“Well, Alex’s parents got sucked into a weird doomsday cult and basically disowned him when he wouldn’t move our pack to their compound. And Roman just kept his parents at arm’s length. Called them controlling and judgmental, so he went no contact. And after meeting them in the hospital after his death, I definitely understood why.”
I stand there stunned for a long few heartbeats. Roman got away. He pushed our parents away. I let out a chuckle, a breathless and disbelieving sound. “I knew he had it in him,” I whisper to myself, shaking my head.
“What do you mean?” Delilah asks sharply, almost alarmed.
I clear my throat of the sudden lump, shaking my head. “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not. Did you know Roman?” she asks, sitting up straighter and releasing her knees.
I look at her for a second, and I seriously consider lying. But those fucking eyes stare back at me, refusing to let me shrink away. I can see why Roman fell for her. She’s not quite the omega I saw in the news clippings, but the echoes are there. Maybe she isn’t as frail as I thought.
“Y-Yeah,” I stammer. “I knew him. He was my brother.”
Chapter fifty
Siren’swordshanginthe air for a long time, but I can’t get my mind to move fast enough to form words to say. Looking at them now, I feel so stupid for not recognizing the similarities before. Roman and Siren have the exact same eye color and shape, their noses are almost the same. Obviously, Siren looks slightly more feminine, having been assigned female at birth, but it’s like I’m seeing my old alpha reborn. My eyes water, and I press my hands to my lips.
“Hey, don’t cry. I’m sorry. I didn’t—please don’t cry,” Siren says, taking a few steps toward me with their hands out in a gesture of peace.
I stiffen as their scent carries toward me. More roses than leather today, but there are subtle undertones that I’m catching now that I know the connection.And all of a sudden, it’s like something clicks in my mind. A newfound understanding. Siren hasn’t been lashing out at me for no reason.
“How long have you known?” I ask in a hoarse whisper.
Siren’s shoulders droop, their hands dropping slightly. “Since before Joker broke you out of the facility.”
I flinch and look away. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve just been a constant reminder of the brother they lost. No wonder they’ve been treating me like a burden, because I am. Have they only kept me around out of some weird obligation to their brother?
I nod and get to my feet, barely holding back the guilty tears. I don’t want to impose my emotions on Siren any more than I already have. They call after me as I make my way down the hall, not to the nest room, but back to the storage room. I close and lock the door before going to the pitiful nest I’d made when I first arrived. I’ve kept it intact, maybe out of some weird survival instinct. I don’t know if the good will of this pack is going to last much longer once Siren tells them about Roman.
I sit on the floor in the corner, pulling my knees to my chest and burying my face in them. I try to breathe through the tears, but all I can see when I close my eyes is Roman. His smile and the way his eyes—Siren’s eyes—light up. Roman’s laugh, the way he’d purr for me when I needed him most. A wave of homesickness comes over me, making the tears fall. I miss them, probably always will. But my presence got them killed. They were perfectly happy before I barged into their lives, but then my nature made Tyler go insane. It’s my fault they died. It’s my fault Siren doesn’t have a brother anymore.
“It’s all your fault, you know.”
The voice quavers with emotion. Roman’s mother, Deborah, sits at my bedside, clutching her purse like a lifeline. I look at her, my thoughts moving like molasses over snow.
She sniffs again. “If you hadn’t come along, my baby would still be here. If you hadn’t been in his ear, manipulating him with your…omega nature, he wouldn’t have cut me, his own mother, out of his life.”
“I didn’t…that’s not what happened…”
My words slur. The drugs they’ve given me to keep me from having panic attacks making me feel like I’m underwater.
“Oh, yes, it is, you harpy. And now you’re even more useless. You can’t even make up for what you did by catching the monster who did this. Pathetic.”
Her words cut like poisoned daggers into my skin and soul. I want to help, to tell her, but my voice dies in my throat every time. I can’t even explain why I can’t tell her, or the police, or anyone what happened. Maybe it’s the meds, but it feels like something else.
Deborah gets to her feet, looking down her nose at me like something she stepped in. “I will pray every night that you never find peace. Not after what you’ve done to my family. I hope you live a long, lonely life, Delilah Montgomery.”
With that curse, she sweeps from the hospital room, letting the door slam behind her.
Well, you got your wish, Debby. I’ve not known a day of peace or security since she slammed that door. Everything I do only brings me more misery. I should just leave now before I cause more trouble. Or worse. Before I let any of them get hurt trying to protect me.
I sit in the storage room, time slipping away in my despair. I hear footsteps approach the door at one point, but no one knocks. They just turnaway and leave me alone. I let out a sigh. It’s for the best really. I should have moved on a while ago, honestly. I’m too much trouble.
The house settles down after a few hours, and I hear the others getting ready for bed. One by one, doors close throughout the house, and I wait even longer than that before I finally get up, not bothering to take anything with me, knowing it’ll only slow me down. I sneak down the hall, skipping the squeaky boards like I’ve learned to do over the last couple months until I reach the living room. My shoes slide on easily, and I ease open the back door, slipping out into the night.
I’m just going to get some air. The house feels too oppressive right now, and I can’t stand it.
It takes me a few seconds to see the shape in the darkness, a squarish lump resting halfway between the house and the barn. I approach cautiously, but by the time I think better of it, I’m already frozen in place, horror turning my blood to ice.