“There’s a reason things will never go anywhere with her,” I say as I take a deep drink. There’s no flavor there apart from the slight burn in my throat, but it doesn’t matter. Not when I know Ollie tastes better than anything else.
What I’m about to share with Luke definitely goes beyond boss-employee relationships, but he asked.
Luke gives me another look before sucking on his straw, and it gurgles as it reaches the end of the glass.
He instantly scoops up the bottle, pouring more into it with loud glugs. I wait until he’s settled down again, and another silence hovers between us. I think he can tell I want to speak, because he doesn’t fill the space.
“I used to have a mate, did you know?” I ask. There’s a pregnant pause before he responds.
“Yeah, I heard about it,” he replies softly.
I take a steady breath as I begin. It’s easier to tell him about my ex-wife since I recently shared it with Kane.
Usually, Luke is so chatty that we have an easy, if not tense, back-and-forth. As the story of how my ex-wife used me builds, Luke grows more closed off. His body becomes tighter, he takes hurried drinks of wine, and stares at me like he can’t tear himself away.
The story takes longer than it did with Kane, but there’s more freedom with Luke. It’s like a lid has popped off, and, as I start talking, I can’t stop.
I don’t just tell him the facts; I tell him how she twisted my mind using her scent, and how she wove herself into every aspect of my life. So that when she pulled the threads, she trapped me, bound, suffocated, with no one except my team to support me through it.
My money, my assets, huge loans, secret properties, and endless legal battles over contracts I’d signed with my team, brands, advertising, even magazines, while I was high on her scent.
They said that scent matches fulfill each other’s needs, like parts of a whole that complete each other. The more I talk, the more obvious it is that she was on the hunt, and I was the perfect prey. That’s all our match was in the end.
The intensity that beats from Luke as I go into detail about the hospital unnerves me, but I keep talking. I tell him how I discovered the ways she’d used me, and what it really meant to find out that she lied to me.
The whole time I talk, I drink, until I’m reaching for my fourth glass and my body is humming. I keep needing to stop to find the right words, but I eventually get it all out.
I want to apologize for dumping on him for a straight hour. Though he drinks as much as I do as I talk.
“That’s why you can see me as a ‘safe’ person,” I say to Luke. I hope it’s enough to show him I can’t trust either of them.
Even though I’m sure that if I see Ollie again, I’m going to fall under her spell.
Just having Luke next to me like this is bringing me a calm I can only explain by the fact that he’s my omega. His sister drove me wild with one look, but Luke fills me with this ease that I want to cling to and never let go.
But none of that changes the fact that he lied to me.
I said ‘safe from me’, but I need to keep myself safe from both of them.
My head is too scrambled. I don't drink because of how I used to be in the years after Kane broke my nose. Plus, it hits me harder now that I’m older.
I’ve definitely had too much, but the way Luke looks at me cuts through me, which makes it even more important for meto make it clear to him now. He’s been lying to me, and Luke doesn’t know how much I’ve watched him. So I have to draw a line so we can both stop it.
“I won’t ever be with another omega, not when I know what they can do to me. I don’t want to let someone like that into my life again.”
I shake my head, trying to get my eyes to focus. Pins and needles buzz at my fingertips, and my chest grows bigger as I draw in larger breaths.
“I’d rather be alone than take that risk again. It’s just too much,” I say. Especially because it was so easy to fall under Ollie’s spell, all she had to do was smile, and I was hers.
I’ve been talking too much, and I haven’t checked how much I’ve drunk. I’m still taking mouthfuls as I wait for Luke to say something.
His silence is unnerving. I glance at him, and he’s sitting up, hunched over, staring at his wine glass like I’d told him a family member had passed. I can’t see his expression from this angle, but the way he’s slouched makes me sure that he at least regrets what he’s doing to me.
The wine has already gone to my head, and my inhibitions are gone. I’m tired of worrying and the paranoia I feel about him and his intentions. Now that his sister is involved, I can’t hold back.
“I know you’re an omega,” I groan as my heart clenches, watching him jolt out of the corner of my eye.
His head snaps up, and it looks like he’s going to run before I can say anything more. His scared gaze says enough.
