9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
M y Little Omega looks up at me with so much hope in her eyes. It feels like something in me breaks.
Our girl has been beaten every day for God only knows how long.
I feel utterly helpless.
How could someone hurt something so precious?
How could her own flesh and blood break her like that?
Her reactions to certain things start to make sense. The way she bit my head off when I started to ask her questions about herself. The way she flinches occasionally. When she elbowed Jax and apologised profusely.
Our Omega has been broken down.
The thought makes me wild. The need for his blood makes me thirsty. I’ve had to kill men before as a part of this life I live .
Being not only a Mafia Don’s heir but the Underboss, there is a requirement to partake in the life.
I’m proud to be who I am.
Although, I have never taken any satisfaction for the lives I have taken. I’ve never allowed myself to give much thought into it. I didn’t want to dive into the feelings that could manifest from that. It's better pushed to the back of my mind.
No doubt it will come to haunt me one day.
But the thought of taking Kennedy’s father’s life? Of pulling his warm beating heart from his body. Feeling the warmth slowly leave him as he lies in a pool of his own blood? Watching every single second his life slowly drains from his eyes?
That is a death I will take great satisfaction from.
The thought of him breathing at this exact second, stealing the air out of lungs that need it more than he does, grates on something inside of me.
I feel it like a tic, one that I know won’t go away until he is six feet under. Or in a vat of acid.
Maybe even in the stomach of a pig.
Any option that ensures he doesn’t continue to plague the earth.
I can’t resist my hand from going out and caressing Kennedy’s face. Her skin feels like silk under the roughness of my hands.
Her green eyes resemble emeralds. They pierce the very depths of my soul as she looks at me.
It's clear she doesn’t realize who we are to her. Or maybe she does and just hasn’t allowed herself to process it fully .
While the thought hurts slightly, I can’t help but feel sorrow for her instead. I want so desperately for her to feel this feeling I have in my chest.
The overwhelming happiness I have felt since the moment I saw her. This feeling of finally finding that missing piece of my soul.
It's euphoric. Addicting.
I long to sink my teeth into the other side of her neck like Jax did.
Jealousy of not having that connection with her rages inside of me but I push it down. I’m happy for my brother.
I know that my time will come.
Right now, another bond is the last thing she needs. She needs to feel safe. “Come on, love. I’ll show you to your room,” I say as I turn my back. “Wait, room?” Kennedy mutters. I hear ruffling from behind me followed by the sound of stumbling and a curse.
“Theo, wait. What do you mean by ‘my room’?”
I turn back around, grabbing Kennedy as she falls into my chest.
She looks up at me, eyes wide like prey in the presence of its predator. Maybe that's what we are.
“I mean, Little Omega, you will be living here now.”
Her mouth drops and she stutters.
“But… I… wha… Theo?” She looks up at me like I will give her all the answers. She isn’t wrong because I will. And fuck if that doesn’t fill me with a sense of overwhelming pride.
My Omega needs me. Needs me to be her saviour. To protect her. To guide her. To be hers.
The world could crumble around me but with her in my arms, none of it would matter. “Can you please try and trust us? We just want to look after you.” I let my emotions show on my face, allowing her to see everything I feel rather than just telling her.
I let her see just how much I adore her already. How committed I am to protecting her. To ensure that she never has to worry about her safety ever again.
And how desperately I want her to be mine too.
She looks at me so intently, to the point I start to feel self-conscious. I don’t know what eventually does it for her but after what feels like forever, she eventually nods. I grace her with a smile and take a step back from her.
I snake my hand into hers. She laces her fingers in between mine.
The Duran Manor has been in my family for generations. Ever since Vadena was founded, my however distant grandfather ensured that we had an estate in Eastwood Heights.
In our family, once the eldest son turns eighteen, he inherits the Manor and the many responsibilities that come with it.
Just like my father, I moved my pack mates in with me the moment I took over. Even after all this time, it is strange to not see my mothers things where they used to be for so many years. But as I walk up the stairs to the second floor, I can already see Kennedy filling the spaces with the things she loves.
It's insane how quickly things move when you meet your scent match. In one way, it's a relief. All the guesswork is taken out of it.
But, I know that she is mine.
We were made for each other by some higher force.
In another, it's also terrifying. I don’t want to fail her. Because by the sounds of it, she has been failed her whole life.
Her father let her down. No doubt her mother did as well .
Her teachers, her peers. Fuck, society as a whole has let her down. I refuse to be the next person that does that to her.
I’m terrified that I won’t live up to that expectation she has of who her Alphas should be. Will my life scare her? Will that be too much for her? Will she run? The idea that who I am, a person who I can’t not be would be a deal breaker has me already feeling sick. I know I will have to come clean to her. To tell her my truth.
If I want to be that person for her, the one I so desperately want to be, telling her everything is the only way I know that I will be able to keep her.
I know Ledger wouldn’t hesitate to handcuff her to her bed for the rest of her life just to make sure she stays put.
I want her to want to be here though. I want her to want me.
I lead Kennedy into one of the bedrooms. Her eyes open comically wide as she looks around the room.
“I…is this really for me?” Her eyebrows furrow as she looks at me with so much earnestness. Like she is desperate for me to be the one that saves her. “Yes, love. This is your room. I want you to decorate it however you want.” She rolls her lips together as tears begin to well in her eyes.
Unable to resist, I put a hand up to her cheek, caressing the soft skin as the first tear drops.
“You deserve to be looked after. You deserve to be taken care of. I know this is all moving really quick and jarring to the system but we want to do this for you. Not only are you now Jax’s mate, you are our scent match.”
Her mouth drops now as she looks between Ledger and I, before looking back towards Jax who comes up to stand beside her .
“You can feel it can’t you, Little Omega? You can feel it in your soul. You are ours and in turn we are yours.”
Jax looks down at Kennedy and I can already tell he is head-over-heels for her. I can understand the feeling.
I never gave much thought to love at first sight but right now, I understand. It makes me want that bond with her even more now. I want to be hers. I want her to mark my neck. To have a brand that I can show off to everyone else. To be able to shout to the world that she is mine.
Fuck, I actually have someone that I can call mine.
Jax and Ledger have always had each other. I always felt a little left out. Not that I had a particular interest in the same sex but I craved that bond. That connection with someone else. To have someone to vent to at the end of the day. To not do life completely alone. I feel like I have that now.
Kennedy puts a hand up to the middle of her chest right where a mirrored feeling in each of our chests slowly thumps away.
Kennedy looks up at Jax before looking at me, then at Ledger.
“I can feel it,” she whispers.
I can’t help the smile that brightens my face.
Fuck, she can feel it. She can actually feel it. It's not one sided.
I can’t deny the spike of anxiety I felt. That maybe she wouldn’t want this. That maybe she would refuse to acknowledge the bond.
I’ve seen it happen to other Alphas. Being rejected by their Omegas. The exact ones
that are meant to be chosen for them. The ones that are meant to be destined for them. There was that hint of worry that she would do that to us .
But as I look down at the Omega that rubs the centre of her chest as she looks at us, I know she is nothing like them.
She wants us just as much as we want her.
God, how could we not. Not only is she fucking beautiful, she is so kind. She is gentle. From the little I have seen, I know she is everything I could possibly want and more.
“We have one more thing to show you, love,” I say, getting Kennedy’s attention again. Turning, I walk over to one of the doors leading off her new bedroom. Kennedy walks through the door and immediately pauses in the threshold.
She remains silent for the longest time. Her body doesn’t move an inch and from the look of her not moving her shoulders, I guess she hasn’t taken a breath yet either. “Do you like it, Kennedy?” Ledger presses, a hint of unease in his voice. “This is too much,” Kennedy finally says. Her voice breaks as she turns back to us. “It's not enough, Little Omega.”
She shakes her head, curling in on herself before bringing her hands up to cradle them under her chin. I watch as her walls start to slowly go up.
“Don’t do that, Kennedy.”
Her head snaps up as she meets my eyes.
“Don’t pull back on us. Don’t put those walls I can see you building behind your eyes,up. I know you are scared. I’m scared too. I’m terrified actually.”
She drops her hands from her face. I step up to her immediately and pick up her hands, holding them in mine.
“I’m terrified that I’m going to let you down. There’s a lot that I have to tell you and I’m scared that you will run from me. That it will be a deal breaker for you.” I let my emotions show on my face, allowing her to see the real me.
“I want to be able to make you happy. I want to be the person that puts a smile on your face everyday. I want to protect you from the demons that have plagued your life.” I feel emotion begin to tighten my throat. “I want to be the Alpha you deserve.”
It feels as though Kennedy looks right into my soul. Like she is assessing me yet again. I’ve never felt so raw. Not once have I opened up to someone the way I have her. If we are going to start this pack off right, she deserves honesty. It's the least I can give her. “I just don’t know what to do. All of this is insane.”
She shakes her head before her hands tighten in mine. There’s a slight shake to them as she grips me like I’m her anchor.
“I’ve never had a nest before.”
A piece inside of me dies at her omission.
Jax growls from behind me, “What do you mean you have never had a nest before? Aren’t Omegas meant to have them from the moment they Emerge?” She bites her lip as she shakes her head, “My father didn’t deem it a necessity.” “Well we do,” Ledger snarls from beside me, “That nest is yours. Yours to do with as you wish. You want to paint it pink and fill it with fluffy blankets, that's exactly what we will do.”
“We meant what we said. You deserve to be spoiled. You want it, it's yours.” She lets go of my hands before turning back around. She takes a couple of steps into the nest, taking a look at the bare bones we fitted it out with .
A recessed mattress takes up the majority of the room. The ceilings are low enough that if the guys and I were to walk in, we would have to crouch. But Kennedy’s
five-foot-seven height makes her the perfect fit. The walls are stark white, the perfect canvas for Kennedy to decide what she wants in here. There is a kitchenette in the corner as well as a door leading into the bathroom. Kennedy turns back towards me. Shocking me, she rushes towards me before jumping into my arms. I catch her, wrapping one of my arms around her middle and using the other to hold her under her ass.
I try to not let myself think about how good she feels as I bring her into me. She squeezes me tight so even if I was to let her go, she would be clinging to me like a koala. “Thank you, Theo.”
Her whispered breath tickles the soft skin on my neck.
Down, dick, Down.