Page 15 of An Omega for Christmas

"Fine, but don't freak out, okay?" Grey slowly unbuttoned his shirt, every movement causing him pain. He shrugged the shirt off and Matthew stepped back, his hands going to his mouth.

"I'll kill him!" Matthew ripped off the tea towel he'd tucked into his jeans as a makeshift apron and stepped forward, but Grey snagged hold of his arm.

"Easy," Grey said, and tightened his grip on Matthew's arm as he tried to get free. "It's not what it looks like. Kelvin didn't do this to me. Stop struggling, goddamn it!"

Matthew yanked his arm free but stepped back, moving behind the counter, putting a barrier between them. Grey blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He indicated the trays lined up on the counter.

"What's all this?"

"I bake when I'm stressed," Matthew snapped, slamming a plate down on the counter, the noise straining Grey's patience.

"Maybe I should increase my order of eggs and flour, then."

Grey ducked when the icing bag flew past his head.

"Do you think this is funny?" Matthew yelled wiping his hands down his T-shirt. "You've only just claimed me and you come home in this state. You didn't even let me know you were going to be delayed! Have you any idea how worried I've been?"

"Three trays of cupcakes, one tray of mince pies, and two chocolate cakes?" Grey said, putting his hands up when Matthew glared at him again. "Where did you get all the ingredients?"

"Meredith," Matthew said, lowering his gaze. "She came round earlier and asked if I needed anything."

"You like her?" Grey asked, risking stepping a little closer to the counter.

"Yeah, I do." Matthew pressed his lips together and looked at Grey.

"Good," Grey said, and reached for Matthew's hand.

"What happened?" Matthew allowed Grey to take his hand and stepped round the counter. He stroked his hand over Grey's chest, careful not to touch any of the claw marks and bites that littered his skin. He could see that some were already partially healed which meant that they had been inflicted whilst Grey had been in his wolf form.

"Maybe we should sit down." Grey looked over at the couch.

"I don't need to sit down." Matthew reached up and touched Grey's face.

"Kelvin's dead." Grey kept his eyes on his mate, watching his reaction carefully, but Matthew just stared back at him, his face not showing any emotion for a moment, and then Matthew closed his eyes and softly exhaled against his chest.

"Did you kill him?"

"No, it was his mate, Naomi."

Matthew's eyes flew open and Grey could see the glitter of tears there. "His mate?"

"Seems like she'd had enough of Kelvin's abuse. She couldn't get pregnant and Kelvin was already plotting to get rid of her after the pack began to get tired of waiting for an heir. It looks like she took steps to protect herself, brought in some back up from her old pack and killed him and two of his betas. When we got there, the pack was baying for her blood and she was refusing to stand down. They didn't want her as Alpha, and the pack elders pushed me to challenge, saying it was time for fresh leadership. I fought her and won, but she had back up so it wasn't exactly a fair fight."

Matthew's mouth had fallen open. He shook his head as though he was trying to clear his thoughts. "I... Kelvin's dead?"

Grey swallowed down his temper when he saw tears slip down his mate's cheeks. Why the hell would Matthew mourn that asshole after everything Kelvin had put him through? He knewhow fragile Matthew was though, so he put his feelings aside even though it nearly killed him. "I'm sorry."

Matthew laughed, the sound bitter and brittle in the quiet kitchen. "Do you think I'm sad about him dying? I'm not. I just can't believe that I'm free of him. I feel like I can breathe again. Did you see Wendy?"

Grey shook his head but his heart felt a little lighter at Matthew's words. "Can I put my shirt back on now?"

"No, you need to shift and heal yourself." Matthew looked at the wounds on Grey's body again and burst into tears.

Grey bit out a curse and pulled his omega into his arms. "It's okay baby, you're safe, and I'll heal."

"You could've been killed." Matthew tightened his arms around Grey's waist. "I can't lose you. I can't."

"You won't. I'm here, and I'm never going to leave you." Grey brushed his lips through Matthew's hair and then sniffed. "Is something burning?"