Page 54 of Omega's Virtue: Part One (The Hartwell Sisters Saga 2)

“Tell me, Trix,” he purred. “Have you seen how clear the water is?”

I yelped and rushed to cover my breasts and most intimate places.

“Don’t be so shy, omega. The view is beautiful.”

My eyes flashed, ready to flay him alive. Or better yet get my own back and peruse his naked form. But the thrice damned alpha still had his eyes closed. “That was not funny.”

“Fear not.” His eyes blinked open, and I was transported back ten years and more. I knew those eyes like I knew my own reflection. “I peeked. The temptation was too great… An omega as beautiful as you should be admired as oft’ as possible.”

“Scoundrel.” But I couldn’t put any heat into my words. I wanted him to be a scoundrel. To haul me into his arms as he had the other night and kiss me until I forgot my own name.

“Let’s enjoy the water then.”

The silence this time was nearly magical. I could not say how long we stayed in the water. Eventually my fingers began to wrinkle. “I think we should get back.”

But we didn’t get out. Not for many more minutes. Content instead to enjoy the cold water and the bird song and the company.

And the longer I stayed there, the longer we didn’t argue or confront the ten years that were between us, the more convinced I became that it didn’t matter.

Matematematemate. The word hammered as hard as my pulse.

But claiming him as my mate only dredged up the reminder that, while I might carry his mark, he had left only to return with no explanation. And instead of anger, I spent our time stung between comfort in his presence and a desire so hot I flirted with the fantasy that he would come to me. Take me in his arms, stretch me with his hard cock, and fit his knot into my slick quim.

But…

But if he fucked me, knotted me, would I get pregnant? My lust muddled mind could not remember when my last courses had visited. I drank the bitter tea that would prevent pregnancy every morning but would that be enough? He was my mate after all. And despite the yearning to bred by this alpha, I did not want to be pregnant. Not now. Not after what had happened. And for the first time in years, I was thrust into long buried memories. Ones I’d long wanted wiped from mind.

Beatrice

cw:infant loss

Ten years ago

London

London was not so very different to Edinburgh. My father’s friend Mrs Markham lived with her husband and young daughter in a beautiful house, in an area called Hampstead that was surrounded by fields and the Heath, where she promised we could go walking every day if I wished.

“Who is… Your father did not—”

“I don’t want to speak his name.” I shook my head, tears pooling at my eyes.

I couldn’t tell her. It hurt too much to think about how I’d never feel the weight of his gaze when I talked about my dreams. Or the soft whisper of his voice when he recounted some plan he had for the print shop.

A week, then two, went by, and I heard nothing from him. And every day the unease grew until I could not hold down any food and was sick like I’d never been before. Mrs Markham arrived one morning, a frown on her beautiful face.

“When did you last bleed?” She asked as I wiped my mouth on the wet cloth she handed me. “Could you… You could be pregnant, my dear.”

“Pregnant?” I whispered, my hand rested above my stomach. I felt no different than I had. A little more tired perhaps but nothing else. None of the usual signs. Except morning sickness. The tears came fast.

“Yes. Do not worry, we can arrange for the child… find a good home for it,” Mrs Markham smiled, but her eyes were full of tears. No omega willingly parted with their child.

“No! The babe is mine. Do not tell my Mama… Papa…”

“I shall write to Charles and tell him. He will… It would be better if he was here, and he can bring Hippolyta as well, to keep you company. No need to tell your mother… Alphas… Alphas are complicated.”

And how I missed Tod. His steadying presence. How had I not recognised the full extent of his role in my life? Not just the man I loved, but thefriendwho knew my dreams and my fears. The one who provided wisdom and council. How I wanted to ask his advice. He had left me. Not just as my mate but as my best friend. No matter how hard I tried, I could not fit what I knew of him with his actions. My friend would not have abandoned me. There had been opportunities in the past. Times when I’d driven him to growl and glare in youthful alpha fury at some antic or prank. But he always returned, lips pressed together repressed frustration and a fond look in his eyes. That man would never leave me… I missed him. Oh Goddess, I needed my friend more than I needed my mate. I needed my Tod.

My father and nearest sister arrived at the end of the pregnancy. An easy secret to keep because I’d not left the Markham’s house. Their daughter Hero had become another little sister for me, a welcome distraction from the dread of what would happen to me when the child was born. A child without a father. Society would reject my little family. Nothing more shameful in our world than an omega who couldn’t keep her legs closed around an alpha.

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