Chapter 27 Ty #2
My mouth fell open. “Are you fucking serious? Not my business? You have no idea how much I’ve agonized over having this conversation with you.
It’s been tearing me apart.” I raked my hand through my hair and stared at her before looking away.
I considered all the scenarios that had run through my mind up to this point.
“You were so worried about your hormones and wondering why you were so different from everyone else. Can’t you understand that I was worried about being the one to tell you?
In my mind, you were an omega, and your parents and everyone else in your life had kept it from you, even going so far as putting you on hormone pills to conceal your true identity.
” I’d thought telling her would destroy relationships.
Hurt her. I didn’t want to be the one to do that.
“They didn’t keep it from me. They protected me from it.
Taught me how to protect myself because I had to.
” Liza held up a hand and cut me off. “I’ve had to protect myself from being who I am since I was thirteen years old, at which point I was almost sexually assaulted by my fucking neighbor.
” She shook her head and choked back a sob as the anger immediately seeped out of my body.
Maybe I was an asshole. “Liza.” I reached for her, but she jerked away. That was a bad sign.
Her voice cracked as tears spilled onto her cheeks. “I can’t describe to you the struggles I’ve lived with. Once I realized the weight I carried on my shoulders as an omega, my life was never the same.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My fury over Liza keeping her identity from me had completely dissipated. I stared at my fated mate as she let her walls crash down. I wanted to pick up every piece and toss it for her. She didn’t need walls with me.
She sobbed into her hands, releasing the emotions she’d held back from me for the entirety of our relationship.
“My parents were scared out of their minds after the attack. It took a while—some consultations with the doctor and some long talks with me—before they realized the truth about why it had happened in the first place. They kept it a secret from everyone because they wanted to protect me.” She blew out a breath.
I wanted to go to her and hold her, but I wasn’t sure she would accept the comfort from me right now. “Oh, Liza.”
“They were worried that if word got out, I would be a target for multiple reasons.” Her icy blue eyes were even more striking from the tears. “I was going to tell you when the time was right. There’s no way I’d allow us to officially mate without filling you in on something of this magnitude.”
I nodded. I believed her.
“You have to realize that I had reason to be cautious. You said yourself that you thought omegas were just a legend, so surely you remember the myths. Omegas have always been depicted as overly sexualized wolves who just want to get fucked and pregnant.” She shook her head and stared off into the distance.
“Can you imagine the number of people who would want to take advantage of me based on that stupid myth alone?”
The sound of a snapping branch interrupted our conversation. I turned and crouched low, searching the forest floor for the culprit. A deer stopped, turned its head our way, and stared at the two of us.
Liza’s emotions were powerful. I’d seen her tears heal a dying rabbit.
It made sense that the animals were curious, and I was relieved we weren’t being followed.
The last thing we needed was another shifter hearing us talk about Liza’s true identity as an omega.
Gossip, especially when it was true, was dangerous.
I turned back to Liza to see her whole body shaking now.
Her emotions hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Liza, I’m so sorry for looking into you without your consent, and I apologize for keeping the omega suspicions and information from you instead of just coming directly to you about it.
” I took a step closer because I needed to touch her.
“Please forgive me for getting upset. You’re right, I had no reason for getting mad.
I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.
You have every reason to be cautious.” I brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
“I’m your mate, though. You should know that I would never do anything to harm you. ”
Liza’s shoulders shook violently as a new wave of emotion washed over her. It was impossible for me to keep my distance, so I pulled her close against my chest and wrapped her in my arms.
She buried her face in the hollow of my shoulder. “I never wanted any of this. I spent so many nights wishing it would all just disappear.”
She was trembling, so I held her tighter.
“I always worried what might happen if someone found out.” She pulled away from me and froze.
“Stone knows. Oh, fuck. He fucking knows what I am. Is that why you’ve been so angry with him?
And why you almost ripped him to shreds back at the banquet hall?
He’s been threatening to expose what I am if he doesn’t get what he wants from you. Am I right?”
My heart dropped into my stomach. After what just happened, I should have told her everything and got it out in the open so we could figure out what to do about it, but I wanted her deeply in love with me before I told her the absolute worst thing I’d ever had to tell anyone.
This was my chance to tell her the truth, but instead I was spinning an entirely new lie to feed her.
I was such a piece of shit. In my defense, this was the only way I could prevent her from learning the truth of what my father had done to her family.
I had to figure out how to tell her without losing her. I wouldn’t survive losing her.
I nodded. “Yes, Stone wants money. A lot of it. He’s been threatening to reveal your secret to anyone who will listen if he doesn’t get what he wants.
That’s why I wanted you to stay away from him.
” I wished she would see through me, call me a fucking liar, and demand I tell her what I was hiding.
When she didn’t, though, I kept going. “When I saw him hovering over you tonight, I couldn’t contain my wolf.
That son of a bitch shouldn’t be stepping within a mile of you. ”
Liza nodded slightly and stepped back into my embrace. I stroked her back in soothing circles.
“I promise I won’t let Stone tell a soul.
Your secret is safe with me, and I’ll make sure it’s safe with Stone.
That motherfucker knows better than to open his damn mouth.
” I paused and held her at arm’s length.
I wanted and needed to look into her eyes.
“I will always protect you, Liza. You’re my mate, and I would do anything to keep you safe and well.
I mean that with every ounce of my being. ” At least that much was true.
Liza smiled weakly and kissed my cheek before resting her head against my chest. I held her close, never wanting to let go.
It seemed like everything was finally falling into place for us now that the omega secret was no longer between us.
We had a chance at a real future together, one that would be filled with safety, security, and love.
Dragging out the truth about our families would only piss Liza off later down the line. I knew that, but I had no choice. Stone needed to be handled. I needed him out of the way and out of our lives for good. That was the only way Liza and I had a chance at a real future together.
Once Stone was out of the picture, I could figure out the best way to get Liza what was rightfully hers. Then, one day, I’d tell her the truth about Heather Falls and her true identity.
I walked Liza back to the estate, my arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.
I wanted to make sure she felt safe and secure, that she knew I was and always would be there for her.
She was still trembling from our confrontation and her worries about Stone and anyone else who might learn about her being an omega.
Even though it had been a difficult night, we’d needed it.
Having the truth out in the open had brought us closer together and deepened our bond.
I only hoped that Liza could forgive me when I finally told her about the Wylde pack and how she was a princess who had been stripped of her place as heir.
“Are you okay to drive?” I brushed my lips over Liza’s cheek and studied her face.
Her tear-stained cheeks were paler than usual, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She squeezed my hand. “I’ll text you when I get home.”
I kissed her softly. “Please do. Let me know if you made it okay.”
Liza buckled her seatbelt and reached to close her door, but I caught it before she could. “Remember, if you need me, I’m just a phone call away.”
She nodded, then pulled her car door shut. I watched her drive away until her taillights were out of sight.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I spun around, poised and ready to fight to the death. The evening had put me on edge, and I already had Stone on my mind.
“Whoa, killer.” Dad took a step back. “No need to attack unless you think an old man like me needs to be taken out.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and followed him inside.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Lowering my voice, I said, “You’ll be happy to know that the Stone situation will be handled very soon.”
Dad nodded.
I studied him, really staring at him, taking in the gray at his temples, and the bags under his eyes. He seemed tired. “Are you okay?”
He sighed. “I’m not about to kick the bucket, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I shrugged and chuckled. “No, I’m not saying you look like death, but you do seem more tired than normal.” I glanced at my watch. “Didn’t the doctor say you needed to be in bed by nine every night?”
“He might have, but you know as well as anyone that I’ll do whatever I damn well please.
I’ll sleep in tomorrow.” He leaned against the wall.
“All of these secrets have been weighing on me for a long time, Tyson. I’ve done a lot of things, some legal, some not, to keep those secrets hidden.
Now the people around me are being weighed down by the skeletons in my closet.
” He glanced up the stairs, where I assumed Mother was sleeping.
I would’ve been tired, too. “That’s enough to make anyone tired, Dad. I get it.”
He then did something he’d never done my entire life. He grabbed my hand and let his guard down, showing more emotion than any alpha should. “I’m sorry all of this has fallen on your shoulders.”
His apology shocked me, but I appreciated it. “I accept your apology, Dad, and I promise I’ll handle this so you can finally rest easy.”
I knew what I needed to do. There was no other option.
Stone had to die.
Soon.