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“Why would I ever do that?” I asked. “Fate doesn’t make mistakes.”
“Real talk: I’m nothing but a boring accountant and an alpha in name only, definitely not a capital-A alpha. I do the books for the pride. I don’t do much else. None of the fighting. I’m not one of the Betas.”
“Oh, Silas. I’m not looking for an Alpha alpha. I want my mate, and that is you, and I can only assume that means we are going to be perfect together.” I moved closer to him, put my hand on his knee, until finally, he looked at me. Our faces were close, and I pressed a small kiss to his lips.
“I know you are all the alpha I will ever need or ever want. You’re a good man.” I wasn’t one who’d ever wanted a specific type of alpha.
Growing up when my friends dreamed of an alpha who was six-foot-two or who had a motorcycle or one who had green eyes and dimples or one whose beast could take down a buck or any of the many things they fancied, I always came up blank. My vision for my future partner was someone who could love me. And Silas would, possibly did. But also, he was so much more than that. He was smart, protective, compassionate, and strong in a way most never were. He was my mate, the perfect alpha for me.
“You barely know me,” he said.
“You defended your friend, fought for him in a way that no one else did, even though it nearly led to your death. Even now, you worry about him. There’s honor in that, and that is all I could ever ask for.”
He wrapped his arms around me, and we sat there, holding each other close.
Chapter 9
Silas
My mate and I enjoyed a quiet meal together, the possibility of our future lingering in the air. Thoughts of more shared meals and making memories flashed before my eyes. Maybe cubs. That was getting way ahead of ourselves, but in this quiet, a man could dream. The forest was alive with possibilities, and I soaked them all in.
I’d been afraid that I messed everything up when I said that I wished I had claimed Nathan. What sort of omega wanted to hear that from their mate? None. But Pol, being the wonderful man that he was, he understood why I felt regret for not claiming him so deeply, and it had nothing to do with wanting Nathan. Even when it was on the table it had been all about convenience. It had everything to do with wanting to protect someone that mattered to me.
Pol hadn’t said as much, but things were looking horribly for Nathan. He talked around it, slapped on a happy face while we discussed it, and pivoted. I could see through all of it. If I thought I could make it all the way there, I’d have already asked to visit him. But I was not close to ready for that.
I was already feeling the burden of letting him down. If he didn’t make it through this, it might… I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it.
“Can you tell me more about Asilo?” I asked. It was odd to me that the name didn’t ring a bell. If Nathan had been brought here, it couldn’t be that far from where I’d lived. “I never knew the name of the prides that help omegas. I heard of them, but not specifics. I’d love to learn more about what you do and your role with them.”
Pol furrowed his brow and set down his plate. “Yeah, I can tell you about my pride,” he said with a hint of hesitation. “But it’s not pretty. We don’t bake cookies and hand them out at local bring-your-pet-to-the-park days or anything. Our work is hard. Rewarding, but hard.”
I sensed his reluctance, so I laid a hand on his thigh, reassuring him. “You don’t have to, but I’m strong enough if you do.” I squeezed my hand reassuringly. “I just want to get to know you better, understand your pride and where you come from. We can talk about something else if you wish.”
I’d never push him to share. Sometimes things needed to stay private. I understood that. But also, I didn’t want him to ever think that I was disinterested. I wasn’t. I just wanted to be the alpha he needed.
“I know. And thank you for asking and for wanting to hear my story. It’s just not a pretty one,” he replied with a grateful smile. “And when you… how you… how we met… it might be a lot.”
I remembered meeting him when I was barely conscious, battered and broken, a result of the Alpha of my pride nearly beating me to death and leaving me for dead. Most omegas would’ve panicked at the sight. Scratch that, most people would have. But not him. He swooped in and cleaned me up, going so far as to fix my arm despite not being a healer. I wasn’t the worst he’d seen. I’d put money on that.
Still, I hated that for him. Hated that as bad as things had been for me, he’d witnessed horrors exponentially greater. Hated that he probably would again.
“Our first meeting wasn’t exactly roses and sunshine, but it was just the start of our journey, it doesn’t have to set the tone for our future.” I believed that with my entire being. “Scratch that. I refuse to let it be the tone for our future.”
“You’re right.” Taking a deep breath, Pol explained, “There are several Asilo prides or packs. I don’t even know how many now. They’re meant to be secret; that’s why you don’t know about them.”
That explained so much already. A secret pack wouldn’t be on our radars. Not if they truly were secret. I also understood why they needed to be a secret. If you were taking in abused omegas, the last thing you wanted was for their abusers to track you down simply by going to the nearest Asilo pack.
“They—we’re a safe haven for omegas who have been mistreated, like your friend Nathan.” Mistreated being the understatement of the year. He had been beaten within an inch of his life all because he had the audacity to say no to Jerome. Zero people owe you a yes. Zero. “We take in those who need a safe place to heal and move on from their trauma. Our goal is always to get them to the point where they no longer need our help and then finding them a new place to live—one that is safe and will treat them the way they deserve to be treated.”
He’d told me a bunch of this already, but now that I was doing better, pieces of it that hadn’t made sense before, finally did. Asilo did amazing work, and my mate… he was a part of that. I couldn’t be more proud to call him mine.
I’d been aware of the harsh reality that life could be cruel, especially for omegas, but I sort of assumed it happened elsewhere. Where that elsewhere was, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you, but it just felt removed from society as I knew it.
And yes, Jerome and his actions towards Nathan were deplorable and should’ve told me otherwise. But I’d been under the impression that as a society, things were getting better—that Jerome was an anomaly. This conversation was suggesting that it was not. That the issue was far more widespread than I ever imagined.
“I was living under a rock. I thought things had improved for omegas,” I confessed.
“Oh, they are… tons better. The number of omegas we take in who have been mistreated, like Nathan, has dwindled in the past few years. It still happens from time to time, but nowhere near as frequently as when I first arrived. This new batch of enforcers are good, really good. They’ve helped bring on this change. I understand that’s not easy to hear,” he added on.
