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I cross my arms over my stomach, curling my fingers into the soft fabric of my dress. “I’m not,” I say weakly.
“Aud, look at yourself. You are in a fucking dress like a grown dress-up doll, because I know it wasn’t your choice to put that on.” He shoves his fingers through his hair and swears under his breath. He comes over and kneels in front of me. “Please. Don’t make my sacrifice be for nothing.”
“Sin,” I breathe, tears gathering behind my eyes. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“You are my twin sister. You didn’t have to ask me to do it. I’m going to protect you. Running. Now. That will save you and me.”
I drag in a shaky breath, my sadness coming off of me in waves. “I can’t run, even if I wanted to. My heat is almost here. There is nowhere we could go to be safe in less than a day. I’m safer here. The room they gave me has controls that will keep me secure and away from alphas as I ride it out.”
He shoves to his feet, staring down at me like he doesn’t know who I am, and it tears something inside of me wide open. Sure, we’ve fought in the past, but not like this. If I said we needed to run, we ran, and if he said we needed to, we did. It has kept us safe. Away from the men that took over our father’s empire, the men that won’t be satisfied until we are both dead.
“Fine,” he spits. His anger is back, a force that feels almost physical in the intensity. “Stay, but don’t come running to me when they find you, because I’ll probably already be dead.”
“Sin,” I say pitifully as he storms across the room and almost rips the door off its hinges in his haste to get it unlocked and open before leaving without a backward glance.
My lips press into a thin line, and I drop my head, defeat filling my very being. Sadness leaking from my eyes and dripping down my nose toward the floor. I curl my fingers into my palms and squeeze, attempting to cause pain to pull me out of this downward spiral. What if he’s right and they come for me but find him?
A sob works its way from my throat. I didn’t even talk to him about why I came. We share everything, and now…it felt like I lost a part of myself.
“Are you okay?” Dean’s rich voice washes over me.
He makes me feel safe in a way I’ve never experienced before. Which is absolutely insane because he is an alpha, and after my experience with Jason, I don’t need another one. Although I had been close to begging Austin to take me, consequences and contracts be damned. Maybe Sin was right, and we should make a break for it. I press harder into my palms, wincing as pain breaks into my sadness.
Dean is on his knees in front of me, his large hands touching me, forcing my nails from my flesh. The tips of my fingers are red, and little crescent-shaped wounds bleed on my palms, four on each hand. Maybe Sin knew something I didn’t about pain and its ability to remove your thoughts.
His large thumb runs next to the self-inflicted injury, the skin sensitive. “Felix, wet a paper towel. We need to clean this.”
I blink up at him, tears hanging on my lashes. “You really are the savior type, huh?”
His face softens, and he brushes a stray tear from my face, leaving his warm palm against my cheek as he stares into my soul. “Only for those I care about. And you, little omega, have just added your name to that very short list.”
My heart thumps, and my breath catches. There issomethingabout him and Austin calling me a little omega that reaches inside some hidden part of me and makes me crave more. It makes mewantto betheirlittle omega. I am so screwed.
Felix holds out the wet paper towel, and Dean releases my cheek, taking the towel and bandage supplies he had grabbed from the bathroom. My skin cools with the air, and I almost need his touch again. He purrs deep in his chest as he cleans up my wounds. Taking care of an omega must fill some sort of need inside of him, too. Because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know he is purring. It makes me want to nuzzle into him and wrap myself in the safety of his arms.
“Your brother was really mad. Did he hurt you?” Felix asks as he sinks into the cushion next to me.
I shake my head, my brow furrowing. “No, but I’m pretty sure I hurt him.” I press my lips together as another tear sneaks out. Sin was my world. It was me and him. A team. But now, it felt like something shifted and he wasn’t the one that had changed.
“Sometimes those closest to you can cause the deepest wounds,” Felix says softly. “But I’m sure you can fix it.”
He spoke from experience. I could see it in the depths of his green eyes. A sadness that seems to lurk in their depths, beneath his laughter and jokes. Someone hurt him. Reaching out with my now bandaged hand, I wrap my fingers around his. How could I touch the three of them so easily? Why do they each feel like a piece of my soul that has been missing? Even Austin and his bossy, dominant behavior felt like a missing puzzle piece to my heart. It is too fast, yet not fast enough.
“Thank you,” I say with a watery smile.
“Anytime.” He squeezes my fingers gently as Dean finishes up his work on my other hand.
CHAPTER17
Audrey
That evening,I am curled up on the couch, watching the city lights and a boat out on the water twinkle under the full moon. Dean is reading in one armchair, and Felix stretches out on the couch, his feet tucked next to my ass, sound asleep. Soft snores come from him, and I smile. It is all so…domestic.
It reminds me of what home used to be. Sure, my dad was a big mafia boss, but it didn’t come home with him. Our home was a sanctuary.
Which brings my thoughts right back to the man I am not thinking about. Austin Zade. He hasn’t returned yet, and a part of me knows it is because of what happened at the office. My cheeks feel warm as the memories of it all washes over me. I had gone to his office to give him a piece of my mind, only to find him stroking himself.
It had rooted me to the spot, only released when he came. Then I moved. And he–well, he became a man possessed, and I loved it. The absolute possession in his gleaming violet eyes, the way his fingers flexed into my skin. Even the fucking way he licked my slick from the edge of the table. Damn, it was everything. The only thing that would have made it better was feeling his weight on top of me, or…
