Page 68 of Redeeming His Omega Mate

He crouched in front of me, his hands cradling my face. “That doesn’t matter anymore, Tala. I understand why you did what you did, and I’m never going to hold it against you. I promise.”

I lifted my hand, pressing it over where his palm rested against my cheek. My gaze locked onto his, and for a long moment, we just stayed like that. Silent, staring into each other’s eyes.

Right here, right now, I felt peace—a rare, quiet kind of peace. And I wanted to stay in it, to bask in it forever. I had found my brother. Damian knew about Aria. Everything was finally falling into place.

Everything except us.

Now that Damian knew the truth, what did that mean for us?

Now that he had ended his engagement to Serena, what did that mean for us?

Now that the rogue threat was gone, what did that mean for us?

“Everything I said that night,” Damian spoke softly, pulling me from my thoughts, “I meant it, Tala. In fact, I’ve meant every word I’ve said since the day you walked back into Stonehart. I don’t think it was a coincidence. I think this is fate giving us another chance to rewrite our story, to right my wrongs, to finally be happy.”

My heart clenched. I had thought the same once. That fate had somehow pulled us back together. But I had also believed that fate was cruel, and I had sworn to fight against it.

Two weeks ago, I would have refused to believe in second chances.

But now…now, I wanted to embrace it.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me for what I did, Tala,” Damian continued, his voice quieter. “But I need you to know that I’m going to make things right. If you let me.”

Tears brimmed in my eyes. I had been so angry at Damian for so long, but these past two days had made me realize something. No matter how hard I tried, I could never truly erase him from my heart.

When he went out to fight the rogues, I’d been terrified I would never see him again. That thought alone had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. I even said a prayer to the Moon Goddess to protect him.

I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him I forgave him and that I was ready to let go of seven years of pain, to tell him I wanted this, us.

But before I could, the door burst open.

A fuming Kael stormed inside. His gaze landed on Damian and me, taking in the intimate moment between us and the way Damian’s hand still cradled my face. His expression darkened, and raw anger burned in his eyes.

And just like that, the fragile peace I had found was shattered. I was yanked back into reality.

Chapter 27

Tala

“You lied to me!”

Kael’s voice was low and sharp as a blade, each word laced with fury. His eyes were dark and burning as they locked onto mine, and for the first time, I felt something a flicker of fear of him

I had seen Kael angry before. Enraged, even. But never like this.

Damian’s hands fell from my face as he stood, and I followed immediately. He moved to step forward, to say something, but I grabbed his arm, holding him back. This wasn’t his fight. It was mine. And I had to fix it. Or at least try.

Besides, something told me that after everything, Damian wasn’t exactly Kael’s biggest fan at the moment.

“Let me talk to him,” I said quietly, tightening my grip when Damian hesitated. “Leave us to talk, please.”

His jaw clenched. “I can’t leave you with him, Tala. Not when he’s like this.”

“He has every right to be angry,” I said, my gaze flickering back to Kael. “But he would never…hurt me.”

My words wavered at the end, barely above a whisper. Like even I wasn’t sure if I believed them.

“You don’t know him, Tala.” His eyes never left Kael. “You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

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