It was true. Even if Sebastian did more of the hands-on punishment, Domenic had become unpredictable in his rages near the end.
Andrew’s hands tightened on each other, the muscles of his forearms standing out in sharp relief. Gabriel was murmuring in Italian. I caught the word “stronzi.”
“She got me out though. I was sick and almost died. But she got me to the hospital, and from there the National Omega Network took me in, even though I hadn’t presented fully yet.”
I considered telling them about my illness. I didn’t want to, but I might as well go the whole way to showing them how messed up I was.
I adopted my best scientific voice. “I’m in recovery from anorexia. That’s why my pheromones are abnormal. I damagedmy endocrine system, which was the whole point, but the damage seems permanent. It’s why I don’t have normal heats, or perfume.”
“The whole point?” Andrew asked, his voice low.
“I didn’t want to present. If I did, they would have sent me off to bond with a pack just as horrible as them,” I said, still trying to sound as detached as possible.
Gabriel squeezed my waist briefly. “We will kill the other one. This Domenic. Where is he?”
I exhaled a shaky laugh. “Yeah, okay.”
Some tension I’d been holding inside melted. There was no pitying look from either of them. No obvious glances at my body to check how thin I was. No dark curiosity about the realities of the disease. They both just looked livid on my behalf.
“I am not laughing, mia cara. I will gladly kill him for you,” Gabriel said.
He looked utterly serious, and that made my heart race. Why was the thought of him killing for me… exciting? I shook my head firmly. “It won’t change anything. Sebastian died, and it didn’t change what he did to me. So no going to jail on my behalf.”
Andrew took a deep breath through his nose, his nostrils turning white, then exhaled slowly. He stood abruptly. “I need to go for a walk.”
Gabriel rubbed my back as I watched Andrew slamming out of the apartment. I jumped slightly at the sound.
“Did I do something?” I asked, still watching the door.
“No, non preoccuparti. Do not worry. He is so angry for you it is choking him,” he said, placing a hand over his heart. “He did not want to scare you, I think.”
“You can feel that?” I asked.
I knew about bonds in theory, of course. They were one of the great scientific mysteries surrounding Alphas and Omegas.All the other markers of designation — heats, knots, instinctive behavior like purring — biology could explain those. But bonds were another story. There was no scientific explanation for how a bond could allow some kind of psychic connection between two people.
Gabriel’s hand brushed mine. “Thank you, tesoro mio. For sharing with us.”
“It’s so embarrassing. Having to talk about it,” I whispered. Shame and anger mingled in my stomach.
“Do you remember I told you I worked with another Omega?” he asked after a moment.
“Yes. In Italy, right?”
“Matteo. He was not so lucky as you to escape from his family. They could not repay a loan to the pack I worked for, so Matteo became the payment.” He ground his jaw for a moment. I could imagine life with a pack who treated an Omega like that. I’d lived it. “There is nothing shameful about what happened to you. Or to Matteo. Only the ones who hurt you, or did nothing to stop it, should feel this way.”
I reached for his hand instinctively at the pain in his voice.
“I do not deserve your comfort,” he said, squeezing my hand with a sad smile. “I did not help him leave. I tell myself I would have, if he had asked, but… He should not have had to ask.”
“But if his pack was that dangerous, wouldn’t they have hurt you, too?” I wanted to wipe the guilt and pain from his face.
“Sí. And it would have been worth it,” he said. “I will not make the same mistake again. No one will hurt you, carissima. Not if I am here to stop it.”
Knowing there was another reason for him to care so much made me feel better and worse. If I were just another Omega he wanted to help, consolation for a past mistake, thattook some pressure off the situation. “Thank you. But I’m still feeling guilty for intruding on you like this.”
“Carissima, how many times must I tell you? It is our pleasure to have you here for as long as you need.” He released my hand to sink his into the hair at the nape of my neck, his fingers cradling the back of my head. His thumb brushed my earlobe, and tingles spread across my scalp.
I tried and failed to form words and ended up letting out an embarrassing whimper. His brown eyes were bright on mine, and I swore they flicked to my lips for a moment. I fought the impulse to lean forward and kiss him, to see what it would be like. Would he push me away?
