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The Bright Omega

Page 96

by Paige Hammonds

There’s nothing I can say to that because she’s right. I knew and I went along with Piers anyway. “I was wrong.”

Her jaw works as she steps back from me and tilts her head so she can look me in the eyes. Even in heels, she only comes up to my chest. She may be small, but she’s also fierce. Her hands are clenched at her hips, looking between Beck and me like she’s ready to fight both of us at once.

“You thought you could protect me by lying to me?” Her voice rises, eyes blazing at Beck and me. “You kept something like that from me? After every fucking thing we’ve been through? And where the hell are Piers and Finn? They agreed to this too, didn’t they?”

Beck looks properly chastised. “We should have told you. I’m sorry, sugar.”

“Don’t ‘sugar’ me right now,” she snaps, but there’s a crack in her voice. She’s still shaking. Still scared underneath the anger.

I reach for her again, slower this time. She lets me pull her back against my chest, even as she mutters, “You’re all in so much trouble.”

I don’t argue. We deserve all her wrath.

Beck peels off to speak with the detectives about what he saw when he arrived. For the first time since this started, I have her mostly to myself. I tilt her chin up so she has to look at me.

“I love you.” The words still feel foreign on my tongue, but they’re true so I keep going. “I was so fucking angry that you left the house. You promised you wouldn’t do that without us.”

Cammie’s eyes flash with fresh anger. “Maybe if I had known all the facts, I wouldn’t have thought you were being overprotective alpha-holes.”

I laugh. It’s short and rough, but it’s real. She glares at me, still pissed, but I don’t care. I lean down and kiss her hard, tasting the salt of her tears.

“We’re your alpha-holes,” I murmur against her lips. “That’s all that matters.”

She huffs, but she doesn’t pull away.

Then Finn is there, running up to us, hands all over both of us at once. “Oh, thank god. You’re safe. You’re both safe.”

The three of us come together in a messy tangle of arms and mouths. Finn kisses Cammie like he’s afraid she’ll disappear, then turns and kisses me just as fiercely. Cammie’s hands are in both our hair, pulling us close. I feel their love and relief through the bonds.

Then Cammie pulls back, eyes narrowing as she glares at Finn like she’s remembered she’s supposed to be pissed off.

“Don’t think this means I’m not mad at you, too,” she bites out. “I love you and I want your kisses, but you’re on my shitlist just like the rest of them.”

Finn looks sincerely shocked. “What?” He has no clue.

I sigh. “She knows about the teddy bear. Knows we kept it from her.”

Finn’s face falls instantly. His shoulders slump as the realization hits him.

Cammie crosses her arms, still tucked between us but clearly not done being angry. “All of you decided I didn’t need to know. Like I’m some fragile little omega who can’t handle the truth.” She takes a breath and then starts again. “I am a little omega, but I’m far from fragile. And if you ever keep another thing like this from me, I will cut all your balls off and feed them to you!”

I almost laugh, but I don’t. Something tells me she’s serious.

“Finn,” I say, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to draw Cammie’s ire away from him, “can you go get Lucy and make sure she’s okay?”

“Oh shit balls!” Cammie’s red-rimmed eyes go almost comically wide. “I forgot about Lucy. Did Shayna—”

I pull her to me and kiss her forehead. “She’s fine. Beck found her before he found you. He told her to stay put. I want her to know she’s free to go home.”

Finn nods. “Tinto’s, I assume?”

“Yeah. Tell her I’ll check in on her tomorrow. I need to talk to her anyway.”

Cammie chews on her bottom lip. “She’s been totally AWOL, lately. Said she had something to talk about.”

“Probably wanted to tell you that she’s living with a pack,” I say.

“What!” Cammie exclaims. “How do you know before me?”