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“Maybe it’s that they don’t think I can handle it. Maybe I’ve missed other stuff.”

“Oh, Baby,” he whispers, “you haven’t missed anything important. I’m sure Gideon told you why he hasn’t told you everything, because… I think he’s ashamed of who he is when he has to do those things.”

“He doesn’t need to be. I love him no matter what. Haven’t I shown him that? Haven’t I done that for all of you?”

Tears fall, dripping from his nose onto Jay’s arm, propping his head up.

He tries to keep his scent under control so he doesn’t send out the sad-bat-signal to the rest of his mates.

Leo’s scent is the most even-keeled, and he does that on purpose, to help mitigate his mates’ more volatile fluctuations.

But it’s not working now, and Grayson’s head pops up over the edge of the bed where he must have been hiding or passed out from Finn and Jay’s pheromones.

Even the unconscious Rowan groans in his seat.

“Baby, roll over and look at me.”

Jay’s eyes are soft when Leo finally rolls over.

“You are the best at loving. The best. It’s so easy for you to show us how you feel; and believe me, I am envious of how creative you are in doing it—how attentive.”

“Then why? Do you think I’m not worthy of knowing the truth?”

“Worthy? Fuck. I am going to kick Lauren’s ass.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. Turns out she probably knows eleventy-hundred ways to do the same,” Luca whispers.

With a sigh of exasperation, Jay replies, “Not helpful, Luca.”

Turning his attention back to his distressed beta, Jay gently wipes away Leo’s tears.

“Just like Gideon said before, Leo, you are loved beyond measure. You’re made of honor and truth, untouched by the darkness of this world. No, I really mean it,” he says when Leo shakes his head.

“I know suffering,” Leo asserts, his voice laced with indignation.

Perhaps not in the same way as Gideon or Jay, and certainly not like Nix, but he knows what it means to hurt for them.

It’s different—of course it is—but when you love as deeply as Leo does, you can’t help but absorb the anguish of your mates as if it were your own.

Why hasn’t he been allowed to bear some of that weight for them?

“I know you have,” Jay replies gently, “but this isn’t just about suffering. It’s about the shame that comes from the choices and methods we sometimes have to embrace to achieve the outcomes we need.”

That sounds like a convoluted way to say that they’re ashamed to do what they have to do—especially if it’s ugly—but Leo doesn’t fucking care.

Grayson rests his chin on Jay’s side, and Luca hums in quiet agreement.

“You don’t have to hide parts of yourselves from me. I love all of you all the time. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Please,” he begs. “Please let me help you.”

I need it.

The truck rolls to a stop, and without the engine, the quiet is unsettling.

Leo has his mates’ attention.

He’s sure Rowan and Finn are still out, but the rest? They’re listening.

It feels like it might be the only time he can make them hear him.