It’s still there. He thinks he hides it well, but I know him.
When we’re together, he’s with me. But sometimes I catch him staring off into space. His anxiety spiking, his anger brimming. And then it’s gone in a flash.
He’s trying.
Someday he’ll get there. And with people like Lily, it gets easier.
“Mona, come ‘ere,” he says, reaching out for me. And I approach the woman, who I only saw amid a violent, unnatural heat.
Her face has filled in, much less gaunt. There’s a warmth beneath her skin, her hair is clean. Her eyes are bright. But there’s a darkness in her, too.
My omega comes forward. I sit on the edge of the bed. And I don’t know, maybe it’s not my place, she didn’t ask… but instinct tells me to take her hand. Does she feel the same? Because she reaches for me, too.
And the second we touch, something happens.
My omega hums. So does hers.
On a cellular level, my omega feeds the darkness inside her, bathing her in light. But she does the same to me. I get flashes of my life. Good times and bad. Her omega kisses every moment, as if to say, it’s okay. It’s all okay.
My vision blurs at the edges as I sink into the trance. There he stands—the man who wasn't really my father, but it’s alright because Silent Peak was always waiting for me. His image fades, and then I’m in my apartment, tired from the medication they gave me, but through the haze, there’s Silas. He’s at my throat, his fangs breaking skin. But I see it now, through his eyes—the restraint, the desperation. Love that existed between us, even if we didn’t recognize it at the time. Not conscious love, but the need to protect me, to ensure my survival. He did all that he could, even when his heart was so full of pain.
In the present, my cheeks wet with tears.
Everything happens for a reason. Or, bad things happen, but that’s okay, because good things happen, too. Those are the platitudes people offer when they don’t know what else to say, but maybe there’s truth there—not that suffering is justified, but that pain carves out space for joy and love, if only we can hang on long enough to see it. To feel it.
I don’t know how much time passes. I was sitting on the bed, and the next thing I know, we’re hugging, holding each other, crying silently.
Andrea and Silas are at the edge of the room, staying back. Like we’re too much.
Like it’s all too much. We don’t mean to—I certainly don’t, and I doubt she has any more control over this than I do, but together, Lily and I overflow with omega support. It pushes into Silas and Andrea.
They’re both leaning against the wall. Andrea freezes. She grits her teeth, trying to fight against it. Lily pushes her way in.
Something lightens in Andrea’s chest.
She’s still the battle-hardened alpha. She’s stillher, but we lift a little bit of her darkness, some of that stuck-on, burnt edge inside her.
My omega pushes into Silas. His hurt is so deep. It’ssoraw. My heart wrenches. My omega wails. Lily holds me tighter. Silas walks closer on shaky legs. He kneels beside the bed.
And he pulls me and Lily into his arms.
We were healing him, but it’s like we were caught in a trap. And now he’s released us.
“What the fuck was that?” I rasp, after a few moments, and he lets us both go.
“I have no idea,” Silas says. “Are you okay?” he asks, concerned, looking from me to Lily.
I pull away from Lily. “Sorry. That was an awkward way to introduce myself.”
Lily smiles. “I’m less and less surprised by awkwardness these days.” She looks pointedly at Silas, who grumbles and pulls me closer.
“Your omegas are pretty powerful. I haven’t met that many, but they were nowhere near as powerful as one of you, let alone both of you together. They don’t often mingle either. There justaren’t enough of them. But it’s almost like… I don’t know… there’s something different about you two.”
I remember what Ghost said about me being a Seeker. And with all the magic used against Lily… Maybe that’s all it is.
“I’m going to go talk to Doc real quick. I’ll be right back,” Silas says. He leaves the room, leaving me, Lily, and Andrea behind.
Andrea still looks like she’s in shock.
