“I appreciate that, and it sounds like a dream come true. I just don’t want to screw this up.”
“And you won’t.”
“I think I’ll always question if doing this was my only option.”
“What are you thinking of doing?” he asks. His voice is tender and without judgement.
Without realising it, he gives me the small burst of courage I need. I’ve been straddling the lines, weighing reasons for and against the path I think I need to take. It’s a big one. Probably the biggest any Omega could make.
I blow out another breath, as if to say it’s right there on the tip of my tongue. But first, I do one last mental recount, ticking off each argument inside my head.
My freedom is the reason and my motivation. The reward at the end: them. Which is a good incentive. But that’s not the reason. In lots of ways, it can’t be either. The only motive is my own welfare, my freedom.
It’s like a key unlocks, which is bittersweet. The implications are forever.
“I want him to lodge whatever is needed to emancipate.”
Ryder sucks in a breath. I get it, I’m still reeling. I managed to say the words. The sense of ‘rightness’ that settles all but confirms this is the course of action I need to take.
There might be less extreme, more conciliatory ways to break away from Brody and the families, but deep down, I know these softer approaches would be a waste of time. It really is an all or nothing situation.
I also have to act before they do, or it will look like my actions are nothing more than a sudden, knee-jerk response. But just as important, I want them to know I’ve thought this through. I want them to lie awake in the darkest hours of night, realising I sought independent advice from professionals because I was scared of them, and the life I was going to have to endure.
They’d ignored me previously; they didn’t listen and never would. Losing Lawson will be a terrible price to pay. But I’m starting to truly see, and finally accept, I lost him the day of his accident. And that hurts enough to make my chest feel tight, but the pain is also confirmation of what needs to be done.
“Should I tell Dominic?”
“No, Sin, he’s right next to me,” Ryder adds. “He heard you, as clearly as Hendrix did. We’re all really proud of you making that hard decision.”
“It was hard. I know it’s what I have to do,” I whisper, mythroat getting clogged by my emotions. Mainly fear and sadness.
“The three of us will be beside you, every step of the way.”
“Even when they start telling you what a terrible person I am.”
“They can try,” he growls.
“They’ll do more than try, Ryder. They will tear my character apart and twist everything so people will believe I’m an awful daughter and they’ll probably say things like I’ve been unstable since I was a little girl. Brody will claim I led him on and then say something like I’m jealous and vindictive, and he was worried for my mental welfare and has been forever.”
“Let them,” Ryder insists. “Let them show the world who they really are. We know the real you, Sin. Your girlfriends do too. And the Omega Mothers know you better than the people who birthed you. So let them be themselves, trying to tear us down, and apart, because they are revealing who they are. Then you get to choose what you do next, and who you want to be.”
His speech makes me smile. “You stole that,” I tease.
“Sue me.” He laughs, and it cuts through the tension. “I watch a lot of TikTok and Insta on tour. At the same time, it’s solid advice. The original post is cool, I’m not going to reinvent it when they nailed it the first time.”
“I love that.”
“Yeah, well talking of love, you’ve got three Alphas ready to show you what love is. And how fucking amazing life can be, Sin. Dancing under the moonlight high on life after a show in the most insane places. Drinking too much one night and in the morning having Hen bring you iced coffee and blueberry muffins in bed in his need to care for you and make you feel better. Getting in trouble with Dominic and watching him lose control. All of it is good andwill be infinitely better with you by my side.” He smirks; I can hear it. “The things I want to show you, Sin.”
I’m nearly breathless already. "And all I need to do is let them?"
“Such a good girl,” Hendrix’s voice suddenly purrs through the phone.
And I literally can’t breathe. We started this discussion with such a hard and overwhelming topic, we ended it with their version of what life is all about. And I feel no guilt about wanting that. None at all.
I have to squeeze my eyes shut to stop all these dreams playing out in my head. Featuring them of course. “Tristan is here. I’ll spend the night with her, then tomorrow…”
There’s a chorus of rumbling growls cutting off the direction I was going. It works though. Perfectly.
