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“Oh. Right.”
Beth had summoned a rideshare, and when it picked her up, Grey turned to Leon. “Your niece is causing a scene.”
Leon leaned back. “What? She was trying to enter the pack house.”
“As an Elite. She is glowing white.” He was frustrated at the scene he had broken up. He didn’t know how to deal with feuding women.
“He won’t remember her, just that she is somehow special. Come inside, and we are going to talk about that reaction you just had.”
Grey was surprised by the stern voice of his omega. Leon never put his foot down.
Leon stalked into the kitchen and made cocoa. “Grey, why do you dislike her so much?”
Grey paused and then said, “Truth?”
“Yes. Finally, please. Why do you keep yourself so far from her?”
“You moved on from our baby and treated her like your little girl.” Grey let it out in a rush.
Leon nodded and set his jaw, and Grey could see him grinding his teeth. “Did you share that attitude with Dane?”
“He asked me that year what my problem was.”
“Dane. When my sister called me in a panic, our little girl had been gone for seven months. Having Ruby to care for brought me back to you. It pulled me back to the world after feeling that I had disappointed my alphas. I was badly hurt and betrayed by my body, and you all pulled off into your different corners and pretended nothing was wrong. I felt the wrong in every step I took; every time I saw the stitches that should have brought her into the world, I was lost. Having a little girl to take care of who was in need and terrified most of the time made me step up. She saved me, and without her, I don’t want to be around you anymore.”
Grey scrambled at their link and found a block where Leon’s warm emotions normally were. Leon looked at him with hollow eyes.
“Uncle Leon, don’t be stupid. If he doesn’t want me here, I am able to leave now. I even have an offer of where to stay. Leave his bed, but don’t leave the pack.” Ruby stood there with her hair rumpled, and her duckie pyjamas were wrinkled as well.
Grey growled, “This doesn’t concern you.”
She walked up to him and grabbed his arm. Her strength shocked him. A thick curl of emotion began to run into him, and images began to play.
He heard Leon asking, “What are you doing?”
“Just playingthis is my life.”
Grey heard her words as he felt every moment since she transformed, every time he had ignored an honest question, and every time she was shoved into walls, halls, and down stairs by Dane.
When she released his arm, he stared at her and then ran to vomit in the sink. He had been born to be an alpha. He had learned to control his strength and use it to protect his family and those who mattered to him. She had been outside his protection every moment since she arrived, and she knew it.
Grey rinsed his mouth and looked at her. “Why don’t you hate me?”
She smiled sadly. “I know my enemies. You simply were never a friend. James and Derrik have always been more supportive and helpful. You just wanted to keep Leon happy or at least keep him from getting upset. You could have been rid of me a long time ago if you had just faked being enthusiastic about my qualifying for the Olympics. To win your approval, I would have put myself in the path of the Elite.”
Every word slapped him.
She moved and put her arm around Leon. “Uncle, don’t let his misplaced grief break thirty years of a good relationship. Being strong was all he had, so when you acted with compassion, he saw it through his eyes, and his eyes are grieving to this day. Any female in the household that you treated gently would have fared the same.”
Grey looked at her and nodded. “It is going to be a few days before I can digest what you showed me.”
“That’s fine. Just don’t barf again. If I had to live it, you have to watch it. Just be lucky that I didn’t show you how being with Tanner felt.” She kissed Leon on the forehead. “I have to get back to bed. I have an early start for the next few weeks. Will it hurt you if I leave and stay somewhere else? My commute is killing me.”
Leon looked at her with concern. “Where are you going?”
“Just somewhere I don’t have to watch my back the whole time. I am very tired.”
Leon said something he hadn’t said since she got there. “You can stay in my nest. It’s safe.”
