A shift happened fast. Her expression tightened, as if what I had said caught her off guard, turning her emotions. Her brows pulled in slightly and her lips pressed together as she looked down.
“Hey,” I said, leaning towards her. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head quickly, like she could shove the emotion away if she moved fast enough.
“We’re close,” I tried reassuring her. “We’re going to get him and help all of them. Because of you.”
She shook her head again. “Not that," she breathed.
I frowned.
“Okay... Then what is it?”
She hesitated.
Her hands twisted together in her lap, like the words were there, but too big to get out all at once.
Then, in barely a whisper she said, “You care… what I think.”
I blinked. A surprised laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
“That’s what’s got you like this?” I asked. “Why would that make you sad?”
“It doesn’t,” she said simply.
I stopped laughing and studied her properly. There was a wet shine in her eyes, but her body wasn’t reacting like someone upset. Her shoulders had loosened instead of tightening. Her hands rested open in her lap instead of clenched into fists.
I had mistaken her emotion for sadness.
But it wasn’t sadness at all.
It was the quiet, overwhelming shock of being cared for.
Then it hit me. The realization that something so small, so considerate, could still catch her off guard because of how cruel her life had once been. Like part of her still expected pain first and kindness second. And every time we gave her gentleness instead of cruelty, it unraveled something fragile inside her.
“Hey,” I murmured, and this time, I didn’t laugh.
“Of course we care what you think,” I said. “I meant what I said. This works because of you.”
She looked unconvinced, so I continued. “When Command received Dr. Hampton’s report… about how your mind works, how you piece things together…” I shook my head faintly. “They almost didn’t assign you to our unit.”
She went still, color draining from her face, her mouth parting slightly.
“Because they thought you were too valuable, Lena. We pushed back,” I continued. “Hard.”
My voice softened. “We told them we weren’t letting you go somewhere else. That you belonged with us.”
A small pause.
“Not only as our omega,” I added. “As our teammate.”
She looked confused, like she didn’t quite know what to do with that.
“You are special, Lena,” I assured her. “Your mind… the way you see things… it’s rare.”
I hesitated just a beat before adding—
“And you’re beautiful in a way that doesn’t have anything to do with perfection.”
