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Then I used it to seduce Oberon and Gunnar.
It hurts to find out that you’re the villain of your own story, especially when you’re the worst kind: the kind that uses love to get what she wants.
My heart pounds a wild rhythm as I wait, every second stretching long until Oberon’s knot fades. Relief floods through me in a hot wave, and I slip from the tangle of sheets, leaving him bound and snoring softly, unconscious to my escape. I can’t take the risk of pressing a kiss to his forehead, no matter how much I want to.
This is goodbye.
I pad barefoot across the cold floor, wincing at the chill that seeps into my soles. I don’t bother getting dressed; I need to hurry, and there’s no time to waste. The door opens with a silent yawn, and I slide through like a whisper, my breath held tight. In the hush of the corridor, my footsteps are ghosts trailing behind me, leading me to Vance’s office.
The door is ajar, light spilling out like a beacon. I push it without a knock, finding Vance hunched over a sprawl of papers, his eyes sharp as they snap up to meet mine. A lamp casts a warm glow on his greying hair, making the strands look like silver threads against his tan skin.
“Fuck…” he curses, his eyes wide. “Aisling, what—“
“A shirt, please?” I ask. “I didn’t want to come here like this, I just—“
Without a moment’s hesitation, he unbuttons his shirt, leaving him in a white undershirt and slacks as he passes the button-up over. I shrug it on then button it, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What…”
“Figured you’d still be awake,” I say, voice low but steady.
Vance exhales a long, tired sigh. “Sleep is a luxury in times like these.” His gaze locks onto mine, blue and piercing. “What brings you here, Aisling? Naked in the dead of night? I guess it’s on brand for you, but…”
A shiver runs down my spine, a mix of determination and something raw and vulnerable. I close the door behind me and take a step forward. “I have something to tell you.”
“Go on,” he prompts, his tone even but his eyes searching.
I suck in a breath, let it out slow. “It’s about the past. About who I am. It’s all coming back to me now, piece by fractured piece.”
His brows knit together, a frown carving deep lines in his forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“New Eden,” I begin, the name tasting strange on my tongue. “That’s where I come from. That was home.”
“New Eden…” Vance repeats, then takes a seat, elbows on the desk. “I don’t know it.”
“It’s a colony of omegas and peaceful alphas off the coast of Oregon,” I mutter. “Or…at least it was. I don’t know what it is now.”
“Do you want to take a seat?”
I shake my head. “No. I need to get this out before…”
I glance over my shoulder and Vance’s brows go up, then he nods knowingly. “Boyfriend doesn’t know you’re here.”
“He doesn’t want me to go.”
“And where are you going?”
I hesitate, the words like barbed hooks in my throat. “I want to get this out first.”
“Okay.”
“There were experiments, Vance. On omegas. On me.”
“Experiments?”
I think back to the experiments, no matter how painful it is. Injections, pain, fever…all under the symbol of a colony that had once been something beautiful.
The Tree of Life.
