My omega smiles up at me as she releases my hood and that gorgeous expression grows as she begins tracing the tattoos on my face without one ounce of hesitation or fear.
“I remember you,” Olive says softly as she follows each line of ink on my skin. “I mean, I remember your scent. Your presence. Everything else was conjured in my mind and my imagination didn’t really do you justice.”
What in the actual fuck is she talking about?
She giggles and shakes her head, her gaze shifting from my frown to where her fingers are following the tattoos on my neck. Olive’s smile doesn’t fade but it takes on a sad quality, something I can’t quite explain but I can see it.
“Every Wednesday for thirteen years.” Her touch ghosts over my throat as I swallow hard. “Seven in the evening until sometime in the middle of the night. Your scent was right outside the door for hours, floating through the cracks and high above the smell of?—”
Another involuntary growl tears through my chest as I clench my jaw. “Don’t.”
Olive nods as her hands slide down between my pecs, smoothing the front of my hoodie before she finally lowers herself to the ground. “You’re why he stopped coming, aren’t you?”
I give her a curt nod.
He was going to buy her.
Not just pay to have his way with her, that bastard was going topersuadeHyak to sell Olive to him, so she would be his actual property.
If that had happened, we wouldn’t be here now.Shewouldn’t be here at all.
His tastes were changing, I saw that first hand when I was left to clean up his larger and more frequent messes, and I couldn’t let that happen to Olive.
I wasn’t going to allow anything else to happen to my omega.
My silence did nothing but serve my selfish desire to be near her. It didn’t stop the countless alphas from using her, it didn’t stop Hyak from abusing her. All it did was guarantee a weekly visit where I watched them bring her to my master then I’d stand outside that fucking door and listen to what he did to her.
I was too weak minded, too ignorant to realize I had more power than I thought I did. I was too stupid and brainwashed to understand that I heldallthe power but when I heard him making plans to buy my omega, I snapped.
And so did he.
Right above his pelvis and at the base of his skull.
One less alpha who was hurting my scent match, but I was too late.
By the time I went rogue and left The Circuit, Olive and her chosen pack were gone, and it took me another two goddamn years to track her down.
“Thank you,” she whispers as she looks up at me, and for some reason, it makes me angry.
“I’ve done nothing but fail you.” I push off the counter as I grab my hood, flipping it back up over my head as I take the very few steps toward the door. “Fifteen fucking years of failures. I don’t deserve anything but punishment for that.”
Then I punch through the screen and slam the door behind me.
I want to leave but I won’t.
I won’t ever leave my omegas again but it doesn’t mean I have to subject them to my stupidity and self loathing.
They deserve so much better than that.
CHAPTER 15
STYX
I’M WITH STUPID - STATIC X
“Why the hell does it smell so fucking bad in here?”
I look up from my monitor as my brother swaggers into my office with purpose in his steps. Someone clearly lit a fire under his ass tonight and now I’m going to be the one who gets burned. “Excuse me?”
