“What happened to your mother?” Drake asks, his thumb gently wiping a tear from my cheek. The tenderness of the gesture nearly breaks me all over again.
“She died,” I say flatly. “She was dying when she confessed to me. She killed my dads in that fire for the insurance money. Burned them alive when I was a child. She asked me to forgive her, but I couldn’t.”
Drake shakes his head, pulling me into his arms. “I will talk to him. He spoke out of strong feelings for you.”
I suddenly remember Kieran’s cold expression and how he never wants to see me again, and I bawl in Drake’s chest. “It doesn’t matter! He’s not going to change his mind. He thinks I lied to him and kept secrets.”
“He will,” Drake says with a certainty that surprises me. He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I’ll talk to him. Make him see reason.”
“Don’t,” I plead. “Please, Drake. It will only make things worse.”
But I can see in his eyes that his mind is made up.
“I will never abandon you,” he promises fiercely, kissing my forehead. “Never.”
Before I can argue further, he’s pulling away, heading for the door. And then he’s gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
I sink to the floor, my back against the wall, and draw my knees to my chest. Alone again. The silence of my apartment presses in around me, nearly suffocating me as tears roll down my face.
Twenty-Nine
KIERAN
The house feelslike a goddamn tomb without her.
As I sit in the dim light of the living room, with the TV blaring some bullshit about the stock market that I can’t bring myself to care about. Her scent of cherry blossom still lingers here, sweet and innocent, making my throat tight with each breath I take.
I did the right thing. I know I did.
How could I possibly keep the daughter of my parents’ killer in my home? In my bed?But if it was the right thing, why do I feel like such a fucking failure?
I pick up the remote and turn up the volume, trying to drown out my thoughts with noise. It doesn’t work. All I can see is her face when I told her to leave and the tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. The way she looked at me was like I was destroying her world.
Fuck.
I drag a hand down my face, feeling the stubble I haven’t bothered to shave. My wolf is restless, prowling beneath my skin, whining for our omega.
No. She’s not our omega.
Her mother killed my parents, left Nora without parents, and left me to raise a baby sister when I was barely an adult myself.The very foundation of our family was shattered because of what her mother did.
The sound of tires screeching on the driveway pulls me from my spiral of self-justification. I recognize the engine—Drake’s Audi. The slamming of a car door follows, then footsteps stomping up to the front porch. The door flies open with enough force to bounce off the wall.
Drake stands in the doorway, his eyes glowing with fury. His sandy hair is disheveled, like he’s been running his hands through it repeatedly.
“What the actual fuck, Kieran?” he snarls, stalking toward me.
I rise to my feet, my own anger flaring to match his.
“Watch your tone,” I warn.
“I’ll watch my tone when you explain why the fuck our omega is sitting alone in her apartment crying her eyes out! Why is she alone?!” Drake is in my face now, jabbing a finger at my chest. The scent of his rage, cinnamon turned acrid with fury, fills the space between us.
“She’s not our omega,” I growl back. “And she’s not going to be.”
Drake’s eyes widen in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Tell me your logic, so help me God.”
“Her mother killed our parents, Drake,” I say, my voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. “Her mother is the reason we had to grow up without them. I had to drop out of college to take care of Nora. The reason our lives were destroyed.”
