"I know that now." I press my palm against my eyes. "Vespera told me—"
"Who's Vespera?"
"The Omega I claimed." Even saying it out loud makes my chest tight. "The one our parents are going to disown me for."
Julian's sharp intake of breath is audible even through the phone. "You claimed an Omega they didn't approve."
"I claimed the scholarship Omega I spent months bullying. The one I was supposed to drive out of school." The words taste like ash. "And now I'm in love with her and I'm going to lose everything, just like you did. And I realized I never apologized. For not being there. For abandoning you when you needed family most."
"Dorian—"
"No, let me finish. Please." I stand, pacing to the window. The lake is barely visible in the pre-dawn darkness. "I became everything you weren't. The perfect son. The heir they wanted. I enforced their rules, their prejudices, their cruelty. I hurt people to prove I wasn't like you. To prove I'd never be weak enough to choose love over duty."
"And now?"
"Now I understand why you did it." My reflection in the window is barely visible, but I can see the tears on my face."I understand what it feels like to love someone so much that losing everything else seems like a fair trade. And I'm terrified, Julian. I'm so fucking terrified because I watched what it did to you. How hard it was."
"Is." His voice is rough. "It *is* hard. We're still struggling. I work two jobs. Marcus does freelance design work between classes. We have a one-bedroom apartment in a shitty part of the city and sometimes we have to choose between groceries and medication."
The words hit like a physical blow. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We're happy." There's something fierce in his voice now. "We're poor and tired and sometimes I miss the life I used to have. But then I wake up next to Marcus and I remember why I chose this. Why I'd choose it again."
"Mom and Dad—"
"Are the same as they've always been. Rigid. Controlling. More concerned with appearances than people." He sighs. "I don't miss them, Dorian. I miss you. I missed my baby brother."
The tears are falling freely now. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"Why now?" Julian asks. "After six years, why are you calling now?"
"Because Vespera pushed me to. She told me I needed to make amends before we go back to school. Before I face our parents. Before I repeat your mistakes." I wipe my face with my palm. "And because I should have called years ago. I should have been there for you and Marcus. Should have chosen you over their approval."
"You were seventeen—"
"Old enough to know right from wrong." I cut him off. "Old enough to not be a coward."
Julian is quiet for a long moment. I can hear someone murmuring in the background—Marcus, probably, woken by the conversation.
"I forgive you," he says finally.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." His voice is softer now. "You're my brother. I've been waiting six years for you to call. So yeah, I forgive you. But Dorian?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't waste this chance." The words echo what Vespera said by the pool. "Don't do what I did and wait until you have no choice. Choose her now. Choose love now. Before it's too late."
"What if I can't provide for her? What if losing everything means I can't—"
"You're not seventeen anymore. You're not me." Julian's tone is firm. "You have a degree. Skills. And from what you've said, you have a pack. I was alone except for Marcus. You're not alone, Dorian. Use that. Build something different than what our parents built."
"I don't know how."
"Neither did I. You figure it out." He pauses. "When are you back in the city? You should meet Marcus properly. Maybe we can have dinner or something."
The offer is so unexpected I nearly drop the phone. "You want to see me?"
