You love taking my knot, don’t you? Filthy omega slut.
Tears slip from under my closed eyelids, running down the sides of my face as footsteps sound next to me.
“Ava?”
I open my eyes to a blurry Nikolai leaning over me. A whimper slides out of my mouth as I flinch back on instinct, and he freezes.
“Oh, little bird,” he says softly. Stifling a sob, I rub my hands across my eyes and struggle to sit up.
“Sorry,” my voice cracks. “I should probably go.” I don’t want Nash to see me like this.
Nikolai takes a seat next to me, leaving a respectful distance between us. “You don’t have to,” he offers, staring out at the water where Nash is splashing happily in the shallows. “Would it help to talk about it?”
I don’t know. I shiver involuntarily, cold stealing over my bones. Nikolai reaches into the bag and pulls out a soft blue blanket. He gently wraps it around my shoulders, and I clutch the ends as I turn to meet his understanding gaze.
He watches me steadily, his deep blue eyes shadowed. “I know what it is to have trauma,” he admits carefully. “My story is nowhere near yours, but it helps me to talk it through sometimes. Maybe it will help you too.”
I drop my gaze to the floor, curling my fingers in the dirt. “I was thinking about my last night at the compound.” Glancing back up at him, he nods patiently, not saying anything.
He doesn’t push me for more, and we sit for a few minutes in peaceful quiet while I gather my scattered memories together.
Slowly, the words drag out of me as I talk about Jason and his attack. Tears slide down my face as Nik slips his hand into mine. His jaw clenches, but he just holds my hand gently, squeezing it whenever I stop.
“It sounds like…,” he says cautiously when I stop talking. “When you talk about the compound, it doesn’t seem like you hated it?”
There’s a hint of confusion in his voice as I shake my head. He doesn’t miss anything, this alpha.
“No,” I say. “I mean, I did hate it. But Stone… he believed in the creed. He always thought I would be an omega, so he made me follow the laws from a pretty young age, even though I didn’t awaken until I was older. I was just… used to it, I guess. They never needed to punish me much.”
The perfect omega.
Niko’s hand flexes in mine. “How young?” he asks, a hint of harshness in his tone. “When he made you follow the creed?”
I swallow. “Ten.”
I barely remember my mother. I think she had similar hair to mine, and I remember her singing me songs in her quiet voice whenever Stone wasn’t around. But when I turned ten, I wasn’t allowed to see her anymore. I don’t know what happened to her after that, but I have my suspicions.
I clear my throat. “This is helping,” I acknowledge, tipping my hair forwards to hide from his eyes. “It feels… like I’m pushing off a dark cloud, I guess. It sounds stupid, I know.”
His hand clenches around mine. “Nothing you say sounds stupid,” he says softly. “I’m here whenever you want to talk.” Something twists in my chest.
I shuffle a little closer to him, and he turns his face toward me. The sun glints off his golden blonde hair, cut a little shorter than the others. Tentatively, I lay my head against his shoulder, his breath warming the top of my head as I breathe in his gingerbread scent.
“Is this okay?” I ask, and he lifts his arm, slowly wrapping it around me.
“I’m happy to be your personal pillow,” he says, lips twitching, and I laugh a little as we both watch Nash. My heart twists as he turns to wave at us happily, and I lift my hand to wave back.
“He’s a very special little boy,” I whisper, and Nikolai nods, his cheek rubbing against my hair. “He is.”
I desperately want to ask more about his mom, but I don’t want to ruin the moment we’re having. A yawn creeps up on me, and I force it back as Nikolai shifts.
“You’re tired,” he notes. “You should sleep.”
“I don’t want to go back to the house yet. I’m happy here.”
My eyes start to flutter closed, and gentle arms slide underneath me, lifting me up. Grumbling, I clench my fingers in Nikolai’s shirt until he settles me in his lap, my face against his chest.
“You can sleep comfortably this way,” he says, his voice rough.
