Page 6 of Omega Makes a Family
Lucas keeps shuffling uncomfortably and looking out the window at the scenery as it rolls by. I can't tell if he's even paying attention to the omega that's sitting less than three feet away from him. Thankfully, the omega seems to be at least somewhat reasonable. He didn't try to put up a fight when he was clearly outmatched, didn't try to run as we were putting him in the car, and other than protesting the entire situation from time to time, he's been completely quiet.
I know the elders were concerned that we'd have to use force to bring him back. They were worried that he'd put up a fight and get injured in the process. They'd been very clear that we weren't to rough him up if we could help it, which had been kind of annoying given the shit this guy's been accused of. Until now, I'd been picturing myself punching him in the face as soon as we found him.
Omega or not, selling information about other wolves to human hunters is the lowest kind of behavior. A punch in the face would've been letting him off easy in my opinion. But he's been relatively calm, so there's no need to resort to violence.
"You're awfully quiet, Dodger," I remark as I look in the mirror again.
"Stop calling me that," he snaps.
"It's your name."
"It's not," he insists. "No matter how many times you say it, it's not gonna make it true. I literally left my pack like a week before you guys started following me."
"Let's say I believe you." I decide to humor him for a moment, mostly because I'm bored and this is gonna be a long drive. Gods only knows Lucas isn’t much for conversation. "Let's say you really aren't Dodger. Why on earth would an omega ever leave his pack? It's unheard of."
"Yeah, well, you're wrong. It's not."
"It is."
He pouts quietly for a moment and exhales heavily. "I left because...in my pack we have one leader. My father, and the eldest child always inherits the title. I'm the eldest, but I'm also an omega. If I'd inherited, it would've made my pack look weak to the neighboring packs. We've had territory disputes with some of them for generations, and any sign of weakness would be like the scent of blood to them.
"My little brother just came of age. He's an alpha, he's strong, charismatic, and everyone likes him. He'd be a perfect leader. He'd make our pack strong and safe. So, I left so he could take over. My parents would never have given him the title otherwise, and everyone in the pack always said that they believed I could lead them just as well as my father. But it doesn't matter what they believe. It's about how things look to the outside. So, I left."
I frown, considering his words. There's something about his story that I can't help but believe. Maybe it's the sincerity in his voice, or maybe it's the way he keeps meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror. Whatever it is, he seems earnest.
"So…you said your name's Oliver?" I ask, deciding to follow the conversation a bit further. Like I said, I'm bored. I hate long drives, and there've been too many of them on this long-ass road trip.
"That's right." He nods.
"Well, Oliver, my name's Sebastian. That's Lucas. The leader of this little band of merry men is Roman, and the other guy is Theo."
"Why are you telling him our names?" Lucas frowns at me, speaking with an annoyed tone. "We're bringing him back for trial, not making friends with him."
"Hey, I've been stuck driving for hours every day for the last week. I'm fucking exhausted, and this guy is the first interesting thing that's happened in days. So, sorry if I'm trying to make the drive a little more bearable."
Oliver smiles a little at that. "I get it," he says. "I've been driving all the time too. It's kind of nice to have someone to talk to, even if I'm being kidnapped."
I laugh and nod. "Kidnapped sounds a little extreme. We're just bringing you home."
"To your home," he corrects. "It's not mine. It never has been. I don't know what you think I did to deserve to be hunted and brought back for trial, but I guarantee it wasn't me."
I don't know how to respond to that at first. We drive in silence for a few more miles as I mull things over in my head. Finally, I glance in the mirror again and decide to try to get the whole story from him.
"Look, maybe you really aren't Dodger," I admit, "but we're here on a mission from our pack elders. They gave us a photo that looks a helluva lot like you and told us you were a lone omega on the run for selling information to hunters. We were to bring you back for judgment as soon as possible."
Oliver raises an eyebrow but doesn't speak.
"This Dodger was a newcomer to our pack. He'd only been with us for a few months, and no one knew him really well. After he ran, we found that his room had been completely doused in some sort of chemical so we couldn't pick up his scent properly. We’ve had to rely on a visual description only."
"Oh..." Oliver frowns and looks out the window. "So I guess that explains how you could've made a mistake. If he was basically a stranger and you had no scent to follow."
"I guess." I nod slowly. "But then there's the other problem. We can't just believe what you're saying either. Because if you are Dodger, then why wouldn't you lie about who you are and try to get out of it by relying on the fact that we only had a description and a blurry photo."
Oliver scowls at that and doesn't respond.
"Why do you keep telling him all this stuff?" Lucas says, even more annoyed. He's been sulking ever since Roman chewed him out last night, and that's clearly made him even more annoying to get along with than usual.
"He might be telling the truth, okay?" I snap. "He might actually not be Dodger. And if that's the case, we'll need to figure out what to do."
