for Christ’s sake. Thirteen years of testing and giving him medication. He hadn’t known what it would do to his body or that it could be potentially harmful. He might never be able to have kids. His hormone levels might never stabilize again. He might have hormone-related issues for the rest of his life. How was that not hurting him?
But before he could say anything, his grandfather’s expression changed again. Confusion washed over him as he looked from Sando to Naran. “W-who are you?” he asked Naran.
It was over. Sando would never get more closure than this. His grandfather’s brain would only deteriorate. In all likelihood, he’d never get all the details of the hormones he’d administered to Sando. And most likely, he’d never know if his mother was truly dead or not.
But it was okay. He would be okay. He had found the most important thing ever—love. He’d be just fine as long as he had Maz and Lucan with him. Them and his family. Pack. He’d tell Rhene he wanted to officially join the pack as soon as everyone was back. It was time to let go of the past because holding on to the anger inside him would only lead to bitterness.
He took a deep breath. “This is Naran, Papa. He’s a friend of mine.”
As soon as they had entered the city, Lidon had felt it. A blanket of oppression hung heavy in the air. Suffering. Sadness. Sickness. Thousands of voices silently crying out. Or not so silently. He picked up traces of conversations as they sneaked through back yards and alleys. Mothers lamenting lack of food for their kids. Omegas crying over unborn babies. Betas holding their sick omegas. Families huddled together, mourning their loved ones.
The only ones not crying were the alphas…but they were whispering to each other. This wasn’t what they had wanted. They’d wanted alpha rights, but not like this. If all the omegas were sick or died, who would bear their children? And with so many omegas and betas scared to leave their house out of fear of getting arrested, alphas had no one to clean their houses, take care of their kids, mow their lawns, wash their windows, check out and bag their groceries. Fields were rotting, crops not harvested, since workers didn’t show up. Factories were shut down. The economy had come to a standstill.
When Lidon had been a little kid, maybe four or five years old, his father had told him not to get too close to the edge of the lake when feeding the ducks. He hadn’t listened. His father had warned him again and again until he’d told him that Lidon would have to learn the hard way. Two weeks later, he’d tumbled in headfirst. His father had gotten him out within seconds, but it had scared the crap out of Lidon. He’d never forgotten the lesson. Sometimes, people had to learn the hard way.
The alphas had thought they could be kings if they oppressed betas and omegas…but they were finding out that absolute rights for alphas came at a price. The system from before, the one they had reviled for giving too many rights to betas and especially to omegas, turned out to be the lesser of two evils.
And so they whispered to each other in living rooms and on their porches, soft voices that carried through open windows and on the air. How long would this last? How could they get back to the way things had been? How could they get rid of Armitage when he had the army behind him? What was happening in the rest of the country? With TV access cut off, they didn’t even know who was running the country. Was Armitage in charge of everything? Or had he merely taken control over the capital?
And as they made their way to the Alpha Elite Boarding School, Lidon listened. Armitage thought he was loved and revered, but he’d mistaken fear for admiration. Yes, he held all the power, and because of his iron rule, people feared him. They only dared to speak of rebellion or revolution in whispers. None of them dared to call for Armitage’s head directly…but all they needed was a spark. One tiny little flint could ignite an explosion. One man in the right place could bring this house of cards down. And Lidon had every intention of being that spark, that man.
When they came to the Alpha Elite Boarding School, all lights were blazing. Apparently, the general