He gulped. “Twenty-one.”
I stopped tapping and pointed a finger at him. “Your turn.”
Cassius’s eyes darted about the room. “What’s with all the glass?”
“My hoard. I’ve been collecting glass since I was five. My turn.”
He blinked at me, still looking confused.
“How often do you go into heat?” I knew this was an intimate question. Omegas were like aliens to me. But I could ask whatever I liked.
His eyebrows rose. “Twice.” He cleared his throat. “A year.”
I gave him a nod.
Cassius narrowed his gaze. “How did your omega father die?”
I felt my body jerk back. I’d never talked about that to anyone but Dad and, recently, with my therapist.
The discussion with Dad had not really been a talk but a fight. I still blamed him.
However, it was my turn to answer now. Only fair. Except for the fact that I didn’t play fair.
“He’s gone and that’s all there is to it,” I said. “My turn. What does it feel like to go into heat?”
Cassius’s face darkened. “You didn’t answermyquestion.”
The memory turned over and over. I was only ten. I called Dad a liar. I believed my father would walk through the front door any minute. Dad kept telling me he was sorry; the bond was broken. Sorry for what? I remembered screaming, pounding my small fists into his chest. I hated him so much. They’d been arguing that day. It had to be Dad’s fault.
I lowered my voice to a monotone. “There was a storm. He shifted and flew away. He never came back.”
Cassius stared at me. He said in a soft voice, “They hurt.”
My eyes flicked to his. “They?”
“My heats.”
Our gazes held for a few seconds longer than was comfortable. Then Cassius said, “Is his death why you don’t speak to your dad?”
“Yes.” I blew by any explanation with my next question. “Is it normal for heats to hurt?”
“No. It’s not normal.”
We both looked away. Maybe it was too much too fast. Correction. There was no maybe about it. Tension filled the room.
I got up and started putting the food into containers, stacked them and took them to the kitchen.
When I returned, I switched on the huge TV, picked up two controllers and handed one to Cassius.
“I’m going to teach you another game.”
“Okay.”
He was familiar with game controllers. He learned the rules quickly. The game was intense, requiring all our focus. That had been my intention. It was always my intention not to think too much, to distract from truth and emotion. But I couldn’t deny being drawn to Cassius.
You see him on another level.
Malinekan was difficult to ignore.
