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Raising her right arm, she slashes her brush across the painting. The gesture confuses me at first, so I step closer.
The canvas before her has a half-painted image of red peonies. Before I know it, she slashes at the painting again, leaving behind a thick dark green line over the beautiful flowers.
“Rory, stop,” I say, catching her wrist before she can further damage the painting. “Why are you doing that? The flowers look so pretty. If you add some more finishing touches, they’d look amazing.”
“Let go!” she snaps, trying to snatch her wrist out of my hold.
“Rory, don’t!”
She struggles against me but eventually gives up with a loud huff of frustration. “I can’t do anything right!” she shouts, breaking down into tears.
Helpless, I watch her sob like her heart’s breaking into pieces.
“Rory, love, what’s going on?” I ask gently while my arms hold onto her tightly. “Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll do anything to fix it.”
“You can’t fix anything,” she says, choking on her sobs. “You can’t fix me.”
“There’s nothing to fix,” I tell her. “You’re perfect.”
Shaking her head, she punches my chest with her tiny fists. “You’ll never understand.”
Catching hold of her wrists, I stop her from moving away from me. “What don’t I understand?” I ask. “Tell me what needs fixing and I’ll help you.”
Her silvery eyes are swimming in a pool of tears as she looks up at me. “I hate being an omega. It’s the reason all those terrible things happened to me. You and your brothers could’ve died last night. I wish you guys would hate me instead of being so fucking nice to me all the time!”
A keening noise escapes her as more tears splash down her cheeks.
My heart aches to see her in so much pain.
“We did end up in an extremely dangerous situation last night,” I say, accepting the truth. “But you know what? It wasn’t all your fault. We grew lax. We got drunk and let ourselves get distracted. That was the reason Jake got the opportunity to find you alone. He’d have never dared to come near you if we’d been vigilant.”
“I wish I wasn’t so weak,” she says, her voice cracking. “I love you and your brothers so much but there’s nothing I can do to protect you. Seth got badly hurt and it’s all because of me.”
“You’re not weak. If you give yourself the chance, you can be strong enough to stand up against Jake.”
“How? I’d never be strong enough to fight off an alpha. I’m just an omega.”
Swiping a gentle thumb over her cheek, I wipe her tears. “I’m going to tell you a story about an omega who singlehandedly caught the leader of the Black Widow.”
Disbelief flickers through her eyes.
“Come on,” I say, grabbing her hand and leading her across the room to reach the door. “Let’s have some coffee and the cinnamon rolls Mom sent us.”
“Are you trying to distract me?” she asks with an accusing glare when we reach the living room.
“I’d never!” I say, pretending to look hurt.
Her gaze falls on the box of cinnamon rolls I’d dropped on the table. Moving toward it, she opens the lid. “These look amazing, though. Did she make them?”
“Yep. Mom loves baking.”
A hint of a smile finally spreads on her lips. Turning toward me, she stares at me with narrowed eyes. “I’m going to get our coffees but you better be prepared to tell me the story about the omega who caught the most wanted criminal of our times.”
A chuckle escapes me. “Sure.”
Rory thinks I’m making up a story to distract her. She’ll soon learn that facts are stranger than fiction.
I grab a roll from the box and stuff it whole in my mouth. Sugary cinnamon bursts on my tongue, making me close my eyes in bliss.
