Page 97 of Begrudgingly Yours
“Nicole can barely admit to herself that this is happening, do you really think she wants to admit it to you?” My mother places her hand on my cheek. “You are one of the kindest souls, Dax. She didn’t want you to see the cracks in her armor.”
I let out a defeated sigh. “I could have kept an eye on her, made sure she was still getting treatment.”
“We know you would have, but that’s not your responsibility. Nicole is an adult, she has towantto get better. Anything else won’t do anyone any good. It would just lead to resentment.”
I nod, trying to understand. “I can’t forgive her, Mom. Not yet. What she did… that’s mypack. Myomega.”
She looks down at the new bite right underneath the collar of my shirt. “I know. You don’t have to. If she wants to repair her relationship with you, that’s something she has to do on her own. I’m not going to ask you to forgive or forget. I just wanted you to know everything. It was time.”
Today’s been an absolute whirlwind. It feels like a millionmilestones in one, and I think I just need to go back to my omega and finally sleep with her in the same bed.
My alpha yearns for it, and after my mother helps me get the rest of our things, she hugs me tight. “I always knew you were meant for an amazing pack. That girl is going places, I’m so glad you get to be there for the ride.”
FORTY-FIVE
Playing: dandelion by Ariana Grande
Rory’s omegahas taken over completely and I am living for it.
If any of us thought Rory would be the ball-buster between them, we werewrong. She hasn’t given us a single moment of rest, tugging on us left and right, completely wanton in her need for relief. Dax looks like he’s never had a better workout in his life, which makes me chuckle because he’s always giving me a hard time about being out of shape.
She’s been calling the shots. I read that some omegas like to be led during their heats, that they don’t like making any decisions, but that is not the case with my mate. She knows exactly what she wants, and has no problem telling us in her own way.
Not that I’m complaining. She is completely insatiable. Our beasts have never been so in tune with each other. My alpha has reached out more often, sensing the presence of his mate. I would say having to reign in the rut has been difficultbut it hasn’t. Everett is fully in his element. There isn’t a single part of me that wants to push past his dominance, knowing it’ll always lead me where I need to go.
I feel so much closer to her than I did a few days ago. She trusted us enough to see her in this vulnerable state and that simple fact churns something up in me.
I want to be the alpha she deserves, love her as fiercely as she does everyone around her.
Rory crosses her arms and angry pouts, refusing to eat the salad that we pre-made for her. She’s thankfully been okay with drinking water when we thrust it at her, but she’s been fighting me every step of the way when it comes to food.
I need to find her safe food more than anything, something that we can keep around for her future heats, but it’s proving difficult. She doesn’t seem to wantanythingbut our knots, which I am happy to give her, but I know she needs nutrients. The sandwiches we had were a no-go. She didn’t even want to drink soup.
“Omega, it’s been a little over a day since you’ve eaten something,” I tell her. We’re on the floor of her temporary nest while the other two take the moment for some shut-eye. We’re naked and vulnerable and reeking of sex, but it’s the most comfortable I’ve ever been with her.
She looks at the salad in my hands again and scrunches her nose. “Smells,” she mutters, her eyes tearing up. My eyes widen, her defiance turning into distress quickly through the bond. I think about waking Everett up for half a second before I realize what’s happening.
The smell of the food is messing with the scents we’ve created in the nest.
Panicking, I put the lid on the salad quickly. “I’m so sorry, Omega,” I say, ruffling back her wild bedhead. Her blue locks have never looked so thick and my fingers havefound a home in them for the past thirty or so hours. “Will you eat it if we’re not in your nest? Would it make you uncomfortable if we go into the hallway?”
She stares at me for a few seconds before she shrugs and gets up from the floor. I have to scramble to keep up with her, following her out into the hallway where she sits once again.
Like I said, she just takes the charge unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. She pats the ground next to her and there’s a glimmer in her eyes, a small recognition. I pull the lid back off the salad and try to feed her again, this time successfully.
She eats the entire bowl without any complaint. It actually blows my mind as she takes the last bite and looks into the bowl like she expects more to be there. “I’m guessing you didn’t hate thefood, just where we were eating it,” I state, but I get a confirming nod from her anyway. “Cool. We can try to do it this way later, too. Did you like the salad?” She gives me a beaming smile in response that makes my entire day.
I hand her a bottle of water before closing up the container so I can throw it away. When I try to stand up, her hand grabs my wrist in a panic as a whine leaves her throat. I toss the container to the side, immediately abandoning my original idea of leaving her here in the hallway to throw it away.
It’s our first heat, so I’ll remember these details. Anytime one of us has left the nest, two of us stayed behind to keep her company. It’s not usual, or okay, to leave an omega alone in the midst of it.
She crawls onto my lap and eases her head into my shoulder. It’s like she’s trying to burrow herself under my skin, but I welcome it eagerly. My arms go around her and we enjoy each other’s embrace for as long as we can. I’m sure her cramps will be back soon.
“You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,” I say quietly, my words meant only for her. “Before college started, Iwas ready to live my life on my own terms. I was done with my father, but that didn’t mean the scars had healed. I felt useless… like every bad thing my father had said to me in drunken anger was true”—I swallow roughly—“but then I met you and things started to look a lot more clear.
“I know those years of keeping our connection a secret was wrong, but knowing that you existed… knowing you wererealand tangible, it meant everything to me. The universe thought I had the potential to be with this incredible person. It gave me strength to become the person you needed, too.”
She sighs happily at that, holding me tighter. I move my fingers up and down her back, pushing out some pheromones to soothe her. It’s so relaxing that I don’t even mind the wall behind me digging into my back.
