Page 106 of Knot Happening Again

How could you do this to me?

But now, faced with the opportunity to ask, I find I don't have the energy to care about most of the answers. Do the answers even matter?

I take a deep breath, steeling myself. "I guess it all boils down to one question, Leon." I meet his gaze, forcing myself not to flinch away from the intensity I find there. "Why?"

He flinches as if I've struck him, guilt flashing across his face. "I... I know it doesn't mean anything now, but I want to explain. I owe you an explanation." He runs a hand through his hair, a gesture so familiar it makes my heart ache. And I hate myself for it. "When I left, I was young and stupid. I was scared of disappointing my parents, of giving up the future they had planned for me. I thought I was protecting both of us by leaving."

I scoff, unable to help myself. "Protecting us? By abandoning me with a half-formed mark?"

"And here you've always been the one who's good with words," Rhys says bitterly.

I have to admit, there was a part of me, even though I wanted him here, that worried their bond would make him take Leon's side. That they'd both gang up on me, even unintentionally. Instead, knowing he's fully in my corner helps me feel secure in my ability to stay strong. To not just wither to the longing this damn half-mark still stirs in me after so long without seeing Leon.

Hell, I'm pretty sure if I offered to take Leon back, Rhys would ask if I'd lost my mind.

Leon winces. "I know it's not an excuse. I know how fucked up it was. I realized that, even if it was too late, and by the time I tried to find you, it was like you had been?—"

"Erased from existence?" I finish for him, my voice bitter. "Yeah. The Thompsons are good at doing that with things that embarrass them. Inconvenient pieces that don't fit in with the rest of the decor in their perfect reality."

His face crumples, the guilt in his eyes intensifying. "Ophelia, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. What I did to you... it's unforgivable."

"You're right," I say, my voice hard. "It is unforgivable."

Leon nods, accepting my words without argument. "I know. I don't expect forgiveness. But for what it's worth, if it's even worth anything, I want you to know that I've regretted what I did every day since. I've spent years trying to find you, to make things right somehow."

I laugh, the sound harsh and humorless. "Make things right? How exactly did you think you could do that, Leon? Did you really think you could just waltz back into my life and everything would be fine?"

He shakes his head, looking miserable. "No, I don't know what I thought. I just knew I had to try. When Rhys told me about the omega they were courting for our pack, I had no idea it was you. But when I saw you that day at the Scent Bar, I…"

"You what?" I demand, anger flaring hot in my chest. "You thought you'd get a second chance? That I'd fall into your arms and we'd all live happily ever after?"

"No," Leon says quickly. "I knew I'd ruined any chance of that. I just wanted to apologize. To explain. To do whatever I could to help you, even if that meant staying away."

I feel Rhys shift beside me, a gentle reminder of his presence. He puts a hand on my shoulder and leans in to whisper. "You can tell me if this is too much. We don't have to do this," he says for what feels like the dozenth time. And it's probably close.

Tears prick my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I refuse to let them. I promised myself years ago I would never give Leon Whitaker the chance to see me cry. But the fact that Rhys is here, protecting me, supporting me, even if it means putting himself across enemy lines to his own packmate—his bondmate—I can't process how it makes me feel.

Safe. Protected. Relieved. None of those words are quite enough to describe it.

"He's right," Leon says, clearing his throat. There's resignation in his voice. Remorse that seems more genuine than I want to admit. "I can leave."

"No," I say quickly as he starts to get up. My hands tighten around my skirt in my lap as I force myself to think about the decision I came to before I even agreed to this meeting. "No, I can do this."

I watch as Leon shifts uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes darting between Rhys and me. The silence stretches, taut as a bowstring.

"You shouldn't have to do this, Ophelia," Leon finally says, his voice low and rough. "It's wrong for me to even be here, thinking I could fix this." He runs a hand through his hair. "You belong with this pack. That's something I should have recognized years ago, but my failure to see it then shouldn't stop you from having it now."

I blink, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. Beside me, Rhys has gone still, his scent spiking with surprise and concern.

Leon takes a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as if bracing for a blow. "I'm willing to step away, permanently. Leave the pack so you can be happy here."

Even Rhys seems shocked, but he doesn't utter a word.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stare at Leon, trying to reconcile the selfish boy who abandoned me with this man offering to give up everything for my happiness and wellbeing. And after Troy told me what the severed bonds with his pack did to him, I know it's no small sacrifice. Part of me wants to laugh at the irony of it all. Another part wants to scream.

He's finally grown up, I guess, but he's right. It's too late. He may not be that selfish, reckless boy anymore, but I'm not that desperate girl, either.

I feel a hysterical laugh bubbling up in my throat. I swallow it down, but I can't keep the bitterness from my voice when I speak. "Is that your solution to everything? Leaving?"

---