Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,96

days. Those times are gone, never to return. You can’t turn back progress, technology.”

“Like you thought the shifters were gone forever?”

For the first time, Armitage acknowledged Palani, his shoulders slumping. “I’ll admit that was a miscalculation on my end. I didn’t expect others could shift already.”

“You thought you’d blackmail Lidon into revealing the secret of shifting, then use it for yourself.”

“I deserve to shift!” the general spat out. “If anyone deserves it, it’s me. No one has worked harder or has given more for this country.”

“You think it’s a reward of some kind? That you have to prove to be worthy of it?”

“It should be. It shouldn’t have come down to pure luck. Genetics.”

“It didn’t,” Lidon said.

“Isn’t that why you could shift first? Because of genetics? Because your grandfather’s DNA was used to create the gene, and as a result, you could shift first? And then you chose the men to share the knowledge with. Alphas who serve you well.” The latter was said with a sneer and a glare at Palani, implying he couldn’t shift.

Lidon let out a deep sigh. “You still don’t understand, do you? “It’s not about knowledge, and it never was about genetics primarily. Even though my bloodline played a crucial role, it wasn’t the deciding factor. The ability to shift has always been a gift, an honor bestowed upon me by the moon and the earth. It’s been about sacrifices. The sacrifice my grandfather made when he gave his life so he could transfer his powers to me rather than see them diluted through my father. The sacrifice my cousin made when he died to protect my son, thus reinforcing the power of my pack. The sacrifices countless omegas made who suffered through horrible heats because of the gene. The sacrifices mothers made when they lost their omega sons to the effects of the gene. The sacrifices my men made to stay in the pack and defend our land. Those sacrifices have been honored, even though we never expected anything in return.”

“As I didn’t sacrifice everything for my country…”

Lidon shook his head. “It’s not a sacrifice when you expect something in return, General. You did it for the power, for the glory. That’s not a sacrifice at all.”

“So you’re saying that because your cousin got killed, you and some alphas in your pack can shift?”

Lidon nodded at Palani to answer. “General, we can all shift. The whole pack.”

Armitage paled. “You’re lying. That’s impossible.”

“My god, man, why would we lie about something that’s so easy to verify?” Palani snapped.

“Remember the report York gave you about Wyndham’s attack on the ranch?” Taban spoke up. “He was the one who lied. He told you the men had been killed by the same wolf. They hadn’t. Vieno, Lidon’s omega mate, killed two men…as a wolf. He shifted.”

Armitage’s hands flew to his ears, and his mouth dropped open, his face weirdly distorted, resembling the famous painting The Scream. “H-his omega can shift?” he stammered.

“Not just my omega,” Lidon said coolly. “All omegas in my pack as well as all betas. Hell, even my son can shift, and he’s not even a year old.”

“I don’t… How is that…? That shouldn’t be possible. How did you do that? How did you make it come back so quickly? My scientists said it would take at least another generation.”

“Why would I tell you?”

“Why would you…? Don’t you realize the magnitude of this information? How much power you hold with that? People will kill to know the secret.”

33

Lidon blew out a slow breath. God, Armitage was getting on his last nerve. The audacity to tell Lidon that men would kill to be able to shift when he himself had been the one doing the killing was almost too brazen to take seriously.

Bray, who’d apparently grown tired of being in wolf form, shifted. Armitage gaped, standing like a fish on dry land again. Lidon had to admit that watching his men shift was still a thrill.

Bray put on the pants Kean handed him. “When he thought I was you, he came to visit me,” he said to Lidon. “Gave me a whole spiel about wanting to know the secret to shifting and he’d let you live in peace. He’d declare pack land tribal land so you’d have jurisdiction. That or you could become his puppet prime minister.”

Palani rolled his eyes. “Join me, and together we shall rule the galaxy… How cliché.”

Bray shrugged. “I didn’t have a chance to formally turn his proposal down, so I’m just