He puts his hand over his mouth.
My heart is slamming so hard against my ribs I'm surprised he can't hear it.
Fear and rage are moving through me in alternating waves, tangled up together so completely I can't separate one from the other. This man.
This horrible man, crying into his hand, watched my father bleed out on the floor of his own pharmacy and then turned around and did the same thing to my mother.
And he lost his footing?
He lost his fucking footing!
"Everything after that was a blur," Milo whispers through his fingers. "I swear. I swear to god I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
He's crying now. Actual tears, tracking down his gaunt face. I stand very still and watch him cry, and feel nothing except cold.
“Please.” He looks up at me with wild, red-rimmed eyes. "You have to forgive me.” He sucks in a sharp breath, his words coming out faster. "I mean, that's why you ended up at the Morder. Don't you see that? It was fate. It was fate soyou could forgive me." His voice rises, taking on a desperate, unhinged quality that makes the hair on my arms stand up. "Please. Please, Elowen. Ineedyou to forgive me."
He rushes forward.
I let out a sharp yelp as his hands find the front of my shirt, gripping the fabric, His weight drags us down until he's on his knees in front of me, his fists twisted in my shirt, his face tipped up toward mine.
"Please," he sobs. "Please forgive me. I can't keep living like this. Please."
Perrin comes through the doorway so fast I barely have time to blink.
The beta doesn't say a word. He crosses the room in four strides, reaches down, and grabs the back of Milo's jacket in one fist. He rips Milo away from me with a force that snaps Milo's head back. Perrin swings the asshole sideways and lets go. Milo's body hits the coffee table, the wood groaning under the impact, his hip catching the edge as he goes down.
Perrin stands between us, his chest heaving, fists curled tight. I have never seen him look like this. Not once.
Every soft, careful, quiet thing about him has been stripped away, leaving something raw and furious underneath. His biceps flexed, his jaw set, and his eyes fixed on Milo with an intensity that makes the room feel cold.
"Don't you ever touch my omega," Perrin snarls, his voice low and dangerous.
I blink, stunned, and Adam's face comes into view.
He pulls me backward, away from the couch, and the second his fingers touch my skin, something breaks open in my chest and the words come out.
"He killed my parents!"
Adam goes still.
Deep lines settle between Perrin’s brows as he turns toward me. "What did you say?"
"He killed my parents." My voice cracks down the middle. "Milo killed my parents."
And then I'm crying.
Painful sobs jerk from my throat, completely beyond my control. My whole body shakes, and I press my hands over my face, trying to breathe through it but I can't.
"I'm sorry," Milo whispers, still on the coffee table, curled on his side, sobbing. He keeps saying it, over and over, wet and broken. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please! I’m sorry.”
"Shut the fuck up!" Perrin barks, and his voice is so sharp and authoritative that Milo actually goes quiet.
Adam pulls me into his chest, both arms coming around me, tucking my head under his chin. His hand moves slowly up and down my back, then into my hair, and he holds me like he’s waiting for me to shatter.
"They're coming home," the omega says quietly, against the top of my head. "Raff and Cliff. I can feel it in our bond. They're already on their way." His arms tighten. "When they get here, they'll take care of everything."
I lift my head, forcing myself to look at Milo.
