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I can’t concentrate on that, however, only curling into as small a ball as I can. I press my face into my knees to block out the smell. I’m trying to breathe as little as possible, closing my eyes against the overwhelming sickness.
I’m clammy. My hair plasters down my neck.
Finally, I feel strong fingers swipe my hair to the side, followed by a cool, damp cloth on the back of my neck.
I whine at how good it feels.
Then a new scent repressing patch is pressed over my scent gland.
Vito slips onto the floor next to me, sliding his arm around my shoulders. “I’m so fucking sorry, Dy. I shouldn’t have pushed. I forget because you’re just fucking strong and… I’m sorry, okay?”
I nod, still unable to speak.
Slowly, the patch is seeping what I need through me. It’s helping me to function. The scents become muted again.
There’s a metallic taste in my mouth. I think that I bit my tongue.
At last, I risk lifting my head from my knees, peering through my long hair at my brother.
Vito looks suspiciously like he’s trying to hold back tears.
I won’t let him blame himself.
I hold up my shaky hand, weaving it from side to side and hissing.
Vito lets out a laugh that I pretend not to notice is close to a sob.
He holds his tattooed hand out next to mine, mimicking the move like we have ever since we were kids.
His hand snakes over mine.
“Sorry,” Vito hisses in a freakishly good snake voice.
“It’s okay, viper.” I struggle to get out the words; my tongue feels swollen. “You can do both the cooking and wash the dishes too tonight to make it up to me.”
“You drive a hard bargain. But deal.” Vito looks down, before adjusting the cloth on my neck. “I’ll hold back from judging this Seven…or tearing out his throat…if he helps your OHS stabilize. I know that he could be a literal lifesaver. I simply wish that you could find yourself an actual pack that you want to match with, rather than some wild playboy who joins a dating site like ABOinder.”
“A playboy like you, you mean? Look, I need this, and by my next heat. I’ve put this decision off as long as I can. I don’t want another pack. I have you. Plus, when it comes to love, we both know that I have that too. I’m already bonded in my heart.”
I fiddle with the Promise Bond Ring that I’m wearing on my thumb: A Beta and Omega Sign entwined in silver.
See, I’ve already promised to bond with a Beta.
It’s taboo for an Omega and Beta to bond without an Alpha. But Lincoln and I have never cared about society’s rules.
We’re both rebels and outsiders.
Lincoln has been my best friend and neighbor since I was a kid. His pack is poor and works as cleaners for the Snakes.
He was the cleaner’s Beta son, who I shouldn’t have noticed.
Instead, he became my everything.
He’s my boy with the silver eyes.
Yet I don’t even know where he is now.
Vito reaches for my hand, and I take it; I realize that his hand is shaking as much as mine is. “Link is like my kid brother. Don’t you think that I miss the hell out of him too? But he’s been missing for three years. We don’t know if he’s—"
