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Demi was incredibly strong and capable, but all her life people had looked down on and diminished her. First, for being a woman, then designating as an Omega. Not only were they things she had no control over, but they were also two facets of who she was as a person that made her so damn special. It was a shame the men in her life up to this point had made her feel belittled and unimportant when she was anything but. Every woman deserved to feel like the incredible goddess they were.
I wanted Demi to embrace every facet of herself. To see the beauty and light she brought to the world.
Attuned to my girl, I noticed the second her breathing changed pace, morphing from steady, peaceful draws to fast, choppy gasps. A small cry broke from her chest, and she writhed in her sleep, clearly distressed.
“Demi,” I called softly, not wanting to startle her awake, but instead, rouse her gently. “You’re having a bad dream, Love.”
Eyes moving rapidly behind her lids, she whimpered.
“Shhh,” I cooed, rolling onto my side and cupping her face. I rubbed my thumb along her skin. “You’re safe.”
“Eli?” Demi’s lashes fluttered open, and she blinked, taking in her surroundings with a confused little wrinkle creasing her forehead.
“Yeah, Love. It’s me. We’re at the seaside chateau in Maine. You’re safe. Everyone’s here. They’re just in other parts of the house.”
Blowing out a long breath, Demi nodded and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Fuck,” she whispered. “The nightmare felt so real.” A full body shiver wracked her. “I was terrified to wake up and find all of you were just a dream.”
I pulled her with me as I rolled onto my back, settling her over my chest. I rested her hand over my heart, letting her feel the steady thud of it. “I assure you, we’re very real. I’m right here with you.”
“I dreamed of all of you a lot,” she admitted. “You were all I thought about. Every morning when I’d start to wake up, and I knew you were going to fade away…” she trailed off, a tear trailing down to soak my shirt.
“Demi.” Her name was a supplication. The brokenness in her voice reflected what she felt, and I had the overwhelming desire to fix it.
“It’s okay.” Her gaze slid away.
“No, Love. It’s not.” I waited until she turned back, but when she did, those mossy green eyes glassy with unshed tears were nearly my undoing. “Being alone and isolated isn’t a normal state for humans. We’re social creatures, which is why what you went through had significant impacts on you, even if you don’t realize it yet.”
“Like my nightmares?”
“To start.” I knew firsthand that PTSD could rear its ugly head in many different ways. Trauma wasn’t a one-size fits all.
Folding her arms over my chest, she propped her chin on them and gazed up at me. Her fingers drummed to the steady beat of my heart.
“You sound like you know a thing or two about being alone.” She studied me intently, eyes sparkling with concern.
That was my girl—always worried about others when she should be focused on herself and her own needs. She was so damn tenderhearted. Her compassion was one of the many things I loved about her.
Knowing she wouldn’t let it drop, I sighed and shoved my arm under my head again, getting comfortable for this conversation. “You could say that. I was alone a lot as a kid.”
Sympathy overtook Demi’s expression. “I know how difficult and lonely that can be. You didn’t have any siblings?”
I smiled softly. “I wished for them every day, but alas, I remain an only child.”
“Having a sibling always sounded like having a built-in playmate for life. I wanted a little brother or sister so badly, but my parents said one was enough.”
I grunted my disapproval. “Given both our backgrounds, it’s probably good neither of our parents produced more children to potentially abuse. Your mother sounded lovely, but I cannot say the same about your father.” Tension stole through me. “And my own parents were far too busy living their lives to be bothered raising me. From the time I was of age, they shipped me off to boarding school to become someone else’s problem. I only saw them on holidays—when they weren’t traveling to exotic destinations, that is. I think I saw more of our butler, Jeffery, than I did Pauline or Edward.”
Demi winced. “You call your parents by their first names?”
Probably looking sheepish, I shrugged. “They never really felt like parents. I started calling them by their proper names to be ornery when I was a teenager, and it stuck.”
“Did it ever bother them?”
I laughed dryly. “They’d have to have actually cared about me for it to matter to them. I think the worst reproach I received was a narrowing of their eyes or the quirk of an eyebrow.”
“They don’t deserve you. You’re an incredible person, Eli. And that’s all thanks to your own fortitude.”
“I assure you, I only turned out as the man I am today because of some good friends I made at school, a handful of influential professors who had my best interests at heart, and the campus doctor, who would swear there was a day he didn’t think I’d pass third grade let alone medical school. I think I spent more time getting patched up in his office than I did in class.”
