She means well. She has no idea how much worse that makes it.
In the books. My books. The ones where I get to control the ending. Where the alphas forgive the omega because I write them that way. Where second chances are guaranteed because it’s fiction.
This isn’t fiction. And I’m not in control of anything.
“Thanks for the ride,” I manage.
They leave. Grandma opens the door, takes one look at me, and steps aside.
“That bad?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Couch. I’ll get ice.”
She doesn’t push. Just gets me settled with my ankle elevated and an ice pack wrapped in a towel. Brings tea. Retreats.
I stare at the ceiling.
Three alphas. Three different responses to me showing up in their lives again.
Nate was ice cold—called me Ms. Donovan and walked away like I was nobody. Theo gave me sad eyes through a window and a single nod, nothing more. And Lucas was professional, controlled, wouldn’t let me get a word out before he was gone.
I’m doing great here. Really knocking it out of the park.
But here’s the thing—and I hate that I noticed this, hate that I’m even thinking about it—they’re not unaffected. Nate’s heart was pounding when he caught me. Theo couldn’t stop looking at me through that window. And Lucas... his scent went darker when he smelled me. His hands weren’t steady. He looked at my mouth like he was remembering.
Not that it matters. Noticing their involuntary reactions doesn’t change what I did. Doesn’t erase ten years of silence. Doesn’t give me the right to expect anything from them.
I close my eyes, and the memories come whether I want them or not.
Nate teaching me to drive his truck, his hand covering mine on the gear shift, patient even when I stalled out for the fifth time. Theo pressing a wildflower into my locker every Monday morning for an entire semester, never once taking credit. Lucas memorizing my coffee order, my favorite songs, the exact way I liked my sandwiches cut—paying attention to the small things because that’s how he loved.
I had everything. And I threw it away because I was eighteen and terrified and too stupid to understand what I had until it was gone.
My ankle aches. The ice pack is already melting.
I reach for my phone. Pull up my notes app. Start typing.
Things I need to say:1. I’m sorry2. I was scared3. I know that’s not an excuse4. You deserved better5. I never stopped thinking about you6. I wrote books about you because it was the only way I could be close to you (DO NOT ACTUALLY SAY THIS ONE)7. I wish I could go back
I stare at the list. Seven things. Ten years. Three alphas who used to look at me like I hung the moon, and now look at me like I’m a ghost they’re not sure they want to see.
But I didn’t drive two thousand miles just for Grandma. I’m only realizing that now, after seeing all three of them. After feeling what it did to me.
The auction flickers through my mind. All three of them, on a stage, being bid on. Whoever wins gets a date. Gets time with them. Gets them alone.
The thought disappears as quickly as it came. I can’t even get through a medical exam without humiliating myself. The idea of bidding on them in front of the whole town is laughable.
Probably.
Eventually.
Right after I figure out how to look Lucas Price in the eye without spontaneously combusting from shame.
Chapter 6
Lucas
