I feel the weight of his disgust pressing down, suffocating. My breath quickens, and anger flares in my chest, but it’s mingled with a deep, gnawing fear. “I’m trying to figure things out,” I protest, but the words feel feeble against his contempt.
“Trying? That’s all you do, isn’t it? Pathetic.” He steps closer, his presence looming like a storm. “If you’re not going to pull your weight, then you can’t stay here. Don’t come back until you’re ready to be someone worth having around.”
With that, he turns away, leaving me standing there, the silence ringing in my ears, his words cutting deeper than I want to admit. The urge to flee to Lakelyn burns in my chest, but doubt claws at me, whispering that I’ll never be good enough.
Turning slowly back around, I move back to the front door. It doesn’t feel real. But I know he’s not joking, he doesn’t want me to come back to the house.
So much for my mother’s whispered words whenOmega in Paradisehometown visits happened.If this doesn’t work out, you always have a place here.I snort. It was the most mom-like she had ever sounded. Guess my father didn't get the memo.
Striding down the long driveway, I don't pause to look back. You can never get to where you're going if you're looking back. There's nothing for me in that mausoleum anyway.
Once on the narrow mountain road, I inhale then release a breath, pushing away the cruel words he said. It wasn't new. In fact, almost those exact words pushed me all the way to New York City after I graduated. To a City that I could disappear and just be one of the crowd.
It worked. For a while.
I pull out my phone, hesitation slowing my movements as I scroll through the contacts and bring up Lilah’s smiling face. The sun’s starting to dip behind the trees, casting long shadows over the road as I hit call. My feet drag along the gravel shoulder, kicking loose pebbles into the weeds. The phone rings once, twice, and then her face pops onto the screen—hair mussed, cheeks pink.
“Chad! Did you find what you were looking for down there?” Her eyes settle on me, really seeing me, and I suck in a breath.
“You look like you just fucked all three of them. It was good, wasn’t it?” I say, trying to distract her from whatever she’s bound to notice.
Lilah rolls her eyes, pushing herself up against what can only be a headboard. “You didn’t call to talk about my sex life.”
“It was amazing, though,” Rafe calls from the background, and I catch a glimpse of Miles leaning into the frame, giving a lazy wave.
A slow smile tugs at my lips. Her alphas may not have been for me, but they were always fun to flirt with. Safe. “So, did you ever figure out whose knot was bigger?”
Lilah huffs out a laugh, shaking her head. “You’re deflecting. Are you okay?” She squints, her eyes narrowing at the background behind me. “Are you in the woods?”
I angle the phone around, showing her the narrow strip of trees running parallel to the road, their branches hanging heavy and still, not a breeze to stir them. The only sound is the crunch of my sneakers on the gravel. “Not the woods, exactly. I’m on my way to town. My father kicked me out.”
The words sink in as they leave my mouth. Her face shifts, the laughter draining from her eyes as my smile slips a little.
“Why on earth would he do that?”
I shrug, scuffing the toe of my shoe against a loose stone. Cars rumble by on the road, but the sound feels distant, muffled by the silence pressing in around me. Do I tell her the real reason or brush it off? She’s one of the few people who actually gives a damn. Maybe my best friend, even.
“He said I’m useless,” I mutter, eyes fixed on the path ahead. A pebble skitters down the hill as I nudge it with my foot.
Lilah gasps, loud enough to pull my gaze back to her. Her face is a mix of shock and fury.
“Excuse me? What kind of parent says that to their kid? Do I need to come down there and have a talk with him?”
I hear Elliott’s voice call out, full of threat. “We’ll do more than talk to him.”
“Yeah, we can take care of him,” Miles adds, leaning into the frame again, his grin dangerous.
A smile wobbles on my lips, somewhere between amusement and sadness. The wind picks up just a little, rustling the branches overhead. “You guys sound like you’ve decided you’re in the mafia.”
“Rafe can always play the part,” Miles says with a wink. “We’ll just be the muscle.”
I laugh, kicking another rock into the brush. A little of the weight lifts off my chest. I guess my circle of friends is bigger than I thought. “He’s not worth it.”
Lilah softens, her voice gentle. “Are you coming home?”
Lakelyn’s smile flashes in my mind, bright and golden, and before I can stop myself, I’m shaking my head. “No. I think I’ve found someone here. Someone important.”
Lilah’s eyes light up. “Who is he?”
