45. Mila

Chapter 45

Mila

I 'm not mad at Gryphon for failing to tell me that Oliver had been eavesdropping on our conversation.

In fact, I'm grateful.

After all, the Omega needed to hear it from my own lips—my side of the story, and why I felt the need to betray them all in the first place.

It still doesn't justify the terrible choice I made. I had been willing to betray them to their superior, all just so I could live a lavish lifestyle without the need or want of a pack.

But Lily had backed me into a corner. I was alone, miserable, and trapped at that academy.

I had done an awful thing to a fellow Omega, and as a result, my future pack would have had to deal with the burden of my choices that day.

No pack was ever going to want me after that fight with Bridget, and after I revealed my tale to Gryphon, Oliver had held me tight all night in my nest, assuring me that no one would keep us apart again. Not Lily, not the Academy, and not some archaic algorithm, which is outdated and in serious need of an overhaul.

And as I lay in his arms, breathing in the sweet scent of his honeycomb, I truly felt at peace. As if I had found where I truly belong.

The family my father had been assured that I had found on his deathbed, and I vow to keep my promise.

I am going to stick with Oliver and the pack. Even if it kills me.

I will fight for my own freedom. I'd rather die than be Lily's puppet for the rest of my life.

After all, she has a way of slithering under your skin, and Gryphon wholly understood.

He knows firsthand what it's like to be under her thrall, and maybe if we work together, we can set the both of us free.

Gryphon still keeps his distance, but he doesn't regard me with the same animosity anymore.

As a matter of fact, I think I can spy the same longing in his gaze too, but I tell myself that it's all probably just in my head.

I am not that lucky. Sure, I managed to win Oliver, Barret, and Lachlan over, but to assume that I could win Gryphon, too? That's just spoilt and very presumptuous.

No, I am happy with just the three of them.

I suppose Gryphon can just stay at a hotel every time I have a heat.

But when Oliver's next heat comes around again, will we both pleasure him in his nest? At the same time?

How will that even pan out? Will it be awkward?

It's been three days since I saw the Alpha. My heat may have finished, but I spent the whole time in the nest with Oliver.

Barret and Lachlan visited, too. They found out about my proposition with Lily, and they, like Oliver, understood. They only blamed themselves that I felt the need to make such a deal with such a devilish woman, and Lachlan even got down on one knee, vowing to make it right for me again.

He also promised me Lily's head, and that he would avenge me.

But now, I feel a hell of a lot better about myself. Unfettered for once in my life.

It was a load off my chest, and I feel light as a feather.

I know the high won't last. So I am going to enjoy it while I can.

Lily is not a woman you can cross so easily.

But we will find a way. We all will.

I just need to find Gryphon first.

It's time we talked strategies.

My feet lead me to his bedroom. A room that always felt forbidden.

Even now, I feel as if I am intruding, but his scent led me here. As if he had been calling to me somehow.

The door has been left ajar, and I spy him sitting on the end of his bed, gazing down at a photograph.

I can't see the photograph, but what I can see is the taut expression on his face.

His countenance is hard, but his eyes…

It looks as if he has been crying.

The floorboards creak beneath my heels, and the Alpha goes ramrod straight, turning his head to glare at me.

Flaming eyes meet my own, but then they soften when they discover that it was me who had been lurking, and now he faces his whole body toward me.

"Mila?"

I back away, holding my palms up.

"Sorry… I shouldn't…"

He's on his feet in seconds, breaking the small distance between us. He opens the door wider.

"No. Don't go. It's fine. In fact, I was just thinking about you…"

My heart flutters. He was thinking about me?

He coughs. "So we can discuss Lily?"

Oh, yeah. Of course.

Silly Mila.

We stand in a few more seconds of awkward silence. Then he inclines his head toward the bed, urging me to sit.

My heart screams in my ears when I gaze at those black sheets, sheets that are covered in his scent. I also catch Oliver's scent, too, and I'm starting to realize that this was a mistake.

But I inhale a breath, and walk toward the bed, perching at the very edge.

I spy the corner of the photograph peeking out from beneath the sheets, and it looks as if Gryphon didn't hide it as well as he thought he did.

It's a picture of him, much younger, with an older man.

By the strong jawline and similar burgundy eyes, it has to be his father.

Gryphon follows my eyes, and shame colors his cheeks next—as if holding a picture of his deceased father is something to be ashamed of.

His eyes were shining when I spied him through the crack of his door, and I hate to intrude on his privacy.

But he shouldn't bottle his grief.

Crying is a form of release. It reminds you that you're not dead yourself. That you still have life in you.

I drag the photo out from beneath the sheets, and Gryphon doesn't even tell me off. He merely leans against the chest of drawers, bowing his head.

"That's my dad. Well, was …"

I stroke my finger around the picture of his dad. The semblance is uncanny. Even as they have their picture taken, not one of them is smiling, and I guess I see where Gryphon gets it from.

Still, I smile up at him, appreciating that he at least is sharing this little bit of his soul with me.

"Photographs are all we have in the end after they've…"

Silence. I can't even bring myself to finish my sentence.

Saying they just left makes it sound like they went on a long vacation, but it also feels juvenile.

I have no idea where my dad is now, but I like to think he and Gryphon's dad are watching us now, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Even heaven knows that Gryphon and I should be together.

I won't deny the pull toward him. The one that makes my toes curl in a good way.

It was hard to see it at first because he had thrown up so many walls, and I was quite frankly afraid of him.

But we are getting somewhere at least.

Maybe after we defeat Lily, we can finally… I don't know.

Have a go at it perhaps?

"So," he starts. "Lily…"

I nod, running my hands up and down my pants. "Yeah."

Gryphon steps closer, and his face hardens at last as he goes into mission mode. "She will want a report. Very soon."

My heart seizes next, and I shrink, hunching my shoulders.

"She won't call you to her office. Too obvious. So, she will likely call your phone."

Again, I shiver just at the idea of her phone call. I bet it will come when I least expect it.

"So, what should I say when she does?"

Gryphon purses his lips, his burgundy eyes distant as he thinks up an approach. "Continue to play her game. Make her think that you are still subservient."

I can do that. Work as a double agent.

"But… won't Lily suspect what is happening?"

He sighs. "She may. But it's the best choice we've got."

So, we're just going to wing it at most.

How terrifying.

Especially with a woman with a whole army at her disposal.

Now that she is the sole Governor in charge, there is no stopping her, and I curse that idiot Frederick for getting himself murdered.

We can't even prove that she murdered him because he is dead, and this sucks.

Gryphon's plan is the best option. For now.

Unless a miracle arrives on our doorstep.

No more words are exchanged between us, and I guess our conversation is over.

I shouldn't outstay my welcome any longer. Especially as I am getting my scent all over his sheets.

So, I rise to my feet, heading for the door.

I still hold the photograph, and just as I pass, I hand it to him.

He takes it from my hand, not meeting my eyes.

I smile. "It's… okay to cry about him from time to time, you know."

His throat bobs, and finally, he looks my way.

Although his face is hard, his eyes are soft. Watery.

He doesn't speak. He merely nods, but as I leave the room, I feel his gaze on my back, and I'm pretty sure he can see my heart thumping inside my ribcage.

Still. It's a start.

Maybe one day, we can make amends.

And maybe one day in the future, we can be more than friends.