with freedom comes a person’s journey on finding themselves. A lot of us are going to stumble, some of us will ask for help, others will never be seen or heard of again, but that’s our choice. Please don’t turn your back on us again, give us the space and safety we so desperately need.”
47
LENNON
I’m not sure what I expected, but a standing ovation was not it. At all.
Nor is Lincoln leaping out of his seat, walking over the tops of the tables, chairs, whatever else stands between us. He drops down inside the Witness Box, and his arms are around me before the bailiff has any clue what is going on.
“Dove, you… I can’t even explain to you how proud I am of you.”
He holds my face in his hands, and despite all the frantic yelling and scuffling breaking out behind us, none of it matters.
“You are incredible,” he whispers, and then plants a giant kiss on my lips before he lets the bailiff physically pull him out of the box.
And only then do the whoops and hollering of the rest of the gallery catch up with me. I lean down, close to the microphone and offer the bench a quick sorry before I excuse myself and retake my seat next to Kris King.
Kris checks over his shoulder to see where my pack is and gives me a super quick hug before he shuffles and puts a few extra inches of space between us just in case my alphas decide to get territorial. It might happen, the atmosphere feels like a tinderbox.
“Order! Order!” Judge Moran says loudly. But much like my apology, there’s no weight to what she says. When I look up at the bench, the judges are all huddled talking, but they’re not looking like they’re ready to arrest Lincoln. “Bailiff, please let Mr. MacGregor retake his seat, if he can contain himself.”
“I can, Your Honor. I couldn’t before, I can now.” Of course, he nods his apology at the bench as he takes his seat, but there’s no removing the smile from his face.
Twisting in my seat, I give one of those ugly smiles where you have to bite your lip to stop either crying or screaming, but seeing Lincoln hugging Valak, Gabe, and Noah as he passes them is something that will stay with me for a long time to come. Bailey and her pack are beaming too. And I’m kind of surprised my girl’s not got any tears in her eyes, but she rolls her eyes and nods her head, at Henley, who’s wiping his eye instead.
Further behind Pack Bailey, there’s such a range of emotions from all the other people looking back at me. Where I can, I acknowledge them with a smile or a wave or a tip of my head.
“Order!” The Judge bangs her gavel, and everyone settles down to hear what she has to say. “My colleagues and I are electing to finish this session early. We thank you, Ms. Vale, for your time.” She opens her mouth, and it looks like she’s got more to say, but instead she stands abruptly with the other judges.
“Court is in recess.” The bailiff’s voice echoes through the chamber.
Everyone rises to their feet as the panel of judges walk out the courtroom.
