Page 82 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Ever since then, I’d always pretended like that part of my life never happened—I was born the day Frankie brought me into her family.

The only part of my life I hadn’t been able to bury completely was the boy who haunted me every time it rained. I couldn’t pretend like none of that happened without erasing that boy from my life too, so I convinced myself he wasn’t real. That I’d made it all up. Even the treasures I kept in my drawer.

It had felt real, but it was no more than a pleasant dream – one I could forget until it was as hazy as all the faces in my memories.

But it was real.

Somehow, that boy had appeared in front of me like my dreams had finally manifested him into something tangible.

He’d grown up to become a very attractive, very powerful legacy alpha who was still very much obsessed with me and knowing for a fact that he was real was exhuming a part of my life that should have stayed buried.

Even before I found out who he really was, Liam had started digging up the unmarked grave where I’d buried those memories. It never should have been found because now I couldn’t stop thinking about my father and why he would abandon me like that after everything he did to make sure I never had to worry about living in such a vicious world as an omega.

I’d kept that shit buried for fifteen years – sure it would stay down there forever.

My life as my father’s daughter and my life as an orphaned omega were completely separate. Daphne and Lucy had nothing to do with each other, but now that boy was my alpha and I couldn’t ignore the way Daphne and Lucy had always been two sides of the same coin anymore.

But that incident with my father…it had put me on a path I never would have walked down on my own, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would affect Liam the same way.

Would he be able to handle it better than I did? Would it be different because he was an alpha and I was an omega? Or was the fact that I was here when he needed me going to help keep him from killing a piece of himself like I had?

I wasn’t really one for destiny or fate. I didn’t believe in a higher power either, but I couldn’t help but hope the timing of our reunion meant something.

For most of my life, I’d been a defective omega, but that’s not what I was anymore. I was a dominant omega bonded to Cassius Valentine and Liam Valor.

It was my job as his omega to help him through this and the best thing I could do for him right now was to figure out where that fucking phone was.

Having a direction and purpose always helped ease the feeling of helplessness.

I searched those red eyes that looked so much darker than they were when we first met, seeing nothing but determination and resolution.

“Lucy…” Liam settled his hand on the back of my neck and I instantly felt his churning emotions ease. “I am scared of what we’ll find. Probably for the same reasons you’re scared to look at your father’s case file. I don’t want to see more proof that I didn’t know Gideon as well as I thought I did, but I can’t just let them get away with killing my brother either.”

“It’s my job to protect my family. That includes you and Frankie now too, so the sooner we find who did this, the better. I don’t want any of you getting hurt because I wasn’t strong enough to face my fears.”

I suppose that was the difference between alphas and omegas, wasn’t it? Liam, Cas, and Frankie would always do what needed to be done to protect their family even if they didn’t like it.

“That doesn’t mean you’re weak,” Cas snapped, jolting me out of that depressing train of thought. “Your situation is completely different.”

Except it wasn’t.

My mother was murdered.

By my own father.

“It’s different because they were supposed to protect you, not the other way around,” Frankie explained. “And not because you’re an omega. Because you were a child. They were your parents. It was their job to keep you safe. They shouldn’t have done anything that would take them out of your life before you were ready.”

I dropped my eyes to my phone and nodded, knowing she was right even if it didn’t feel like it.

Turning my phone around to show Frankie and Cas the picture, I swallowed down the tears I didn’t have the time for. I took a deep breath and shoved down the emotions until there was nothing left but cool, calm clarity.

Cas didn’t look at the picture though. He only had eyes for me, and it made me feel like I really was calm and collected, as long as he was watching me.

“Let me start from the beginning then.” I showed Liam the picture and pointed to Gideon’s white button-down shirt. “Your brother was fully dressed when they found him, but he wasn’t wearing his blazer. Per all the footage we could find when he used his second phone, that’s where he kept it. It’s not something I think he’d leave lying around for anyone to find either considering how careful he was to keep it a secret.”

Frankie held out her hand for my phone and I gave it to her, wondering if she’d find something I’d missed. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Gideon kept that phone on his person at all times,” Frankie muttered as she zoomed in. “The only reason you’d do that is if there was someone you wanted to stay in constant contact with and if the police haven’t found it that means the killer took it or Gideon hid it somewhere.”

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