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“Jealous, bitter, and angry.”

“Annoyed I can't go home,” she mimics me with a mocking smile.

I reach down and cup her pussy, pulling up so she has no choice but to rise on her tiptoes.

“What are you doing?” she rasps out.

“Proving a damn point.” I inhale deeply. “Smell that in the air? That scent of blueberry cobbler? That’s how much you want my knot. You can pretend you hate us. And you canscream and be this bitter bitch of an omega, but the fact is that your body can’t lie. You want us,” I lean in close, pressing my lips to her cheek as I pull hard.

She lets out a delicious moan that I want to eat.

“You dream of us, calling our names in your sleep. Your eyes follow every move we make, and I would bet anything that your underwear is now soaked with slick, your cunt aching for my cock. Am I wrong?”

She peels open her eyes and grips my wrist. “You’re not wrong. I want you. I always have. But dreams and reality are not the same thing, and I’m not going to spend even one more second walking around thinking that you’ve changed. You want to fuck me, knot me? Fine. But it’s going to cost you much more than you can afford to give.”

With that, she rubs against my fingers as she gets free, slipping past me without a backwards glance. I stay where I am, staring at the trace of liquid on my fingertips.

I hunger for it; I need it.

The need to chase her down and pin her to the ground and take her until she’s writhing with desire beats against my skull, but I ignore it, watching as she trots across the road and enters her house without looking back.

Chapter fourteen

Selene

I stand under thetree, watching the dark park. I’m not expecting trouble. I just want a few minutes alone. The night is cooler than I expected. The wind has me curling into my hoodie.

I don’t know what I’m doing.

They have taken over and are protecting the neighbourhood, and they are doing it easier and better than I could ever hope to. Am I useless now? Is this where I slink away into the night and leave them to it?

Admit that I am lost without this purpose. What else do I have?

I lean against the tree trunk and look down at my boots. I love these boots. They’ve stood me well for years, but maybe it’s time I wear something else.

Becoming aware of him approaching is gradual. By the time I turn my head to look at him, he’s right beside me.

We’re silent for several minutes.

“It’s easier to admit to things in the dark.”

“Got some confessions you want me to hear, Mael?”

He surprises me by taking my hand, dragging me off the tree and into a walk.

“Yeah, I have.”

I stare at the side of his face, puzzled by his strange behaviour.

“We made a mistake. It didn’t take long before we realised it, but that one choice ruined everything. We’re sorry. I am sorry.”

“Why didn’t you listen to me? That’s the part that drove me insane. Why did you refuse to hear me out?”

Mael grunts. “It was easier to believe the lie.”

We don’t talk, but I’m acutely aware of his fingers holding mine apart, his palm against mine. Our shoulders brush occasionally, and it’s just him and me, walking in the dark like we have a million times before, except he’s never held my hand like this before.

“I’m still the same person,” I grumble. “You don’t need to hold my hand.”