“I go by Josie,” I said. Only my parents called me Josephine, making me hate the name on principle. They adamantly refused to use my nickname.
“Josie! I love that,” Clementine said, guiding me into a deep leather armchair while she took a seat opposite me. “Amirah is going to be in shortly. She’s finishing another meeting. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Dessert?”
I would have killed to drown my feelings in an enormous slice of chocolate cake, but after my run-in with the doctor and my parents, I couldn’t silence the critical voice in my head.Why did you stop your diet? How are you going to attract anyone looking like that?
“No, thank you.” I looked around the office just to have something to do to fill the awkward silence. “Does the assistant director usually meet with omegas before they do their pack interviews?” I finally asked. I’d never heard of that happening.
“Not always,” Clementine said carefully, “But we wanted to make sure we met with you with this being a unique situation.”
“You mean because I’m twenty-three?”
“That’s definitely part of it. Here comes Amirah. She’ll explain better,” Clementine said with relief as the office door opened, revealing the assistant director, a petite omega with shoulder-length curly black hair and brown skin.
Even though I’d known the assistant director was an omega, I still felt my chest fill with shock and... pride? Amirah Raven had been the first-ever omega director of what was then called the Omega Center, a place created to support omegas in all aspects of life. When the Designation Government took over, they swiftly made it illegal for omegas to hold jobs. I had no idea how Amirah managed to hold on to a leadership position. Designation Government politicians were constantly shouting about her on the news, criticizing everything about her, from her appearance to her designation. Glen-spawn-of-Satan-Jacoby, the governor and leader of the Designation Government, was one of her loudest opponents. I shuddered as I quickly shut down that train of thought and forced myself to focus.
“Thanks so much for agreeing to meet with us,” Amirah said, her tone brusque but not unkind.
As she sat down next to Clementine, her cream-colored blouse shifted, revealing a bond mark at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. The news called her four alphas weak because they allowed her to work—as if that somehow took away from their alpha-ness. I wondered what their relationship was like. Did they support her? Did they love each other? All the packs in the romance books I read were deeply in love, the alphas willing to do anything for their omega. I had long abandoned any dream of that being a reality.
“She goes by Josie,” Clementine said with a smile.
“Ahh, thank you,” Amirah said to Clementine before turning to me. “Josie, I want to start this meeting by saying that this office is soundproof, and there are no cameras or recording devices in this space. Anything that is said here stays here.”
I didn’t know what I expected her to say, but that was definitely not it. She must have picked up on my confusion because she continued, “Your mother and pack fathers have just met with the director. Richard Porter has influence as a board member, as does Jericho being senate leader. They seem to be highly invested in you interviewing with Pack Madden—are you familiar with them?”
I shook my head, almost positive I’d never heard that name before.
“One of the alphas works with Jericho, so that’s likely the connection,” Amirah said, lip curling briefly in disdain before she schooled her expression. “Clementine and I felt it was important to meet you and see what you envisioned for your life.”
Her question startled me. What I envisioned for my life? I hadn’t been asked that in… well, possibly ever, but certainly not by anyone at the Designation Center. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
Amirah and Clementine glanced at each other, and then Amirah turned her piercing gaze back to me.
“Josie, I have no expectation that you’ll trust us. Omegas hold a very precarious position in society. I know that better than most. We wanted to meet with you because it’s rare to not come into pre-heat before the age of twenty-three without using suppressants. I’m not asking you to confirm anything, but if you have been using suppressants, it leads me to believe you may not want to join a pack. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to prevent that from happening, but I’ve made it my life’s mission to advocate for omegas. I’m offering our help if you want it.”
My heart beat rapidly, but I tried to look as calm as possible. If I confirmed I had been using suppressants, I could be arrested, lose the minuscule rights I had, and be forced to join a pack of my parents’ choosing. But there was something in me that desperately wanted to trust the two women sitting in front of me.
“What sort of help could you offer me?” I asked carefully.
The assistant director looked me over carefully. “Trust goes both ways, Josie. I need your agreement that you won’t share anything I say with anyone outside of this room. Lives depend on it, do you understand?”
I nodded. “I understand. I promise I won’t say anything. You’re not, um, wrong about me,” I offered, heart pounding at the risk I was taking.
Amirah nodded, a small smile forming on her face for the first time since she walked into the room. “For the past few years, we have been developing an underground network of all designations who oppose the recent legislature. It’s called the Omega, Beta, Alpha Alliance. Some of our members include unbonded alphas who want to bond with an omega but disagree with the current laws. While we can’t stop mandatory pack selection for omegas, we can try to include some of these packs in the interview process. The one thing you still have power over is deciding which pack you bond with. If you want other options besides who your parents have chosen, we can help you.”
My mind was spinning. I knew there was an anti-Designation Government group, but I didn’t know Amirah was a part of it. Their underground network was how Sam had gotten me suppressants. He had urged me to volunteer with them, to “use my skills” to help the Alliance. Each time, I made some excuse. He had such faith in me, but I knew the truth—I was nothing, could do nothing. And I knew the cost of challenging alphas. My hand brushed automatically against my scar, touching the forever reminder of what it cost to rebel.
What Amirah offered wasn’t a complete escape, but it was more than I had dreamed of. I wasn’t sure what sorts of packs the assistant director was talking about, but anything would be better than a pack like those from my family’s community—alphas who believed that omegas were weak, subservient, and needed to be controlled.
Amirah and Clementine looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. I looked them over and felt a lump forming in my throat. These two women wanted to help me. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel alone.
“That’s… that’s a lot to take in. But yes, I want your help, please. I can’t bond with a pack my parents choose. I can’t live my life like that.”
Amirah nodded as she started scrolling through her phone. “We’re going to do our best to have an alternative pack for you to interview. I had two packs in mind, but one of them is out of the country until the end of the week,” she said, a slight frown on her face. “The director has insisted we expedite your interview process to take place tomorrow, here at the DC.”
“Tomorrow?” I squeaked. Clementine looked at me with sympathy.
Amirah grimaced. “Unfortunately, your labs show your heat is starting within the next week, so we have to act fast, or you’ll be stuck with an assigned heat pack.”
