I could have lied. I’m good at that.
But this isn’t any Omega.
It’s shattering my heart that I am forcing Bird to reject me. But it would hurt me even more for him to learn the truth about me when I had grown closer to him, innocent and trusting, only to find out just the type of Alpha he was nuzzling.
He doesn’t scramble off my lap.
He doesn’t flinch in terror.
Instead, he gently cups my cheeks. “I’m sorry that you’ve been treated like that. You’re no one’s property to be forged into anything. I know how that feels. I want to show you what it’s like to be loved, if you’re okay with that?”
I feel like I’m falling.
Why isn’t he rejecting me?
“Am I the one who is dreaming?” I whisper.
Bird smirks. “Maybe I’m the angel.”
“I’m the one who is magic.” I use sleight of hand to make the white cloth appear like a dove flying from behind Bird’s ear.
He chuckles in delight.
The sound warms my chest. I want to draw that sound from him again. It’s better than the sound of a bullet hitting its mark and ripping through flesh.
I never thought that I would find a sound that I preferred.
Bird claps. “My niece would love you.” Then his expression falls. “I miss her.”
“I miss my brother,” I say without meaning to.
“Are you close to him?”
I’m not sure how to answer.
“I wasn’t raised alongside him,” I reply, “but I would die for him.”
Bird’s eyes flash with an understanding that I’m not expecting. “I have half-brothers and sisters. I get it. I love them so fucking much, and it doesn’t matter how differently we were raised and treated, I would have done anything for all of them. My sis was kicked out of her promised pack when she was pregnant because her Chief Alpha found his scent match. When I tried to protect her, Mom marked me as a rebellious Reject. She owns the hotel and punished me by making me a Hotel Omega.”
“Your own mom condemned you to become a Hotel Omega…?”
Bird ducks his head. “She also made my sister a housekeeper. The funny thing is that I had more friends amongst the staff than I ever had when I was an elite Omega trapped in the penthouse. I was happier there, I mean, even though I knew that I was going to die. No one judged me, despite me being a…” He bites his lip, and I brush his damp hair out of his face. He peers up at me, before asking quietly, “Doyoujudge me?”
My chest is tight.
What kind of hypocrite would I be if I did, when I have checked into those cruel hotels myself?
“You’re mine.” I drag Bird closer by his hair. “And the protective brother who stood up for his sister. The only person Iam judging is your asshole mom. Do you want me to put her on my hit list?”
“It’s okay. I left behind a scheme to take her down in a coup.”
My eyebrows rise.
Well, there is more to this Omega than his golden retriever vibes.
Now,that’swhat I find attractive.
“Smart and pretty,” I praise.