I exhale roughly, remembering the last couple of hours I spent in that hellhole.
“I went out one day, and when I came home, my dog was gone. I could smell them, they never even bothered to hide that it was them, so I went to their home.”
I look around the room quickly. People are listening, but I can’t tell if they care or not.
“They gave my puppy to her and were laughing about it. About fooling me, how simple minded I was. How countrified. She’s their real omega. And I wasn’t sad, not about her anyway.”
I stare at Elijah, focusing only on him.
“I was angry, and I just snapped. Danger was hungry and so very little. Just another lost soul, like me. I couldn’t leave him with them. So, I took him, set the sprinklers off inside their house, and stole their car. I dumped the car and bought mine off someone for all the money I had in my bank account. I went to a pet shop, got Danger what he needed, and sank every cent I had into gas to get home. Then I came back.”
Elijah opens his mouth, then closes it and swallows hard. Do they believe me?
I’m losing them. Desperation surges through me. I remember that night; his eyes were so bright, his hands were so soft, and he knew things no one else did. He changed me. Now, I can’t imagine a day without him.
“You are my summer days.”
His eyes flick to my face.
“You are my summer days,” I choke out. “You are the sunlight glinting off the bluest ocean. The salt and laughter in the air, the warmth on my skin. You’re what I yearn for. What I’ve always yearned for, Elijah. You are my summers, those happy days I missed so very much. You are warmth and happiness.”
He doesn’t say anything, and neither does anyone else. The weight of their disappointment is heavy in the air. Their judgement.
I turn to Mack. Two of the happiest days I ever had were spent exploring Sunshine Cove hand-in-hand, when I was his. I mourned him like I’d known him for a lifetime.
“You are my lighthouse, the safety when everything is terrifying. It was your words I heard all these years. You believed in me, saw me. In the darkest storms, it was the memory of you that kept me from losing myself. When I was watching them take Danger from me, it was you that gave me the strength to find home.”
Devon is still facing away from me, his body stiff and still. In all my life, whenever I think of home, Devon is there.
“You are my ocean, Devon, deep, dangerous, dark. Full of joy and mystery. You are the tide that is in my veins. You are my heartbeat, the pulse of my life. I ran from you, and I came back because I couldn’t stay away, because no one is you. No one ever will be.”
I take a step towards him, towards them.
“I am sorry I didn’t tell you the truth. I am sorry that I hurt you. That I didn’t trust you, but,” I swipe away the tears running down my cheeks, “I love you. I always have, and I always will.”
When the three of them still don’t move, I turn away but just manage to catch the weight that throws itself at me. Another one hits, then another.
“You’re a Sunshine Omega; that’s all you need to be. We have your back,” Cordelia whispers. “I don’t care what happened. I just care that you’re safe.”
“That, exactly that!” Asher growls in my ear.
“Ditto,” Felix grumbles. “No one is getting you or Danger. I’ll take him and hide him. No one will touch a hair on his body.”
I open my eyes and see Sebastian’s grim expression. He raises an eyebrow.
“They hurt you, Sis?” He cracks his knuckles.
“We can talk about it first, Sebastian,” Pops says.
“We’ll talk after they're gone,” Dad snaps.
Grandma takes Mum's arm. She nods her head, and I know that she will help me with whatever I need.
“Some paths are a journey. She had to go and grow so she could come back. She’s here; she’s safe. You raised an amazing omega; be proud, my daughter.”
Mum sniffles and looks at me. I stare back at her until I hear the door slam.
I struggle free and look around, but the pack is gone. Panic turns the edges of my world white.
