26. Mine

I chose to sleep in my own room, but it was a terrible idea. I had water and snacks and extra pillows to make sure I could sleep comfortably, but nothing helped. I figured with the recovery, I would still be exhausted and want a long night's sleep, but apparently, I was wrong. I was wide awake even though I was tired and begged my body to accept the sleep I was willing to give it.

I lay there for hours, hoping I would doze off, but I never did.

Eventually, I gave up and read a little, but I couldn't stay focused. My body buzzed with irritation, and I couldn't pinpoint it. I was safe and had everything I could ever possibly need.

Finally, it dawned on me that I was forcing logic where there wasn't any. Or there was, but it was stupid Primarchy logic. I was now an Omega, and they needed more than just a glass of juice and good sleep to be happy.

I knew the answer, but I refused to accept it.

After Ellie did my nails, we watched some movies while drinking hot chocolate. Cy and Odie showered, but besides telling us they'd be up and around, I hadn't heard from them.

I didn't know if they were locked upstairs or in their rooms or hiking outside just to need another shower.

Turning over, I saw the clock read four a.m. Odie would be up soon either way, but I really needed some sleep.

Flailing my arm and legs against the mattress and ruining the blankets, I gave in. I needed them beside me to sleep. I hated it. I didn't want it—I was lying, I totally wanted it, but I didn't want it to be a requirement to sleep.

Shoving the covers off of me, I sat on the edge of the bed. I took a few more sips of water, then ventured out of my bedroom. First, I checked Odie's room, but she wasn't in there. Then I moved to Cy's room, and once again, it was empty. That's when I heard laughing coming from the living area and stomped that way in the same shorts and T-shirt Odie had given me earlier.

"Looking for someone?" Cy asked from a barstool.

Again, I settled for something simple. I motioned between them, then asked, What?

Odie was behind the island, putting away dishes, but she stood up straight and said, "We couldn't sleep, so we've been out here all night. Did you like the hot chocolate?"

I face palmed and sighed before nodding yes. I moved over to Cy before pulling her from her seat and shoving her toward the hall. Going around the counter, I did the same to Odie, shoving with all my might, but she was like a brick wall, barely moving an inch.

"What are you doing?"

I huffed and went back to Cy, who was much more willing to move with little prompting. I pulled her along, then kicked open her door before jumping on the bed and snuggling in. I patted the area next to me, asking her to get in.

"Well, I'm not going to put up a fight." She smiled and climbed into the large bed, taking up the spot on my left closest to the edge.

She sunk down and wrapped her arm around my waist, but I was waiting for Odie to walk around the corner so I could convince her to get in here too. When she didn't, I poked Cy's face and motioned toward the door.

"Do you want her in here too? She's probably pacing and panicking."

"Am not!" Odie ground from the doorway where she appeared with my water bottle. "I was grabbing this so she'd stay hydrated."

"You're a far better mate than I am." Cy laid her head down and got even closer to me.

Odie set down my water bottle on the nightstand, then slid in on the other side, effectively closing me in, their scents combining and calming the irritation that had grown inside me. Together they were a warm apple and cranberry cobbler over an oaky fire, and I never wanted to leave.

With Odie on my right side, she had to be a bit more careful, but she managed. Her arm snaked over me, right below Cy's, with her hand gripping my left hip. Her right leg adjusted over mine, pinning me to the bed.

This was not what I had planned, but all the nerves were receding, and I felt sleep finally heading my way.

Cy nuzzled my neck and planted soft kisses there while Odie's thumb rubbed circles on my hip before they both dozed off far faster than I would ever be able to. Their soft touches, although small, raked a fire inside me, and I was no longer convinced sleep would greet me.

I lay there motionless until the sun filtered through the curtains, then finally, sleep took hold.

My eyes fluttered open, and the room was bright. I didn't know how long I had been asleep, but I felt so much better than I did yesterday.

I started to stretch without taking in my surroundings but found that my arm was trapped. Looking down, I saw Cy's face nestled in my chest with her arms wrapped around me. My right leg was over her hips with her leg between mine and pressing my right one into the mattress.

I stilled, not sure how to go about untangling myself from Cy. I didn't really want to, but I was extremely thirsty, and at the very least, I needed to get my water bottle.

Leaning back, I realized there was plenty of empty space behind me. Craning my neck to look, there was no one there. Odie must have gotten up at some point, leaving me in Cy's arms.

I leaned back further, sliding my arm out from under Cy, but with that arm against the mattress and pillows, there wasn't much I could do without rolling on top of Cy. The bottle and nightstand were too far away otherwise. She deserved to get some extra sleep, but I also knew she'd be upset if I didn't drink water just because she had wrapped herself around me like a fucking boa constrictor.

Accepting my fate for the moment, I settled into the mattress, enjoying the feel of Cy against me. At some other time, I would fall back to sleep and forget about the water, and the thought did cross my mind, but the clock read two p.m. The day was practically gone at this point, and I knew Odie had probably been up for hours already without us. Ellie was probably with her at least.

Deciding it was time, I shoved myself up and rolled on top of Cy, flipping her on her back in the process. My bare legs straddled her hips as I leaned over to grab my water bottle. Sitting back, I stuck the straw in my mouth and looked down, seeing Cy's bright blue eyes staring up at me.

"Good morning," she said, rubbing her eyes. "What a way to wake up." Her lips parted into a smile as I sucked down half of the water before finally coming up for air with a gasp. "Thirsty?"

I nodded before setting the bottle on her and closing the lid before trying to get off the bed. My efforts were futile. Cy sat up and wrapped her arms around me, keeping me in bed and on her lap.

"You messed up. I'll have to sleep like that every night from now on. I'll accept nothing less." She looked down at me before cupping my face and placing a light kiss on my lips.

I smiled and nodded, agreeing with her. It was the best sleep I had ever had. I ignored the annoyance that brought, wanting to enjoy the moment with Cy.

"Shall we get some food? I'm starving, and I guarantee Odie is already concerned with how long it's been since you ate." Again, I nodded, and this time when I tried to get off the bed, Cy let me.

We straightened up our clothes, separated long enough to brush our teeth and relieve our bladders, then Cy met me in the hallway before walking to the living room with me. I had my notebook and pen in hand, ready to chat them up.

Odie wasn't there, and neither was Ellie. I cocked my head and looked up at Cy who didn't seem concerned.

"Let's get some food in us before we go hunting for them. When Ellie was younger, they'd go on adventures just the two of them. I might be their adopted sister and any other time I was included, but they still liked doing something with just the two of them."

I hopped up onto the barstool and started writing a question, but Cy beat me to it.

"I also went on adventures with just Ellie, so no, I never felt left out. Until we left, everything was great with her. It got complicated, and no one wanted to ruin anything for Ellie by explaining what happened, and—" Cy trailed off as she opened the fridge door and pulled out some items. She blocked my view, so I couldn't see exactly what she had grabbed. "Anyway, if I had to guess, they are bonding somewhere."

Once again, I started writing, and Cy figured out what I was going to ask before I was finished.

"I'm not going to get into the whole Ellie thing, but the gist is Odie should have been able to take over for Gerard, but with her being an Alpha, the council wasn't having it even though she was well trained in it. Odie can explain more, but that's a big part of us leaving, Ellie existing, and the whole awkwardness with Gerard."

My mouth hung open at one little detail. If I was understanding her and doing mental math correctly, Ellie wasn't conceived until after Odie would have been rejected for the position. I didn't know exactly when things changed or positions were passed on or anything like that, but Odie would have been in her early twenties at that point.

I wanted all the dirty details about this and who all their parents really were. I knew Cy's had passed away along with the Alphas who impregnated Gerard to produce Odie and Ellie, but that wasn't a lot to go on.

I wrote down a question and knocked on the counter to get Cy's attention as she was cutting up some lettuce and browning ground beef for some tacos. Once I paid attention to the spread she had pulled, it was easy enough to put it all together. My mouth watered, and I really wanted a soft taco loaded with cheese and sour cream.

Tell me more about your parents and their Alpha parents. I want it to make sense.

Cy sighed and hung her head for a second before dropping it back and looking up at the ceiling. "Do we have to get into that right now? Can we add it to a list somewhere of things I need to spill when I'm feeling like dropping some emotional garbage on the table?"

I laughed, understanding exactly how she felt. Any time I was asked about my past, I would spill what happened, but it was all very clinical and half a joke. Dark humor went a long way in keeping me sane and keeping people from pestering me too much.

Flipping to the back of the notebook, I wrote List of Questions for Later across the top with Ask Cy about parents and Ellie and Odie's Alpha parents. I held it up for her to see and got a smirk in response.

"That'll do for now." Cy went back to cooking the taco meat before warming the tortillas and shoving everything in front of me so we could make our own tacos at the bar. "I'm going to need a list of my own. Don't think you can get away with hounding me for information on my past and get away with it without consequences." She winked at me as she wrapped up her first taco and took a large bite.

Thankfully, she was busy enjoying her food to miss my face drop. I knew it was coming with the line of questioning I was dealing out, but that didn't mean I wanted to talk about it. I would. I'd tell them anything they wanted to know, but ripping off that Band-Aid again was going to hurt.