Chapter 10 Reina #3
"Yes, you do." I set my own napkin on the table. "You've been making pointed comments all night. So just say whatever it is you want to say."
Kia made a small sound of distress. "Reina, maybe we should..."
"Stay out of this, Kia," my mother said, not looking away from me.
Edward shifted in his seat. "Perhaps I should give you all some privacy..."
"Sit down, Edward," my mother commanded.
He sat.
My mother leaned back in her chair, studying me with those cold, calculating eyes. "I'm simply concerned about you, Reina. You look unwell. Tired. And I can't help but notice you seem... distracted. Agitated even."
"I'm fine."
"Are you?" She tilted her head. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look like someone who's making very poor choices."
My hands clenched in my lap. "What choices would those be?"
"The choice to involve yourself with inappropriate people. The choice to put yourself in situations that could be dangerous. The choice to ignore everything I taught you about being a responsible Omega."
"Inappropriate people," I repeated slowly. "You mean my friends."
"I mean those boys."
"They're not boys anymore, Mom. They're men. And they're not..."
"Don't." Her voice cracked like a whip. "Don't you dare defend them to me."
I stood up, my chair scraping against the hardwood. "Why not? They were my best friends. They are..."
"They were animals who nearly destroyed each other over you!" My mother stood too, her composure finally cracking. "Have you forgotten what happened in that locker room? The violence? The blood?"
"They were protecting me!" My voice rose to match hers. "Those other Alphas tried to hurt me and Luca and Jaxon..."
"Don't say their names in this house!"
The room felt too small, too hot. I could feel my scent spiking, suppressants failing under the stress. Everyone else at the table was frozen, watching this unfold like a car crash they couldn't look away from.
"They were out of control," my mother continued, her voice shaking with rage. "Your scent made them into monsters. Made them fight like animals. I had to pull you out of there before someone got killed!"
"I was fifteen!" The words tore out of me. "I was fifteen years old and I didn't understand what was happening to me! I needed help, I needed support, and instead you..."
"I saved you!" She slammed her hand on the table, making the china rattle. "I got you out of that situation. I got you on suppressants. I moved us away so you could have a normal life!"
"You made me believe I was broken!" Tears were burning my eyes now. "You made me think I was dangerous. That I was some kind of freak who destroyed everything she touched!"
"You ARE dangerous, Reina!" My mother's face was flushed now, her perfect composure completely shattered. "Category Red Omegas don't get happy endings! They get used and discarded by Alphas who can't control themselves around them!"
"That's not..."
"Look at you!" She gestured at me wildly. "You've been back in this city for what, a few weeks? And you're already falling apart! Your suppressants are failing, you look like you haven't slept in days, and you smell like..."
She stopped abruptly.
Her nostrils flared.
Oh God.
"You smell like them," she said quietly, and somehow that was worse than the yelling. "Both of them."
The room was dead silent.
Even the kids had stopped playing in the other room.
My mother stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. "You're seeing them again. Aren't you?"
I didn't answer.
"AREN'T YOU?"
"Yes," I whispered.
Kia gasped. My uncle muttered something under his breath.
My mother's face went white, then red. "Both of them?"
I lifted my chin, met her gaze. "Yes."
"Are you sleeping with them?"
"That's none of your business."
"It IS my business!" Her voice cracked. "It's my business when my daughter is spreading her legs for two different Alphas like some common..."
My hand moved before I could think.
The slap echoed through the dining room like a gunshot.
My mother's head snapped to the side, her hand flying to her reddening cheek. Complete, shocked silence followed. Even I couldn't quite believe what I'd just done.
My palm stung. My hand was shaking.
But I didn't apologize.
"Don't you DARE call me that," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "Don't you dare."
My mother touched her cheek, her eyes blazing with fury and something else. Something that looked almost like fear.
"Get out of my house."
"Gladly."
"Get out and don't come back. Not while you're making these choices. Not while you're with them."
I grabbed my purse from the chair, my whole body shaking. "Fine."
"Reina, wait..." Kia started, but I was already moving toward the foyer.
My mother followed, her voice rising. "You think they actually care about you? You think this is going to work? Two Alphas sharing one Omega?"
I spun around. "Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. But it's MY choice to make. Not yours."
"Dual-bonds are a myth, Reina!" She practically spat the words. "What you're doing is just... it's just two men using you until they get bored or until they kill each other fighting over you!"
"You don't know that."
"I know that Category Red Omegas destroy everything they touch! I know that you're going to tear those boys apart just like you almost did twelve years ago!"
"Then maybe that's my choice to make too!" I was crying now, couldn't stop the tears. "Maybe I'd rather risk destroying something than spend the rest of my life alone and suppressed and pretending I'm not dying inside!"
My mother's face crumpled for just a second, and I saw something that might have been pain flash across her features.
But then her mask slammed back into place.
"Get out," she said coldly. "And when they destroy each other over you, and they will, don't come crawling back here for sympathy. I won't say I told you so. I'll just close the door in your face."
The words hit like physical blows, but I didn't let her see how much they hurt.
"I won't need to come back," I said quietly. "Because I finally figured out what you never understood."
"And what's that?"
"The difference between being alone and being lonely." I met her eyes. "You've been both my whole life. I'd rather risk everything with them than be safe and miserable with you."
I walked out.
Behind me, I heard Kia calling my name. Heard my mother say something sharp to make her stop.
But I didn't turn around.
I made it down the front steps, across the driveway, to my car. Got inside. Locked the doors.
And then I fell apart.
The tears came in waves, violent and unstoppable.
I pressed my hands against my face, trying to muffle the sobs, but they kept coming. My whole body was shaking. My scent was everywhere. Lilies and cinnamon mixing with fear and grief and something that felt like freedom and terror all at once.
Through the car window, I could see lights still on in my mother's house. Shadows moving behind the curtains. Probably everyone inside talking about me. Judging me.
Good.
Let them.
My phone buzzed in my purse. I fumbled for it with shaking hands.
Text from Jaxon: Game's over. We won. How'd dinner go with your mom?
A laugh that was more sob than anything burst out of me as my fingers hovered and I thought of what to text.
How did dinner go?
I slapped my mother.
Got disowned.
Chose two Alphas over my entire family.
My phone buzzed again. Luca this time:
Reina? You okay? You're not answering.
I tried to type a response but my hands were shaking too badly. The letters kept coming out wrong. I deleted and started over three times before giving up.
Another buzz. Luca again:
I'm calling you.
My phone started ringing immediately.
I stared at his name on the screen, tears still streaming down my face. Couldn't answer like this. Couldn't let him hear me falling apart.
But my finger pressed the green button anyway.
"Reina?" His voice was sharp, concerned. "What happened?"
I opened my mouth to say I was fine.
Instead, a sob came out.
"Where are you?" The sharpness turned to alarm. "Reina, where are you right now?"
I managed to choke out my mother's address.
"I'm coming. Stay in your car. Lock the doors." I could hear him moving already, keys jingling. "I'm twenty minutes away. Can you stay on the phone with me?"
"I..." My voice broke. "I can't..."
"You don't have to talk. Just stay on the line. Let me know you're there."
I pressed the phone to my ear, focusing on the sound of his breathing. Heard a car door slam. An engine start.
"I've got you," he said quietly. "Whatever happened, I've got you. Just breathe, okay?"
I tried and failed. The sobs started to wrack my body.
"Okay, not breathing. That's fine. Just stay with me." His voice was calm but I could hear the underlying tension. The barely controlled worry. "Fifteen minutes."
A car pulled up near the end of the driveway. My heart lurched before I realized it was just Edward, making his escape. He glanced toward my car but didn't stop, just got in his Audi and drove away.
Smart man.
"Reina? Talk to me. What happened?"
I managed to pull in a shaky breath. "She knows."
"Knows what?"
"About you. And Jaxon. She knows I'm..." Another sob cut me off.
"She knows you're with us." It wasn't a question. Luca was silent for a moment. "What did she say?"
"That I'm destroying you. That you'll destroy each other. That I'm..." I couldn't repeat the words. Couldn't say them out loud.
"What did she call you?" His voice had gone very quiet. Very dangerous.
I closed my eyes. "A whore."
The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.
Then: "I'm going to kill her."
"Luca..."
"No, I'm serious. I'm going to park my car, walk into that house, and..."
"Please don't." Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. "Please. I just... I just need you to come get me."
Another long silence. Then I heard him exhale slowly.
"Okay. Okay. Ten minutes. I'm almost there."