Page 51 of The Omega Archives: Part Three

I took a deep breath, breathing in his scent that once reminded me a little of another alpha, moving all the scents together in my head.

Another alpha that didn’t even care to come looking for me.

I swallowed the thickness in my throat.

“Please, tell me, Ella. I need to understand. Somehow.”

“I’ve been promised to someone,” I said.

“Promised?” Lucas repeated the word as it took root between us, threading us, if possible even tighter together.

“Benjamin Davinson,” I spoke his name evenly. I had been practicing ever since I made my decision. “He is going to court me, but I've already been promised. To him. Contracted to him.”

“That…” Lucas didn’t know what to say. His mouth stumbled over words without fully coming out with anything that made sense.

I kept trying to explain better.

“I signed a document with my guardian when I was sixteen that I would be his. I had run out on that promise,” I said simply. “Until now. And he has come back to claim what has always been his.”

Lucas stared at me.

“I’m him,” I said.

He shook his head. “No.”

“Yes.”

“He… I know what the world thinks of them, the Davinsons.” His voice snapped at the name with something akin to a growl brewing in his chest. Yet, I wasn’t afraid. Shocked, sure. “But he went to the academy. I know what… I know what kind of person he is, let alone alpha. You can’t go with him.”

There wasn’t a choice.

That was just it. That was the plan. At this point, all I had if I couldn’t get out of this was that I’d fake it as best as I could. I’d make it through. And when I had my chance, I’d get out somehow. I’d run or fake my death or maybe fake his…

Something.

That is where everything got a little fuzzy, but I could get creative at the moment, I was sure.

“It’s true,” Lucas murmured. “Isn’t it?”

“What true?” I asked.

“The rumors,” he specified.

I met his eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to lie. It was tiring and I didn’t want to lie to Lucas anymore after answering all the other questions on the list and off the list we had for each other the past few weeks. In a way, I think I knew more about Lucas and he knew more about me than just about anyone these days.

“Yes.”

Lucas's green eyes searched mine, a storm of conflicting emotions swirling within them. His jaw clenched as heprocessed the weight of my confession, the reality of the situation sinking in deeper with each passing moment.

"I can't let you go through with this," Lucas finally said, his voice laced with determination. "There has to be a way out of this... arrangement."

I shook my head sadly, knowing that the promise I had made long ago tied me to Benjamin Davinson in ways that felt impossible to break.

"I appreciate your concern, Lucas, but this is something I have to face on my own,” I told him.

Lucas reached out to cup my cheek gently, his touch warm and soothing. "You don't have to face this alone, you know. I'll be here for you every step of the way, no matter what."

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes at his unwavering support, at the kindness and understanding he offered when I felt so utterly… done.

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