The Omega's Revolt (completed)

Act 2 - Opportunity

            “How do I know if what you’re saying is true?” I eyed the female buttonman in front of me coldly, taking into account every single tiny detail of her body language. 

            Her voice was calm and her shoulders were relaxed, like on any other day when she would bring in my breakfast but her eyes betrayed her. I could tell that her pupils were constricted, a sure sign of fear or any other extreme negative emotions. 

            “Your brother told me to tell you about the most treasured moment in his life, and he said it was something that only you would know. It was on his sixth birthday, at midnight, you had snuck him out of the house and brought him to the forest. You allowed him to enter your tree house and you spent the rest of the night under the starlit sky. He said you told him about how much our former Chief loved him and was proud of him. It was the first and last time that he had heard about his father’s hopes and dreams for him, and it’d forever be the most treasured moment in his life.” 

            The female buttonman’s voice was even, as if she was reporting something as mundane as what she had brought in for me for breakfast but I recognized the look in her eyes. Her pupils dilated as she spoke about my brother and the way that her eyes sparkled as she spoke about his most precious memory convinced me that she was telling the truth. 

            “You love him, don’t you?” My voice softened involuntarily as I gazed at the young woman in front of me. 

            Panic gripped her as she shook her head vigorously at my question, dispelling all doubts within me that she was another ploy by my uncle or Nessa to test my loyalty to our Clan. 

            “It’s fine, Clover,” I said gently as I stood up to take her hand in mine. “I don’t believe in the same bullshit as my Clan. Everyone deserves a chance to love someone and be loved in return, regardless of who you’re in love with. Fück politics and status. Even if my brother were the Skipper, you’re not too low born for him, you understand?” 

            Her dark brown eyes glistened as her lower lip quivered while she nodded slowly. It broke my heart to see her this way and I cursed my brother silently for putting the girl in this situation. 

            “Mr. Smith gave me a satellite phone before we came to the Tiger’s Eye Pack, and he gave me the coordinates to a cave about 10 miles from the pack. Every new moon night, I would wait at the cave for his call and he said that once he was ready, he would call, and when he did, I needed to reveal my identity to you, Luna.” 

            “What does he want from me? After all that he has done, what does he want?” I retorted sharply, letting my exasperation with my brother get the better of me. 

Growing up, we were close until Papa’s death. After that fateful night, we both entered our Clan’s training program but with very different motivations. I wanted to fulfill Papa’s last wish, to set our family free from the cursed Clan and avenge Papa’s death. 

            William on the other hand was eager to climb the ladder, and his obvious admiration of our uncle’s achievements drove us apart, to the point where I was barely able to stand being in the same room as him. Our uncle was more than happy to have such an obedient nephew and rumors were already rife before I had completed my reaper training, that my uncle wanted to make Willian our Clan’s Chief one day. 

            It was a calculated move that would not only ensure that factions within the Clan loyal to Papa would continue to stay loyal to the Clan, but also justify the cold blooded execution of my father. The wrong of the father would be righted by his son. 

            As much as I hated how my brother had betrayed our family, he was my blood and no amount of wrongs could truly drive me to abandon him. Besides, Papa’s last words to me were to take care of our family. How could I disappoint the person that I loved most in the world? 

            “March 13th, it was an unusually sunny morning but the day ended in torrential rain like most days during that time of the year in Boston,” Clover said hesitantly before pressing something cold into my palm. 

            It was a gold bullet case with a green tip. The kind that used to hold bullets our Clan reserved for executions for treason, and in the past 30 years, there had only been one such execution. 

            “Is this?” I whispered, my voice shaking from the turmoil of emotions swirling within me. 

            “He didn’t forget, nor did he abandon you, Luna. He was just waiting for the right time.” 

            My palms closed around the bullet case as my body trembled from the memories of that fateful night. Images of Papa falling onto the rain soaked ground raced through my mind. His blood dyed the grass red as he mouthed his last words to me even as I struggled against the buttonmen who were trying to drag me away. 

            “The time has come, Luna,” Clover said resolutely. “Mr. Smith is a Warlord now and the faction of our Clan loyal to your father are now loyal to him. A new supernatural Union has been forged in this country but not everyone is happy with the new Union authorities. There are rumors that a Royal vampire had survived the war between the crazy witch and an alliance of werewolves, witches and vampires. This Royal vampire is our opportunity.” 

            “What do you mean?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t know much about vampires but from the troubles afflicting our smuggling routes in the past months, I knew that vampires were ruthless killing machines and the last thing that I wanted was to have anything to do with them. 

            Papa had always told us not to mess with things that we didn’t understand or were powerful beyond what we could comprehend. 

            “The Royal vampire has a witch who conducts his business and this witch was an acquaintance of your father. She has now made contact with your brother and wants to do business with our Clan, but what she’s asking for isn’t something that our Clan could do. Mr. Smith said that this is an opportunity to start our own business without the Clan in secret and strengthen our power base so that we could overthrow the Skipper eventually.” 

            Between realizing the true parentage of my nephew last night and hiding it from Nessa, and the revelation of my brother’s true intent today, I wasn’t sure which was more shocking. 

            “And what exactly is the business that this Royal vampire wants to do with us?” 

            “He needs a suicide squad of werewolves for a mission and he’d pay for the werewolf’s weight in gold.” 

            A chill ran down my spine as I realized immediately what I would have to do in order to seal this deal. My brother had a good plan but like all good warlords, his plan included paving the way forward with the dead bodies of others. 

            If Clover had revealed this to me during my first few weeks after marrying into this pack, I would have given the plan my seal of approval without so much as a cringe, but things were different now. I was sure that my husband would jump at the chance of being able to earn so much gold, and he’d be delighted to conduct the business through me instead of through his Beta and Gamma, who were the ones who normally ran the daily businesses with my Clan. 

            This way, he’d be able to keep all the gold for himself instead of having to give the Beta and Gamma a sizable cut before the rest of it went to the pack, which meant that he’d be more than happy to keep this entire operation under wraps. My uncle would never find out about this as long as my brother’s people kept their lips shut and that Royal vampire doesn’t sell us out. 

            It was a win-win situation for my husband and I. There was simply no reason for either one of us not to do it, except I knew as clear as day that the only way to keep this deal under wraps was to sell werewolves that no one would miss to the Royal vampire. 

            The only werewolves within this pack that fit this description were the ones that I had come to care about. 

            “Mr. Smith needs an answer by tomorrow night, Luna,” Clover said nervously, breaking the long silence after she had answered my question. 

            My head spun and I could feel a bitter taste in my mouth as I made a decision that I could only hope I wouldn’t regret. 

            “Ask him how many werewolves are needed and when is the delivery date.”