“What’s wrong, sweetheart? What did I say?” Liam gripped my chin lightly, but I refused to turn towards him. He dropped his hand and banded his arms around me tightly. A purr started in his chest and I melted into him, blinking quickly to stop myself from crying. Fuck, why did his purr always make my emotions come to the surface?
Fear and vulnerability swirled inside me, but there was also the desire to be honest, to share. I’d spent my life having only superficial relationships. They were safe but ultimately terribly lonely. If I wanted things to be different with my guys, I had to open up.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. “It was my nickname because that was my scent—strawberry shortcake. I added thedemonpart to make it sound cooler, I guess.”
Liam’s breath caught before he leaned forward to kiss my cheek. His hands were heavy on my skin as he ran them down my body in a soothing rhythm.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he murmured.
“I mean, I knew it would come up eventually,” I said.
“I thought you were wearing de-scenter when we first met,” he said softly. “But during your heat, it became obvious something else was going on.”
“It started fading at the Designation Academy,” I said, keeping my eyes firmly on his chin. “I thought it was just the stress and isolation. I’d always had a strong connection to my omega ever since I revealed at fifteen. I loved being an omega. It made me feel connected to my mom, and I always had these romantic ideas of having a pack.”
I closed my eyes, the pain of it all filling my chest. I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to remember, but I forced myself to continue.
“I thought my scent would come back after I returned home, but it didn’t. My aunt was sick by then, and I spent my days alone. She wasn’t around, and the Designation Government laws meant I couldn’t even really leave the house. I was trapped. My omega got quieter and quieter until she seemed to just disappear. One day, I woke up, and my scent was gone.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Liam murmured, pressing his face to the top of my head.
I choked on a sob. “I told myself it was a good thing. I didn’t have to use de-scenter anymore, which always burned my skin. But it makes me sad every day, especially since my mom smelled like strawberries. When my scent first came in, it was like she was here with me again.” I was crying now, the pain of losing my last connection with my mom too much to hold inside. “And it’s just further proof that I’m not a good enough omega for any of you. My scent isn’t coming back and most days, I barely even think my omega exists.”
Liam rocked me in his arms, holding me as I finally let myself fall apart.
“Thank you for telling me, sweetheart,” he said when my tears finally slowed. “I’m so sorry you went through that, butplease don’t ever think it makes you less of an omega. You are everything to me, to us. And I’ve seen your omega—during your heat, in small moments throughout the day. I don’t think she’s as gone as you think.”
I clung to him, desperately hoping his words were true. I had noticed my omega emerging more lately, and it was like welcoming back an old friend.
I sniffed, trying to stop my nose from running, and I was sure my eyes were red and puffy. “I need tissues.”
We both eyed the tissue box on the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed. Liam tried to reach it, but his arm wasn’t long enough. The sight of him flailing his arm to try to get the tissues caused a laugh to burst out of me, but unfortunately, so did a snot bubble.
“Oh my god,” I cried, covering my face. “This is a nightmare.”
Liam shook with laughter underneath me, each movement pulling against his knot and sending jolts of pleasure through me.
“Please,” I said between peals of laughter. “We have to get them.”
“Alright,” he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Hold on tight.” He gripped my hips firmly and started scooting to the left, lifting his hips to move us bit by bit across the bed. By the time we’d reached the other side of the bed, I was gasping and on the verge of coming.
He snagged a handful of tissues but didn’t hand them to me. Instead, he started cleaning up my face. I tried to move away but couldn’t because of how we were attached.
“I can do that,” I protested.
“I know you can,” he said, continuing to wipe my face.
“This is the least sexy thing in the world,” I whined.
“I’m a nurse. I’ve seen worse,” he said dryly.
“Yeah, but you’re supposed to find me attractive.”
“You still look like a fucking model even with snot all over you,” he said with a wicked grin.
“You can’t say the word snot while you’re inside me,” I cried, snagging a tissue for myself and blowing my nose, cringing at how close I was to his face.
He raised a challenging brow. “Says who?”
