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I sighed, glad I couldn’t see his face from this angle. With a yawn, I nestled a little deeper against his chest, hoping he’d dismiss the action as my being tired and not me craving to be covered in his scent. “My uncle got custody of me after my parents died.”
He nodded, his chin brushing the top of my head. “Yeah, I remember thinking that was bullshit. I know my parents wanted you to come live with them.”
“Sure would’ve saved me a lot of heartache.” I tried to joke, but the reality of the situation was too brutal to even make light of and the statement landed flat.
Crew hissed a breath, growling a little. He was angry, and yet it didn’t scare me. His anger wasn’t directed at me; it was being directed for me. It felt nice to have someone care.
I collected my thoughts in quiet for a moment, letting myself remember how this all started. “Mom had always said Uncle Henry was weird, and he wasn’t around much when I was growing up. I was surprised when I had to go with him. But everything seemed okay until… until it wasn’t.”
Crew stayed quiet, letting me tell the story the way I needed to, in my own time.
“We stopped for dinner at this diner after we’d gotten out of California,” I added, remembering the smell of diesel and grease as we’d eaten burgers and fries at a truck stop off the main highway. Uncle Henry had barely spoken a single word to me the entire drive, and he’d just stared at me, silently chewing, through dinner.
It had been unnerving to the point I’d excused myself to go hide in the bathroom to call Calla. She hadn’t answered.
“It all happened so fast,” I murmured, the memories still a little hazy. “I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, Uncle Henry was gone. I assumed he went to get gas, so I went outside and started looking for the car. He’d parked it around the side of the building and the hood was up, like something was wrong.”
“But it wasn’t?” Crew guessed.
I nodded. “I started to ask him if he needed help and he just… lost it. Started screaming that I was just like my mother. Honestly, none of it really made sense, but when I went to leave, he hit me on the back of my head.” I raised a hand to the spot, feeling a phantom throb of the pain that ricocheted through my skull for days after.
Crew gave a low, unhappy snarl again.
Without thinking, I stroked one of his arms, as if to reassure him that I was fine before cuddling against his chest. “I woke up in that hellhole. I tried to leave, but there was nowhere to go. No one would help me. And when I finally saw Henry again, he said he’d given all my parents’ money to the Alpha Preservation Alliance.”
Behind me, Crew scoffed. “Fucking asshole.”
“It was awful,” I admitted softly. “Then I turned eighteen and presented as an omega…”
“Fuck,” he swore. “I’d always thought you were a beta.”
“Me, too,” I muttered. “Anyway, that was when the High Alpha—Donovan—decided I was his celestially ordained wife number five.”
“Motherfucker,” Crew snarled, holding me tighter again. But this time, instead of letting go, he lowered his face into my neck and inhaled deeply.
Going off pure instinct, I tilted my head, giving him better access.
For a heartbeat of a second, I thought I felt his lips ghost across my pulse point. But just as fast, he was gone. And his hold, while still protective, seemed more stiff. He balanced me on his lap, letting me lean on his chest for warmth and strength, but still somehow holding back.
Tears filled my eyes and I wanted to scream. I was so over these yo-yo emotions that whipped back and forth like the frantic winds of a hurricane.
Coughing to hide a sniffle, I tried to wrap things up. “After that, it was a waiting game for the last few years until my heat came. It started last week, and Donovan decided we would be bonded as soon as it was done.”
Crew’s forehead dipped to touch mine. “I’m so sorry, Hazel.”
I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. “It’s not your fault.”
His gaze searched my face, looking utterly perplexed. “I think it might be.”
“No,” I said, a little fiercer than I’d intended. I scowled at him, but it only made him smile.
“Okay, little omega,” he agreed, giving in to me. He didn’t hesitate to brush a kiss to my temple before nudging my head back against his chest.
Prickles of awareness spread across my scalp and down my jaw. “I’m tired,” I admitted. The last couple of heat flares had left me feeling utterly spent. Now, in Crew’s arms, I felt safe enough to drop all my guards and actually rest.
“Go to sleep,” he ordered quietly. “I’ll stay with you.”
“You will?” I pressed, not sure I could believe it.
