Page 36 of The Honor of Being Hers
Tyler moved first.“Come sit.I’ll put the kettle on.”
She followed them into the den like she had the first night, uncertain but upright.The familiar scent of leather and cedar wrapped around her like an embrace, mixing with the faint aroma of bergamot tea from earlier that day.The Persian carpet beneath her feet was soft and warm, muffling their footsteps as they moved deeper into the space that had become a sanctuary.And when she curled into the corner of the couch between William and Ryan, it was because she chose to be touched and comforted.Not because she needed to be saved.
Because she was still angry.
And still theirs.
Tyler returned with the tea service, but Lauren couldn’t seem to settle.She shifted restlessly against the leather cushions, her fingers drumming against her thigh, jaw tight with unresolved tension.
“How are you feeling?”Tyler asked gently, settling beside her with another cup in his hands.
“Fine.”The word was clipped, defensive.
Ryan’s eyebrows rose.“Fine?”
“Yes, fine.I’m handling it.”She picked up her tea, but didn’t drink.She wasn’t thirsty; having tea was just something to do.
“Talk to us,” William said, his voice carrying quiet authority.“What’s going on in your head?”
Lauren’s shoulders tensed.“I said I’m fine.I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed right now.”
“We’re not analyzing you,” Tyler said carefully.“We’re asking you to be honest with us.With yourself.”
“I am being honest.”Her voice cracked slightly on the words.
Ryan leaned forward, his green eyes intent.“No, you’re not.You’re hiding behind anger because it’s easier than admitting how much this hurt you.”
“I’m not hiding behind anything!”The words came out sharper than she intended, almost a snarl.
The three men exchanged a look, and something shifted in the room’s atmosphere.
“Lauren,” Ryan said, his voice dropping to that tone that made her Omega nature prick up its ears.“You have two choices right now.You can talk to us—really talk, not these deflections and walls you’re throwing up—or we can help you break those walls down another way."
Her throat went dry.“What do you mean?”
“You know what we mean,” William said quietly.“The contract outlined correction protocols.Sometimes when an Omega can’t access their emotions through words, they need another path.”
Tyler’s voice was gentle but implacable.“You can talk to us willingly, or you can go over our knee until those walls come down and you let us help you properly."
Lauren stared at them, her heart hammering.Neither option felt safe.Both required a vulnerability she wasn’t ready for.
“That’s not fair,” she whispered.
“Fair?”Ryan’s voice held a note of steel.“What’s not fair is watching you tear yourself apart when we can help you.Choose, Lauren.Talk to us, or accept the discipline you need to get there.”
The silence stretched between them, heavy with expectation.
“I...”she started, then stopped.The words felt impossible, too big, too raw.
“Time’s up,” William said decisively.“You’ve made your choice.”
“I didn’t choose anything!”
“Yes, you did,” Tyler said, standing."You chose not to trust us with your pain.So now we help you another way."
Something inside her crumbled—not with defeat, but with relief.They weren’t asking her to be strong anymore.They were taking that burden from her.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she admitted in a small voice.
