“That can’t be right,” Trey said, shaking his head and looking upset.
“It’s all just speculation, Trey,” Bertram said.
“I’m sorry, Bertram, but it isn’t just speculation,” Laura said. “The SOS has been aware of this for a long time.”
Trey looked tense. “Do you think my parents know about it?”
“Not necessarily,” Bertram said, giving Laura a warning look.
Vaughn broke the tension. “Meanwhile, I’ve been doing some research into the first colonists to land here in the URA.”
David perked up. “Oh, I read about them. There was an omega on that ship.”
“That’s right. It took some digging and a few phone calls to a friend who has secret connections in the UK, but I got his name. It was Pleasant Adams.”
“Pleasant? Is that even a name, Dad?” Jackson asked.
“It was a popular name for both men and women in the colonies, which may be the reason I was able to find out the next bit of information,” Vaughn said.
“And what was that?” I asked, wishing he’d get to the point. I was worried about Ben.
“Of the fourteen children that Pleasant gave birth to, all were alphas except for one, and that was the omega child who supposedly died at birth, which, oddly, was on the same date that a fight broke out in the colony, causing many colonists to leave for the Delta region.”
“I remember reading that the omega died in childbirth, but not that his child did, too. But I guess that happened a lot?” David asked.
“Infant fatalities were high back then, yes,” Laura answered.
“The alpha father also died at this time. It’s unknown what became of their thirteen alpha children,” Vaughn said. “Somebody in the colony probably took them in and raised them.”
“What? The father died, too?” Maddox asked. “And thirteen alphas? No betas?”
“How did the father die?” Jackson wanted to know.
“His name is listed with the dead several days after the altercation in the colony, so it seems plausible that he died then,” Vaughn said.
“A little too plausible, if you ask me,” I said.
Colt leaned back in his chair. “I’m still stuck on the thirteen alphas. What are the odds that someone would have thirteen alpha children and an omega? No betas in fourteen births? Not even one?”
“It is odd,” Laura said, writing in her notebook again. “Vaughn, are you sure? Were there any children listed who died young?”
“No. I searched. He had fourteen, and they all lived except for the last one. The omega.”
“And no one knows what the altercation was about?” Trey asked.
Vaughn shook his head. “No. But it certainly makes you wonder.”
“So, we’re all on the same page that this altercation seemed to be about the omega family,” I said.
“It certainly seems so,” Laura replied.
“I’ve got to call my sister and stop her from letting Dawson go with those government liars when they come for him,” Nova said, standing up. “What can she do? Is there a place to hide omegas? They’re going to want to know where he is. The kid’s only thirteen!”
Laura stood up, too. Resting her hand on Nova’s arm, she said, “It’s going to be all right. I’ll help you think of something.”
The intensity with which Nova looked back at her sent the temperature in the room rising. Clearing my throat, I said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put Ben in bed. Fill me in when I get back.” I gave a look to Colt that I hoped translated intowe need to get information from Treybefore crossing over to the couch and picking up Ben.
Once in our bedroom, I took off his shoes, shirt, and pants, and got him under the covers. His head didn’t feel hot, which reassured me a little. When I returned to the living room, Trey was talking, and Nova and Laura were back in their seats.