“No,” he says, sniffling. “You deserve to know. You’re pack. We should shareeverything.”
All my secrets pound at the back of my mind like fists on a locked door, reminding me that I'm a horrible person. But I force them back and listen to my beta. This is his moment. Not mine.
“Jason would abuse my penis,” Myrick blurts out, like he’s tearing open a wound, and I freeze with shock. “He’d squeeze me so hard or twist it while he fucked me. He’d tell me that real love was sometimes violent, and I eagerly believed it, reminding myself of how rough Rhett was sometimes. Even thoughRhettnever actually hurt me. He’d spank me or handle me in ways that made my skin tingle, but Jason…” Tears drip from the edge of Myrick’s jaw, falling onto his silky robe. “It got to the point where I didn’t want anyone to touch me.” He shakes his head, like he's thankful he got the worst of it out. “I’ve been working on it in therapy, but…” He exhales sharply. “…I still feel so stupid, I let that happen to me for so long.”
“Oh, Myrick.” His name is a whisper on my lips as I curl into his chest. I hear the soft clink of the glass as he sets it down, and then his arms come around me.
And suddenly, everything makes sense. The way he never let me touch his privates. The way he’d flinch when I tried. He wasn’t rejectingme. He was drowning in trauma.
“I’m so sorry, my love,” I whisper, pressing my cheek to his chest. “I wish I could take all your pain away.”
Myrick kisses the top of my head, and I can feel him smile. It’s small and weak, but his hold on me tightens, and I can feel some of his strength returning.
“Rhett almost killed him,” he says, a quiet edge of pride in his voice.
“Yeah?” I lift my head, resting my chin on his chest.
He smiles down at me, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “He came home early one day and caught Jason hurting me. He lost it. Right here, in this kitchen.” Myrick glances around like the memory gives him something to hold on to. “I barely remember any of it. Jason gave me a pretty bad concussion—I kept blacking out. I spent a few days in the hospital after that.”
He draws in a deep breath, as if relieved to have said it out loud.
“I think Rhett still blames himself. He says if he hadn’t been working so much, he would’ve seen the signs. Noticed the bruises. But… I don’t think he would’ve.” Myrick gives me a sad, knowing smile. “I was too good at hiding it.”
I let his words sit for a moment, thinking it all over. “Do you think that’s why he’s selling the company?”
“I do,” he says without hesitation. “That guilt—it’s been eating him alive ever since.” Silence stretches between us, heavy but safe. Then, without meaning to, I hear myself say, “I ran away from home.”
Myrick blinks, stunned into stillness. “Oh,” he sayssoftly, surprised I shared anything. Honestly, I’m surprised too.
“Yeah.” I step back slightly, out of his arms, but not away. “When I was at Beechworth, they held these garden parties. Fancy things with linen-covered tables and flower archways. They were designed so we could meet potential packs.” I give a tight, nervous smile, fighting the instinct to run away. “When you’re young, the staff doesn’t pressure you into accepting anyone. They told us we could wait until we were ready.” I square my shoulders, then force myself to continue, “I was twenty when I met Tallen Montgomery.”
Even saying his name makes my throat tighten.
“There was something off about him,” I say. “He was... oily. Like he was trying to sell me a life that I knew he had no intention of giving.” My eyes narrow into the distance as I remember his leering looks and sharp teeth. “He always came to the parties alone. He never brought the rest of his pack. It felt like he was hiding something.”
Myrick touches the side of my arm, squeezing gently, reminding me that I’m here with him and I’m safe.
“It was strange,” I go on, shaking my head. “The school never let suitors officially court an omega without their packmates present. But Tallen—he wouldn’t let them come. He was too controlling.”
Myrick’s eyes soften. He nods, as if he understands more than anything. “What happened?” he whispers, voice coaxing but gentle.
“Earlier this year.” I shake my head, stunned that it’s only been that long. It feels like a lifetime. “Right before I turned twenty-six, the admins at my school had a meeting with my parents. They told them Ihadto take a mate soon, or I’d be committed to a home for older omegas.”
The words still sting.
“It was a scare tactic,” I say bitterly. “The school wanted my family to pressure me to take a mate before it started to affect my health. They told my mother that if I didn’t find a pack soon, I’d be shipped off to a facility where I’d wait to die.” I pause, throat tightening. “My parents panicked. They were…” I clear my throat roughly, trying to get through this, “they’re betas. They didn’t really understand omega dynamics or how any of this works. They thought they were helping.”
I bite down hard on my lower lip, grounding myself. “Anyway, I don’t know how Tallen found them—but when I went home for a holiday weekend…he was there. Waiting. My parents essentially sold me to him. So I ran away.”
I end that part of the story abruptly, too cowardly to tell Myrick anything else.
“Things were hard and I was homeless for a few months, living on the streets. It was almost impossible to hide that I was an omega.” The memories flash in my mind. The cold alleyways I slept in, the constant fear, and the bone-deep hunger. “One day, a group of alphas chased me all the way to the docks. I slipped and fell into a loading bay. Broke my arm. But a beta found me almost right away. Thankfully, he sold me to the Morder.”
“Thankfully?” Myrick’s eyes widen, disbelief written all over his face.
“Yeah.” I laugh softly, not because it’s funny, but because it’s true. “I know omegas aren’t supposed towantto go to the Morder. But honestly? The idea of finding a real pack—someone who could care for me…it was the only thing that kept me going. And I was tired of running.” I let out a heavy sigh, relieved to have gotten through my shitty story. “The Morder was a risk. I knew I could be claimed by someone worse than Tallen, but I wasn’t going to survive on my own much longer.”
Something possessive and passionate flashes in Myrick’s eyes. His long fingers curl around my upper arms as he leans down, looking deep into my eyes. He looks so serious. “I want you to know that I will never let an alpha manipulate me like that again.Ever,” he says the words like a pledge. “I was incredibly stupid for letting Jason hurt me for so long, and I’llneverlet that happen in my house again.”
