Page 147 of Toxic

As it seemed, he chose not to make a comment about it because he would have to touch on the elephant in the room, and clearly, he wasn’t ready to do so—he only mumbled, "You’re right, it doesn’t matter. And I can imagine it’s hard to control yourself during a heat. I forgive you, Soren. But now, please, come back home with me. I’m begging you, come home…" His eyes were fixed on Soren’s face with intense focus. "He will never be the best choice for you. He won’t take care of you like I would!"

Now, that was too much. I needed to interrupt this madness. "Excuse me! I’m standing right here! You don’t need to talk about me like I’m not in the room," I snapped. "And you know nothing about me. I can take care of Soren too—"

"I’m not a child for you two to take care of!" Soren hissed.

Liam sighed. "You have special needs; you’re not like other betas. You've had enough hardships in your life. I can give you a comfortable life, I will be able to use my trust fund in three years, you will have everything you need—"

With a loud snort, I interrupted again, "Oh, please, I can give him all of that too! My parents have money! And I’m well aware that Soren has unique needs—"

"Stop treating me like a porcelain doll!" Soren jumped in.

A tense silence fell over the room. It was truly a strange setting, with the three of us arguing loudly, the negative energy literally vibrating in the air.

Then Soren sighed and added quietly, "Well, okay, yes, it’s true. I’m not like other betas. I have… other issues, but that’s not what we’re talking about."

"Come back with me, Soren. Please. You mean everything to me," Liam whispered pleadingly.

He was now kneeling directly in front of Soren, who was still naked, dried streaks of cum visible on his stomach. They stared at each other.

"Please, Soren. I love you, come back with me…" This awkward begging was just a tad too much for me. I closed my eyes for a second, feeling like I was on a cheap soap opera set.

Liam raised his hands and lightly touched Soren's face, caressing it gently, and I loudly gritted my teeth.

"Really, Liam? Is this how you’re going to play it? I love him too! And I want him to come back with me—"

"You’re an alpha! And he’s a beta. You’ll never be a good match! You’ll break his heart, sooner or later!" Liam growled.

"You don’t know that. What if we’re True Mates?" I shot back, feeling a nervous contraction in my stomach. Yep, I threw it out there.

The silence was deafening.

They both stared at me like I was some babbling madcap. So, I cleared my throat and added in a more neutral tone, "What? You can obviously see the pretty strong hint that’s the case." I pointed at Soren’s neck.

Liam snorted with laughter and turned his head to Soren, as if wanting to gauge his expression. Another moment of loaded silence followed as he studied Soren’s face. What he found there must have strengthened his conviction that I was out of my mind.

"You’re clearly delusional," he said finally. "He’s a beta, and you’re an alpha. It’s just a statistical error to find one’s True Mate in such a pairing!"

"With that, I agree," Soren said quietly, avoiding my gaze, looking almost embarrassed.

Wow… he really said that. After the fucking Fireworks Show when I entered him for the first time! An immense wave of painful disappointment washed over me.

Soren wouldn’t even consider it a possibility, despite it being right in front of him. I didn’t know why, but it hurt—like a strange betrayal of what had been slowly growing between us.

Something had surfaced, revealed itself… but he rejected it. The constant rejection—on so many levels—of me, of us—was unbearable, and I turned away, fixing my eyes on the wall, grinding my teeth.

"Okay, we should probably talk alone for a bit. Can you give us a moment, Skye?" Soren said, seemingly trying to compose himself and distance from the situation.

"Soren, really?" I couldn't believe it, I took a step toward them, but Soren shook his head sharply.

"Don’t, Skye! Just don’t. Please, leave us alone." His tone became cold, his eyes averted, his lips pursed.

For a moment, I stared at them both, in this bizarre arrangement—Liam kneeling, Soren—still naked, but again impenetrable, fenced off.

So I gnashed my teeth and nodded.

"Okay, as you wish."

Watched tentatively by Liam’s cappuccino eyes, I dressed and left the room. Silence followed me out.

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