Page 66 of Knot the One They Want

"Damien. Is Evangeline alright?" he asks.

I nod stiffly. "She's stable. Sleeping now while they treat the infection." The words taste bitter on my tongue.

His brow furrows. "Infection? From what?"

I swallow hard, my jaw clenching. I can't meet his piercing gaze. Now is the moment of truth. The moment I have to admit what I've done. "Incomplete mating marks."

Silence hangs heavy between us, the weight of my admission suffocating. I risk a glance at my father's face and immediately wish I hadn't. Realization dawns in his eyes, followed swiftly by a disappointment so profound it makes my chest ache.

"Incomplete mating marks," he repeats slowly, each word dripping with disapproval. "And why, pray tell, would the marks be incomplete, Damien?"

I have no answer.

No excuse.

I failed her.

Failed myself. Failed everything the Blackwood name stands for.

My father sighs heavily, the sound echoing in the empty corridor. "Oh, for fuck's sake," he breathes as he comes to the realization. He's a brilliant man, after all. He can put the pieces together easily enough. "I never thought I'd see the day I'd be ashamed of you, son."

His words cut deep, slicing through the last of my defenses. I can't blame him. I'm ashamed of myself. Disgust curdles in my gut as I remember Evie's pale, sweat-slicked face, her body writhing in pain from the botched marks I left on her delicate skin as we all piled into the back of that ambulance.

Marks I didn't have the decency to complete.

"You're right," I manage through gritted teeth. "I've brought shame to the Blackwood name. To everything you've built."

He shakes his head, disappointment etched into every line of his face. "This isn't about the family name, Damien. It's about honor. Integrity. Respect for your omega. I raised you better than this. Your mother and I gave you everything, the keys to the kingdom, our company legacy, and an omega of your own to care for, and this is what you do with it? This is how you treat what you've been given, with your omega lying in a hospital bed, half-marked and in pitiful condition?"

Each word lands like a blow, cracking the icy facade I've so carefully constructed. He's right. He did raise me better. They both did. And I've let him down in the worst possible way.

"I'll fix this," I vow, my voice low and rough with emotion. "I'll make this right. I swear it."

And I mean it.

I can't pretend like I don't still wish things had been different, but after tonight, seeing the effect my desperate actions have had on the rest of my pack—on our omega—I know something has to change. I know the way I've handled things has been dead fucking wrong.

He meets my gaze, blue eyes so like my own searching for something. Sincerity, perhaps. Remorse. I don't know if he finds what he's looking for, but he nods once, sharply.

"See that you do, son. And if you can't muster up the decency to do it for the omega in that hospital bed, then consider this," he says slowly. "I'm not inclined to leave the family legacy in the hands of an alpha who can't even take care of his own omega."

My father's words strike like a hammer, each one driving the nail of shame deeper into my soul. I flinch at his acute disappointment. It's a heavy burden, heavier than the prospect of losing the company, the legacy, everything I've worked for my entire life.

Because he's right. Absolutely fucking right.

"I understand," I manage to grit out, the words scraping my throat raw. "I... I'll do whatever it takes to make this right."

And I will. I have to.

The alternative—Evie's pale, still face, her body wracked with pain from my carelessness —is unthinkable.

My father sighs, the sound heavy. "Where are Evangeline's parents?" he asks. "I hope you at least had the decency to notify them of what was happening."

"Of course I did," I mutter, but even as the words leave my lips, a sinking feeling settles in my gut. I pull out my phone, scanning my notifications with a growing sense of unease.

No missed calls.

No unread texts.

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