Page 19 of The Mafia's Omega Queen

“Yeah,” I nod with a grimace, “I didn’t understand a word of that.”

He groans. “Are you really going to make me say it again?”

I stifle a giggle. “Yep.” I pop the P.

“I would like the chance to court you and make it up to you. Be the alpha that you would be proud to have in your pack.” Well, shit. Now that I wasn’t expecting.

“I—I—” My heart hammers in my chest, and my palms sweat. But it’s not because of the sun bearing down on us.

“Before you say anything, there’s something you need to know.” Beads of liquid roll down his face as his Adam’s apple bobs. He’s nervous. This can’t be anything good. “You need to know that I’m your fated mate.”

I blink. Blink, blink, blink. There is no way I heard him correctly. Cause if he’s my fated mate, that means he’s known all along, and yet he still…

“No,” I murmur, shaking my head. “There’s no… But if you’re… I don’t understand.” If he’s that, then that means he cheated on the bond. It’s one thing when I didn’t know, but we discussed it with the guys before anything happened between Gavin and I. Tears well in my eyes as every scene involving Vinny and Bianca flashes before me. He’s known the entire time and still. “I—I need to go.” Pain radiates through my body as I struggle to get up on my own, the wounds on my torso pulling with every which way I move.

“Haylee, please. Just give me a…a chance to explain,” he implores me, his hands outstretched like he might stop me from moving. After watching me flail, he finally latches onto me, and I recoil, bile rising in my throat at the feel of his hands on me after touching her. Touching her, knowing he was fated to be mine.

My fists lash out, hitting him anywhere I can. And he lets me. He takes every punch, every hit, never once stopping me or fighting back. My energy quickly depletes, and he takes that opening to pull me into his arms, holding me like I might disappear.

“I’ve fucked up. I’ve made so many godsdamn mistakes, Haylee. I know that, and I regret every single one of them. But please know that the second you showed up, I haven’t been able to stomach touching her sexually or kissing her. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. My damn dick deflated every time she was near.”

A growl rips through my chest at the thought of that bitch being anywhere near his cock. That’s fucking mine.

“Please,” he pulls me closer, “give me the chance to make things right. If you say no, I’ll walk away right now, but I’m begging you, as an alpha that desperately wants his omega, let me fix what I broke.”

“But you didn’t want me. That’s the problem,” I whisper into his soft black T-shirt, his hard muscles flexing as his arms tighten around me even more.

He swallows thickly. “You’re right. I didn’t want you.” A whimper breaks free at his words, and he shushes me. “That’s because I didn’t want to experience the heartbreak Gavin went through if something happened to you. All she was was a means to an end. I never loved her. I was just using her to secure the future of the empire. And fuck, saying it out loud makes me seem like an asshole,” he mutters.

“Is that all I’ll be to you, too? A means to an end?” If that’s all I’d ever be, then this conversation is over. I refuse to be treated as anything less than a proper mate. The guys and I haven’t been together all that long, but they’ve raised the bar so damn high I don’t think Vinny can get over it.

“Fuck no,” he growls out vehemently. “You are so much more than that. And fuck, give me the chance to prove it. I will show you all. I just need one shot. One. Please, Haylee.” Holy crap. Begging has never sounded so damn good as it does now.

A white butterfly flutters by, swooping a few times in front of us, then disappears as quickly as it came. I remember as a child reading that a white butterfly means positivity, hope, and change. Can I trust that the butterfly is a sign that things will be different? That he will live up to what he’s saying right now?

Tilting my head back, I find his focus solely on me. He’s so close like this, our lips could easily touch. “I can’t give you the answer you want.” Pain lances through his features, his whole demeanor crumbling before my eyes. “Not right now.” A spark of hope glints in his hazel orbs. “I need to talk to Gavin, Arden, and Hunter. I know they’ll tell me to decide what I want, but I need to know they are willing to give you a chance too.”

He gives me a small, imperceptible nod, then brushes his lips across my forehead. My eyes close in contentment at the contact. It’s almost like my whole soul sighs at our close proximity. I would dare say I feel complete in his arms. Like something was missing, and I didn’t even know it.

That has to be a sign, right?

“It’s getting late, and I’m sure the guys are wondering where you are by now. Let’s get you back inside unless you’re not ready yet.”

“Can we just… stay a little longer?”

“Of course, princess.” Vinny shifts over and lays back on the pillows I was propped up on, situating me at his side, my head resting on his firm chest. His arm is wrapped in a tight grip around my shoulders, stopping me from moving away if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. This is the closest we’ve ever been, and I want to enjoy it, even if it’s the only time this ever happens.

The guys could easily say no. It’s a fear pumping heavily through my veins like scorching lava. Burning me up from the inside. Nothing at this point will put out the fire, not until I have a heart-to-heart with the men that own my heart.

My head screams at me not to give in, not to believe a word out of the snake’s mouth. But my heart? It begs me, thumping wildly, to give in. To give the organ to him on a silver platter.

My eyes flutter closed, hoping to block out the thoughts and just stay in this moment, as the sun beats down on us. Vinny’s fingers brush back and forth across my arm, lulling me into some semblance of peace.

If this is a small sliver of what things could be like with him every day, then yeah, I think I could give him a shot to fix the shambles of our non-existent relationship.

And if not… then maybe we can devolve into a friendship.

Even if my soul yearns for the former.

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