She pouts her lips while I smirk in return. Reaching for her hand, I wrap my fingers around hers and tug her to follow me.
“N-Nathaníel, where are we going?”
“Remember? Studio nest.”
“But… won’t we be interrupting their meeting?”
“Good.”
“But… I thought Nate Jr was here.”
“If he is, even better.”
She tugs on my hand, forcing me to pause in my strides so I can look back at her. I’m expecting her worrisome expression, but that’s not exactly what I see on her face.
It’s pretty blank in general, but I never read the lines on someone’s face because expressions can be forged.
The depth of emotion in one’s eyes can’t easily be manipulated.
That’s why Rebel’s eyes tell me she’s not only shocked, but there are sparks of thankfulness.
“No Alpha has ever stood up for me. No male… figure in my life has taken the initiative to protect me. I’ve always had to stand on my own business, and when I was too young to do so, it was… difficult for my dad to step into the authoritative space I needed him to be in. Sometimes, he did. When things were so uncomfortable, it was visibly obvious I was upset, but unless I showed a dramatic enough response, I was always overlooked,” she confesses.
“I stopped showing how hard things were on me because that wasn’t the type of protection I yearned for. I didn’t want to be protected only when I was shedding tears and looking weak in other eyes. I craved to be protected all the time. For those who loved me to acknowledge the wrong happening before their eyes and step in to shut it down entirely.”
Hearing her perspective and envisioning what she probably went through as an Omega child growing up in these instances makes it easy to understand her point of view.
“So… for you to just do that. For you to speak with my dad and verbally defend me…” She gives me a thankful smile that makes her eyes twinkle alluringly. “Thank you, Nathaníel.”
Turning back to face her, I lift her hand to my lips, kissing the palm before gripping it even tighter.
“You deserve to be loved. Just as you deserve to be protected,” I reaffirm, so she realizes whatever she dealt with in the past would no longer repeat in this future where we’re involved in her life. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in life. I’ve taken the liberty of standing back and accepting the wrongs done to me as a form of fate… because I couldn’t find the drive to care. Yet, things have changed now.”
I smile at my own words before turning away and squeezing her hand in my grasp comfortingly.
“I guess it’s crazy to say I’m thankful for this Knot Their Omega movement.”
“You are?” she quietly questions.
“Wouldn’t have left the comfortable oasis of running away from my problems to come back here and meet the Omega I yearn to have a life with.”
I tug her along while my conviction becomes clearer with each step.
“So, yeah. Thanks to this movement, we’re not only going to have an Omega, but we’re finally going to fix this elephant in the room,” I boldly declare, knowing I’ll hold myself accountable for what I’m about to ensue.
No more running away.
The Source Of Our Ruin
~ICARUS~
“You’re quitting?!”
We all look at James as he shrugs his shoulders. Truthfully, I’m not expecting him to show the slightest bit of remorse for his fellow band members, but to see the actual relief stemming in his eyes and his eased posture proves this decision was only a matter of time.
The time has arrived.
“I’ve been wanting to quit for a while now,” James admits with no shame. His eyes scan our circle and land on the person who has been causing the tension in the room throughout this “emergency” meeting. “Besides, didn’t you tell me if I wasn’t going to give this shit my all, I should get the fuck out?”