Chapter 30 Veda
thirty
Veda
They all shift uncomfortably in their seats as if this is not an absolutely fair question. For a long suspended moment, none of them knows how to answer that, but my eyes are on this Dominic guy.
“If I got a say on it, yes.”
The news sits heavy on my chest. I still love Grandpa, though he has properly poisoned that love through the years. It weighed me down at every step, his voice screaming into the void of my head at every action.
He’s not so loud now.
In a way, I think he really fumbled, because this is the most clear my mind has been.
From the moment I stepped away from his clutches, everything changed.
The fog lifted, and I started seeing his cruelty for what it is, not the care he made me believe in for so long.
His voice is now a muffled echo in my mind, and I know with each passing day, I get stronger, and the voice gets weaker.
Yet love is a complicated thing. The love for a parent is hard to kill, even if they aren’t worth it. But I’m nothing but a hopeful girl. I just need a little time, and my love for him will die soon enough.
“What do we need to do from now on?” Jesse asks after a loaded moment of silence.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” His eyes flick from Jesse to Derrick and finally Major. “Don’t go around St. James and ruin years’ worth of investigation.”
“I’m going to find Mirasol,” Major says matter-of-factly.
Thank god for this man.
“I’m looking into that,” Dominic says with a flick of annoyance.
Major shakes his head, his hands fisting over the wooden table. I can’t stop the thrill going through me when I realize that anger and determination are because of me. Growing up the way I did, no one ever cared to fight in my name. This is the first time someone is on my side.
“Do you really think I’m going to sit idly and let the Alliance run this investigation?”
“No,” Dominic grits out. “I’m asking you to let me do it. You know I don’t trust Maja. I’ll do anything to end this, Major.”
I’m not sure who the hell Maja is, but there’s a vulnerable quality in Dominic's voice that makes me feel this is more than work for him. He’s a good-looking guy, with black hair and strong features.
He smiles easily and doesn’t look worried even with three cowboys staring him down.
Maybe he’s a good actor, but something twists inside me, and I feel right into my bones that he’s telling the truth. He'll do anything to end this.
Major opens his mouth to start arguing again, but I shake my head quickly, looking at Dominic as if we were alone in the room.
“Is this personal to you?”
My voice trembles because all my fears are coming to the forefront.
I need him to understand how much this question alone weighs.
It’s hard to trust a stranger, but I don’t want to jeopardize his investigation, especially if it means my daughter coming home sooner than later.
I also don’t want Major getting into trouble.
Grandpa is powerful, and if he decides you’re done, you are.
Dominic blows out a breath before nodding. “Yes.”
That’s all he gives me, but I feel in his heart that he’s not lying. He’s here after all, drove from wherever he came just to add another piece to the puzzle. Something forms between us just there, and I finally nod.
“Okay.”
Major makes a sound with the back of his throat. I know he doesn’t like this, but we need to be careful. Mirasol is the most important thing. Every minute of every day, my heart aches when I think of what can be happening to her. I need all the help we can find.
“But you call me when you find where she is,” Major says. “I’m going to get her.”
It’s not a request, and none of us can mistake it for one.
In an impulsive move, my hand darts across the table and takes Major’s.
He blinks, watching our fingers intertwine, but I don’t mind the grimace coming over his face.
He’s been a rock for me, and I need this touch.
When my eyes move from Major, I realize Dominic is watching us too.
My cheeks burn, but I still don’t let his hand go. It doesn’t matter that they aren’t my pack. I owe them too much, and I won’t stop showing my gratitude.
Though I want to show it in different ways too.
The unbidden thought makes me blush even harder. Yes, I want to do much more than just hold hands with all of them, but this is not Dominic’s business. I raise my chin and watch him back, daring him to say a word. After a loaded moment, he shakes his head and gets up at once.
“Are you leaving?” I ask, surprised.
“I have an old friend to visit,” he says.
We don’t stop him as he takes his documents away and stuffs them all back into his messenger bag. My heart hammers as I watch Dominic leave, telling myself I did the right thing by trusting him. I don’t want to bust his investigation, especially if it means saving many other Omegas.
Dominic is almost at the door when he turns back, and that same vulnerability is back in his eyes. “Be careful. Whatever is happening here can’t end well.”
“If you’re going to open your mouth,” Major says, his words like a knife, “you better spell it out or not say it at all.”
Dominic sighs. “She’s not yours. Get that into your head now. It’ll be easier when the time comes.”
Why does he need to remind us?
My heart breaks into a million pieces right there on the kitchen table. Just the other day, I told Derrick to enjoy the time we had together. It should be easy, but not if everyone thinks I belong to someone else.
The idea of scent-matching becomes a poison inside me.
Something to fear. It leaves me shaking whenever it’s mentioned, and by the time I hear Dominic’s bike moving away from the property, I’m holding myself together by a thread.
The air around feels thick, my heart aches, and I know I’m smelling like sour candy again. They don’t need to even say it.
“Oh, Veda.” Jesse starts his way to me, no doubt to take me in his arms, but I stop him right there.
I can’t be in his arms after this. When he’s not mine, and he never will be.
I step back, shaking my head.
“It’s fine. He didn’t say anything that wasn't true, right? We shouldn’t fear the truth.”
My voice carries so much hurt that they all wince. Jesse watches me with dark eyes full of tears, and it breaks me even further. Derrick carries so much written in his gaze that I can only take it for a moment before I break the connection.
And Major?
He avoids my eyes, looking at the table as if it were the most interesting thing he has ever seen. Good for him. If he can hide from feelings, he might as well. It’s horrible to feel it all at once. I know all too well.
“It wasn’t his place to say anything,” Derrick says.
“I know.” I move closer to the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “I’m going to—”
The words get stuck in my throat. I have nothing to do in my bedroom, but I need to get away from here. From them.
They don’t move when I turn.
They don’t call my name to tell me that what Dominic says isn’t true. That I am theirs and they are mine.
As I make my way to my bedroom in a rush, I realize this is what I want to hear. I want them to defy everything and promise to be mine. But they don’t give me that, and I can’t ask more of them.