Page 152 of His Stolen Omega

“He’s fucked Shiloh,” he continued crassly. “That’s why those guys snagged you on Glyph. They were trying to bring Shiloh to him, but they botched the job and ended up with you instead. Too afraid to confront the Leviathan empty handed, they altered you with Rebirth and crossed their fingers. Idiots didn’t realize that Levi knew what Shiloh looked like. For obvious reasons.”

Yeah, the reason being that, apparently, he’d been inside of him.

“Bet he didn’t even know you were my brother,” Kian drove the knife in deeper. “Why’d he keep you alive? Rebirth, right?”

Elm didn’t deny it.

“This was all a twisted experiment. Now that I’ve felt your pheromones, I can probably put the rest of the pieces together. You went into an intense heat and he couldn’t resist. Instincts took over and he bit you.”

“No.” Elm frowned. “I mean…sort of, but…no.”

That wasn’t what had happened.

Levi was the one who’d entered his mating period. He’d gone into rut and—

Did it make a difference?

Didn’t that still confirm what Kian was trying to tell him?

Hadn’t a part of Elm feared that was the case from the beginning? Hell, he’d run from the lodge as soon as he’d woken up and realized the bites for that very reason. And in the cabin, when Levi had arrived, his first thought had been that the alpha was planning on killing him to break the bond he’d mistakenly created.

Elm retreated a full step, coming against the opposite counter, jostling himself. His hands gripped the edge.

“Omega,” Levi called out to him, but Elm barely registered it, merely shaking his head on autopilot as his mind raced.

“He’s using you,” Kian said. “Adding a prime omega as powerful as you to his legion is a smart move. The fact that we’re also related, and therefore he can use you to threaten me, makes it even better. Of course he couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. You think you’re in love? He brought you here to use you against me, Elm. He wanted Shiloh. He’s settling.”

Of course he’d wanted Shiloh.

“Everybody wants Shiloh,” Elm mumbled, not aware that he was doing it, and then glared at Kian and demanded, “What the hell is so great about him? You, Sky, and Levi too? Why does everyone prefer him over me?”

Kian seemed taken aback and Elm snorted, feeling a bit like he was losing his sanity.

“What? Did you not magically realize that part of the equation? That I was going there not out of some brotherly desire to meet him, but out of competition? I grew up with you, Kian, but the two of you share blood. What does that make me?”

The Dominus of the Eumia, the guy Elm had never seen crack, seemed…confused.

“You already took Sky,” he breezed on, unaware of the way the entire room had gone silent, “and now you’re taking Levi too?”

Even when they were at the studio, Elm hadn’t spent alone time with his best friend in months. Ever since he’d mated with Kian, he was either busy with his alpha, or busy hanging out with Shiloh or Sloane. And since Elm wasn’t allowed to interact with Kian’s other siblings, he was never included in those meet ups.

Before, he’d thought this feeling was insecurity, but now he saw it for what it was.

Resentment.

He resented Kian for making him question their familial ties. Resented Sky for mating Kian and leaving him to deal with these feelings on his own. Resented the twins for simply existing.

Resented the Eumia for stealing the older brother Elm had once known and relied on.

And now…

Now there was resentment toward Levi as well.

“Omega.” The Leviathan crossed the room toward him in wide steps, only to be stopped by Kian before he could make it all the way. “Back off, Erskine. My mate is crying.”

Was he?

Oh.