Page 132 of Alpha’s Possession

“Because his vendor is a vampire, so neither of you are getting anywhere near him,” Leon replies.

“Well, why can’t Thane go?” I ask, pointing at Thane.

“Nope, his blood is just as addictive as yours. I’ll handle it,” Leon says, pecking my cheek and walking off.

“Leon!” I shriek in panic, rushing after him.

“Harlow, enough! It isn’t safe. Thane’s your mate too. He won’t do anything. He hasn’t, has he?” Leon asks. I look at Thane beside me and swallow nervously. It will be the first time I am left alone with him since coming home.

“I’ll call Rhen and tell him to head home, okay?” Leon says, cupping my face in his hands. He presses his lips against mine, and I sigh.

“No, I’ll be fine. Just go,” I tell him, and he looks at Thane who nods to him before he turns on his heel and leaves.

Dread fills my stomach as I turn to find Thane watching me. He says nothing as I wander into the living room and flick the TV on. I am watching the midday drama when he walks out and sits on the couch across from me with his newspaper. I try my best to ignore him, but his presence has me on edge. Although, I am curious as to why he is home so early.

“How come you aren’t at work?” I ask him. He briefly lifts his head to glance at me.

“Because I wanted to be here when you got home from your ultrasound, so I can find out what is happening with your pregnancy and our daughter,” he says simply, and I roll my eyes.

“She is fine. I’m sure Leon would have told you later. You didn’t have to come home early,” I tell him.

“No, he wouldn’t have. None of them tell me anything regarding you.”

I scoff. He sets the paper down, looking at me.

“Our mates barely speak to me, Harlow, and they won’t until you start.”

Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the TV. “I have nothing to say to you. Nothing nice anyway,”

“Your anger I can handle. Your silence is driving me insane,” he mutters, opening his newspaper.

“Wow, it must be so damn hard not having your mates speak to you. Sucks, doesn't it? Try being mute, too; that will really drive you crazy. Silence is one thing, but being mute? Having your voice stolen from you for so long that you forget what it even sounds like. Eventually, you start believing you never had one in the first place,” I tell him. Saying the words out loud makes them truly sink in. For both of us.

Thane says nothing, but I can feel his gaze as he watches me—feel the guilt writhing through him. We sit in awkward silence for what feels like an eternity, when he finally speaks.

“Harlow... I... I know...”

Turning my head, I look at him, watching him struggle with whatever he is trying to say, when he stops for a second. “I know what—”

“No, you don’t know. You don’t know because you grew up with the privilege of being born an Alpha. You always had a voice, and when I finally found mine, you took it, proving it was never really mine to begin with,” I tell him.

“You think because I am an Alpha, I had it easy? I have had responsibility shoved on my damn shoulders from the moment I could walk,” he snaps at me.

“And what responsibility is that, Thane? The pressure of knowing you will have everything handed to you on a silver platter, because of your DNA. That you will be able to pick and choose every aspect of your life, deciding which Omega you will destroy, so you can raise the next Alpha asshole?” I scoff.

“I have spent every damn second of my life training and being brought up in my parents’ image. Raised with the responsibility of knowing I will be the one everyone turns to, to protect them, keep them safe. I thought you killed my mother. What did you expect me to do, Harlow? Just forgive you and move on?”

“Yes. Because I didn’t fucking do it!”

“And you lied to us, all of us!” he screams at me.

“I lied because from the moment I met you, all I heard was how much you fucking hate Omegas! How much you wanted to kill the woman you thought killed your mother! Was I supposed to add that to my fucking resume? ‘Assumed killer of Mrs. Keller!’ I lied because I had no other choice, and you proved that because the moment you found out, you locked me in the Den without letting me explain,” I retort.

Thane tosses his newspaper on the coffee table “You should have come to us instead of running for two years!”

“I was fucking scared! I was barely eighteen, Thane, barely a fucking adult. I watched someone get murdered. I thought my sister was dead because she joined a pack and couldn’t take the knot, and I was worried I would end up exactly like her. I didn’t want to be an Omega. I hated what I am, and for two years I was convinced I killed my own sister because she took my place. She took my place because I was terrified of being a pack Omega, only to be told that she was dead and I was being shipped off as a damn breeder to a pack I didn’t fucking know!” I scream at him.

“You should have come to us. You could have called or gone back to the sanctuary or—” He clutches his hair in frustration. “I know you must have been scared; it’s why I sent my mother to get you. We didn’t want to scare you.”