Page 54 of The Omega's Bloodlinem: Part Two

“It’s my own fault. Go. I’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t, not by a long shot, feeling everything creep up on me the moment Haru was out of sight.

The staff brought me a meal I couldn’t bring myself to eat. My thoughts tumbled over all the moments that had come to this, and all the ways we might avoid it in the future.

It couldn’t,wouldn’t, happen again. Even if I hated it, I had to make peace with Kendrick, for all of our sakes.

Now if only they would let me out of this fucking room to do that.

Aknock disrupted my panicked pacing. I had already sent everyone away, knowing that my nerves would set off all the prey shifters in my care.

I swung the door open. “They already delivered foo— Oh. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Seth swept inside. “What the fuck, man? What happened?”

“Yelena tried to eat me.”

Seth raised an eyebrow. “You think she would?”

“She seemed pretty fucking determined. I don’t know what set her off but she’s been threatening to do it for years.”

The panther nodded slowly.

“How’s the witch?”

“Stable for the moment. I wouldn’t have left her side if she was in any other condition.”

I swallowed hard. “Fair point. I’m glad she’s all right.”

“She’s not fucking all right, Kendrick. You almost punctured one of her lungs. An inch in either direction and she’d be dead right now. She’s only not because Dr. Atling is a fucking wizard at emergency surgery.”

“I didn’t mean for her to get hurt.”

“I know. That’s why you’re still alive too.”

Try as I might, shoving down the prey instinct to back away from an angry predator couldn’t be contained.

Seth’s eyes widened. “Hey, you’re okay. I’m not going to take a bite out of you.”

“Considering that nearly happened a few hours ago, I’m still feeling a little fucking twitchy about it.”

He seemed instantly apologetic, annoyingly soft looking lips drawn into a frown. “You’re right. I didn’t come here to intimidate you or anything.”

I crossed my arms, leaning against one of the walls in an attempt to appear nonchalant. “What did you come for then?”

“To talk to you. I’m choosing radical optimism today. When she wakes up, I don’t want her to navigate bullshit. I want her to know that she’s safe, and that you and Yelena have worked out whatever your issues are. If Logan dies, we all die too.”

I took some slow breaths, trying to quell the nausea that climbed up my throat. “I don’t want her to die. I didn’t want her hurt.”

“I know,” Seth replied gently. “Shewashurt, though, and I need to know how committed you are to making sure that never happens again.”

“How do I convince you one way or the other?”

He shrugged. “I don’t like to think that I’m naïve. I’d like to be able to trust my judgment, and I think there’s more to you than just not wanting Logan hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

“You remind me of me before I was allowed in, desperately wanting her but up against the wall of someone who hated you. It’s a lot of toes to step on when she’s Yelena’s mate, but trust me when I say that I understand the compulsion to stomp on those toes anyway.”