10. An Uncertain Future Ahead

"That judge really pissed me off. He was so proud of himself, outsmarting every claimant."

Gabriel tapped his fingers on the steering wheel distractedly while they waited for the light to turn green. Alice was at his side, staring out the car window, one elbow leaning on the door and her head resting on her hand. The rain was obscuring her view, but he doubted she was paying the outside world any real attention. She was ignoring the conversation in the car too.

Daniel was sitting in the middle of the back seat, watching her carefully while talking.

"Several of the betas were really upset about the way they were removed from the list. But some apologized to Alice when they left the courtroom." Daniel leaned forward. "Anyone you recognized, Alice?"

"Yes." The numbness in her voice chafed him. Gabriel thought he saw a bit of her spirit return when she'd confronted the judge, but the empty voice and distant look on her face she had since Bruno died had returned. He felt like her mind was far away.

"Who?" Gabriel insisted. They needed more info on those men. In particular, about the second claimant. That alpha had information that Gabriel hadn't known about, and that made him feel lacking.

"Some guys from my old job. Some, I think, were regulars when I worked at the coffee shop. One ex-boyfriend. One guy from college. Some I didn't recognize at all."

"The last guy who left the room, do you know him?"

She looked forward for a moment, trying to focus.

"I don't think I saw him. There were guys all around us until you came out."

"When I came out of the courtroom, you guys were alone."

"I think so, yes." Daniel scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Probably we still had people around us when the guy came out."

Gabriel huffed in disappointment. He really wanted to know if Alice knew the guy or not.

Alice turned to stare out her window again, and her eyes regained their unfocused gaze. Someone cut them off at an intersection and he cursed at the car. She didn't even flinch.

He tried to think of topics to hold her attention.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her. Shit. Since when had he become so bad at talking with women?

She gently rubbed the skin above her heart and sighed.

"Alice?" he insisted.

"What did he mean by ‘mate'?" She didn't turn to look at him.

Fuck.Had her mind been stuck on that?

"It's what people started calling converted couples," Daniel answered for him.

"Couples set up by the lists?" Her voice was low, her face still turned to the window.

"Any couple, really."

"Mate…" she scoffed. "People are really taking this wolf analogy thing seriously."

Gabriel turned up another avenue, but the rain was causing Lisbon's traffic to increase. They made slow progress.

"Are you my mate now, Gabriel?"

He almost drove into the car in front of them. Shit. He quickly looked at Daniel in the rearview mirror, silently asking for help, but Daniel just shook his head.

"I guess that some people may call us that now," Gabriel finally said, trying to avoid a direct reply.

"And if this other alpha gets his way? Will he be my mate?" She put emphasis on the word mate, demonstrating how little she thought of the concept.

"I won't let it come to that. I promise." He grabbed her left hand and squeezed.

"Even if he doesn't get his way, you're stuck with me."

"I'm not stuck with you." You are mine now…

The numbness in her voice was starting to break, her emotions creeping in. "Can we undo the conversion, Daniel?"

Daniel's gaze jumped to Alice at the question. "No." He scooted closer to the front seats. "Even if we could, why would we do that?"

"Why?" She turned to them now, looking from one to the other in disbelief. "Why wouldn't I want to turn back? I would get off these stupid lists. I would be able to walk around without a chaperone. I would be able to go back to work, and maybe have a semblance of a normal life!"

"You can have a normal life, Alice." Gabriel pulled her hand to himself, but she turned her face to the window. "You can still work with me like you did with Bruno. I'm not going to restrict—"

"Stop the car." She shook her hand off his, and took off her seat belt.

"What?" He turned to a smaller street next to a garden. "Alice…"

"I said, stop the car!"

She opened the car door, and he hit the brakes, afraid she would step out of the vehicle while it was still moving. The car that was following them, occupied by her new bodyguards, almost rear-ended them.

She stepped out and went into the garden. Gabriel got out of the car, leaving it in the middle of the street. Car horns and angry shouts rose around them, but he ignored them. Her bodyguards jumped out of their car to follow Alice, but stopped when Gabriel raised his hand at them, a silent order to stay.

Alice just kept walking, hands on her face, heading away from him. The rain changed from a light drizzle to a full rainfall, obscuring the world around them.

Gabriel ran after her and tried to grab her arm. She shook free from his grasp. He expected her to look furious. Furious at the claiming lists. Furious at the change. Furious at him for taking her husband's place, and talking about it in such a nonchalant and stupid way.

But there was only pain in her eyes. She was fully crying now, the first time he'd seen her cry since he told her the news about Bruno.

She turned her back to him and hugged herself. Her shoulders were shaking. They were both getting soaked, but he didn't care. She was at her breaking point, and he didn't know how to keep her together.

Bruno would have known.

"I don't want any of this!" she told him loudly over the sound of the rain.

"I know." He moved to hug her but stopped himself. He wasn't sure how she would react.

"What else are they going to take from me?" She lifted her face to the rain. "I lost my autonomy, I lost my husband, now I lose my freedom…" Her tears ran down her face, mixing with the rain.

After so much time in denial, she was finally coming apart.

Gabriel didn't know how to make things right. He didn't even know if it was possible for things to be made right.

"I wish I had gone to work with him that morning." She looked down, her shoulders hunched.

Now he did hug her. He put his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She tried hard to push him away, but he enveloped her as much as he could, warming her up and shielding her from the rain and the world. Even if he wasn't the next on the list, even if he was still just a friend, he wouldn't let her have those kind of thoughts. She was precious not only to him, but to everyone around her.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was muffled against his chest. She stopped fighting him.

"Don't be sorry," he said, confused. She had nothing to apologize for.

"This is terrible for you too. I don't know why he asked you to sign up for that stupid list."

His guilt, which had been eating at him since he did what Bruno asked, was now burning him completely. "Don't think about that. I don't regret doing what he asked."

He was such a fraud. He didn't regret getting on that list—not because Bruno had asked him, not because he was such a good friend, but because of Alice. He'd been falling in love with her since the day his friend introduced them. She was everything he wanted in a woman. Funny, smart, and nerdy. How many nights had he stayed awake fantasizing about her? How many girls with golden-brown hair had he seduced because their hair reminded him of her?

And now fate had given Alice to him on a platter. It hurt to have lost one of his best friends, but hell if she wasn't a great consolation prize.

I'm such an asshole.

He was a disgusting person. But he wouldn't let go. He had this one chance to have everything he ever wanted, and he would take it with both hands. He could apologize to Bruno in hell.

"Let's get back to the car. You're freezing."

She shook with cold, her dark eyes flinching at the raindrops that hit her face. Then she hesitated. It seemed like she was going to say something important, but she dropped her chin, defeated. "Sure."

He walked her back to the car, one protective arm around her shoulders, trying to keep her warm. Daniel rushed to them with an umbrella.

"You'd better take a warm shower as soon as we get home. I don't want you to get sick. I would have to put you in the Tube again," Daniel half joked.

"I just want to sleep. I'll be fine."

Daniel looked at her with concern, probably thinking the same thing Gabriel was. An omega in pain for her lost mate could do some very dangerous things to herself.

He wouldn't let it happen, and all their friends had said the same. They weren't going to leave her alone for a minute if they could help it.

Back at her house, she went straight to bed. He knocked lightly on the bedroom door and checked if everything was okay. She was holding her husband's pillow in her arms, breathing softly.

He left the door slightly open so he could hear if she woke up, and joined Daniel in the kitchen.

His soaked shirt and pants went into the dryer, followed by his socks. Daniel was casually making tea for the two of them, indifferent to his stripping down.

After pulling some sweatpants and a T-shirt from a bag he had brought from his house and getting dressed, Gabriel accepted the tea Daniel offered. He preferred coffee, but right now he just wanted something warm. Even alphas could get cold sometimes.

"Aren't you going to put some shoes on?" Daniel asked him.

"No."

They drank their tea quietly, each afraid of speaking their mind. Daniel was the first to break the silence. "Can they take her away?" There was fear in his voice. He was Alice's doctor, after all, and if she was taken by another alpha, they would ask her doctor to go with her. That meant Daniel and his mate Marina would have to follow wherever she went. He could refuse, of course, but as Bruno liked to say, they were all one big pack now. All their friends and family saw Alice as theirs. How could he refuse to follow and leave her all alone?

"They can if they want. The judge was expecting her to accept his offer. He thought she wanted to be free from all claimants." Gabriel sighed. "The timings on the list were just the excuse he needed to justify her request."

"If she wasn't an omega, they wouldn't give a fuck about the timings," Daniel vented. "For all of this talk of the lists being for the women's protection, they hardly intervene when it's a beta woman who needs help."

"Why the fuck did they start the lists, then?"

"To control who gets to fuck whom."

Gabriel set down his tea and crossed his arms. "What?"

"Most people don't know this, but after going through the conversion, we are attracted to the genetic traits in others that are similar to our own dynamics. Beta doctors and scientists, for example, are attracted to partners with the same type of genetic tendencies. The results of their union should be more doctors and scientists. So, the list makes sure that each male beta doctor is shortlisted to a woman they find interesting."

"And female doctors?"

"Who do you think filled up their lists when they were changed?"

"I see… and alphas?"

"Alphas are rare, but extremely important. Logic says you should be attracted to other alphas, but you're not. Alphas can be very attracted to some beta women, and completely ignore others. Most ignore other alphas entirely. We can't figure out why yet. But omegas? alphas are super attracted to them. And you saw how Bruno was changing our country to something better, right?"

"Yes, amazing administrative powers… just the superpower I wanted."

Daniel laughed. "You may joke, but imagine a world ruled by super-administrative powers, as you call them, who feel protective of the people they are leading and want to ensure their happiness and well-being. A world where logic overpowers pride and greed. Add the alpha command—the ability to make anyone weaker than you obey without question—and you have a perfect leader. One who cares more about his people than himself."

"The French First Chair doesn't seem like that type. The man thinks only of himself and keeps causing problems for the rest of Europe."

"He's mated to an omega. That's why they put him in power," Daniel confessed.

"What? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Gabriel demanded.

"Because anything omega-related was for Bruno's ears only," Daniel sheepishly replied.

Gabriel paced barefoot in the kitchen while Daniel calmly drank his tea.

"Did… did they pass over that omega's first claimant to give her to him?"

"Yes, a beta. One of the other omegas told Alice all about it."

"They cut all betas from Alice's list too." Gabriel scratched his chin.

"It would be pointless for an omega to be mated to a beta."

"Why?"

"Didn't you notice? I thought alphas were all supposed to be cunning and intelligent," Daniel said with a sad smile. Gabriel just lifted one eyebrow at him.

"Bruno was weaker than you when he was changed. Not by much, mind you." Daniel crossed his arms and shrugged. "But after Alice changed, he changed too. He became a force to be reckoned with."

"So having an omega mate makes an alpha stronger?"

"I think so, but it's just a theory we have. But the truth is all seven omegas we have discovered so far are mated to alphas. Maybe they can't do the same for a beta?"

"I'm starting to hate that word too. Mated."

Daniel put his cup in the washing machine.

"Is having Alice as a mate going to make me stronger?"

"I don't think it's that simple. I mean, look at the French alpha. He is mated for almost a year now and he's a case study for incompetence."

"So what else is needed?"

"I don't know. I think that's what we are trying to figure out."

"We?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

Daniel took a deep breath. "We have a group. The doctors who helped convert omegas, I mean. We have orders to document everything, from physical changes to mental ones." He rubbed his face with both hands. "I have to document what happened this morning." There was regret in this voice.

"And if I order you not to?"

"The request comes from higher up. I'm sorry."

"I don't know how much higher up you can get from me." But Gabriel didn't press.

Daniel hesitated. "You are officially Alice's mate now, and First Chair, right?"

"Temporarily, yes. Although that judge put a lot of restrictions on it until the second hearing."

"What kind of restrictions?"

"Can't leave the country with her, can't move her to a new home, can't change her security details. I'm now fully responsible for her well-being and safety, and if something happens, I'm the liable one."

"Seems like normal stuff."

"I also can't have sex with her."

Daniel snorted with surprise. "Shit. That means they are going to ask me at the next hearing if you did have sex with her." He smoothed his hair behind his ears and rubbed his face again. "Do they think you're so desperate that you would force yourself on a grieving woman?"

"I don't know what the fuck they think. I just know I don't like it. And I wouldn't force any woman, grieving or not." Gabriel was letting his temper rise; he didn't mean to snap at Daniel. "Sorry."

Daniel smiled. "No worries. This isn't easy on you either."

Both men stood in silence for a while. Then Daniel looked at the kitchen clock and cursed. "I still have to go to the clinic today. Will you be okay on your own? I can ask Marina to come over."

Gabriel waved him off. "Don't bother Marina. I bet she's anxious to have lunch with you and hear all about the hearing."

They said their goodbyes, and Gabriel was left alone. He went to the main bedroom and checked on Alice. She was deeply asleep with her husband's pillow secured tightly against her chest. He couldn't suppress a chuckle when he noticed a little bit of drool on her own pillow.

He used his phone to order in some lunch for both of them, then settled in Bruno's office. There was a lot of work to do now and his responsibility had increased tenfold, not just for Alice but for the country as well.

There was a chance, small as it was, that they could take Alice away. More likely she would stay with him and they would need to change a few things going forward, starting with this house. Gabriel didn't want to live with her in the same place she had lived with her husband.

He was going to bet on the latter possibility, but he would prepare for both.

Alice woke up when she felt a tug on her heart, followed by a now-familiar pain. It was similar to hunger—a feeling of emptiness inside, but where her heart should be. She assumed it was gone by now, by the void she felt in her chest. She buried her face in Bruno's pillow. The smell was almost all gone. It might as well be only in her imagination now. She took another deep breath of it all the same.

The sound of the front door closing caught her attention. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She could have slept a full week and she would still be sleepy. The weight of the world was crushing her and the only relief was unconsciousness.

There was a light tap on the door.

"Come in, Gabriel."

He opened the door but didn't step into the room.

"I got us some lunch."

"I'm not hungry." All she wanted to do was sleep.

He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "I understand. That's still no reason not to try to eat something."

Alice sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. She could sense her friends' distress so strongly that it overwhelmed her. They were in pain, and had been since Bruno's passing two weeks ago. She tried to be strong for them, and for his family, but she was reaching the end of her strength.

Still, Gabriel hadn't deserved that childish attitude from her. He didn't ask to be in this situation.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Alice apologized, looking down at her knees.

Gabriel stepped into the room and sat on the bed. His blue eyes searched hers with an intensity she couldn't discern. Why was he angry? His emotions were harder to read than the rest of her friends', but there were two things alphas couldn't hide from her, and one was anger.

"I said before, you don't need to apologize for anything. It's not your fault."

She stopped herself from apologizing for apologizing. That would have been silly. Unsure of what to say, she let the silence linger between them.

Gabriel started to play with a loose thread on the old blanket.

"Is there anyone else you would prefer?" he asked, keeping his eyes down.

"What?"

"There are three other alphas in the list. Did any of them interest you?"

Was this what he wanted? Did he want to be free of her?

"One of them was your ex, right?" he insisted.

"That guy…" She rolled her eyes. "He was so incredibly dull. He only talked about cars and work."

Gabriel chuckled. "What did you see in him, then?"

"He had a cute ass, and he knew the bouncer at my favorite nightclub."

Now he really laughed. She couldn't hold back a chuckle too.

"Did he really ask you to marry him?"

"Yes." She hid her face, remembering that particularly embarrassing moment. "He proposed to me in a super-fancy restaurant, the kind you leave hungry because the food is so artistic. Just shows how little he knew me."

Gabriel laughed again. She smiled at him. At least he was looking better. He had been so stressed since Bruno's death.

Alice was honest with him. "I don't prefer anyone else, Gabriel." She hated that they were pushing this onto her so soon.

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, a sense of relief coming from him.

"But I do understand if you don't want to be stuck with me." She rubbed her chest. It was hurting again. "I know you like to chase after women. You can continue with your normal life. Maybe I can go to my parents' house in the North."

His smile dropped.

"No." He made to grab one of her knees, but changed his mind halfway, scratching his stubble instead. "You're under my care now, and I'm not sending you anywhere."

She studied him. He was embarrassed, but she'd always been aware he was a womanizer. He didn't exactly hide it from his friends.

"This is such a stupid situation. How do they expect two people who don't want each other to become mates?"

She said that more to herself than for his benefit, but he winced when she spoke, and a wave of frustration emanated from him. He really didn't like the idea either.

He rubbed his face and stared at the ceiling. Then he got up and passed her the heavy wool jacket she liked to wear around the house. "Come on. Let's go eat before it gets cold."

She took the jacket and got up. "What did you get us?"

"Pizza and beer."

"That sounds great." She gave him another smile. "Now that proves you're someone who knows me."

He didn't reply.

He scrolled through the file on his tablet, growling at the screen. Frustration was building between his eyes with every line he read.

They had fiddled with Bruno's phone in every conceivable way since the day he got rid of the man, but they hadn't found a way to breach the security around the omegas yet. And the man responsible for setting up their security was just as cryptic.

No information on age, location, profession, or access level. At times, he doubted it was a human being at all.

However, a small breakthrough had appeared with an uncomfortable surprise. The judge at the hearing today had pulled the rug from under his feet, but he'd also contacted a higher-up. And that second judge was someone considerably up the chain. That higher-up judge had, in turn, contacted someone far more important than any of them expected. One of the five from the High Court.

There was no chance they could hack a man so important, at least for now, but the second judge who contacted him, however, was an easier target.

His people had recorded the whole call, and accessed all info on the judge's personal devices. He was now reading the file the judge had on the mysterious alpha who thought himself entitled to Alice.

No name. No age. No position in the hierarchy. Just one job description: bookkeeper.

The missing puzzle pieces showed a better picture than the pieces he had.

He threw the tablet against the wall in anger. So her "guardian angel" thought to help himself to Alice, now that her husband was out of the way. Had the man been waiting patiently for something to happen to Bruno, or was he just lucky that someone else was faster than him? He sneered at the thought.

Bookkeeper. He knew quite well what that code word meant. He had been invited to become one himself, when he was still naive and believed in the new system. Before he was deemed defective. That would make going to the next hearing extremely dangerous. The man would probably be able to sense his handiwork.

He growled in frustration again. He had been so close. She was right there in the corridor, hand stretched out for him to shake, a gentle smile on her lips. All trusting and sweet, like she always was.

And he'd felt that teasing link when he shook her hand. The bond she'd shared with her husband was now broken, a string on the wind yearning for its other half.

How he wanted it…

That taste from Bruno's mind had only whetted his appetite. And his pride didn't allow him to grab it. He'd thought the new claimant would be some alpha who had the judge in his pocket. He'd thought he could outsmart the system.

It would have been easy to put that idiot Gabriel as her mate and himself as the second. He'd thought that new alpha had no chance at all. And now the moves he had made to take her legally later might actually come back to bite him in the ass. If the bookkeeper actually got his hands on Alice, it would be near impossible to recover her.

Shit.He should have taken her when he had the chance. Now he needed to put a new plan into motion.

When the new date for the claim court arrived, he'd decided he couldn't go, or he would risk it all. He didn't know why fate insisted on keeping him from Alice, but he would correct it. He would get her in the end.