Chapter 79

It wasn’t any easier to listen to the second time around.

“I always thought Pete was just stoic,” Ines's voice quavered as she began her story, “maybe a little socially stunted at worst. I didn’t think he was bad.”

She explained how she’d always been told it was her duty to get married and give a man children, and how important it was for her to do it while she was still young enough to draw interest. It was something everyone said, including other Omegas, and it was something she never questioned. Why would she?

“If you’re not married by twenty-two, you were an old hag who’d be lonely forever,” Ines explained. “And I didn’t want to die alone. So I convinced myself I love Pete, and walked into that marriage completely naïve.

“He didn’t want me leaving the house much, and I told myself it was because he wanted to spend time with me even though we’d spend most of our time in separate rooms. He hated when I’d go out with my friends or family, and I brushed it off as a newlywed Alpha’s typical possessive phase. I overlooked so many red flags.”

She went on and on, describing how dependent she became on him. Financially, of course, because she’d been raised to be a housewife, but it became more and more emotional as well. He kept her away from the people in her life until he was all that was left.

Ines took a shuddering breath. "And the worst part was that everyone just...let it happen. They said it was his right as my Mate to decide these things, and I believed them.”

A chill ran down my spine as memories of Damian flooded back. The way he'd monopolize my time, how he'd subtly put down my friends...

"Oh god," I whispered, bile rising in my throat.

Elroy looked at me, concern etched on her face. "Olivia? Are you alright?"

I shook my head, unable to speak as the puzzle pieces finally snapped into place. Damian's tactics may have been different, more insidious perhaps, but the goal had been the same. He'd been isolating me, convincing me that he was all I needed in the world.

How had I been so blind?

"I... I think Damian was doing the same to me," I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper. I heard Elroy’s sharp intake of breath, smelled the way his scent spiked.

“What do you mean, Olivia?” he asked, tense.

“The way he isolated me,” I murmured, chill seeping into my bones. “He never outright told me to stop talking to people, but he did this thing where…he’d act all concerned and gentle while he brought up something about this friend or that one, told me he was worried about their behavior.

“He painted my friends as unstable freaks, or jealous witches, or people who only wanted to use me for political gain. I distanced myself from them. I let him ruin every source of support I had.”

Elroy’s lips pursed, and he squeezed my hand in his. I shook my head in disbelief. How many red flags had I missed? How many warning signs had I overlooked, simply because Damian had me convinced that our bond was all that mattered?

The realization hit me like a physical blow, leaving me breathless and terrified. If Elroy hadn't come into my life when he did, if I'd actually married Damian...

As the show cut to a commercial break, I turned to Elroy, my heart pounding. "I can't stop thinking about it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "If I hadn't found out about Damian when I did... if we'd gotten married and he became Moonshadow's Alpha..."

The sick feeling in my stomach intensified as I verbalized my fears. "He would have had complete control over me, Elroy. He could have done anything he wanted, and no one would have stopped him."

Elroy's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with a mixture of concern and anger. "Olivia," he said softly, taking my hands in his. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you anymore."

I shook my head, the dread spreading through me like poison. "But don't you see? If it could happen to me - an Alpha woman who thought she was strong and independent - it could happen to anyone. How many others are out there, trapped in relationships they can't escape?"

Elroy's grip on my hands tightened. His voice was low and fierce when he spoke. "If you still feel unsafe, if you need me to put your mind at ease, I'll go and kill Damian right now. Just say the word."

I blinked, startled by the intensity of his offer. "No, I... that's not necessary. I know he's not a threat anymore. It's just..." I trailed off, overwhelmed by the depth of Elroy's devotion.

It was one thing to fight an active threat, but to fight someone who posed no danger, just to ease my mind? To kill that person, get that blood on his hands, for no reason other than my perception of comfort? That went far beyond what a contractual Mate would do.

Then again, we hadn’t really been contractual in a while, had we?

Looking into his eyes, I felt a surge of emotion so powerful it almost took my breath away. The words 'I love you' rose to my lips, but I swallowed them back.

I bit my tongue; I couldn't say it yet, no matter how true it was. Elroy had given me so much, I could give him the time he needed to be ready. I knew my feelings wouldn't be changing either way.

The intensity of the moment hung between us, electric and unspoken. Elroy's eyes searched mine, a question lingering in their depths. I wanted nothing more than to bridge the gap, to let the words tumble out and wash away any remaining doubts. But I held back, reminding myself of the promise I'd made - to myself and to him.

"Olivia," Elroy murmured, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand. "What are you thinking?"

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "I'm thinking about how grateful I am," I said carefully, "that things unfolded the way they did, in regards to him. If I’d found out about his affair too late—even if I’d just found out a different day—we never would have met."

I chuckled a little wryly. “Not that that’s been smooth sailing all the time,” I grinned, “but I don’t regret it. How could I? I’m a mother.”

And the reality of that was enormous. After everything I’d gone through, years of planning and dreaming, months of believing I would never conceive, and now I was growing a child in my belly. That, irrespective of everything surrounding it, was a blessing I would never take for granted.

Elroy’s eyes softened at the edges, and I felt some of his alpha essence flow through my veins and into our child—his own version of resting his hand on my stomach to feel the baby.

“We could have done without all the drama,” he said lightly, “but I don’t regret it either.”

The commercial break was ending, the familiar jingle of the news program filling the air. But neither of us moved, locked in this moment of unspoken truths and simmering feelings. I knew, with a certainty that both thrilled and terrified me, that what I felt for Elroy was real and lasting. And I sensed, from the way he looked at me, that he felt it too.

But we both needed time, and we had the rest of our lives to borrow from. So I would wait, savoring each step of our journey together, until we were both ready to take that final leap.