Page 29 of Juliet & Her Romeos

I huff.

I don’t pout.

Much.

Swan opens one eye and looks down at me. “Have I forgotten some important courting etiquette? You were mind-blowing too. Should I have called you agood Omega? Thanked you?”

I snort. “Shut up. Get your beauty sleep.”

“You know that I don’t need it.” He cuddles me closer. “I just need my Omega stuffie.”

“Sweet talker”

Into the quiet, I listen carefully to hear if his breathing has evened out.

It’s hard having insomnia.

I’ve listened and watched Swan sleep so many nights. He’s impossibly more beautiful asleep than awake. It’s the only time that he looks peaceful.

Pretty.

“Do you want to know something that I’ve never told anyone else?” Swan’s voice surprises me in the dark. I stroke over his strong back. “Swan isn’t my real name.”

What?

How could I have known him for four years and not known that?

I swallow. “Why haven’t you told me that before?”

“Because no one here knows it.” Swan tightens his hold on me.

“I don’t understand.”

Swan’s silent for so long, I don’t think that he’s going to answer.

Perhaps, he’s actually fallen asleep.

Finally, however, he replies, “I don’t remember much from outside the academy. I feel like I’ve lived here my entire life, since I was kindergarten age when I was brought here. You were abandoned, but my family sold me. It’s tougher for the young ones to recover from the trauma of the first few years. You forget your previous pack.”

“Trauma?”

“It’s how we’re shaped into dancers. But I remember my older brother, Lincoln. Except, I called him Link. In my small world, he was everything. I have fuzzy memories of the elite packwho my family worked for, the Snakes. They’re the ones who encouraged me to dance. For example, there were asshole Alpha triplet sisters, who doted on me like a pretty toy but were cruel to their Alpha brother. Their Omega mom would even clap, as I danced around their kitchen that smelled of chocolate-peanut pie, while she played “Swan Lake.” She gave me the nickname Swan. It's what was written on my paperwork to the ballet academy.”

My eyes burn with tears. “What’s your real name?”

I know that sharing this is precious to him.

“I don’t know.” Swan gives a sharp laugh. “Hilarious, right? I can’t remember any of the names of my old family, including my own. It’s like that wasn’t even me. Yet I can remember my brother’s name because I have one distinct memory left: Link sobbing and screaming…Don’t take him, don’t hurt him, don’t send my baby brother away…when Miss Katerina came with a fake smile to tell me how lucky I was to beselectedfor their elite dance program. Dimitri told me afterward that Link was also sent away somewhere. I don’t know where.”

“Fuck.” I nuzzle against Swan’s chest. “Once we’re out of here, we’ll find Link, I swear.”

“I know that I always make a big deal about being a star.” Swan’s voice is tight. “Some of the dancers like Rem and Ari take the piss behind my back about how much I care about being a soloist. But it’s hard not knowing your own name. Guess I’m actually anobody. Huh, maybe you should call me that.”

I nip at Swan’s neck in a move that’s taboo enough for an Omega to do to shock both of us. “A name means fucking nothing. You’re my Swan, Feathers, and a fucking soloist whodeservesto care about being one. You’re still simplyyou. And I’m your Ash Queen and JuJu, as much as I’m a member of the rival Cinders. Swan suits you as a name. You’re as fierce and beautiful as one.”

Swan kisses the crown of my head. “I am, aren’t I?”

I can feel the curve of his smile against my hair.

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