Page 119 of Daisy

"I saw it. Hated that I couldn't do anything about it." His voice goes rough. "Protocol was clear. Guards don't interfere with omega business. Don't speak unless spoken to. Don't touch unless there's immediate physical danger."

"That must have eaten at you."

"You have no idea." He finishes with the camera positioning, sits back on his heels. "Watching her get smaller and quieter every year. Watching the life drain out of her eyes while everyone praised how 'perfectly behaved' she was becoming."

I can hear the self-loathing in his voice. The guilt of being part of a system that hurt her.

"That why you broke protocol? When that alpha attacked her?"

"Partly." He stands, brushing dirt off his knees. "But mostly it was instinct. The moment I saw her in danger, everything else just... disappeared."

"How long did you know?" I continue.

"Know what?"

"That she was special to you."

Dante goes very still. "Seven weeks before the rescue. There was a presentation event where her blockers failed and her scent hit me for the first time. I didn't know I was a scent match, but I knew... something changed. Something I couldn't ignore anymore."

"That must have messed with your head."

"Yeah." He picks up another camera, checks the battery level. "Seven weeks of trying to stay professional while every instinct I had was screaming at me to get her away from those bastards circling her like vultures."

"That's a real mindfuck. Like watching your own heart walk around in someone else's body."

He looks at me then, something almost like warmth in those ice-blue eyes. "That's... actually not a terrible way to put it."

"I have my moments. Usually involving terrible puns and inappropriate timing, but still."

We work quietly for a few minutes, both lost in thought. Then something occurs to me.

"Hey, when's Daisy's birthday?" I ask. "She was supposed to be turning twenty soon, right? I hope we didn't miss it."

Dante pauses, his expression shifting to something like guilt. "Shit. Three weeks ago."

I wince. "We missed it completely."

"Yeah." His jaw tightens. "She didn't tell us. Didn't say anything. Just let her twentieth birthday pass without a word."

"That's so like her," I say. "Never wanting to be a bother or ask for anything."

"Still." He shakes his head. "She should have had a party. Cake. Presents. Normal things."

"Well, we'll just have to make it up to her." I grin. "Late birthday celebration. All five of us spoiling her rotten."

"Five idiots falling over themselves to give her the birthday she deserved," Dante says, and there's almost a smile there.

"Exactly. Though August is more like a very competent idiot. The best kind."

Dante actually chuckles. "That's... probably accurate."

We finish setting up the last camera, the conversation flowing easier now. There's something different between us now. An understanding that wasn't there before.

"Dante?" I say as we pack up the tools.

"Yeah?"

"For what it's worth, I think she's lucky to have you watching out for her now. Even if you do take security precautions that would make the Secret Service jealous."