“Shh, it’s okay, baby girl, just breathe,” he urged, soothing his hand up and down my spine.
“I made it back to you,” I finally choked out. “When I was in that room, I knew I couldn’t give up, knew you were waiting for me.”
“Fuck, sweetheart. Fuck. It never should have happened. Never.”
Cam gripped me tighter as if he could somehow pull my body into his.
“Not your fault,” I murmured, wanting to remove the weight of this guilt from him. He made a sound in the back of his throat as if he disagreed with me. I popped my head off his chest. “I don’t need you to take on the guilt from something you couldn’t control. I need you to be here with me and help me figure out how to end this once and for all.”
“You shouldn’t have to risk yourself. Our job as alphas is to protect you,” he said.
Indignation rose within me, and I had to gather my thoughts for a moment before responding. I knew Cam was being ridden hard by his alpha instincts and past trauma.
“I’m grateful that you want to protect me. That youdoprotect me,” I started.
Cam sighed, running his hand down the side of my face. “But?” he prompted.
I could have sworn I saw the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. I raised my eyebrows at him questioningly.
“This is when you tell me off for being an overbearing alpha, right?” There was a lightness in his tone that eased the tense knot in my chest.
“Pretty much,” I responded, snuggling into him.
“Alright, let me have it.”
I snorted, nipping at his neck. “Nothing about being an omega has ever been risk-free. I had to accept that a long time ago.”
Cam said nothing for so long that I wasn’t sure he would respond.
“Intellectually, I know that. But I don’t want to accept it. I feel like if I’m strong enough, good enough, I can protect you.”
I tapped my fingers on his chest. “Even if you could protect me from this, even if the Alliance could take them down without my help, I’d still want to be in this fight. I know I’m pretty pathetic, but I want…”
My words were cut off by Cam’s growl. “What the fuck?”
My lips parted in surprise at the rage burning behind Cam’s eyes.
“Never want to hear you say that about yourself again, understand? You are not pathetic. You are so fucking strong, such a fighter. I have no doubts you could take these fuckers down single-handedly.”
I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond.
“Baby girl,” Cam said, a hint of reproach in his voice. “I don’t want to protect you because I think you’re not capable. Fuck, is that what you think?” When I didn’t respond, he practically vibrated with agitation. He pulled me up his body so he could look me in my eyes.
“I want to make sure you hear what I’m saying. I don’t want to protect you because I think you’re weak. It’s not even some biological instinct, although that’s a bit of it. It’s because you deserve protection. You deserve to have people in your corner, standing between you and anyone who tries to hurt you.”
His reaction eased an insecurity I hadn’t known I was carrying. Warmth bloomed in my chest as it sank in—Cam believed in me.
“You know you’re the best alpha I could ever dream of having? Well, one of three,” I said, kissing him on the chest.
“Love you,” he said, his voice gruff.
A calm settled in my chest. I knew we hadn’t fully solved everything with just one conversation, but I thought we understood each other better now.
“Need to get some lotion for you,” Cam said, running his hand down my still-hot ass. “Did I hurt you? Was it too hard?” he asked, a vulnerability in his voice.
“No, alpha. It was perfect,” I said, kissing his neck.
His hand trailed down to the cleft in my cheeks. “Fuck, forgot I left this in. You should have said something,” he said sternly as his fingers grazed the base of the plug. He deflated it and gently pulled it out.
