Cambrie scowled and opened her mouth, to scold Bodhi most likely, but Savo tugged her to his side and caught her chin in his grip. “No, my sweet girl, he has every right to be upset, and I feel he won’t be the only one in a moment. Let them process however they need to, it will help in the long run.”
Nixon’s face clouded with anger as Savo spoke. “Don’t you speak to her like that. She isn’t your Omega.”
Savo closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Actually, she is one hundred percent my bonded Omega.”
Chapter 15
Thesinkingfeelingthattwisted my gut had me bracing myself for them to scream, yell, or curse me for what I’d allowed to happen. Savo wasn’t pack, they didn’t know him like I did, the good man he was who did everything to keep me safe. My Alpha asked me to let them feel what they needed to feel, so I kept my eyes on the floor and waited for the backlash.
Savo’s arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to his side as he started to purr, trying to comfort me. I wasn’t sure I could bear it if these men turned their backs on me. I knew Rafael told me it wouldn’t change anything but that was before he knew who Savo really was. Marius was an Official, there’s no way he could allow the son of General Rasvan to be part of his pack. My heart begged me to trust them just as strongly as my mind contradicted that feeling.
“I’m sorry, there’s been so much going on tonight I think I might be hearing things. Did you just say that you’re bonded with Cambrie?” Bodhi asked.
Knowing they wouldn’t believe it until they saw it I hiked up my skirt and showed them the mark on my butt. “He did it to keep them from sending me off to Shearia. They had guns, so many guns. The guards didn’t care, they would have shot him dead right before my eyes and stolen me away to another country. I don’t know what happened or what changed, but the pack they sold me to was coming for me in the morning. Savo attacked Arthur, who was going to hurt me, and the guards figured out he was an Alpha. He saved us. He saved me, he did everything possible before it was our only option.”
Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the men who I loved so much my heart felt like it was going to burst. Their expressions were full of shock, confusion, and surprise. Rafael gave me an encouraging smile but I knew I’d hurt them all, even if they were willing to forgive me.
“I betrayed you all, I’m so sorry,” I sobbed, dropping to my knees and hiding my face in Savo’s side as I wept. “I don’t deserve to be your Omega.”
Savo’s purr turned into more of a growl as someone approached. “You better not be gearing up to tell her this bullshit she’s saying is right. If anyone fucked up it was me, and I’m not talking about the bonding, because that would have happened no matter what. I’m the one who bonded with her before seeking pack approval, and I’ll own that, but none of this is her fault.”
“You don’t think we know that?” Nixon's voice snapped from right behind me, making me flinch.
Savo’s warning growl became deeper. “Watch yourself, Alpha, I might be wounded but nothing will stop me from protecting her from anything or anyone who might hurt her.”
“While I respect that, I would never do anything to hurt her intentionally. Out of all of my pack, I’ve made mistakes with Cambrie and given her the impression I wasn’t all in, and I vowed I would never let her think that again. What’s happened, happened, and by the sounds of it, you were doing it to ensure she could come back home to us,” Nixon said in a serious tone.
Even though he was saying he wasn’t upset with me I couldn’t bear to see the look of hurt I must have caused on his face. When arms wrapped around me and gently shifted me from clinging to Savo, I was enveloped in a scent of smoky tobacco and sweet scotch. Nixon started to purr as he wrapped me in his arms, tucking me close to his heart and let me cry. I realized that I wasn’t just crying about the bonding and how they would take it. No, it was a mixture of finally feeling safe, of being back with my pack, and allowing myself to acknowledge all the feelings I’d buried while I was trapped in that house.
The whole time I’d told myself I had to be strong, they couldn’t break me. Arthur’s words had cut deep so many times, almost as if he knew right where it would hurt the most. Savo being there was probably the only thing that had kept me sane and not turning into what Laura had. Having one person in my corner was a shield, but it didn’t mean that things didn’t slip past and leave their mark. Now I was free once more and in the arms of the men who were my everything. It was amazing and terrifying to feel this way about people, knowing how much power they had over me. Yet I knew deep in my soul they would never use their power to harm me. They would always offer their love and protection like a family should.
“Sweetheart,” Nixon murmured, pressing his lips to my head in a gentle caress. “Tell me what I can do to help you. I feel like you’re drowning, and I want to save you but I’m not sure how.”
I lifted my head from his chest, and he brushed my hair out of my face and tried to wipe away the tears still leaking from my eyes. “I almost lost everything,” I croaked, my throat tight from the crying. “Only in my dreams did I think I could have people I loved and who loved me, then you all appeared. Yet in the blink of an eye, it was snatched away from me, and I was once again trapped, locked away for someone else’s gain. It was so hard to be strong. Without Savo, I don’t think I could have done it.”
Nixon’s eyes were full of understanding and heartbreak as I spoke. He didn’t interrupt me, he just let me ramble as I shared what happened in that house. Savo added his view on things, or added a detail or two I hadn’t remembered, bringing the tale full circle to finding Rafael on the street. While I was speaking to Nixon, I knew the others heard it all, but it was easier to explain focusing on one person. My emotions were so raw and I felt like all the bandages they had put over them when I first showed up had been ripped off. This was my cleansing, my purge of the lies I’d been told during my abduction. These wounds might not be as apparent on the surface like before, but they were just as damaging.
“There are no words I can say to magically make things better or to help you understand that what he told you was false,” Nixon explained, pulling me back into his lap as he sat cross legged on the kitchen floor, holding me tightly. “What we can do, no, what we will do, is remind you each and every day for the rest of your life how loved and cherished you are, Sweetheart. I know the pain of what you’re experiencing, my family has done what Arthur did to you almost my whole life. If it hadn’t been for Marius, Spencer, and the others of my real family, I never would have become the man I am today. It’s taken me a long time to see the truth, to realize that what I’d been told to believe about myself by my family wasn’t actually who I was.”
I shifted my head to his shoulder to look up at him as he spoke, his voice was so soothing to listen to as I soaked up his words like a sponge.
“Did you know that I’m the oldest of three children?” Nixon asked, and I shook my head. I remember someone saying he had siblings at one point, but I didn’t know their ages. “My family is from a long line of lawyers who worked in or alongside the government. They became judges, doling out justice and becoming important figures in the community. That’s what I went to school for as well, only to discover I hated it. The law itself was interesting to learn but when I saw how it was practiced in our world today, it made me sick. Marius is the one who convinced me to break out of the mold my parents had set for me, and I came up with the idea for the shelter.”
“My law degree helped in many ways making sure I followed the rules and guidelines while making sure others didn’t screw me over. When my father found out I wasn’t going to complete my law education by taking the final test to be able to practice, he stopped talking to me. My mother, on the other hand, decided that she would do whatever it took to convince me I was wrong. It was almost like she believed her words had a magical power to change me into what she wanted. Then, when Spencer entered my life things only got worse, and my whole family turned on me. That’s when I started to realize they weren’t my family, my pack was. Without each and every one of them combating the lies that had been poured into me all my life, I never would have fallen in love with two amazing people. Or gained brothers who care enough to speak the truth when I’m being an ass,” Nixon said with a grin looking over at Bodhi for some reason.
Then Nixon looked down at me with a soft, loving smile and with hope glimmering in his eyes. “Our pack was founded on the right things, and the people who needed to be a part of it found each other, yet we were still missing something. You, Cambrie, we were missing you. The glue that pulls us even closer, something that connects us on a deeper level than just comradery or shared ideals. That glue is love, each of us love you just as much as you love us. So, with that being said, if you love Savo and were willing to let him mark you, then who are we to punish you or be upset for giving him what you give to us? Cambrie, you are unlike any Omega I’ve ever witnessed before. You’re able to ensure each and every one of us knows that you give all of us the same love. No one is more, no one is less in your eyes, which is not what the world teaches us these days.”
Spencer dropped beside Nixon and took my hand in his. “Little Dove, forgive us for reacting the way that we did. The past four days have been hell trying to figure out how to get you back, and most of us are running on little sleep. I promise we will figure this out together as a family, Savo included, because ifyoulove him, then I trust your judgment. You picked us after all, so how can we say your radar is skewed?” Spencer teased.
A sudden knock on the door had us all on alert but Rafael checked his phone and set us at ease. “Rick just texted saying Doc should be here any moment, so I’m going to guess that’s him.”
Spencer stood and offered a hand to me pulling me to my feet and into a hug. “Oh, Little Dove, what are we going to do with you? Always driving us to reach deeper within ourselves to see the truth of the matter.”
“I don’t do that,” I mumbled against his shirt.
“Hello, everyone, I’m Doc,” a man greeted, causing me to lift my face from Spencer’s shirt.
Doc was an older Alpha with salt and pepper hair, a kind face, and glasses that rested further down his nose than I felt was normal. He was dressed casually but had a medical bag in one hand, and Rafael was behind him with a duffel.