Page 162 of Omega for the Pack

“That’s fine,” I said, getting out of the shower and grabbing my towel.

Every time I felt close to her, I always seemed to say the wrong stuff.

And each time, she got irritated faster. This was the time when it was good to have another mate around to appease her. Even before this marriage, we always got into small, petty arguments, but I usually ignored her until one of us wanted to talk.

Maybe shedidneed Kodan after all.

She was a different person when he was around her and a much calmer version of herself.

Eighteen

LYRA

When Luke left, a sense of foreboding settled in my stomach.

He was doing all the right things, and he cared about me. I didn’t know why I always snapped at him when we became close. He had set me off with his questions, even though I was sure I wanted Kodan. I was very defensive about my relationship with Kodan when my family or friends asked me questions about him.

Later that morning, I sat with my mom and Yasmeen, eating breakfast out on the terrace. Yasmeen came over often while I was here to hang out as much as possible before I went back with Kodan and Luke to the Wild Wolfmen clan.

The red and golden leaves littered the floor, and a light breeze cooled down my coffee. It was my favorite place in the palace, where I would sit and contemplate every morning.

But my mother had a lot to say about Vanessa.

“Vanessa had taken over everything,” she complained, sipping her green tea. Her gray hair was tied into a bun, her wrists flashing with dainty diamond bracelets. My mother didn’tusually dress up much, but today, she wore a tighter-than-usual emerald dress that showed off her cleavage. She looked like she had gained a bit of weight ever since Vanessa showed up. I felt bad for her since she had lost the interest of my fathers after all their years of marriage. Anything could change in a split second. “Soon, your fathers will just kick me out entirely.”

“They wouldn’t,” I comforted her. “Just talk with Vanessa instead of arguing. You have no choice now.”

“She’s taken my room without telling me,” said Mom. “She threw out all my clothes, and now I have to stay in the smallest room in the palace. I feel entirely ashamed and embarrassed. Your fathers take her side because she’s pregnant.”

“Stab her in her sleep,” said Yasmeen snidely while flipping back her glitter-covered hair.

“Yazzy!” I exclaimed, laughing. I looked back at Mom and saw tears welling in her eyes. Sobering up, I knew deep down this was no laughing matter.

“Sorry,” said Yasmeen, also noticing the change in my mom’s mood.

“If I was more careful, I wouldn’t have had a stillborn,” said Mom, biting her lip and staring out toward the sky. My heart ached, remembering the day I was told I was going to have a younger sibling.

“There was nothing you could have done,” I said. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Mama.”

“If I knew that your fathers cared so much about having another baby, I would never have involved myself with them,” she said quietly. It was the first time I heard her say anything remotely close to leaving them. Even though I loved my fathers, I wanted to see my mother happy. “You girls should talk about everything with your packs. Talk about babies and all the serious stuff before things get official with a marking.”

“I will,” I promised, setting my coffee down on the table. I stood up and picked out a rose from the rosebush next to me.

“Where are you going?” asked Yasmeen.

“I just want to visit my little brother,” I said, clutching the rose tightly in my hand. “Just need to be alone for a while, but I’ll be back.”

They both nodded, and I walked towards the family graveyard plot, which was quite a walk away from the main quarters. The trees were close together, forming a wall between the palace and the graveyard. The sleeve of my purple dress got caught between the trees, since I didn’t want to walk around to the official pathway. I pulled my arm away, causing the sleeve to rip.

“Damn it,” I said, touching the light fabric. I needed to be more careful.

I finally reached the small graveyard plot and walked to my little brother’s grave with a headstone with his name, Thomas, engraved into it. Kneeling, I carefully set the rose in front of the headstone.

“I’m sorry, baby brother. I meant to visit you earlier,” I whispered.

I remembered the dreadful night as if it was yesterday. It was seared into my memory forever.

The palace doctors rushed about in a panic, and I quickly threw down the eyeshadow palette that I was playing with. It was to distract myself from listening to my mother’s screams of labor. I was only ten, so I wasn’t allowed in the room. The makeup shattered into pieces on the floor. There was a problem with the birth. I ran down the hallway from my room to hers, watching from the open doorway.

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