Chapter 5 #2
I blinked, wrestling with the lump in my throat. I’d been so sure he would see this as a breaking point. That he’d think I’d been unfaithful just by having those feelings, even if only for a fraction of a moment.
“I don’t understand how this happened,” I murmured, barely above a whisper. “But something about him, Peyton, it was… it was primal. I don’t know how to explain it.”
For a moment, Peyton’s expression tightened, but then he gave the smallest nod, as if the admission didn’t surprise him as much as I thought it would.
“I’ve heard about stuff like this before,” he said quietly, his gaze steady. “We can get a connection with someone unexpectedly. A scent, a moment, whatever it is… things like that can trigger feelings we didn’t plan for.”
His warmth surprised me, drawing me in just when I thought I’d lost him. He reached up and cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing lightly over my skin.
“But what matters here is us. We matter, Dalton. And no omega, no fleeting moment, is going to undo that. Not unless we let it.”
I felt the sting of unshed tears at the edges of my eyes, the pressure of emotions too raw to sort out properly. “You’re not mad?” I asked, my voice breaking.
Peyton shook his head, though I could see the tension still written in the lines of his face.
A slight, hesitant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but it didn’t fully reach his eyes.
“I won’t lie and say it didn’t hit me,” he admitted, his voice low, cautious.
“Hearing what you said about feeling something for an omega… This Theo, I think his name is Theo… yeah, it stung. I didn’t expect that. ”
Shame twisted in my chest, but before I could say anything, he reached up, cradling my face in his hands, his touch warm and familiar. Grounding.
“But, Dalton…” Peyton’s voice softened, the intensity in his gaze holding me captive. “There’s something we both need to admit here.” He took a deep breath, as if fortifying himself for what came next. “When I sat next to the omega… I felt something too.”
I blinked, struggling to process what he was saying. Peyton? Felt something for the omega? The realization hit me like a freight train.
As if sensing the whirlwind of thoughts in my head, he continued.
“It wasn’t the same as what I feel for you,” he clarified, his voice steady yet vulnerable.
“But it was there. That pull, that connection… It wasn’t just one-sided.
And believe me, I’ve been fighting with myself about it ever since.
Not because I don’t love you—God, Dal, you’re my everything.
I still want us more than anything. But whatever this is with Theo…
it’s different. It doesn’t change how we feel about each other. But it’s real.”
The weight of his words settled over me, heavy but not crushing. Instead, I found a strange sense of relief in his honesty. I wasn’t alone in this confusion.
Peyton’s thumbs brushed softly against my cheeks, wiping away the tear that had slipped free.
His eyes searched mine, a quiet resolve in them.
“I didn’t know what to make of it at first. I kept thinking, how can I feel this kind of connection with someone else when I already had everything I need with you? ”
I swallowed, my throat tight, afraid to speak.
“It doesn’t make any sense, Peyton. I’m not supposed to feel like this about anyone else.
Betas aren’t… we don’t react the way alphas do to omegas.
” My voice wavered, betraying an insecurity I didn’t even realize had buried itself within me.
“And now… this pull, this thing with an omega? It’s messing me up.
I don’t understand it. I don’t even know how to control it. ”
Peyton’s expression softened, the intensity in his eyes dimming as he stepped closer. His hands found my face, the warmth of his touch somehow simultaneously calming and breaking me even more. He’d always had that power, grounding me in a way that made the cracks feel less visible.
“You’ve never needed to be anything different than who you are,” he whispered, his thumbs stroking gently across my skin like he could erase all my fears with that simple gesture.
“Whatever this is with this omega, with this Theo, with how you’re feeling…
maybe it’s not something to fear. It’s new, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
” Peyton hesitated, his voice softening even further.
“Maybe it’s not a threat. Maybe it’s something that complements what we already have.
Something we didn’t expect but… could actually complete us. ”
Theo.
Hearing his name from Peyton’s lips made my chest tighten. Why was it stirring something deep in me, pulling emotions I’d locked away behind walls of logic? I wasn’t wired to want this or feel this. Was I?
“I don’t know if I can handle this,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper, already feeling overwhelmed by the weight of it all. “And we don’t even know him. Hell, this might not even be real. I didn’t plan any of it. I can’t plan for it.”
Peyton’s gaze never wavered, his grip on my face unwavering, like he could somehow anchor me through his resolve. “Then we figure this out. Together. You’re not alone here, Dalton. You never will be. But if he’s part of this, of us, then hell, maybe we need him.”