Page 20 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

“Come on, Hunter. Destroying Arabella won’t undo any of this,” Aaron said. I was sick of them fighting so hard to protect someone who deserved the consequences of their actions. And I was appalled that they still hadn’t realized that they should have been protecting Ivy this whole time.

“Arabella’s a damn sociopath,” I said. Clara interjected herself.

“Please, don’t be cruel!” She cried out. I straightened my tie.

"I will not make a public statement right now. But if the truth becomes relevant to the litigation, I'll use it. And if Arabella attempts to portray herself as the victim of Pack Vale, I will release the documentation to make sure no one misunderstands what happened."

Clara began crying. “You’d ruin someone over spite!” she said.

My voice was ice. "Arabella did that herself. Now don’t call again.” I ended the call and ran my hands through my hair. I could claw every stolen dollar out of that family's hands and place them at Ivy's feet, but it wouldn't change the fact that when she'd needed me to believe her, I hadn't.

The door opened, and I looked up to see Elias. He was freshly showered, and for the first time in months there was some color in his face.

"Are you alright?" He asked. He must have felt my anger through the bond.

"No." I sighed.

“Let me guess. The Carringtons?” He asked with a wry smile. I guess the only time I felt anything besides despair right now was when I felt anger.

"Of course. They were begging me to protect Arabella’s reputation." His expression hardened.

"And? What did you say?” he asked.

"I don't think they'll be calling again," I said with finality. Elias gave me a triumphant smile, then walked closer and sat on the edge of the desk.

"You know you can see Ivy." He commented.

"No." I shook my head. I couldn’t. I’d ruined what we had. I’d only ruin it more trying to show up.

"Hunter," Elias said in that calm, persuasive voice of his. I stood and collected the papers scattered across my desk.

"No. She didn't invite me." I said.

"She didn't exactly invite Ronan the first time either," Elias said with a shrug.

"Ronan didn't alpha bark her." Elias didn’t argue with that. "If she wants to see me, she'll tell one of you."

"And what if she doesn't?" Elias asked. That was the question, wasn't it? If one day they began rebuilding something with her and she decided there was no place for me in it. Could I live with that? Every alpha instinct inside me screamed no. But I didn’t deserve her. Ivy deserved someone better. I forced myself to continue.

"If she wants both of you, you take care of her," I said, turning away.

"Hunter." Elias started to come after me.

"You make her happy." My throat closed. "Give her everything we should have given her from the beginning."

Elias crossed the room. "Stop this. You're talking like you've already lost her." I stopped walking, my hands flexing out of anger and loss.

"I did." I practically yelled.

"No." His voice was firm. "You hurt her. I know you’re feeling awful. But feeling terrible is natural when you've done something terrible."

I looked at him. “How is this helping again?” I asked.

"Destroying yourself doesn't help Ivy. And right now, she needs support.” I looked down. "She's healing. She's starting to understand that what happened to her wasn't normal. Now she has a whole new life, and she has good friends who care about her. She's good at running her business." He paused to look at me.

I said nothing.

"You're deciding for her that you're unforgivable," Elias said softly. He got closer, his hand gripping my shoulder. It was the first time anyone from my pack had been this close to me in months. “And if she asks for you someday, don't insult her by telling her she made the wrong choice."