Page 23 of That Defining Moment

Cassian’s pulse kicked up. He held onto the edge of the basin and turned around so that he was facing Uriel properly, his back pressed against the cold porcelain.

“I’m learning how to be a modern omega,” Cassian said. He said it to watch Uriel’s face change, and it did. The alpha’s expression darkened, his blue eyes narrowing. “Hamish has an omega. A male omega, Uriel, just like me. The Universe brought him into my sphere, and he’s been teaching me things like how to order food and use the trams.”

“The documentarian.” Uriel’s mouth thinned. “You’re living with the documentarian and his omega?”

“They’ve been kind to me.”

“They’re revelling in their sin, Cassian.” Uriel stepped closer, and the scent of him thickened in the confined space until Cassian could feel it pressing against his skin. “Two men fornicating under the same roof as a Calyx, corrupting you with their filth, filling your head with ideas about independence and modernity while they drag you further from the Light with every day you spend under their roof.”

Cassian’s fingers gripped the basin’s edge tightly. He wanted to argue, but the objection wouldn’t form, because it wasn’t as though he hadn’t thought this himself, while listening to Lysander and Hamish through the wall. The contamination argument had lived in his head since he’d arrived in Brunswick East. Hearing Uriel speak it aloud was different from thinking it, though, because the words sounded sharper when they came from an alpha’s mouth.

“Come back with me.” Uriel’s hand found Cassian’s and closed around it. “The Light forgives all transgressions when the transgressor lays down his ego and prostrates himself before its glory. You know this, Cassian. You’ve known it since you could speak. The family will welcome you home with open arms, and every wrong that you’ve done in the outside world will be cleansed from you as though it never happened.”

Cassian shook his head.

“All will be forgiven,” Uriel pressed, “when you give yourself over to your Evermate.”

“I can’t.” The words came out thin, but they came out. Cassian’s hand stayed in Uriel’s, his fingers curled against the alpha’s palm, because letting go of Uriel’s hand was beyond him. “I can’t, Uriel. I need time to myself. I need to think.” He swallowed. “I’ve only just started really thinking about things. On my own. Without anyone telling me what the answer is before I’ve even finished asking the question.”

Uriel stepped forward and pressed Cassian against the wall beside the sinks, one hand braced beside Cassian’s head, the other still holding his hand. The tiles felt cold through his shirt, and Uriel’s scent was all he could focus on until Uriel leaned in and kissed him softly. It lasted no more than two seconds, but in that time Cassian’s free hand came up and gripped the front of Uriel’s jacket of its own accord.

“Come home to us, Cassian.”

“I can’t.” His voice broke on the second word, and his fingers tightened in Uriel’s jacket. “I need time, Uriel. Please.”

Uriel’s jaw worked. His grip on Cassian’s hand tightened until the bones of his fingers pressed together painfully. “Where are you staying? Give me the address.”

Cassian did, because Uriel had asked, reciting it and then adding, “It’s at the end of a row of cottages, with jasmine on the fence.” He straightened up, his pride cutting through his trembling. “And I have a mobile phone now. Hamish gave it to me.”

Uriel’s eyebrow rose.

“The number is oh-four-two-one, three-eight-seven, nine-nine-two-five,” Cassian recited, the digits that Hamish had made him memorise. “You can call me on it whenever you like.”

Uriel looked at him for a long moment, his eyes moving across Cassian’s face as though he were mapping out every change the outside world had made to it. “I’ll see you again,” Uriel declared.

Cassian received it as a promise. Uriel would come for him. The name that had been burning in his chest since he was fourteen was still there, still bright.

Cassian pressed his fingers against his own lips where Uriel’s mouth had been, and watched the alpha turn and walk out of the bathroom without looking back at him.

Chapter Twelve

Cassian stood in the hallway with his thongs on and his mobile clutched in both hands, running through his itinerary for the third time at Hamish’s request.

“I’m going to take the number 1 or 6 tram,” he said. “I’m going to get off at Melbourne Central station, and then walk to Carlton Gardens.” He paused, his brow creasing with the effort of committing to a choice. “Then I’m probably going to have lunch at Brunetti’s. I like their gelato.”

“Gelato’s not lunch food, Cass,” Lysander pointed out, barely able to hide his smile.

“Gelato with a slice of pizza?”

Lysander nodded approvingly.

“And you have your mobile?” Hamish asked. Cassian held it up obediently. “All right. Call me if you have any issues.”

Cassian nodded once, drew himself up to his full height, and walked out the front door. The jasmine on the fence rustled as he passed, and then he was through the gate and turning left towards Lygon Street, his blond head catching the morning light before he disappeared behind the banksia.

Hamish stood in the hallway with Lysander, both of them watching the empty path through the open door. “He’ll be fine,” Lysander said, though he hadn’t moved from the doorway and his eyes were still fixed on the spot where Cassian had turned the corner.

“He will.” Hamish leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Look at us. You moved in, we’ve taken joint custody of a twenty-two-year-old cult survivor, and we’re watching him leave the house like a pair of nervous parents on the first day of school.” He tipped his head back against the plaster. “We really went all in with each other, Sander.”