“Revea, it was self-defence.”
“Was it?” She looks at me again, her tone drenched in bitterness. “I could have barked first, but I didn’t. I hit him. I didn’t need to touch him.”
“You think a bark would’ve stopped him?” I fire back, making her frown. “He was too far gone—his alpha was in control. It wouldn’t.” I step closer. “What that footage doesn’t show is him assaulting your staff. The omega he’s grabbing isn’t there. They’ve edited it out. Revea, remember what actually happened. He forced himself inside your business—”
“And I should have barked and waited for the police. But I justhadto go further. I usedexcessiveforce.” She scoffs at herself, disgusted. “Whoever’s doing this has enough money to have me watched, to hack into my CCTV, you think they won’t have a lawyer ready? A case already in place?” She shakes her head before I have a chance to respond. “I’ll be arrested. My brother’s career will be questioned. By the time there’s a trial, my name will beeverywhere. The salon will be finished. My staff will lose their jobs. Everything I’ve built, everything I’ve worked for… I’ll lose everything...”
My hands cup her cheeks as her words trickle out.
“Why send this to you now, Revea? Minutes before your flight home, after a week away?” She blinks, not understanding. “They waited until you were exhausted and alone, trapped on a plane, and…” I place the back of my hand against her forehead. “You’re burning up. Your scent isn’t right. I think you’re unwell—”
“Stop,” she barks, flinching out of my touch as I’m locked into place. “Don’t… Don’t tell me I’m wrong. I’ve done the research. Everything says this is an assault. I went past the line of self-defence. I’m an omega in a world ruled by alphas who’s about to be publicly ripped to shreds, and I… I… Just stop trying to make me feel better. Stop lying to me… just…stop…” She’s crying so hard her words are almost drowned out by her sobs.
I break free of her bark immediately.
Slowly, I move closer. “Revea, please, will you hear me out?”
She’s shaking her head, sniffling, wiping away tears.
“Please, baby. Please let me just tell you what I see. I’m not lying to you. I’m just giving you a different viewpoint.”
She’s still crying, but her head stops shaking.
I decide to take my chance.
“You’re being blackmailed, stalked, and threatened. They broke into your flat, took pictures of youasleep.” My fingers curl against the counter. “Think of all the crimesthey’vecommitted.” I nudge a little closer. “The footage, it’s altered. It doesn’t show him forcing his way inside or the way he grabbed a terrified omega. There’s no sound on the footage, but I know he was provoking you. You didn’t cut his throat—you held them there as a threat. The clip also doesn’t show how you stopped straight after. How you tied him upand waited. It doesn’t show the witnesses, all those people who were there and saw he was out of control.”
I’ve edged towards her throughout, and now our bodies almost touch as my thumbs brush her cheekbones.
“You’re the victim here, Revea.”
She slumps forward, her hot forehead against my middle. “I... I didn’t think about it like that...”
“Because you’re exhausted, riddled with adrenaline and anxiety. I bet you haven’t slept, eaten, or drunk, and…” I graze her spine with my fingers. Even through the hoodie, the heat of her skin melts through it. “I really think you’re unwell, Revea. You’re burning up, your scent isn’t right, and it’s not just the fear.” I tilt her head back. Her gaze slips open, but it’s cloudy. “Let me help, please?”
“You can’t,” she whispers.
“Revea… there’s a lot I can do.” I lower myself until we’re level. “A lot my pack can do.”
Especially for her.
She still looks so afraid, her mind swirling with information, poisoned by lies.
But the smallest nod reminds me how strong she is.
How she’s choosing to put this in my pack’s hands.
And that means everything.
“Yeah? Okay,” I murmur against the crown of her head. “I’m going to fix this, Revea.”
“What... What do I do?” she mumbles, her body slumping forwards, pressing deeper into mine.
“I need you to rest.”
I don’t wait for her to try to object. I slide one arm beneath her knees, the other around her back, and lift her into my arms.
The heat radiating from her body is intense. Dangerous. By the time I carry her up the stairs to my room and lay her on the bed, her eyes haven’t opened once. Her cheeks are flushed a deep scarlet, body trembling as she mumbles something under her breath.
