That stupid, strong, handsome, immovable wall of alpha. His fingers curled around my wrist, keeping my hand anchored to the spot.
“I can think of no better way to go than in the arms of my beautiful omega.”
His tongue swept along the seam of my lips lazily. I opened for him, sighing into the tender press of his lips to mine.
This was my future.
Quiet mornings with my alpha. Passionate, satisfying heats. Protection. Love. Adoration.
I don’t know how long we lay like that, holding, kissing, and petting each other. Long enough for the sun to rise high in the sky, the bright light showering the room. The glazed softness on Kaelen’s face shifted, contorting into that mask he wore so frequently.
Sitting up, the blankets pooled around my waist and I stiffened. He ran his fingers through my hair, the gentle touch sending a tingle over my arms. He palmed the back of my head, holding me close.
The quick change in his demeanor set me on edge, my entire body rigid.
“Before we found you, Liam secured your mother. She is safe and staying in the guest house on the property. She is doing well.”
All the worry of a few seconds ago melted away. My cheeks hurtfrom how happy I was. I wanted to see her. See her healthy and happy like she used to be.
“And we have William Sterling. I want to be sure, my love. So I will ask you one more time. Do you want this? Do I have your permission?”
He stroked over the burn marks near my collarbone, a snarl hissing through his teeth.
At the mention of my father, everything that happened before my heat came rushing back, the assault of it dizzying. I sucked in a rattling breath, rubbing a hand over my chest.
I raised my hands between us, rotating them to see them clean and unblemished. Visions of the blood that had stained them kept flashing, reminding me of the life I took with these same hands.
Something close to grief blossomed in my belly.
Not for Rossi, but for myself.
That one moment had changed me. Hardened me.
I wasn’t weak. I was strong. While I didn’t enjoy the idea of ending a life, it was a necessity. I grieved the person who I thought I was. A version of myself that never truly existed. There had always been sparks of my true self, even if they were muted.
In a place where it was me or my alpha or someone else. I would always choose me. Him. Us. Family. Every time.
William Sterling fell victim to his alpha, allowing his instincts to corrupt him. When I was younger, I tried to rationalize his behavior, not wanting to accept that my dad didn’t love me like he once had. I framed it as him trying to protect us.
But no, he tortured and abused us. William always craved power, and that power clung to all the worst parts of him, infesting him before twisting him into something grotesque.
He took pleasure in controlling his omega, suppressing her. My mom deserved to be free. I’d suffer a thousand lifetimes as long as she was happy. If he continued to live, she would always be beholden to him, to their bond.
I knew what we had to do.
And I would feel as much remorse for it as William Sterling felt for everything he did to his wife and his daughter.
“Willow,” he whispered, tracing the apples of my cheeks. “Whatis it?”
“Nothing. Truly,” I added at his pinched expression. “End it, Kaelen.”
His forehead rested against mine, his large hand collaring the side of my throat.
“With pleasure, mo chroí.”
Forty-Three
KAELEN
