Page 88 of Awakened

I wish I could tell her without sounding like an absolute psycho.

The logistics of my decision are fucked to hell, but so is everything else, so that’s nothing new. Dax is going to be pissed, but that seems to matter far less than my new desire to fix things with Idril. I can’t explain it, but despite my shitty start, I finally feel like I’m back on solid ground for the first time in weeks.

And as for Caelan…

Why demand to stay if it’s all just a lie?

I—

Shit.

Why haven’t I considered that before now? Why the hell would she insist on staying here until Caelan wakes up?

Because you’re a twatwaffle?

“Ha, fucking, ha.”

At least you’re not a Twunt.

“A what now?”

A Twunt. Twat and Cunt.

I bark out a laugh, bending over to grab the cleaning supplies and moving them out of the way. Then I decide—fuck this. I’m getting rid of them. This punishment shit has gone on long enough. If I’m going to commit to my feelings, then I’m going to do everything possible to make up for my mistakes. Starting with that stupid fucking breakfast where I told her she was going to spend her days doing soul-sucking manual labor as punishment for her deception.

Sighing, I make my way toward the grand staircase, determined to go straight to Gav and demand an entire fucking list of shit for the Omega.

“So… if I’m not a Twunt, who is?” I ask my Alpha, genuinely curious.

Cage, obviously.

I stop right in the middle of the stairs. Hearing Cage’s name has the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

The other day, Dax mentioned talking to Cage about the way he was mistreating Idril. I’d planned on talking with him myself because honestly, I fucking straight up hate that kid, but I never got around to it.

Cage is the kind of asshole who thinks that because his daddy’s some rich business mogul, it means he gets to skirt his way through life without doing any work. He wants to be a full, initiated Bastard, and hates that we’re making him go through the same process as everyone else.

He’s the kind of incompetent, whiny asshole who expects shit to be handed to him because of his lineage. He’s never actually shown any initiative or expressed any excitement about becoming a full Bastard.

So… why is he still here?

A terrible feeling starts to creep into my gut because it’s finally beginning to dawn on me that if Idril’s back to doing chores, and neither Dax nor I told her to start them…

Idril’s shaking hands and fear-filled eyes when the clock chimed, right before she ran out of the foyer, pop into my head.

FUCK.

I toss the cleaning supplies aside and vault over the banister, taking off across the foyer and down the hall where Idril disappeared.

I don’t stop running until I’m halfway down the hall. Then I slow down, being extra careful not to make any sounds and give myself away. If Cage is up to something, I need to catch him in the act.

No one in the world is as stealthy as Caelan, but I’ve been paying attention to his technique for centuries. It’s that technique that allows me to slip through the hall like a ghost, checking every room as I go for signs of Cage and Idril.

I don’t have to search for long. Hushed, tense voices from the game room quickly give away their location.

“I told you to have my lunch ready at one!”

I pick up my pace, hurrying down the hall. My Alpha growls, and the sound rumbles to life in my chest as the memory of that morning has shame tightening my lungs.