Page 17 of Shattered Omega: Part Three

“I won’t put you in danger to save us,” I whispered. I reached up, cupping her chin, and she swallowed, seeming to struggle not to meet my eyes. “I can’t.”

That I couldn’t be sorry for.

“I love you, Shatter.”

She hunched, chin quivering, and finally those beautiful golden eyes met mine. She was so unsure.

“Since the first time I saw you,”I said. “I swore you would not be collateral, no matter who I thought you were scent matched to.”

That’s what Umbra had thought at first—when I’d claimed our enemies’ scent match. But that was before he met her. Before he realised how important she was.

“I will find a way to fix this without giving you up. Do you understand?”

Another impossible. But that was what this pack did.

This time, I had a feeling that this one might cost me. I wasn’t alone. It was exactly what had pushed Umbra to the edge last night. We both felt it: this impossible wasn’t coming for free.

But that cost would never be Shatter.

She was gazing at me as if she could feel it, too. She was too smart; I realised. I couldn’t keep anything from her.

“Shatter,” I whispered. “Tell me you understand.”

She’d become lodged in this bond far too fast, and I realised the safe wasn’t the true wild card.

She was the piece we could never have planned for.

Finally, she pursed her lips and nodded. “Yes.” The word was quiet. “We will find another way.”

SIX

SHATTER

It was Thursday, and I found myself standing at the door of my Omega Studies classroom. The week had slipped by without a whisper of the Lincoln pack.

Decebal was monitoring everything he had access to; the Lincoln pack finances, known houses, vehicles—even the Dean’s emails to see if they’d given a reason for leaving, but came up empty on clues. We didn’t have tabs on everything, though. They’d apparently never found the trail of money that had been funnelled into the experimentations. Whatever they’d used for that, it seemed they were using again.

I was making a huge effort to figure out my phone, as it allowed me to contact Decebal for access to research without going through Dusk every time. At first, I thought it was broken, until Ransom explained that apparently it needed to be charged nightly to keep it going, which seemed wildly inconvenient.

On Monday, we had returned to classes. It made me feel better, taking that step, as if it was another thing they hadn’t managed to steal from me. Every night after, I had dived headfirst into the studies Decebal sent us, trying to unearth anything I could about this bond they had.

Roxy came over in the evenings to help us tidy up, and the apartment was almost back to normal. Aside from her initial question about the Lincoln pack break-in, she didn’t push further, as if she knew there were things we couldn’t explain. She had no idea how much I appreciated her for that.

The window had been replaced, as well as furniture. My nest was the last on the list for cleanup. I’d insisted the rest of the house was more important since the nest was already everything I needed it to be.

Until now, I’d been with my whole pack wherever I went. Dusk, Umbra, and Ransom stayed by my side. But Umbra had walked me here, and I was ready to face my class with Roxy.

With a deep breath, I opened the door to my first Omega Studies class since… Well, everything. I stifled my nerves as I stepped into the familiar classroom. I was instantly met by the sweet and floral scents of the omegas within.

The whispers that followed me were more intense than they had been before. It was like a replay of the moment I’d entered the ball. How long had I spent dreaming of walking into this classroom without being followed by judgement or laughter?

There wasn’t laughter anymore. Instead, the omegas looking my way were just shocked. But I knew now that I had come to this academy searching for all the wrong things. So I forced my head high, settling at a desk at the back with Roxy. She claimed our usual desk, just before the back.

I ignored everyone else, instead carefully organising my pencil case and pens just perfectly and telling myself I would be fine. The few times I dared peek up, I saw the stares, but this time a few of them gave me anxious smiles before darting their gaze away.

I shifted closer to Roxy, trying to avoid tapping my fingers on the desk and drawing more attention.

“Most people think the Lincoln pack narrative is a bunch of shit now that it’s come out you’re their scent match.”

---