21. Theo #3
"Because you're scared," I say simply. "And when you're scared, it's easier to believe that people are trying to hurt you than it is to believe they might actually care about you."
Her scent shifts again, becomes more complex. "You think you know me so well."
"I know that you've been hurt before. I know that trusting people is hard for you. And I know that what happened between us was real, even if you're trying to convince yourself it wasn't."
"Stop," she says, but there's less heat in it now.
"Stop what?"
"Stop seeing through me like that..." She trails off, shaking her head.
"Like what?"
"Like I matter," she whispers, so quietly I almost miss it.
The admission hits me harder than her anger did. "Belle, you do matter."
"To who? To you? To some alpha I met during a heat episode who probably thinks of me as just another omega in distress?"
"Is that really what you think?" I ask, stopping again and turning to face her fully. "That you're just another omega to me?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
I study her face, taking in the exhaustion and confusion and lingering hurt. "Can I tell you something?"
She nods reluctantly.
"In my entire life, I have never spent three hours sitting with someone through a crisis without feeling like it was a duty or an obligation. But with you? Those three hours felt like the most important thing I'd ever done."
Her breath catches, and I can smell the way her scent sweetens slightly.
"When you fell asleep holding my hand," I continue, "I sat there for another hour just watching you breathe. Not because I had to, but because I couldn't bring myself to leave. Because for the first time in years, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be."
"Theo..."
"So no, Belle. You're not just another omega to me. You're not even close to just another omega to me."
She's quiet for a long moment, her hand tightening slightly on my arm. "But you still didn't tell me about the ball,” she says.
“No, I didn't."
"Why?" She asks.
I consider how to answer that without revealing too much. "Because I was afraid you'd run. I thought if you knew there might be expectations or complications, you'd disappear before I had a chance to see you again."
"So you decided to surprise me instead?"
"I decided to hope that when you saw me here, you'd be happy instead of terrified," I confess.
If I tell her that Marcus had told us why he'd sent her an invitation before I even turned up at the library, and that we're the ones who organize the ball, she'll be running in the opposite direction in a matter of seconds.
"Well, that backfired," she says, but there's the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah, it did."
We're walking again, and I realize we're getting close to the main corridors. Soon we'll be back among the other guests, and this conversation will have to end. The thought makes something panic in my chest.
"Belle," I say, "can I ask you something?"
"I suppose."
"When Felix tried to kiss you, what were you feeling? Besides panic,” I say.
She's quiet for so long I think she might not answer. "Confused," she finally says. "Overwhelmed. Like everything was moving too fast and I couldn't keep up."
"But not afraid of him specifically?"
"No," she admits. "Not afraid of him. Just... afraid of what it meant."
"What do you think it meant?"
"I don't know. That's the problem. I don't know what any of this means. The ball, the invitations, meeting you again, Felix being so..." She gestures helplessly. "I feel like I'm in the middle of something I don't understand."
She's closer to the truth than she realizes, and it makes me want to tell her everything. But I can smell the fragility in her scent, the way she's barely holding herself together. She's not ready for the whole truth yet.
"Maybe it doesn't have to mean anything you don't want it to mean," I suggest.
"Everything means something, Theo. Especially things like this,” she says.
"Things like what?"
"Like finding out that the alpha who helped me through my heat is at the same exclusive ball I am, and then having another alpha try to kiss me in a palace library while I'm supposed to be on a fake date with my best friend. The thing that scares me the most is finding out that these alphas are part of a pack, which could mean…”
It’s dawning on her, that she is part of our pack. She knows the answer to her own question.
The bitterness in her voice makes my chest ache. "Belle..."
"Do you know what the really pathetic part is?" she continues. "For a few hours tonight, I actually felt beautiful, as if I belonged somewhere fancy and magical."
"You are worth more than that."
"Am I? Because right now I feel like the universe's favorite chew toy."
We've reached the main corridor that leads to the library, and I can hear music and laughter drifting from the ballroom. Soon she'll disappear back into the crowd, back to her fake date and her careful walls, and I'll have lost my chance to fix this.
"Belle, wait," I say, catching her arm gently. "Before we go back, there's something else I need to tell you."
She turns to look at me, and I can see the wariness creeping back into her expression. "What now?"
"That night at the library, when you asked me why I wanted to help you?"
"You said it was because I was too chatty and too pretty,” Belle says.
“That was part of it. But not all of it."
"What was the rest of it?"
I take a deep breath, knowing this is a risk but needing to say it anyway.
"The rest of it was that from the moment I walked into that library and smelled your scent, something in me recognized you.
Not just as an omega in distress, but as someone important.
Someone I'd been waiting for without knowing I was waiting. "
Her scent spikes with confusion, and underneath it all, a warmth that makes my alpha senses calm at the same time.
"That's impossible," she whispers.
"Is it? Because I think you felt it too. That connection, that recognition. I think that's why you trusted me so quickly, why you let me stay with you through the worst of it."
"I was in heat. I wasn't thinking clearly,” Belle says dismissing the night.
"Maybe. Or maybe you were thinking more clearly than you ever have."
She stares at me for a long moment, her breathing shallow and rapid. "What are you saying, Theo?"
"I'm saying that whatever's happening between us, it's real. It's not manipulation or coincidence or heat-induced confusion. It's real, and it's worth exploring."
"And if I don't want to explore it?" Belle asks.
The question hurts, but I force myself to answer honestly. "Then I'll respect that. But Belle, I think you do want to explore it. I think you're just scared of what you might find."
"Of course I'm scared," she says, her voice breaking slightly. "Do you know what happens to omegas who trust the wrong alpha? Do you know what I've seen happen to people who let themselves believe in fairy tales?"
"This isn't a fairy tale, Belle. It's real life. Messy, complicated, scary real life. But that doesn't mean it can't be good."
"How can you be so sure?" She asks.
"Because I can smell how you respond to me, and I felt how you melted into me that night when you finally let yourself trust me."
She's trembling now, and her scent is a chaotic mix of need and fear and want. "This is too much."
"I know. But Belle, what if it's also exactly what you've been looking for without knowing it?"
"I can't," she whispers. "I can't do this right now. It's too much, too fast, too everything."
The rejection stings, but I can smell the conflict in her scent. She wants this as much as I do, but she's not ready to admit it yet.
"Okay," I say quietly. "But Belle? When you're ready to stop running from this, I'll be here. We'll be here."
"We?"
Shit!
The slip makes my blood run cold, but it's too late to take it back. "I meant I'll be here."
But she's too sharp to miss the plural, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind. "We, Theo. You said we'll be here. Who's we?"
"Belle..."
"Oh my god," she breathes, stepping back from me. "Felix. That's why he was so comfortable at the palace, why he knew his way around. You're together. You and Felix, you're... what? A pack?"
Fuck! There’s no holding back now. I can't lie to her, not when she's looking at me with that expression of dawning realization and betrayal.
"Yes," I say simply.
"And Marcus? Is he part of this too?"
"Belle, let me explain…” I trail off, but then she interjects.
“Is this why I got an invite? And I suspected that it was Mrs. Chen, was it you?”
She's putting it together faster than I hoped, her sharp mind connecting dots with ruthless efficiency.
"You've been watching me," she says, her voice flat with realization. "All three of you. This whole thing was planned."
"Not the way you think…”
"Then how?" she demands, her scent spiking with fury and hurt. "How exactly was it planned, Theo? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like three alphas decided they wanted a particular omega and arranged to trap her at a masquerade ball."
"We didn't trap you. We didn't even know for sure that you were…”
"That I was what?" She snaps.
I can't say it. Can't tell her that we suspected she was our mate, our destined omega, because that will only make this worse.
"That you were the one we've been looking for," I say instead.
"The one you've been looking for," she repeats, her voice dangerous. "Like I'm some kind of prize to be won?"
"No, Belle, it's not like that…”
"Then what is it like, Theo? Because it really seems like three alphas saw something they wanted and decided to take it."
"We haven't taken anything," I say firmly. "We've been hoping. We've been waiting for you to choose us."
"Choose you for what?"
"For everything," I say, and the honesty in my voice seems to surprise her. "For pack, for home, for the future we could build together."
She stares at me for a long moment, her breathing rapid and shallow. "You're insane. All of you. You think you can just decide I belong with you and arrange elaborate schemes to make it happen?"
"We think you might be our mate," I say quietly. "Our omega. And yes, we hoped that if you met us, if you spent time with us, you might feel the same connection we do."
"Your mate," she repeats, like the words don't make sense.
"Yes."
"Based on what? My scent? The way I react to you? Some biological imperative that says omegas and alphas are supposed to bond?"
“Everything about you feels like coming home. I've never wanted to protect someone the way I want to protect you. I spent three hours, and it felt more real than anything I've experienced in my entire life."
She's crying now, tears streaming down her face behind her mask. "You can't just decide that, Theo. You can't just pick someone and declare them your mate."
"We didn't pick you, Belle. We recognized you."
"Well, I don't recognize you," she says, backing away from me. "I thought I was going to a ball with my best friend, and I would have some fun. Instead, I find out I'm the guest of honor at my own kidnapping."
"Belle, please…”
"No," she says firmly. "No, I'm done. I'm going to find Adam, and we're leaving. Tonight. Right now."
"You can't just leave…”
"Watch me."
And before I can stop her, she's running again, her rose gold dress streaming behind her as she disappears around the corner toward the library.
I stand there for a moment, breathing in the lingering scent of her distress and fury, and realize that I've just made everything infinitely worse.
Marcus and Felix are going to kill me.
But more importantly, I've probably just lost our omega forever.