Page 36 of Knot All is Forgiven

"Well, the family noticed I'd do just about anything for a good meal, so they named me after him. That's how I became Slime."

I chuckle softly. "Gotta say, that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Does it bother you that I call you Simon?"

"It does, and it doesn't. It makes me remember that shitty time. When I became Slime, I could distance myself from my heartache. Slime didn't spend his nights crying because he missed his best friend. He didn't struggle to find a reason to get out of bed on days when they would've had a video call. And Slime didn't betray the love of his life and break her heart. Simon did all of those things."

Is that how he saw it? A betrayal? I knew he struggled. Knew he missed her. But I don't think I realized that it completely wrecked him.

I thought anger was what drove him away from us.

But it was heartache.

"I thought I was doing what was best for everyone," I say quietly. "We'd be free to find our scent match, and she'd be able to move on from her hope of being an Omega and grow into her true designation."

"Well, it certainly wasn't better for us, was it? We all cared for her. Why couldn't we bring her on as our Beta? Why did wehave to ditch her?" He's changing positions again, but this time, he's standing, pacing slowly in front of me like a cat. "You just wanted an Omega and didn't think one would have us if she were in the picture."

"Is that so wrong? An Alpha needs an Omega, or he could go rut crazy. Why am I the bad person for looking out for us all?"

I'm so tired of being scapegoated. I'm tired of them both acting like I made this decision alone.

We all agreed.

Of course, it fucking hurt. There is no denying that. But I wasn't the only person on that video call. The idea may have come of me – and yeah, it was a bad idea, of course I know that now – but they went along with it!

"What would have happened,Slime,if we kept her around as our Beta and stumbled upon a scent matched Omega, and they didn't want her around? What then? We would have spent years with her just to drop her. It would've hurt more than it already did."

"But that wouldn't have happened! Don't you get it? If we believed her, listened to her, and trusted her, we would've been by her side the moment she presented." He runs his hands through his hair, the green slightly faded. It sticks out a bit once he's through abusing it with his fingers. "That's the thing. We can't even begin to know the damage what we did caused her. She knew, and we lied to her. She must have thought she was crazy. We made her doubt herself, and she was always the most self-assured person I knew. And now, she will find out we lied and that she's our match, and she will hate us even more because we made her question herself."

Simon buries his hands in his pockets and shrugs in a move that ages him down sixteen years. "Maybe you need to rethink your approach to this, Cyrus. Your approach is what got us here in this mess, to begin with."

He stalks out, leaving me chewing on the sourness of his words.

Maybe I did get us into this mess.

But I'm going to get us out.

Chapter fifteen

"So, three months inparadise, huh?" Lanie says, daintily taking a bite of her hummus wrap.

It's hard to believe it's been three months since I presented as Omega and met Vick. He's become integral to my life, fitting in seamlessly, like he was always meant to be there. Even the cats are getting along now.

Our little routine is so lovely. We get up together and have tea for him and a latte for me with breakfast, and then after work, we either go out to dinner or cook something together before throwing ourselves onto the couch. Sometimes, we'll parallel play, where he will read, and I'll watch trashy TV. Other times,we'll watch a movie together, play a board game, or build a puzzle.

It came as no surprise to me that Icarus Valentine is the type of man that builds puzzles.

"It's been great," I tell my best friend. It's Friday, so instead of packing our lunches, we decided to head to the Greek place down the street and grab lunch. I take a bite of my falafel wrap, and my eyes nearly roll in the back of my head.

This place has the best falafel. I can't help but get it every time we're here.

"How's the sex?" She waggles her eyebrows.

"Oh… uh," I take a swig of my diet soda, looking around the restaurant so I don't have to answer her question. She catches on real quick.

"Oh holy shit, you haven't fucked yet?"

"Wow, Lanie, say that a little louder, why don't you?" My face heats to red, and I try to make myself smaller in the booth. "It's none of your business, but no, we haven't."

"Why not? What's stopping you?" She puts down her half-eaten wrap and pushes the plate away, rubbing her stomach like she's too full to function.

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