I hadn’t really felt that strongly about our relationship at all. It was just easy.
We were really close friends who also relied on each other for survival. Part of that was going through our ruts together. That kind of thing fostered affection, even between alphas, but I never let myself feel more than that.
How could I?
Liam wasn’t the next heir to Valor, but he was Gideon’s heir and I was another alpha. We couldn’t breed together so his mother never would have allowed us to have a public relationship and that didn’t even touch on his obsession with Lucy.
I’d helped him look for her for years, knowing that when he found her, our physical relationship would be done and over, but things hadn’t worked out that way.
When he found her, I was sure I would lose everything, but it was actually the opposite.
Now I had a partner I shared my omega with. One I loved. It still seemed kind of surreal even though I could see the mark of my teeth in his neck and still feel his emotions through our bond.
“I don’t want to be the scapegoat for your insanity,” I decided.
“You say that with such an impassive expression,” Liam teased. “Why do you keep acting as though you don’t like my particular brand of crazy?”
“Because you stress me the fuck out.”
“That’s why I agreed to wear the same tracking earring Lucy is.” Liam placed his hands on my shoulders like we were teenagers at a high school dance and I sighed, settling my hands on his waist. It was impossible to argue with him.
The tracking earring did help with some of the stress though and I could feel his emotions through the bond so I knew he was fine, but I really didn’t like that he could feel my emotions too. I couldn’t cut them off from him either.
Maybe it was because he was an alpha and not an omega, but the bond wouldn’t let me hide anything from him and it was exhausting. I was supposed to be the one he conceded to, so why was he constantly pissing me off?
“Why are you still freaking out?” Liam growled slightly and I could feel the sudden spike of his irritation through the bond. “I’m trying to make you feel better but you’re so fucking stubborn.”
I wanted to laugh because I could say the same about him, but that’s what this thing between us has always been like. We struggled for the upper hand against each other constantly, and I found it oddly reassuring that nothing has really changed even after he conceded to me.
“I’ve spent most of my life making sure no one notices me,” I reminded him. “It still makes me very uncomfortable to let everyone see me and when I stand next to you I can’t disappear. It’s annoying.”
“You agreed to be my partner, so get over it.”
I pulled him closer and stared into the red eyes of a legacy, knowing it might trigger his instincts and I did it anyway. “It’s not that easy.”
Liam sighed, choosing to look away first. “You don’t have to worry so much. I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Lucy.”
It still shocked me every time he conceded to me. I was pretty sure I’d never really get used to it either. Liam was the strongest legacy alpha in Acheron and I was the only one who could challenge him like this and live.
All these years of standing in his shadow, wondering if he would accidentally kill me one day, and now I could confidently say he would never do that. Not just for Lucy either, but for me.
“Just don’t get weird,” I told him. “I know you’ll protect us, but you need to trust us too. You’re not doing this alone.”
He smiled and rested his forehead against mine, making me nervous all over again. Did he really need to play it up like this? Lucy wasn’t even watching us.
“Cas?”
“What?” I tried not to growl at him, but from the look on Frankie’s face I could tell I wasn’t doing a very good job of holding back.
Hold on. Frankie and River were on the dance floor. So, where the fuck was Lucy? I looked over at the dessert table to see her speaking with Melinda now and I’d go over there but she seemed genuinely interested in what the other omega had to say.
Nicolette was watching them along with all the members of Valor she’d brought with her and so was the Lopez pack. She’d be fine, but I wanted this song to be over already so I could dance with her and then leave.
“Cas.”
“What?” I demanded, refocusing on Liam. “Just spit it out already.”
“How did it feel to hear me tell them my name was Liam Valentine?”