Omega Mine
Chapter 25

Josie stared at Grayson for a full minute, sure she’d misheard him. “What?”

“My mother is dead,” Grayson repeated, a hard glint in his eyes that he hadn’t aimed at her in days.

She didn’t like it, immediately feeling defensive. She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing at her suddenly cold arms. His brow furrowed, and then he was stepping back into her space, plastering his large body to her smaller one.

His hands replaced hers, his warm palms rubbing her sensitive skin gently. “We need to replace you clothes that aren’t dirty.”

“I–Grayson, we can’t just change the subject,” she argued, cupping his face in her hands until he looked down at her. His eyes softened when they found hers, and suddenly it felt much easier to breathe. This was the look she’d been growing used to, and she wanted more of it. “The night that you were taken, the rest of your family was attacked. I’ve only heard the stories, but Bethany was critically wounded. She still has the scars on her neck where her throat had been shredded. It was a miracle that she survived. But she did survive. Your mother is alive.”

That terrible night had been what spurred Bethany on to create the rebellion, to take action as the Omega Prime in order to fight against the oppression and genocide of their kind. She’d always believed Grayson was alive, somewhere out in the world, and she’d been right.

It was unfortunate that Josie was now beginning to question her motives.

She lowered her eyes to his mouth, hating what she was about to say next. “I’m sorry to say that your father and brother were killed.”

He shook his head, taking a shuddering breath. “I don’t remember it like that.”

“What do you remember? You didn’t get a chance to tell me before.”

“It’s all fragmented,” Grayson replied gruffly. “I can only recall bits and pieces of my life before I was imprisoned. Nothing is concrete, more like images in my head and feelings surrounding them. I see my father, my brother and my mother in my mind and I know they’re all dead.” He tapped his chest, right above his heart. “I feel it, Josie.”

Josie’s heart cracked at his bitter admission. She’d never known her father, and her mother had died so many years ago that she hardly remembered what she looked like. She understood the sting of grief, and she could only imagine how Grayson felt, remembering something horrific like that all at once.

“I think the only way for you to really know I’m telling the truth is to see Bethany for yourself.” Although, once she said it outloud, she immediately felt repulsed by the idea.

Did Bethany deserve to see her son after all these years? No, Josie didn’t think so. But a reunion was inevitable, especially if Grayson was expected to lead a rebellion.

She cast her mate a wistful glance.

They hadn’t even talked about that, and she’d only briefly mentioned that he was important before. For all she knew, he’d balk at the idea of being a leader to their people. It wasn’t like Josie was asking him to split a donut with her; she was asking him to give up his freedom the moment he’d gained it. To dedicate his life to a cause that could possibly get him killed.

A cause that he likely didn’t give a damn about.

Her mouth dried at the thought and she felt physically sick to her stomach. Grayson deserved more, another familiar thought ringing in her head.

He deserved better.

Grayson shook his head, the motion pulling her from her thoughts. “I trust you that she’s alive. My memories are bound to be faulty,” he eventually concluded, though it was hard to miss the disbelief shining in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Tell me about your life with the rebellion. How you came to be with me, and how you met Jameson.”

Josie bit her lower lip before she agreed. It wasn’t a glamorous tale but she did her best to keep it concise and to the point, explaining her role, how this was her first time as an active member and what she’d begun unraveling since she’d met Grayson and Jameson. Once she was finished, he looked just as confused as she felt.

“Why were you chosen to come here?” he asked curiously.

“I have no idea. I applied ages ago to be considered for an assignment, but I’d given up hope after a while of radio silence.” To be fair, Josie spent most of her time camping in the woods, laying low to not attract any unwanted human attention unless she had to go into a nearby town for supplies. And even then, she’d always done her best to conceal her identity.

For all she knew, it had taken them months to hunt her down until she’d been eventually located by one of their operatives and informed that she’d been selected. From there, she’d received a few months worth of training and then been sent to Hinkley.

“Is it possible that Bethany knew you were my mate? And that’s why she sent you?”

Josie shrugged, feeling as baffled as he felt. “I’m not sure how she could possibly know that. I don’t like the coincidence of it all but we won’t know more until we talk to Jameson. And even then, I’m not sure how helpful he’ll be. He seems almost as much in the dark as I am.”

Especially after she recounted her trip here to Grayson.

In fact, the more she was discovering, the less she mistrusted Jameson and the more the rebellion seemed like an organization that she wanted no part of. Bethany’s legacy had begun crumbling in Josie’s mind since she was imprisoned. And now, with Grayson as her mate, she couldn’t help but harbor resentment for his own mother for allowing her son to be so abused.

He could have died at any point, killing the spark of the rebellion and Josie’s chance at happiness right along with it.

“Do you believe he lied to you?” Grayson knelt down, searching through their nest and inspecting their clothing as he waited for her response. He turned some items over, checking for stains before setting them in a separate pile.

Josie hesitated, afraid of saying the wrong thing. “I can’t decide,” she admitted quietly, watching as he dismantled her hastily built nest. “Everything he told me seemed genuine, but I’m not an Alpha and my senses aren’t as acute as yours, so he could have easily misled me. However, he protected me while you were away, and he’s kept us safe during my heat. His intentions seem noble.”

Not to mention he’d done his best to protect her against Ortega, concealed her Omega status and freed her and Grayson.

“But…” Grayson drawled, waiting for her to continue.

Josie sighed. “Now that we’re free of Commander Ortega, I’m not sure it’s the right call to stay with Jameson.”

Maybe they’d be better off disappearing into the woods, never to be seen or heard from again. She’d lived in the wilderness before, and she doubted Grayson would mind the outdoors after years of captivity.

Even if the thought of abandoning her kind seemed abhorrent, protecting Grayson’s welfare was far more important to her. The rebellion didn’t seem to give a fuck about either of them, so why should she care about them?

Grayson stood with some items in his hands. “These are the cleanest. We’ll replace something else for you to wear soon.” He dressed her quickly, his movements gentle and kind. So in contrast to the male she’d met in that dark cell. “If we leave Jameson behind, how will we replace the rebellion without him?”

“I’m not sure we should replace the rebellion,” Josie admitted, her voice growing stronger as she began to lay more concerns at his feet. “I don’t like that you were held somewhere horrible for so long, and I especially don’t like that once they knew we’d be discovered as mates, they went no-contact. Even if their excuses about that make perfect sense, I don’t like that it’s expected of you to become a ruler and to fight in a war for people that didn’t fight for you. You shouldn’t have to deal with that burden, Grayson. It isn’t fair.”

She ran her hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers caught on some tangles.

Grayson tugged a shirt over his head, replaceing boots and putting them on each of their feet. “I agree with you to an extent,” he told her quietly. His brow furrowed, and he shook his head as if to clear it.

“But…” she repeated back to him.

“But I remember bits and pieces of my youth, enough to know that it was instilled in me from birth to protect others of our kind, to keep them safe. The fact that I’ve spent my life doing the opposite doesn’t sit well with me.”

“That isn’t your fault,” Josie replied adamantly, the truth adding heat to her words. “You did what you had to in order to survive. No one could ever blame you for that.”

Grayson’s eyes clouded with frustration and guilt. “After everything you’ve told me, I shouldn’t have allegiance to anyone other than you. And you are my main priority, Josephine. But the thought of abandoning our kind to face further extinction from the humans after everything I’ve done… I can’t do it.”

“I understand.” And she did. Grayson was the Alpha Prime. It was in his very nature to lead, to fight and protect. And if he felt the need to atone, when she didn’t think he had anything to atone for, then she wasn’t going to hold him back from that. “If this is what you want, then I will stand by you.”

“Let’s go meet with Jameson,” Grayson suggested after a small moment of silence passed between them, moving back to her side and tenderly finger-combing her hair. He kept his eyes locked on his task as he continued. “I don’t want to question him too much about the rebellion and our concerns until we’re alone. I don’t know Gemma or David well enough to trust them with whatever he might say, and I doubt the Omega feels differently. He might conceal the truth from me if they’re near.”

That made sense. “What will you do if he lies to you when you question him privately?”

Grayson’s fingers stilled in her hair, his eyes replaceing hers and holding. His eyes glowed a fierce red, the predator in him easily slipping to the surface. “Then I’ll kill him.”

The meeting with Jameson and the others was uneventful. Instead of Hinkley, the Omega suggested that they travel on foot to Charleton, another town a few days walk from here, and seek shelter from a different member of the rebellion in order to facilitate an evac for the five of them.

Grayson was a bit surprised that Gemma and David agreed to travel with them, but the Alpha and Beta had insisted they keep close to Josie and him, acting as more protection in case any of Ortega’s men showed up.

Josie had seemed equally as taken aback, but after a few minutes with their new allies, she’d thanked them for saving Grayson, graciously accepting their offer to stick with them. If Jameson had an issue with this new development, he didn’t let on, appearing relieved that they’d found companions for their journey.

In a sense, Grayson was relieved too, if only for the fact that Gemma and David seemed more eager to ally with him personally as opposed to the rebellion. If he and Josie did decide to leave Jameson behind, he’d feel comfortable having more protection for his mate.

“I have some clothes for you both,” Gemma finally said once they’d all decided that tonight they’d begin the trek to Charleton. She walked over to a nearby tree, sticking her hand through the hole of the rotting stump and pulling out a trash bag that appeared to be stuffed to the brim with supplies.

“Where did you get that?” Josie asked in surprise, her eyes lightening with delight as the Alpha pulled out handfuls of wrinkled clothes.

“It’s not the best, but it doesn’t smell like sex.” She handed the clothes to Josie before handing Grayson a pair of jeans and a shirt. “I don’t know how well it will fit, either. And to answer your question; the last few days we’ve been taking shifts to watch over you. When I’ve had some free time, I’ve also been scavenging the local areas. There’s a fair bit of abandoned houses a few miles away. Some look like old hideouts for our kind, while others just look like hunting cabins.”

Josie raised a brow as Gemma pulled out cans of food, cracking open the lid before walking over to a campfire and rekindling it. She placed a pot on top of some rocks just above the fire before pouring the contents inside.

His mate’s stomach rumbled and Gemma smirked. “I’ll let you have the first serving, Omega. Clearly you’ve earned it.”

Grayson nodded in thanks, escorting Josie back to the shack so that they could dress properly. Once they were finished, they returned to the fire to eat before resting.

They were going to need as much sleep as they could get before they began their journey.

He just hoped it was worth it.