Page 260 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

“For her,” I said simply. “Even if you are an idiot who deserved to pay for what you did, she loved you. If you decide to walk away this time, that’s on you, but I had to try. You weren’t given a fair fight. Here you get to find a purpose and live without the stress of Earth.”

My explanation seemed to bring him some peace. His shoulders sagged and he nodded once, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as if he were nervous, or maybe it was a human reaction to all the information he was processing. I was never close enough to Crew to read that easily.

“Stravos is going to kick my ass.”

“I am!” The words echoed from the hallway. Crew let out a dark laugh but it was every bit self-deprecation. It was as if the haze was gone from his mind and the gravity of his actions was finally settling in.

“You’re lucky all of us don’t kick your ass at this point.” He didn’t argue that. “When did they take you over?”

“When I was still in Dark Haven. It started as whispers at night. Then I heard them in the daytime or anywhere I went. It was impossible to ignore. Then I started blacking out. It wasn’t long after that happened that I wasn’t in control anymore. I got to watch my body say and do things I wouldneverhave done on my own. It was awful.”

He looked over at me with eyes that pleaded for me to believe him.

“I saw it in your eyes,” I said. “They shifted back and forth between that poison and you. The last time they shifted back, it took over completely. That’s when Monty had to kill you before you tried to hurt me and set back our mission.”

“And here you are, cleaning up my mess, too.” He sighed.

Crew leaned forward and clutched at his dirty, ragged curls.

“You are a dumbass,” Layne rasped out. Her voice was as hoarse as his had been but seeing those blue eyes open and alert was enough for a sob of relief to escape me.

I shoved Crew out of the way as he rose from his chair, so I could claim her in a hug, holding her tight.

“I’m so fucking glad you’re alive.”

“Am I? Because I distinctly remember dying,” she joked.

“When your bestie is a badass queen of the underworld, death isn’t the end for you,” I sassed right back, even if my voice broke on another sob. “I’m glad your sarcasm didn’t die with you.”

“You really are a badass,” she agreed, seriously this time.

Crew cleared his throat and I barely held back an eye roll.

“Listen, I’ll give Stravos the good news and give you two a moment. I’m down the hall, curve to the left, follow our loud voices... when you’re ready for a break,” I said that part to Layne before walking out.

Stravos was still standing guard on the other side of the door.

“She’s awake,” I reassured him. “You can go see that she’s all right.”

“I knew you wouldn’t fail her,” he said with a relieved smile that said he was, indeed, freaking out.

“Go in when you’re ready. Don’t kill Crew. I worked too hard so he could live,” I said as I patted him on the shoulder. “Give her a few minutes to kick his ass first.”

His quiet laughter followed me down the hallway.

The guys were sitting around, trying to look casual, but clearly waiting for me. Roman and Hiro were on their feet the moment I walked through the door.

“Is she all right?” I didn’t miss the fact that no one asked about Crew. They weren’t any happier with him than I was.

“They’re awake,” I confirmed as I sat down. Kol, who’d been leaning against the wall, swooped in, picked me up, and settled me on his lap. I leaned into his chest, rubbing my cheek on him and breathing in his crisp and dark scent, letting it wrap around me and chase away the tumultuous emotions of the past few days.

Our lives had been so insane, I felt like we hadn’t gotten a moment to exist as a group and I hated it. When this was all over, I was throwing a fucking party for this realm, then declaring we’d be out of commission for a week.

“Is Crew pissed off?” Drake asked. “Do I need to go knock some sense into him?”

I snorted at that. “No, I’m pretty sure Layne is doing that right now.”

Monty had been leaning against the far wall until now. He let out a laugh and rejoined the group. It was still hard for my monster to give into the pack life. He was still himself in so many ways, but he was trying to connect with us, and I loved him for that.

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