Camelia nodded, and then James spoke, his voice soft next to her ear. "We love you, sweetheart. Thank you for telling us."
Camelia swallowed and nodded again, and she was just a little lighter than she had been before.
Chapter twenty-eight
James and Evan were out picking up food for the three of them that night when Camelia's father called.
For a moment, she stared at her ringing phone, debating whether she wanted to speak to him. She'd showered and let out the tears that had been building while she told her story to Evan and James after they had finally let her up off the couch, and now she was laying in her bed with wet hair, wearing comfortable sweats and one of James' hoodies. His smell comforted her, and she couldn't stop playing with one of the drawstrings attached to the hood.
She chewed her bottom lip, then finally answered, bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hi, daddy."
"Camelia, sweetie. How are you?" Her dad's voice was tired but pleased, and Camelia felt a pang of guilt as she sat up.
"I'm good. I'm sorry I haven't reached out lately. Studying for finals and all of that, you know. And..." She winced. "My heat. I was out of commission for a little while."
There was an awkward silence, but then Carson cleared his throat. "Yes, I was kept informed by the school. Everything went alright with it, though? Nothing out of the ordinary?"
Camelia couldn't help rolling her eyes a little.Yes, dad, I got fucked six ways from Sunday by two men that I'm deeply in love with for a solid week. Oh, and I told them that I want them to Mate me and fucking breed me until the only thing that I can think of is their come leaking out of every hole I have. How was your week?
Of course, she couldn't say any of that. Instead she hummed. "Yeah, it was fine. Finals are soon, so I've been trying to focus on that stuff."
"And your activism, apparently." Carson's voice wasn't reproachful, the way that Camelia might have thought that it would be. He had always been petrified of what would happen if she was forced public again; Camelia had already been on the suppressants when he had told her that she was transferring to Ridgeview, but staying on them had been his condition for supporting her in attending in-person classes again.
Now that they weren't available, though, it seemed that his attitude had changed. Camelia smiled a little. "You heard?"
Carson chuckled. "Everyone has heard, sweetie. The entire office is incredibly proud of you, you know." He paused, and then, a little more cautiously. "Though there are ways that you could have been active with the movement without being the face of it, sweetie..."
Camelia swallowed, clutching her phone a little closer to her face. "I didn't set out to be the face of a movement, Dad. I promise. But..." She shrugged, her ears perking up when she heard the slamming of a car door outside. A peek out her window told her that the guys were back, and she relaxed a little as she refocused on the conversation at hand. "I'm not upsetabout it, Dad. Omegas need a voice, and too many people are scared to speak up. It matters to me, so I'm speaking."
Camelia knew her dad well enough to know that he wanted to argue with her, to convince her that he knew what was better for her, what was going to be safer for her in the long run. But to his credit, he coughed a little, then said gruffly, "And I'm proud of you for it, Camelia. Truly. I just worry about you, that's all."
"I know you do, Daddy. I'm okay, I promise."
A pause, and then, Carson's voice a little more hesitant, "What about the boys? The ones that you're living with. How are things going there?"
There was an undercurrent in his voice that made Camelia sit up, her stomach twisting a little with nerves. "Things are going fine," she said carefully. "They helped me through my heat and have been keeping the other Alphas on campus away from me, the way that we agreed. Why?"
Another pause, and then Carson sighed. "Sweetheart, you know that I usually don't pay attention to gossip sites, but I read a story today that was on The Hourly Scribe. It was about you...and the two Alphas who had claimed you." He paused, letting his words sink in, and then continued, even more hesitantly than he had been. "There was a photo of the three of you together. The way those boys look at you..."
Camelia swallowed. Part of her wanted to deny it, to tell her Dad that he should know better than to trust the word of a tabloid like the Scribe. But...
God, she was so tired of the fucking secrets and lies. So she bit her bottom lip, saying quietly, "Are you mad at me? Because I fell in love with two Alphas?"
"Oh, Camelia..." Carson sighed, but it wasn't resigned. "Of course I'm not. I only ever wanted you to be happy, sweetheart. And I know that I haven't been the best, since your motherpassed, but...God, I just want you to be okay. I want to know that you're safe and protected in a world that wants to do you harm."
A lump rose in Camelia's throat again, one that she viciously forced down with a swallow. She was fucking done crying for the day, damn it. "I know that, daddy."
"Are you? Happy, I mean. Safe." Carson's voice was curious, and Camelia nodded, though he couldn't see her.
"I...I am, daddy. More than I thought that it was possible for me to be." She paused, then pushed on, her stomach twisting at her words. "I want them to Mate me, daddy. I...They're the ones. The real deal. I just know it."
Carson paused, and Camelia knew that he was weighing his options. Debating whether he wanted to be the anxious father that she was sadly familiar with, or this new supportive one that seemed like it was on shaky ground at best.
The front door slammed shut below her, and she heard Evan call up the stairs. "Dinner's on the table when you're ready, baby!"
Camelia smiled, and her father's quiet voice pulled her back to the conversation. "I just want you to be happy, sweetheart," he said softly. "If you think that these two are it for you...Well, you're not impulsive. I have to believe that you've thought out every possible angle and given yourself every opportunity to turn away from them."
Camelia let out a startled laugh, the truth of his words warming her. "Yeah, I did," she finally admitted, giggling softly.
