His smile drops. “What do you want?”
I look around and back at him. “I have the whole world here. Adventure, freedom, challenges. Why would I want it all taken away?”
“You could have both.”
“I don’t want both, Kota.” Why is this so hard? “I want this life, this one I fought for when I lost everything else. I’m not giving it up. Do you understand? I’m sorry, but I’m choosing me.”
“But you’re our omega.”
“So come visit sometime.”
He scoffs and turns away. “Come visit sometimes? Seriously. That’s how little we mean to you.”
“No.”
He whirls back. “What do we mean to you?”
My harsh mask softens, and I take a step towards him, reaching out and taking his hand in mine.
“You mean everything, but we’ve already established we can live apart. We don’t need to be together to care about each other. I don’t trust you not to hurt me again. So, I’m not going to pack up my life. I’m not going to accept your bonds. I’m going to stay here and live my life, and you can come and visit me here. If you want.”
Kota growls, but I hear a sound and turn, finding the other three staring at me.
“Is there any way where we end up together? Any chance or path or future? Anything at all?” Cyn almost whispers.
I hesitate. “I can’t go back with you. You don’t know what it was like. Everyone turned against me; they sold out me, my family. They took our photos and history and turned me into a whore. I don’t want to be part of that world. So, while you are there, I can’t be with you.”
“We’d never let them hurt you,” Vale says.
“But you did. You already did, and I’m not prepared to put myself or my family through it again, Vale. I don’t trust you to be there when it counts.”
The four of them deflate.
“Well, I guess that’s all there is to say.”
Rory grabs my arm as I turn away and spins me back around. “No, that’s not all there is to say. You don’t trust us, fair enough, but we can earn it back. And you don’t want to leave…fine, what if we came to you.”
I stare up at him, the world tilting wildly. “What?”
“What if we moved out here and gave it all up for you? Would that be proof enough?”
“You can’t-”
“We can. Money, things. We don’t care about that. We want you.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Of course, we know what we’re saying,” Dakota says.
It feels like everything is just crashing out of my control. “I think we should table this conversation and get back. My dad’s going to be worried about me.”
I lead them on a cracking pace back, and we find Meg and Desi leaning on a car, whispering to each other.
Meg sees me and springs past her alpha, rushing over and pulling me away from the pack.
“So, am I stabbing anyone?”
“No,” I mutter, casting a look at Vale out of the corner of my eye.
