26. Sin
Sin
T here was something particularly enjoyable about watching our omega fold her arms and confront Caspian as he hovered on the boundary of his rogue state.
It had taken Kai at least a year to grow accustomed to the sheer force of Caspian when he tipped over the edge.
I had to admit, the first time Caspian went rogue, it was such a deep shock for both of us that we were unable to be in the same room for a week due to the psychic damage that the state of primal fury conjured in him.
But she had yet to bond with him, so the effect was somewhat dampened.
Though Kai and I stood by her, both of us ready to defend her should Caspian leap for her, it did not diminish the strength of his aura, nor the pain it inflicted.
“Are you going to listen to me now?” Melanie asked him.
I still hadn’t forgotten that Melanie and Caspian’s parents had had a private meeting, but I rested on the fear and tension in her scent when I found her again in the ballroom. And if it was true that Zania had wounded her, then there was no way we could let this go.
Whether she was bonded to us or not, I could not forgive any harm brought to her.
“Will you tell us more about this?” I asked, softening my tone, lifting my thumb to brush her cheek where her faded bruise used sat.
She took a shuddering breath, and Kai was instantly there, wrapping his arms around her without hesitation.
Her anger and grief burned through her scent, and I glared at Caspian, whose teeth remained bared, despite her obvious distress.
“I don’t know if you’ll even believe me,” she said. “It feels as if Kai is the only one who knows what Zania is really like.”
“That’s because Cas and Sin are shit at admitting they have fucking witches for parents,” Kai shot back.
“Is that really appropriate right now?” I asked, and he pouted in reply. He knew what kind of effect that had on me, so I fed my attention back to Melanie before I became distracted. “What did she do to you?”
She looked at Kai, weighing up her options, and it ached that she had to consider how much she could trust us. But we’d brought that on ourselves.
“She’s made it really clear she doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”
It was the same thing she’d said when I asked her. Melanie once grew annoyed with me for speaking without actually saying anything, and this felt like a similar trick.
“Does this have anything to do with your private conversation with her?” I asked.
Kai and Caspian stood on alert as she nodded. They both went to ask questions, but I raised a hand, telling them to wait.
“You’re making it sound like I had a choice,” she said. “The first time she went for me and Kai in a nearly empty corridor, then she broke into my nest, and then she basically kidnapped me.”
“Wait, hold up,” Kai interrupted. “What the fuck do you mean, she kidnapped you? I mean, I’d guessed it was her that hit you, but she kidnapped you as well?”
She glanced between all three of us before she recounted the stories of each time Zania approached her.
And it wasn’t only the treatment of Melanie that triggered Caspian and me. It was the fact she mentioned Zania had cornered Kai on multiple occasions as well.
Caspian had calmed down enough to view the situation from a mildly reasonable perspective. Which was impressive, at least when he was coming back from the edge of a rogue state.
And that perspective afforded him the honour of assessing his own behaviour by how Melanie was once again in tears as she had finished her story.
“Melanie.” I stood with my back to Caspian, which could be considered dangerous if I didn’t believe Kai would stop him if necessary.
I took her hands in mine, bringing her closer to me. I wanted to lick the salt from her skin, but it really wasn’t the time.
“I won’t ask you to forgive us,” I said, nudging Caspian through the bond, who had the decency to at least feel guilty. “But I want to reach a place where you can trust us from here on out.”
Kai pressed his chest against her arm, nuzzling her neck, but her gaze remained fixed on Caspian, solidly glaring at him.
As soon as I embraced her, I kissed her hair while wrapping my other arm around Kai. We needed to talk to him about what Zania had done as well, but Caspian’s focus was still on the money.
Melanie eased out of my hold, glancing between all three of us. “How can I trust any of you if Caspian barges into my nest looking like that?”
“Well, it’s not your nest anymore, is it?” Caspian snapped.
A snarl tore from her, and I swore she was going to leap for him.
But pain flowered in her scent, squeezing my heart.
She thinned her lips as she clutched at me for support, giving him such an agonising look that even Caspian flinched.
Kai scowled at him. “Wow, Cas. You’ve said some pretty shit things over the years, but that was the fucking worst.”
Kai clung even harder to her, feeding her love and tenderness. All while my own aura flared, sending Caspian as much love as I ever had to make sure he stayed lucid.
Caspian’s glare shot to me, firing an angry pulse of energy through the bond.
“I’m fine.” He glowered at me. “Enough of that shit.”
“I won’t stop until you’ve fully calmed.”
“I told you I’m fucking fine,” he growled.
I gave him a pointed look. “I won’t risk you coming near Melanie in that state.”
“That’s not up to you,” she said, shrugging us off and pushing us away to step towards him.
Tension flew through me as she moved right into Caspian’s space. If I were the same level of domineering as Caspian, I would have dragged her away from him.
“Are you going to keep being an asshole and growling nonstop? Or are you actually going to talk to me like I’m a person?” she asked.
His nostrils flared as his rage whipped from him, but she didn’t back down.
Pride for our omega flowed through myself and Kai, feeding into her. Caspian should have felt it too, but his body tensed, his growls deepened, and both refused to give in.
The moment eked out long enough that Kai stepped forward, but I threw out a hand.
It was too delicate for us to interfere. We could have left the room and it would have made no difference. They were only there for each other.
Anger swirled between them like two beasts squaring off, sensing each other, waiting for the other to blink.
I realised then that I’d not seen Melanie as someone strong. I’d simply believed she needed protecting, like all omegas did. Kai had his own strength, but he always returned to us for support.
Her bond with Kai was temporary, and there was no guarantee she would choose us in the end. Especially when Caspian came at her so fiercely. If we lost her because of his anger and my ineptitude as an alpha, I doubted the three of us would recover, no matter how much Caspian insisted he hated her.
My eyes widened as Caspian’s chin dipped. Shock pounded through us as, in the slowest submission, Caspian averted to his gaze and lowered his head to the beautiful omega who stood a foot below him.
“Fuck,” Kai whispered softly, tightening his grip as Caspian bowed, and accepted a position beneath her.
I didn’t pull back my aura, and Kai kept feeding him love.
We knew better than anyone that the point between Caspian’s calm and his rogue was a pendulum which could swing either way.
We couldn’t let our guards down, and Melanie had no clue what she was really dealing with, despite the blood splattering his clothes.
“It’s not enough,” Melanie finally said, and I desperately wished I could see her face, so I knew why Caspian staggered back as he lifted his head.
“Bowing your head doesn’t mean anything.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Just because Sin and Kai are acting like it’s the second coming because you’re backing off it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t even say a sentence to me.”
This time, we both stepped forward, because Caspian was sparking up again.
“What the fuck do you want, then?” he growled.
“How about listening to what I’ve just said to you? Maybe you could try acting on something other than your anger or your cock?”
Kai’s worry drifted away as his grin grew. Because lust surged through all three of us at her words.
Caspian was completely absorbed in her.
And my pride swelled. It wasn’t only for Melanie—it was for my mate, who was softening inside, even though it appeared he didn’t realise it.
All three of us saw his struggle play out, but neither Kai nor Melanie had grown up with him and witnessed everything he’d endured at the hands of Zania. Melanie’s cut and bruise was minor compared to what others in our lives had suffered, but it was no less damaging.
And that’s why his gaze traced her cheek before meeting her with a determined stare.
But he wasn’t allowed to say a word as she bombarded him.
“There was no way I was going to let your mum break into my nest, slap me across the face, and then not take her money. I don’t care if she bribed me to stay away from you, or told me to leave the country.
I don’t even care how I ended up meeting you three, or whether you sent my life to shit or not.
But I’d rather spend her money sorting my life out than sitting around being miserable with my pride.
You three have taken enough from me already.
So you can growl and snarl at me as much as you want, but nothing will change here until you take some responsibility for yourself and stop acting like a petulant child. ”
More tension floated between them as she panted. And even I wanted to smile at how much force she had flung at Caspian as she reeled off her piece.
His breaths matched mine and Kai’s as he searched for what to do. And he slowly blinked as he found his answer.
“I’m sorry,” he grumbled after a too-long pause.
“What was that?” she asked.
“I said I’m sorry,” he pushed through hard lips.
“You’ll need to speak louder, Caspian. Kai and I didn’t hear you either,” I said as I wound my arm around her waist.
“I swear to God, you fucking—”
She cut Caspian off before he had more time to curse.
“Sin’s right. I missed that one, too. You’re going to have to say it properly.” She shrugged simply, and Kai’s laughter bubbled over, easing the tension between them.
“Mel.” Caspian’s deep voice rumbled through us as he stepped towards her. “I’m so fucking sorry I made such a baseless fucking assumption about your fucking life.”
“And?” she asked, arching a brow, her crossed arms loosening.
He ran his tongue over his teeth as he pulled back his anger, and I instantly sent him a wash of love. He twitched, but continued.
“And I’m fucking sorry I growled straight in your face instead of asking you what the fuck was going on.”
“And?” I said, failing to stop Kai’s happiness burning through me as my lips creased.
He shot me a scowl before turning back to her.
“And I am sooo fucking sorry that I have two absolute dickheads as mates, and that you have to put up with all fucking three of us tearing up your nest.” He forced himself to stop, his jaw tensing, his eyes dropping to the floor as proper regret flowed from him.
“Caspian, I…” She trailed off at his expression.
My heart beat one solid thud through me as I met the eyes of my mate, of the man I’d spent my entire life with.
And I wanted to hold him.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d genuinely wanted to make love with him. I thought our focus was pleasing Kai, but that view was quickly changing as the cracks in our relationship were shining through. And Caspian and I had never been the most stable of partners.
But the sight of Caspian giving in to Melanie when all of his instincts were raging reignited my comfortable love for him.
As his eyes narrowed, I knew he felt it, too. Not just from me, but from the swirl of desire drifting through Kai’s scent, and the deep need and passion that hummed in Melanie’s aura.
He reached out, and both Kai and I nearly grabbed him to stop him. But he cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over her bruise, and I melted as both of them met each other with softened looks.
“I mean it,” he mumbled as he brought himself closer. “I’m seriously fucking sorry.” He leaned down, his nose a hair’s breadth from hers. “And I’ll only choke you again when you ask me.”
Kai let out the smallest groan, but even with both of us clasping her, the pair had fallen into their own world again.
Though it stung to be shut out, it filled me with hope that they might have reached a new understanding with each other.
I wanted to leave them together, to take time to resolve what had transpired between them.
But it would result in them fucking on Melanie’s bare mattress while Kai and I loaded the van.
And if the blood on Caspian’s shirt was anything to go by, it was vital we exited the building soon, or we would have to deal with the authorities directly instead of through Lily, who usually cleared up Caspian’s messes.
“What shall we do now, Melanie?” I asked. “There isn’t much left to pack.”
Her gaze drifted to me, as if she’d just remembered I was there, and another stab ran through me. But it was something I would have to get used to until we all shared bites and were bonded strongly enough to not let petty jealousy get in our way.
“It’s better if we get it over with,” she replied, her voice cracking as she tried to suffocate her pain.
Caspian stepped back, I released my hold, and Kai’s arms fell from around her shoulders as she stood on her own, and we waited for her direction.