"What kind of pack brother am I that I was happy when I found out we'd never have an omega?" The question comes out raw.
The silence stretches.
Then Malcolm leans back in his chair and looks up at the stars. "You're human, Finn."
I wait for the rest. The condemnation. The disgust.
"And I can guarantee that girl in there doesn't give a crap that you can't purr for her," Malcolm says. "She has me for that. You know I love that shit anyway."
"Malcolm—"
"You notice things we miss. You keep this household running." He takes another drink. "And Vee's not shallow enough to care about biological bullshit. If she was, she wouldn't have stayed with Ragon's pack as long as she did."
I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him.
"But when it comes to bonding—" I start.
"If it comes to bonding, we'll figure it out,” he says. "Pack bonds aren't just about who has a knot and who doesn't. You think every beta in every pack spends their life feeling inadequate? That's bullshit."
"It's different when—"
"When what? When you actually want the omega?" Malcolm looks at me. "Yeah, Finn. It's different. Because now you give a shit. But that doesn't mean you're less than. It means you care."
I stare at the whiskey bottle. "I was happy Alex got that ban. What kind of person does that make me?"
"A person who was scared." Malcolm's voice softens slightly. "A person who didn't know what he wanted yet. Cut yourself some slack."
"I should have been there for him. I should have been angry for him, not relieved for myself."
"You were there for him. You've been there for him every day since." Malcolm reaches for the bottle. "One moment of relief doesn't erase years of brotherhood, Finn. Alex knows that."
"Does he?"
"Yeah. He does."
We sit in silence for a while. The whiskey makes everything softer around the edges.
"And Rhys," I say. "He's going to be the one who can give her everything we can't."
Malcolm glances at me.
"He can purr," I say. "That weird rumble of his. She closes her eyes when she hears it, Malcolm. Like it reaches her in a way nobody else can." I pause. "And she's not scared of him." I shake my head. "Do you understand how significant that is? Every omega who's ever crossed paths with Rhys has been terrified of him. He's accepted it, made peace with it. And Arden said she just—walked up to him and put her hand in his like it was the most natural thing she'd ever done."
Malcolm is quiet for a long time.
"We always thought the flag was the end of it," he says finally. "But then the stars aligned anyway. In this specific, impossible, complicated way. Just enough for it to maybe actually work."
"If Chase gets the flag lifted."
"If Chase gets the flag lifted," Malcolm agrees.
"And if Rhys keeps improving."
"He will." Malcolm says it with a certainty that sounds like something older than hope. "She's good for him, Finn. I’ve beenwatching him. Every time she’s in the room he gets—calmer. Even when I was getting on his nerves with the cheese thing—"
I laugh. "The cheese thing."
"It wasn't just irritation. It was normal irritation. The kind a guy feels when someone takes something off his omega's plate, not the other kind." Malcolm pauses. "You know what I mean."
