Corvus closes his tablet. Looks at me with those dark eyes. "This is the most irrational decision you've ever made."
"I know."
"It goes against everything we were taught. Everything we are."
"I know."
"And I still think the biological imperative will win eventually. That given time and proper courting, she'll accept the bond."
"Maybe. But it has to be her choice."
He considers this. Then nods once. Sharp. Decided. "Then we do it right. No more cameras. No more locks. No more treating her like property." He meets my eyes. "We court her. Properly. Like she's a person we want, not a possession we own."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. This could kill her. And us." He stands. "But at least we'll die knowing we tried to be better than what we were."
Oakley picks up the kettle. Pours three cups of tea without ceremony. Hands them out.
We stand there holding our cups. Three alphas who took everything from an omega and are just now realizing what that means.
"So we start tomorrow?" Oakley asks.
"We start tomorrow," I confirm.
Corvus raises his cup slightly. "To probably failing spectacularly."
"Christ, you're optimistic tonight," Oakley mutters, but he's almost smiling.
I don't raise my cup. Just hold it, feeling the heat through the ceramic. "No more cameras by morning. I'll disable them myself."
"I'll remove the locks from her door," Corvus says. "All of them."
"And I'll..." Oakley trails off. "I'll try to figure out how to look her in the eye again."
We drink in silence.
When I head upstairs, I pass her door one more time. No sound from inside. Maybe she's sleeping. Maybe she's awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what fresh hell tomorrow will bring.
I keep walking. Don't stop. Don't knock.
It's not much. But it's a start.
fourteen
Oakley
Ican'tsleep.
Again.
Three nights in a row now, lying awake in the pack house bedroom I've claimed, staring at the ceiling while my mind replays everything. The pool. Her defiance. The way she looked at us with such hatred even as her body betrayed her with slick and need.
The way I wanted to comfort her and claim her in equal measure.
At 5:47 AM, I give up. Pull on sweatpants and a t-shirt, pad downstairs barefoot. The lake house is silent—Dorian and Corvus still dead to the world after yesterday's emotional shitshow.
The kitchen is dark when I enter, just pre-dawn light filtering through the windows. I flick on the under-cabinet LEDs, keepingthem dim. Start the coffee maker. Lean against the counter and try not to think about the omega upstairs who hates us.
