21. Cy

I eyed the bag that held Mine's arm next to the front door. Throwing it out seemed wrong, and what if it accidentally opened and someone saw what was inside? Burying it without Mine's consent or input also felt like the wrong move, so it sat there, mocking me. Maybe she wanted to cremate it. Maybe she wanted a rose bush or something planted over it.

Eventually, I knew she'd ask, and we would deal with it. If she didn't soon, though, I'd bring it up and do whatever she asked unless she wanted to keep it somehow. I wasn't hanging up a taxidermied Human—Omega—arm. I had some limits, and apparently, that was one of them.

I wouldn't put it past her to make the joke though, and I'd have to resist getting squeamish. I chopped arms off when needed, but I had no intention of ever keeping one as a trophy for my efforts. Maybe I could make an exception for the skull of a mortal enemy or something like that, but that's where I drew the line.

I was scrubbing the floors again when Ellie entered the living room and said, "Mine fell asleep. Where'd Odie run off to?"

This was at least the third soak and scrub, and I truly wondered how crime scene clean up crews got blood out of everything. This was a hassle I never wanted. I was the one to spill the blood, not clean it. I wondered if there was anyone I could call—no, then they'd ask questions and possibly find out about Mine.

I was simply stuck scrubbing until this all went away. It was gone from the main boards, but those small cracks in between held so much. I didn't even realize they were there until now. Maybe the floors needed to be fully redone eventually. Not anytime soon but after this whole shit show blew over, then maybe.

I stopped scrubbing and looked up at Ellie. "Running. Literally. She went outside, and I don't think she's stopped since." I knew finding your mate was stressful and forced a lot of new hormones to course through you, but this wasn't what I had in mind. If she would stop fighting it and tell Mine, everything would blow up, then we'd be fine.

Waiting didn't make any sense to me, not really. Sure, it would make the initial blow up bigger, but then we could work through it all at once instead of going through blow up one, handling the aftermath, then moving onto blow up two and three and so on because this was never ending apparently.

We'd had one year of blissful lonely silence, and now we were trapped in a mad house with a budding Omega and a teenage one.

I grimaced and looked down at the work I had left. Giving up for now, I dumped more cleaning products onto the floor and hoped for the best. I didn't care if they were ruined in the end. A sander and some fresh sealant and they'd be as good as new.

Ellie had grabbed herself a bowl of soup and some crackers as well before sitting at the corner table, away from the damaged island thanks to Odie shooting Oliver and him crashing into it. There were a few stray bullet holes but nothing that couldn't be easily hidden. The counter being knocked off was another issue. Pieces were shattered while others remained attached. I'd had to pry it off and create a new one before it was usable again. Thankfully, no damage was done to the side facing the kitchen, so we still had half an island and the entire expanse connected to the wall.

Dropping the scrub brush I had in my hand into the bucket of water next to me, I grabbed some water and joined Ellie.

"How are you doing?" Outwardly, she seemed to be doing too well with all of this, even with all the crying.

She stopped the soup laden cracker halfway to her mouth, then shoved it in as a stalling tactic.

"I'm fine," she mumbled once she swallowed.

"Fine? Really? You saw a wolf nearly rip someone's arm off, found out Humans are actually Primarchs, and now have your friend on bed rest because she's now a one armed Omega. Don't lie to me." I sat back with my arms crossed. I'd rather have her throw a fit than lie about how she was feeling.

Ellie dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clink. "What do you want me to say, Cy? This is horrible, but I'm fine. I'm going to cry and have some breakdowns, but I'm not traumatized by this, except for maybe a new fear of wolves. I was already sketched out by Oliver, I had wondered how Humans could exist alongside us, and Mine isn't the first person I've seen with one arm. I'm. Fine. Okay?"

"Uh huh, okay."

"As long as Mine is okay and Odie stops lying…" Ellie side-eyed me. "And you too. Don't think I haven't put the pieces together." She took a sip of the soup, and I squinted my eyes in annoyance. "Glare at me all you want. I know she's yours too. You're too nice to her."

"And if she isn't?"

She met my gaze and shrugged. "Then she should be anyway. If she'll have you, of course.

Who else is going to make you act like this and put up with you? I don't even do that."

"I'm nice to you, and you love me." I leaned forward with a pout on my lips.

"I don't always like you though. That's an important distinction. And you're older sister nice to me. That's still kind of mean."

"That's fair enough." I drank some water, enjoying the feel of the cool liquid sliding down my throat. "I hope finding your mates isn't this complicated."

"If I find them, cool. If I don't, I'll find someone who loves me and I love just as much. It's not about who is matched by whatever magical nonsense connects true mates." She scrunched her nose, and I laughed.

"Pheromones. What you're looking for is pheromones. They determine who is a match, and it all goes from there. But you're right, there's more to it that not even I understand. If it was that simple, wouldn't more people be matching, and how come there are groups that match?" I had always wondered how it truly worked, but no one had the answers that I knew of.

"Maybe it's like how Humans work a bit. They aren't all monogamous, and some sync hormones and cycles, right? They have periods, but we have heats—how does that work for Mine?"

"I have no idea. This is completely new territory. She could, in theory, go into heat at any moment."

"Gag, no thanks. I don't want to be anywhere near here for that."

I snorted. "And you think I'd want that? Now that you mention it, we should probably get her some suppressants and make a nest."

"I know you two never planned on taking a mate, but not having a room designated as a possible nest is ridiculous."

"We have a space for it as a precaution for you, but we haven't filled it with anything." I tapped my fingers on the table and glanced over my shoulder at the hallway. "Odie really needs to tell her so she can pick out what she wants."

"Why don't you tell her?"

"Because Odie—"

"Because Odie gave Mine some of her blood? That doesn't mean they are bonded forever. Not all mates even have to do that. Did she actually confirm it? Is Mine her mate, or are we playing a guessing game all around?"

She had some fair points. "Guessing game as far as I know." A sound from the porch caught my attention, and I waited for Odie to appear.

The front door was fine, thankfully, but the back door was covered by duct tape and a tarp until we could fix the frame and buy a new door.

Ellie leaned in and whispered, "Mine will be more pissed that you didn't tell her, and you know it. She might be in shock mode now, but just wait." She pulled back and finished off her soup in record time.

As Ellie placed her dishes in the dishwasher, Odie came through the front door, drenched in sweat.

"Have a nice run?" Ellie teased. "Is that why you're so in shape? Do you always run to avoid a problem?" She smirked, and Odie gaped.

"No more hanging out with Cy."

"If Mine was in my position, she'd say a lot worse." Ellie shrugged and walked off to her room.

"When did she get so…"

"Like us? Smart and forward but with the sass of a teenager?"

"That, yeah." She filled a water bottle, then sat down where Ellie had previously vacated.

"Hit a nerve, then, did she?" I grinned, knowing she had.

"There isn't a right answer here," Odie groaned. "What if—"

"What if she says no or freaks out? Well, she's going to freak out eventually. She's too calm now. Might as well shove it a little and see what happens. At least she would have all the information."

"That's not what she said though. She's okay waiting because it affects all of us. I'm sure she's dying to know, but she will put up with it for our sake."

I gritted my teeth. "So we're putting more on her, just not something important? Got it. What a good mate," I spit out and stood up, ready to storm out. "Tell her, or I will, Odie. I don't have the patience you have or the intent to keep shit from my possible mate."

My door slammed before I knew it, and I instantly regretted doing so. I hoped Mine didn't wake up due to my stupidity, and I also hoped these stupid emotions were due to her being my mate and not something else, not that I had any idea what else that could be.

I plopped on my bed, belly first, and buried my face into the pillow. I wanted to scream or run like Odie had done, but most of all, I wanted to go into the next room and force some of my blood down Mine's throat. I doubted we would be so lucky that the markings would appear without it, and I needed to know.

I groaned and threw a small tantrum on the bed, messing up the sheets. I understood how impossible this situation was, but keeping information was never something I enjoyed. It should be out there and shared, at least when it came to this. Keep your personal secrets, but this would change all of our lives and the lives of everyone else in our world if it got out.

I'd give Odie until tomorrow, but I couldn't wait longer than that.

By tomorrow night, everything would be on the table, and we would deal with the aftermath, whatever it might be.