Page 47 of Unhinged Omega

Raven's expression shifts, something dangerous flickering in those blue eyes. "No," he says quietly, pulling free of my grip. Hestarts walking past the sign toward Belvast, but tosses over his shoulder, "But I'm willing to do it for my mate."

My jaw clenches so hard it hurts. "Nikolai will fuckingkillyou. You know that, right?" I call after him.

"Not unless I kill him first."

The casual way he says it makes my blood run cold. I've seen that look in his eyes before. Always immediately before he does the most unhinged, self-destructive, suicidal—and usually homicidal—bullshit a human being could possibly come up with.

"You and your little army of bouncers?" I bark out a harsh laugh. "Are you fucking kidding me? Nikolai's army just helped take downReinmich. You don't stand a chance."

Raven just shrugs, not even bothering to look back. "That's why I'm going alone."

"Alone?" I echo in disbelief. "That's even worse!"

But he keeps walking, his golden hair catching the last rays of sunlight. Like some tragic hero in those books he's always going on about where the fairy tale prince on a gleaming white horse gets the girl. Except those stories in the real world usually end in blood and death, not a fucking happily ever after.

"Y'know, if you're feeling like you wanna die, there are less gruesome ways to go about it," I call after Raven's retreating form. "Because I might as well just pop a cap in your brain pan right here. Clearly nothing left in it!"

"I don't want to die," he calls back without stopping. "For the first time in my life, I just care about something more than living."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Rage and worry war in my chest, making it hard to breathe. "You can quit the melodramatics. I'm not getting killed so you can get some moon-scented strange!" I roar. "This is as far as I go!"

Raven finally stops, and the smile he gives me over his shoulder is strange. Nostalgic, almost. "I know," he says in a softtone that scares the fuck out of me. "And I wouldn't ask you to. But I appreciate what you did back there, putting your neck on the line for me with the Ghosts. It meant a lot." His smile widens into something more familiar, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Hey, look at the bright side—if this goes bad, you won't have to worry about me bothering you again."

With that, he turns and walks past the sign toward Belvast.

I stand frozen, watching him go, warring with myself. Part of me wants to grab him and drag him back to the market. To lock him in the basement until this madness passes and he finds something else to obsess over.

But I know it won't work.

Nothing ever does with him.

Fuck it, I'm falling for his bullshit.

It's an act. Italwaysis.

"It's not gonna work this time, you weaselly little asshole!" I bellow after him.

He just waves without looking back, the sun catching the thin gold bracelet on his wrist. "Bye, Geo."

I stand there watching his retreating form, my jaw clenched so tight it hurts. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shouldn't give a shit.

I don't have family.

I don't have friends.

That's how I like it.

Raven is nobody. Just another stray that wandered into my life looking for scraps. A twenty-something kid who showed up asking for work and latched onto me like a barnacle, trying to forge a bond that wasn't there because he's terrified of being alone.

The one thing I've been my whole life.

The way I prefer to be.

And yet, the idea of never seeing him again feels like a weight on my chest I can't shrug off.

I'm still warring with myself when Raven stops and turns slightly, glancing back at me over his shoulder. "Oh, before I forget..."

Relief floods through me. Maybe he's finally coming to his senses. Or maybe I called his bluff by standing my ground. Wouldn't be the first time his dramatic exit fell flat when no one chased after him. And I still don't know exactly what went down between him and Nikolai, but my first and last encounter with the bastard—the one that took my goddamn eye—left me with the impression that was how it ended.

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