20. Day 365 – Theo
Day 365 – Theo
O scar twists in his seat, frowning at me.
“What?” I glance down, following his gaze.
“Why do I smell – what the hell is that? Smells like incense.”
Jake inhales. “I can’t smell anything. But your senses have always been better than mine.”
I glance down at my black t-shirt with a sudden surge of revulsion. “I ran into Kristen at the diner. Well. She ran into me. With both arms and a grip like an octopus.”
Even the thought of it irritates me. “I’ll get changed.”
“ Yes , you’ll change,” Oscar snaps. “Kenny can’t scent another omega on you.”
I pull my neckline up, breathing it in. Jesus . My eyes start to water. “Yeah. Sure, I’ll…,”
Or. The thought hits, and I consider it. Oscar’s eyes are narrowed when I look up. “I know that look. No .”
Jake pulls into a space outside the Center, turning to look at me. His brows draw together. “You can’t be serious. Are you actually thinking about walking in there smelling like Kristen fucking Edwards?”
Pressing my lips together, I think it over. “I think she’d lose her shit.”
“She’d shred you,” Oscar’s voice tightens. “And none of us would stop her. Be serious, Theo. That’s not fucking happening.”
“She’s still in there.” I hold his gaze. “We all know it. Maybe we need to lean on the old Kenny. And if anything’s going to set her off, it’s scenting another omega on one of us.”
“She could rip your throat out,” Jake mutters. He scrubs a hand over his face. “You could set her back by doing this.”
“Or it could bring her out.” With full-blown Kennedy Traylor fire, and I’d kiss the fucking ground at her feet. “Let me try it.”
“I don’t know.” Oscar rubs at his temples. “You’re going to hurt her.”
“I’m going to make it very fucking clear that there’s only one omega for me.” I hold his gaze. “But she’s… comfortable , Oz. Out here? That’s scary, and real, and I don’t blame her for hiding away, not for a moment. But if she has locked herself inside her own fucking mind? If this pulls her out, I’ll walk in there plastered in someone else’s scent and pray that she rips me apart for it.”
As long as she fucking comes back.
I switch my gaze between them. Between Oscar’s dark eyes and Jake’s deep blue. Both of them worried. Desperation leaks into the air. “Please. Stay outside the room – keep out of it. Separated, in case anything goes wrong. But… let me fucking try .”
Oscar loosens a breath. “Okay.”
“What?” Jake swings his head toward him, eyes widening. “You can’t be fucking serious.”
“There’s a chance,” Oscar murmurs. He rubs a hand over his face. “And Theo’s right – she is comfortable.”
“This is bullshit,” Jake snaps. He pushes the truck door open. “You’re going to fucking traumatize her all over again.”
“She’s stronger than that.” I hold his gaze, praying that I’m right. “You’ll see.”
God, please. Please let this do something.
My feet feel like lead as I follow them inside. Max is in the room with her, Kenny curled up against him in her new favourite spot. Her eyes are closed. She looks… peaceful.
Comfortable . And I’m about to take that comfort – the only thing she has - and tear it into shreds.
I take a moment to breathe. To consider everything I know about Kenny – every bit of her. And when Oscar glances back at me, doubt written across every part of his face, I nod.
Don’t hate me too much, Ken. Please, God, don’t hate me.
But if she does, I already deserve every bit of it. I’ll take a little more, as long as it helps her.
“We should wait for Abrams. Talk it through at least,” Jake says tightly. Disapproval is written all over his face.
“The scent might fade,” I say roughly. And now the thoughts in my head – it won’t leave. “It’s going to work.”
He swears under his breath, crossing his arms and shifting aside. “It had fucking better.”
“We’ll stay by the door,” Oscar says quietly. “We’ll stay back, but you’re not going in there alone. Just in case.”
In case the small trace of Kenny we’ve coaxed out disappears again, replaced by the version we met one year ago today.
My resolve strengthens. “She’s coming back today.”
They don’t look nearly as certain as I feel when I step through the doors. Max glances over from the corner, Ken shifting as her head raises.
“Max,” Oscar keeps his voice low. “Get over here.”
He swings his eyes between us, and then down to Kenny. “Why?”
“I’ll explain,” Oscar says tersely. “When you’re over here.”
Kenny scrambles from his lap as he gets to his feet. Her head swings between me and Max, and I step forward as he shifts past me.
Oscar’s low mutter is barely audible, but I hear Max loud and fucking clear. “He what ?”
Kenny stiffens at the change in his tone. Her eyes turn from wide to wary, narrowing as they focus on me.
She takes a breath, her nostrils flaring. Pauses.
And a low, threatening growl rolls from her throat, filling the air between us.
Shit.
I take another step closer. “Kenny. I know you’re in there.”
She snarls at me before she lifts her chin, sniffing again.
Good. Give me all your fire, Kenny Traylor. I can take it.
I take a breath. “You angry with me, baby? Come and show me.”
Her upper lip peels back at my taunting words, revealing those sharp, lethal canines. Another low snarl curls from her throat.
Behind me, I hear an irritated mutter. “I’m not cleaning him up this time.”
I shift forward, closing the gap between us. “You think I want anyone else, Kenny? When I’ve got you? Never in a million fucking years. You’re it for me. Only you.”
Her gaze rakes over my sweatshirt, as if examining it. Higher, climbing my throat until she reaches my face. Our eyes lock.
“I’d rather fight with you than spend a single second with anyone else,” I breathe. “No more hiding, baby. You’re safe out here.”
The growl suggests that she feels otherwise. My throat locks. “ Please , Kennedy.”
This… isn’t going to work.
The realization threatens to break me. To knock my legs out from beneath me, to drag me under waves of grief and drown what’s left of my soul.
I close my eyes, my words a prayer to who the fuck knows what deity. Any of them. All of them. “Come back to us.”
She takes a single step, her eyes still locked on my face. I stop breathing as she edges closer, her own breathing deepening as if she’s stealing the oxygen from my lungs. She sniffs at the air, her cheeks flushing as she creeps closer.
I barely feel my knees hit the floor. My hands raise, my throat stretching until I’m completely bared to her. My words come out in a trembling rush. “I’m begging you, Kenny. I’m on my fucking knees for you . Come back .”
Come back or end me. Because I can’t do this life without all of you in it.
I close my eyes, breathing her in. Cherries. Chocolate.
And… that’s it.
Shock steals my air, eyes flying wide to connect with bright, scarlet, furious irises. Cherries. Chocolate. “Kenny—?”
She lunges for my throat.