Chapter 219

Sarah POV

Zane put the villa on lockdown. Every active member of security was guarding the property, and a few who had retired or otherwise moved on had called Travis to say they wanted to help.

Outside the perimeter fence, the world was going insane. It wasn’t all that much better inside.

First, Zane had made the producer cut the stream. That might have contained things at least for a while, but Matthew’s announcement had been a signal to other omegas all over the world who agreed it was true and that omegas fully staffed the Luna Temple. There had not yet been actual rioting, but we were getting close to it.

“You could have coordinated with me,” Zane told Matthew with unconcealed rage. Sergi stood sentry at the omega’s side. “We could have made a series of announcements, led up to this gradually.”

“Oracles are tired of being Pack Alphas dirty secrets!” he said back, equally angry. “And omegas are tired of being attacked, exiled from our homes, and tossed out of our households.”

“This could have been a first step to making it better,” I said, furious myself at having been used in this way. “Do you want wide-scale violence? What do you think is going to happen to Luna Temples and Oracles now?”

“They’ll hide in their strongholds, or they’ll come forward and demand to be treated like wolves!” He sneered at me. “Why do you think your own temple was so corrupt? You’re all forcing us into it!”

Zane turned to Danielle. “Take him somewhere I don’t have to worry about.” He looked down at Sergi and pointed to Matthew. “Protect only, you understand?”

The wolf growled, but I could tell it was an acknowledgement, not a threat. Danielle stepped up and asked them to follow her from the kitchen, and to my surprise, Matthew went without protest. Well, I guess he had dropped his bomb and had nothing further to say.

Zane turned to the producer. “I think it’s best if you stay here for now. I don’t know that I can protect you if you drive home or to your office.”

“Thank you, Pack Alpha Zane,” the beta said gratefully.

Chef Rachel walked into the kitchen. I wondered if she had been standing in the hall this whole time. “Shall I make some food for everyone?”

Zane nodded. “It usually helps calm people down. Thank you.”

“Alpha Zane,” Whitfield said while holding up his phone.

Zane looked at him. “Pack Alpha Colette Orleans has announced she’s going to say something.”

Zane rubbed his forehead and then nodded and got on his phone. “Travis, you and Alicia. My study.”

We assembled while Zane turned on the flat screen on his study wall. There was no need to change the channel. The Orleans Territorial Seal was on the screen with a podium in front of it.

Travis and Alicia came in and took their usual seats with Whitfield and Lainey on the other side of the room. Melissa was opening laptops and getting online.

I turned to the TV just as Pack Alpha Colette came to the podium. A few flashes made it clear she had some press in the room, but everyone was quiet as she adjusted her microphone and then smiled somewhat grimly into the camera.

“Good afternoon,” she began. “In the past hour, several dozen Oracles have come forward all over the world to make it general knowledge that the Luna Temple is staffed entirely by omegas. This hasn’t always been true. The Luna Temple was originally staffed by a mix of wolves, but over the generations it has become a religious refuge for omegas to the point of being exclusive.

“When I first became Pack Alpha and was informed of this, I was furious, not at the omegas, not at the temple, but at a society that allowed an entire class of wolves to be forced into veils and strongholds rather than simply allow the most vulnerable among us to live their lives without shame. I, along with several alphas, betas, and gammas in my government, have been working toward righting this wrong for many years now.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Zane muttered. I noticed Melissa had gotten Delia online, and she was watching with us.

“When we discovered that Sarah Astor, the human who has so completely become a part of wolf society, was going to ask an artisan from Omega, Inc., on her webcast, it was clear the time had come to act. Now, many of you will criticize this decision, talk about gradual social change, about gently letting people know the true roles omegas play in wolf lives. But, realistically, how would that work?

“We knew the shock would be the same no matter how carefully we acted. Also, I should make it clear I haven’t been the one directing behind the scenes. The omegas I’ve spoken to over the years have instigated this; I’ve just agreed they had the right.

“Now, I need to address every citizen of Orleans Territory, wolf and human. Violence against the Luna Temples or Omegas, Inc., will not be tolerated. I have called out the Territorial Guard to defend each and every temple in Orleans as well as the cooperative, and I call on the world’s other Pack Alphas to do the same.”

“Damn it, she’s right,” Zane growled as he pulled out his phone, turned it back on, ignored the way it beeped and rang, and dialed a number. “Excuse me,” he told the room and walked out into the hall with Travis on his heels. Alicia looked torn, but then she turned back to the television.

“How will history remember the actions taken today? I hope it will be mercifully. I hope the people listening to me now and their own Pack Alphas in the coming days will reflect on the lack of justice suffered by our fellow wolves for so long.

“I hope omegas can come out of the shadows and out of the temples and find acceptance from their brothers and sisters. I hope what’s been done today will signal a new, more equal existence for wolves around the world. I hope sanity and fairness will prevail.

“The humans among us have a word for both themselves and the best of themselves, ‘humanity.’ This word captures kindness, benevolence, and fellow feeling. At this time, let wolves remember our own benevolence, our own fellowship.

“May Luna bless us all.”

The screen went to an image of the territorial seal for a moment, then three panelists took over.

“It’s truly a momentous event in wolf history,” said the first perfectly quaffed commentator.

“Indeed it is,” said the second.

“If no one minds,” I said and muted the sound.

“Well, that was a very pretty speech,” Whitfield said, “but just what the hell are we supposed to do now?”