“So it’s true?” Addie whispers. “You really are my scent match?”
Her lower lip wobbles, the look of betrayal clear on her face, and fuck me, it’s a dagger to the heart.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I’m so fucking sorry for not telling you, Addie. Believe me when I tell you I wanted to. I wanted you every fucking day. To make you mine. To love you, care for you, and be the best damn Alpha I could be for you.”
“You let me go,” she whispers, hurt thick in her voice. “You knew what I was to you, and you let me go.”
“We’re going to give you two some time alone,” Reid says. “Come on, Carson.”
“But...”
“They need this,” Reid tells him before looking at Addie with a soft, loving smile. “We’ll be downstairs. We’re not going anywhere, okay?"
Addie bites her lip, nodding softly.
The two of them leave, the door clicking shut behind them.
Addie turns her big, beautiful, blue eyes back to mine, and I swear my heart stops. She’s just that stunning.
“You’re my Alpha,” she says without hesitation.
“I am.” I want to pull her into my lap, kiss her, and take all the pain away. I want to protect her from the world, from me, from the two downstairs. She deserves way better than us. But I know they wouldn’t dream of giving her up, and neither will I.
If this doesn’t go the way I want it to, need it to, I will fight every day until I can win her over, prove to her she’s my everything. Even if it takes the rest of our lives. She’s worth it. Every single second. Because there is no one else for me. Only her. Always her.
Chapter 20
Addison
I can’t believe what is going on right now. My mind is telling me it isn’t true, that there’s no way it can be true, but my body, heart and soul know that this man, my stepbrother Damien, is my scent match. My Alpha.
And he knew. He knew this whole time, but said nothing. He acted as if we were strangers when, really, we were anything but.
“How?” My body is shaking, my nervous system is shot with all this overwhelming news. “How could you go so long knowing this life changing news and do nothing about it? You acted like I was nothing to you.”
“No.” He reaches for my hand but I pull back, cradling it to my chest. A flash of hurt shines in his eyes, but I’m the one who's devastated. “You’re everything to me, Addie. Everything. It was pure hell to be away from you. I missed you, craved you every day.”
“Then why didn’t you claim me? Were you afraid I’d reject you?” My voice quivers and tears sting the back of my eyes. “I wouldn’t have, Damien. I wouldn’t. I’d have been happy, excited, even thrilled. I had a crush on you. This would have made my whole damn world. Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“I was stupid, okay?” He gets to his feet, running a hand through his hair. “I was stupid and young. I was worried about my career and my father’s, and our reputation. Most of all, I knew how much you hated this life, how you wanted out of it. I didn’t want to drag you back in just as you were getting the chance to be free and be yourself. I didn’t want to hold you back from living your own life, not sacrificing for me andmycareer. I didn’t want to put you in the spotlight you didn’t want, orunder a microscope, picked apart and have millions of people’s opinions forced on you. I wanted to protect everyone and in the process I hurt the person who matters the most. You.”
“You did. You did hurt me, so fucking much.” Tears spill down my cheeks. “You knew not only that I was your scent match, but that I was PastelPrincess,” I whisper, the realness of both situations crushing my lungs, making it hard to breathe. “I spent years in love with people I didn’t think I could have. Meanwhile, one of them was you all along.”
“I know baby,” he whispers, “I’m stupid, okay? The biggest idiot in the world. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I know now that I was wrong. So fucking wrong. If I could go back and change things, I’d have run after that car. I’d never have let you leave.”
Is it possible to feel so much hurt, but feel numb about it all too? My mind is so overwhelmed with this, it wants me to shut down, to shut off.
I don’t understand what’s going on inside me. I’m thrilled that he’s my scent match. I want to throw myself in his arms, to kiss him, hug him, beg him to hold me. At the same time, I want to scream and cry, to be angry that we lost six years together! Six years I could have had my Alpha at my side. Six years of going through my heats alone, when he could have been the one to help me through them.
“Mates trump everything Damien. It doesn’t matter that our parents are married. They’re not scent matches, we are. It’s too powerful a connection to just ignore. How did you do it? How did you go this whole time without me? Because I can tell you, being away from Carson and Reid has been hell.”
“It was hell for me, Addie. Every day. You were always on my mind. I even had friends check in on you to make sure you were alright.”
My brows rise. “So you had people stalk me for you, but couldn’t do it yourself?”
“Addie,” he pleads, “What can I do to make this up to you? To make this better? I’ll do anything, anything at all.”
“You can’t change the past, Damien.” I pull the blanket up to my neck, wanting to bury myself away from the world.
