Demon.
Monster.
Nothing but a burden.
And to escape it, I had to fold in on myself, over and over until I was buried and lost and couldn’t hear the guiltanymore.
But I’d bear it for tonight. For them. Or I’d try.
Our phones dinged as Ocean sent us a message.
“What?” I said, blinking down at the text Ocean had sent. “He’s…joking, right?"
I looked at Finch, in case this was some elaborate prank that they were playing.
He was staring at the screen, lips pursed and his eyes calculating. “We both felt him,” Finch said, not looking at me. “Somethinghappened. It’s the most logical explanation.”
“That we’re matched with…her?” Even the words tasted wrong in my mouth, and I had the urge to go and gargle some mouthwash.
Finch gave me a flat look. “It doesn’t change anything. Ocean’s wearing scent blockers. She doesn’t know. We proceed with our plan.”
“Ocean,” I breathed, panic rising in my chest. We could both feel him right now.
He was smitten.
With the enemy.
No.
Nononono.
It was too much; I felt the fog creeping in and welcomed it.
There was nothing for a while, which was a relief. By the time the fog receded, I was sitting on the couch, staring at a blank TV. Alone.
It hurt that Finch was never with me when I came out of an episode. It was bad enough feeling untethered, but when Ocean was around, I could feel safe knowing he’d been there with me. Finch had work to do, though. I shouldn’t bother him.
The memories trickled back in; the whole reason I’d been overwhelmedin the first place.
Scent matched to the Crimson Duchess.
Hadn’t the Fairchild family taken enough from me?
Hadn’t I taken enough from my brothers?
We wouldn’t get another scent match.
It was a problem because I knew our pack as a whole was a bit rough around the edges.
And I was practically one big slab of sandpaper.
But a scent match was supposed to be someone who was made for us.
Something beautiful in our miserable lives. Someone who’d laugh and sing, who’d bring out the best in us.
An omega who could take this pack and make it into something beautiful, something to be proud of. Someone who could bring us balance.
Finch and Ocean deserved that.
