“When she was seventeen, our parents sat her down and told her they had arranged for her to join a pack. The alphas were all in their forties and had previously been bonded with an omega who had mysteriously died. Ellie was terrified and tried to contact me, but I was on a training mission. Now I know my fathers arranged it so I would be gone when they told Ellie. They made her move into the pack house the next day, and her alphas bonded her immediately. By the time Theo and Ben were able to make contact with me, it was too late.
“Her alphas wouldn’t allow me to see her and kept her locked in the house. We tried to break in one night when we thought they were gone, but it had been a trap, and I was arrested. I didn’t know what to fucking do and my mother was absolutely useless, just telling me to let it go. Within a month, Ellie was dead.”
Josie gasped, her hands tightening their hold on me.
I knew if I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to finish the story, so I pressed ahead.
“Her alphas said she tried to leave the house through her window and had fallen and died instantly. Everyone knew Ellie had a habit of leaving my parents’ house growing up, so no one questioned it. But her room was only on the second floor. There’s just no way that fall would have killed her. They didn’t even bring her into the hospital, and they refused an autopsy. They murdered my little sister and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
My voice broke and I couldn’t keep going. The memory of my mother calling me to tell me the news, her voice numb and detached as she shared that her only daughter had died, flooded me. I had immediately gone to my parents’ house and demanded an investigation. When my father walked in, I’d jumped him, punching him in the face until my pack fathers pulled me off. Then they all set on me. I had been convinced they would kill me, and they probably would have if Ben and Theo hadn’t barged into the house and gotten me away.
Josie held me tightly, running her hands soothingly over my body and pressing little kisses to my neck and chest as she continued purring. I tried to hide the tears rolling down my face, but she cupped my cheeks with both hands.
“It’s okay to cry. Not a single bit of what happened was your fault,” she said softly, wiping away the tears as they fell.
“I should have done more to protect her,” I choked out between sobs.
“You did everything you could. It sounds like you were Ellie’s everything, the best big brother she could ever hope for. I can’t imagine she would want you to blame yourself for what those horrible alphas did.”
“I wanted to kill my parents and those alphas. They don’t deserve to live after what they did to her.”
“What stopped you?” she asked without judgment.
“Theo and Ben convinced me that if I went after them, I would end up dead or in prison for the rest of my life. They said the best thing I could do for Ellie was to live my life and help fight for other omegas. That’s why we joined the Alliance.” After a pause, I added wryly, “They also kept me locked in a hotel room for days while I healed from the beating my fathers gave me and refused to let me leave until I promised I wouldn’t go after them.”
“That sounds about right,” she said with a small smile.
“We left the community, and they officially banned us from coming back. Theo and Ben aren’t allowed to talk to their sisters since they’re bonded to packs in the community. I was in a really dark place and didn’t think I deserved to have an omega since I couldn’t protect my sister.” The final part of my sentence came out in a whisper, and the fear that Josie would agree with me swept over me again. My hands were in fists and I tensed my whole body, waiting for her response.
“Cam, I need you to hear me on this. I’ve spent my life around terrible alphas. Alphas that wanted me to be scared and under their control, that didn’t listen to me, that violated me. I know what cruel alphas are like. Do you think I would be here if you were anything like that? I love you.”
I exhaled, tentative hope seizing my chest. “You love me?”
“Of course, I do,” Josie said with a smile.
“I love you, sweetheart, so fucking much.”
More tears spilled down my face, but I knew Josie wouldn’t judge me for it. We both went in for a kiss and came together fiercely. I cupped the back of her neck with my hand, keeping her glued to me as I deepened the kiss. A thought occurred to me, and I pulled away.
“I haven’t been with anyone in the past year,” I blurted out.
“Oh?” Josie said, looking dazed from our kiss and the sudden change in topic.
“I haven’t wanted to be with anyone in the past year until I met you. The way I want you is something I’ve never experienced before. I only chose betas to sleep with who I wouldn’t form an emotional attachment with, but baby girl, I am so attached to you.”
“Good,” she said, doing her happy little wiggle from her perch on my lap. A pensive look crossed her face, and she looked like she was going to ask me something before she stopped herself.
“What is it?”
“WillyoutellmeabouttheBDSM?” she asked, her words coming out so fast I almost didn’t catch what she had said.
“What do you know about BDSM, baby girl?” I asked.
“I read books,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing.
“I think I need to know what books you’re reading. They sound very naughty,” I whispered in her ear, relishing the shiver that ran up her spine.
“Answer my question,” she said with a pout, her cheeks flushing a darker red.
