Page 10 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

"I still did it. And I saw the way she looked at me that day. It's seared into my memory." Silence settled over us. "I won't approach her unless she tells us she's comfortable seeing me."

Ronan looked horrified.

"Hunter..."

"If she sees me before she's ready, all she'll remember is the man who frightened her," I explained. I was pretty sure, from the way Ivy had refused to answer any of our messages, that she wouldn't be happy if we showed up. Especially me.

Ronan nodded. “Fine. But I can’t wait that long. I have to make sure no one bothers her.” I held back a sigh. Ronan’s desire to protect was natural, if magnified by his personality. He probably wouldn't sleep until he knew she was truly safe.

Ronan sat down opposite me, and Elias joined us a moment later. For the next two hours, three grown men who routinely negotiated million-dollar contracts, and managed one of the fastest-growing startups in the country spent the afternoon discussing one impossibly simple question.

How do you apologize to someone whose trust you've broken? Every idea ended the same way. Not yet, or not like that. Eventually Ronan sighed heavily.

"I'd crawl across broken glass if that's what it took."

Elias nodded without hesitation. "So would I."

"So would I," I echoed quietly.

Winning Ivy's trust would not be about convincing her we were worthy mates. We were the furthest thing from worthy. We would have to prove, day after day, choice after choice, that we would never again ask her to carry the weight of our mistakes. And perhaps, someday, we could make it up to her.

This time, if she opened the door even an inch, we would give her the world. And I’d spend the rest of my life proving she never has to be afraid of me again. And if she never wanted to see me again - I’d have to live with that.

Chapter 7

Ivy

The Moon Café had become one of my favorite places in town, partly because the staff always remembered my tea order. It was a little spot down the street off the main square, and I developed a habit of stopping there for my tea and a scone on my morning stroll. Today was a special occasion, though. Mara was visiting. She met me at the cafe this morning, and we sat at a bistro table, catching up.

"You've been smiling a lot more lately," she observed over her coffee, and I believed her, because she’d known me most of my life.

"You think?" I asked, and she nodded, pushing her hair behind her ear. She’d quit the job at my family’s house and was now working somewhere with better pay and work-life balance. I was glad - she admitted she only stuck around there to keep an eye on me.

"You absolutely have. In fact, I can’t really remember you smiling much at all in the past several years. It’s good to see you come back to life.” She said.

I laughed, but there was truth to her words.

"I think I’m just smiling more around you," I said, not willing to believe my past was as bad as everyone seemed to think.

"No, you didn’t smile much at all. I think you were in survival mode. Now, I think you're finally relaxing." I paused for just a moment. Maybe she wasn't wrong.

I used to apologize every time a server refilled my tea, convinced I was inconveniencing people simply by existing. Now, I greeted my neighbors by name with my head up. I spent my afternoons teaching perfume workshops, and had accumulated enough friends that Saturdays usually involved someone insisting I come to brunch or help with a community event.

Life wasn't perfect - I still had to learn how to survive, and money was tight, but I had more friends than I ever imagined. And while my place was small, it was in a neighborhood with plenty of protection for omegas. I could relax here.

But some nights I still dreamed about Pack Vale. And some mornings I still woke with an ache in my chest that no amount of work could distract me from. But it wasn't consuming me anymore. I was starting to realize that as I healed, it wouldn’t be linear. Maybe I would never just wake up one day without pain. But I could live however I wanted, and not let it dictate my happiness.

Mara and I took the rest of our breakfast to go and walked down the main street together, her filling me in on the details of her new job and what her grandmother was up to. We were halfway to my own little shop when something drifted across the breeze outside.

The scent brushed my nose - hot cocoa. Marshmallows. The mug slipped slightly in my hands. I knew that scent. I’d dreamed of it each night. It was him.

My entire body reacted before my mind caught up. My heart lurched painfully against my ribs as a familiar warmth wrapped itself around my senses, rich dark chocolate with toasted marshmallow and cool air, a scent I'd spent months trying to forget and had failed every single day.

I stopped in my tracks.

"...Ivy?"

Mara's voice sounded distant. Slowly, almost against my own will, I turned. He stood across the street. It was Ronan.