25. Mine

I pushed away, and sadness flashed across Cy's eyes before I pointed to her arm.

"Well, I guess that settles that question." Her bright smile fell upon me, but I couldn't return it.

Tears welled in my eyes as I looked at what was left of my right arm. We still needed to change out the bandages, and this was as good of a time as any.

"Mine, what's—" I gripped the edge of the tape and tore it off my arm, revealing another piece of this nightmare.

It was raw and bloody still, but it would heal with time and the help of Odie's blood—and Cy's if she still wanted me after she realized what was going on.

"Mine! What the fuck!" Cy helped peel back the rest of the bandages and tape as I winced at the sensation.

Odie came rushing in at the sound of Cy yelling. "Is everything—" She paused and sighed. Without a word, she grabbed the medical supplies and placed it on the bed behind me.

Cy was still fussing over it when I slapped her away. How was she not getting it? Tears streamed down my face as I stared down at my stump. On the very edge, I could see small swirls peeking over, and the tears became sobs.

"What did you do?" Odie whispered over my head.

"Mine, what's going on?" Cy cupped my face, but I batted her away again.

I frantically pointed at her arm, the one covered in our mate markings, then jabbed at my missing arm until realization crossed over her ice blue eyes. She looked down at her arm, then at my non-existent one in disbelief.

"Mine, I—" I cut her off, standing before she could get any words out. Her and Odie yelled after me as I sped down the hallway.

Odie said my arm was in a bag by the front door, and I was determined to find it.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked from behind me, but I didn't turn around.

I found the bag and started tearing at it, needing to rip it open and see it for myself. It was like I was in a dream now. All the calm I had felt before disappeared. Now only anger and sorrow remained. Fuck rational thought. I needed to punch something and rot in bed for a week.

"Mine, please, stop this." Cy knelt beside me with her hand on my upper back.

I ignored her, but I wasn't going to get this bag open by myself, so I shoved it at her, pleading with my eyes. I needed this.

"Do you really—" I nodded aggressively and shoved the bag harder.

Finally, she relented after glancing at Odie. Cy opened the bag enough for me to see into it, and if I could scream, the glass around the house would shatter. Not only was my arm beaten and bloody and wrapped up in a bag, but where there was once plain tan skin was now markings that would never reach my body.

No one would know who I belonged to. That was a stupid thought, and me from a few weeks ago would be insulted that I was thinking this way, but I hated failing. I was failing them from the start as a mate. I was a useless Omega who knew nothing about the world they lived in. I couldn't speak, I could barely communicate, and now I couldn't even openly show that I was mated.

Ellie shoved her way past Odie and dropped to her knees beside me before wrapping me in a hug. I knew she was speaking to me, but none of her words registered over the ringing in my ears.

Everything felt frozen in time besides her. I could feel her next to me, but the others vanished from my view as I stared down into the bag as more heartache set in.

After what felt like an eternity, Cy cupped my face again and made me look at her.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop it, Mine. I don't want you any less. Do you hear me?"

I wanted to scream at her and ask how she could when I was less than she deserved, but without a voice, I was stuck in limbo.

Cy shoved the bag from her lap and tugged me into it. Ellie let go and scooted back, watching us. Odie remained where she had been, a stoic statue leering over us.

Cy's arms wrapped around my body, being careful to not place pressure on my wound.

"Please, believe me. I was already going to kill that fucker, but now I will torture him as long as I want. Gerard won't get in the way, not after he hears about this." Cy placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Markings or no markings, you're mine. It doesn't change anything."

Deep down, I knew that. The logical me that entered this cabin was chanting it, but the Omega side was an emotional bitch who refused to listen. She wanted to whine until her Alphas brought Oliver's head to us on a silver platter.

Breaking down like this was the compromise.

I couldn't listen to Cy anymore, and Odie doing nothing was another massive irritation. Why did everything have to be so split? I wanted the logic back. I wanted to feel normal and in control of my own body, but until I had some training, I was going to be a complete fucking mess that really didn't give a shit.

Pushing out of Cy's hold, I grabbed the bag and marched out the front door before picking a spot for the bush I wanted planted. Odie was right. Roses were the way to go. Fuck anyone who touched it.

I jogged down the steps and dropped the bag to the side of the stairs. Everyone followed me outside, wondering what I was doing. I pointed to the spot and made eye contact with Odie.

"You want it planted there? A tree isn't going—" I shook my head before miming out a rosebush and getting pricked by a thorn. A light went off, and she understood what I meant. "We can bury it now and get the rosebush this week. Whatever color you want."

I expected myself to want red or black, but the thought of a white rosebush causing pain to others as they tried to pick my flowers was pleasing. I would tell her later because I wasn't going to figure out how to say that now.

I nodded in agreement before pointing to the both of them, then the spot on the ground. Even with two arms, I wasn't going to be digging the hole. With one and the other going into the ground, it was a definite no.

Cy and Odie got to work without a word to me or to each other. They reappeared with some tools, and I took up a spot on one of the chairs with Ellie watching over me again. I could hear Odie and Cy talking, but they were hushed about it, so I couldn't make out any words.

"You need help," Ellie said as she hopped up to sit on the railing.

I chuckled, and thanks to the sobbing, it was very wet and disgusting.

"Well, I wasn't going to ask if you were okay. You're not. You need help. Lots of it."

I gestured toward Odie and Cy, and she rolled her eyes.

"They will help a little, but having someone love you doesn't remove the need for real help. Vaila could be that person, or she could help find someone for you to talk to."

I raised a brow at that. She spoke about this as if she had been there.

"Vaila helped me find someone. It was a battle since talking about my dad in certain ways doesn't exactly look good for the council. I enjoyed it while it lasted, having someone I could rant to without judgment. I only saw her for a year, and I probably should have contacted her again after Odie and Cy left me, but I didn't. I wanted to be miserable. If I was miserable, then I had an excuse to be an ass about things."

I laughed and covered my mouth to stifle the sound. The night was quiet, and I didn't want to ruin it. She was so smart for someone so young, and I understood that far too intimately. Ellie might only be seventeen, but that didn't mean anything when you've had a life like either of ours.

"I know Vaila is going to send something soon to help with the curse and probably the current other issues, but I could ask her to actually come by and talk with you, if you'd like?"

I thought about her offer. I didn't want to speak to Vaila, my mate's ex, but someone else would be fine. I shook my head and motioned for my pen and notebook. I was tired of all the extra work it took to talk to them without it. Still, I wouldn't remove the curse that caused me to be mute. It was who I was, and I wanted to keep as much of myself intact, considering I was losing more and more of who I was as time ticked by.

Ellie returned with my notebook and handed it to me.

Someone else? I don't feel comfortable talking to Vaila.

"That's fair, I guess. I can ask her about it anyway and see who she recommends. Someone Cy and Odie haven't had a thing with." She winked at me, and I smiled up at her with a brief nod.

Odie and Cy walked up the steps and joined us at the end of the porch with dirt and sweat covering their bodies.

"That part is done. I need another shower." Odie leaned against the outside of the cabin, propping her shovel against the floor.

"A nice long hot one. At least it's cool out here. She could have dragged us out in the middle of summer in one hundred degree heat." I shrugged, knowing this wasn't really a conscious decision on my part. "We would do it, but there probably would have been more grumbling about it being hot and gross out here."

Silence ran over us, and despite other times, this round was awkward. I wanted to take another bath, then curl up in bed until tomorrow. This was far too much excitement for someone in my condition.

"I think it's time for hot chocolate. Mine and I will have a little girl time in my room while you two make yourselves less gross." Ellie grabbed my hand and hoisted me out of the chair before picking up my notebook and pen and dragging me across the porch.

"Uh, okay, but we need to wrap her arm up first." Odie marched behind us, reminding everyone that even when she let others take the lead, she was still in charge.

"I'll do it. Go away." Ellie brushed her off and kept heading for her room.

Once we were here, she shoved me in, hopped over to Odie's room to grab the med kit, and came back in, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm not blaming you, but this attitude is on you. Your pheromones are getting to me," she said while standing in front of the door.

I pointed to myself, not sure what to make of that. I couldn't feel anything happening besides my brain wanting to combust.

"Yes, you. You don't have control of them, so they are leaking all over the place. They won't affect everyone, but I'm still a kid, and they are your mates, so it's a mess." Without a word, she handed me my notebook, knowing I would have questions, and dropped the bag on her bed before patting it, telling me to sit down.

I did as she wanted and wrote a response.

How do I make it stop? They said you'd teach me.

Ellie sighed as she pulled out some wipes to clean up the area first. They were nice and cool, but it also stung even though she was being very gentle.

"I know they did, but I'm not very good at it. That's part of the problem with me being his heir. I can't do what he does."

Her jaw was tight, and this was clearly a sensitive subject that I would bring up later when I wasn't pumping shitty pheromones into the room, so I changed course.

How'd you learn first aid?

She chuckled. "Odie and Cy, of course. They taught me all sorts of things our father didn't want them to, but despite him knowing my path, they wanted to make sure I had options and abilities. I've been able to do simple things like this for a long time. A few years ago, they showed me how to stitch up small wounds too. I'm a lot more useful than they like to believe, at least where this stuff is concerned. I wish they would think less of me when it came to Omega stuff though."

Ellie moved on to bandaging and taping me back up before cleaning up and shoving the bag to the floor.

"Now, girl time. I'm going to do your nails. You may only have one hand, but it will be a fabulous one."

Apparently, this was what I needed, a little girl time nonsense and no Alphas in sight. Although, I really did want that hot chocolate she mentioned.

Right on cue, there was a knock at the door, and when Ellie opened it, a tray sat in front of it with my wish granted.

Okay, maybe Alphas weren't all that bad.