Page 84 of Knot Your Rebel

“Probably right.”

“Definitely right,” I respond.

“So….”

A growl escapes me, the rage slowly releasing into the atmosphere around us, leaving toxicity in its wake. “He’s gone MIA. No one can find him, but we have video proof that it’s him.”

“Fuck, Rebel must be freaking out, right?”

I sigh. “I walked in on her in the bathroom, cutting herself. Drake, it…”

He wheezes out a breath. “Shit.”

“Yeah, so that’s why I need you to keep an eye on her while I’m out of town. You’re the only one I trust to keep her safe.” I look him in the eyes, waiting for any sign that he’s not okay with this situation. Knowing what I do, or more like assuming what I do, he’d protect Rebel with his life. Especially if he finally realizes who she is to him.

Another part of me doesn’t want to say anything; doesn’t want him hanging around her just knowing how he feels about her, but it’s not fair to Rebel. I shouldn’t even be hiding this. I should’ve said something the second I realized who he was to her, but I kept my damn mouth shut.

“Absolutely.”

“So, since you’re literally living next door now. Still cringe, by the way. You can just stay at my house for the few days we’re out of town. Does that sound cool? I’ll grab food and shit. I just need to make sure she’s safe. I need her to feel safe, Drake. You should’ve seen the look in her eyes. The haunted expression plastered across her face as she sat on the bottom of the shower, letting water rain down on her while she bawled her eyes out.”

“Fuck, if my omega ever did that, it may just fucking break me.”

“I’m not ashamed to say it almost did.”

His eyes widen as he looks over at me. “Shit, you love her.”

“I fucking do. It hasn’t been that long, and we didn’t go into this in agreement, but the first time I saw her throwing shots down her throat as fast as she could go to escape something, I knew she was it for me. I knew it when I caught some alpha trying to fuck with her in the bathroom after she got drunk. I knew it when I marked her.”

His lips spread into a grin as he clinks his imaginary beer bottle to mine. “I’m happy for you, brother. Seriously.”

I sigh, looking down at my hands. He’s going to be pissed. I just know it. “You may not be after what I’m about to tell you…”

He chuckles. “Again with the ominous shit, man.”

“It’s her,” I say, still not making eye contact. I’m a fucking alpha, it shouldn’t be like this. I should be able to look him in the eye and tell him I marked his damn omega. It’s me. I’m the reason he will never have a shot with her again, but I can’t bring myself to see the anger and disappointment.

“It’s her…” He repeats my words as if he’s trying to decipher the cryptic code I’ve just laid out before him.

“Rebel Davis. Does that name ring a bell?”

Silence reigns supreme. It hangs heavy in the air between us. Anger tints the air. I knew he’d be pissed.

“How long?” he growls, and I finally make eye contact. I don’t speak, I just look back at him, trying to read the closed off expression on his face. “How. Long. Tate?”

“I figured it out the day she told me about everything. About him.”

The look on his face is sheer determination and loaded with questions. “Who is him? When did this happen? Does she know who I am to her?”

“He was the boyfriend of your foster mother. Moved in, from what I gathered, in just a short time after you moved out.”

He drops his head into his hands and breathes out. “Fuck. I wasn’t. I didn’t. Shit, I should’ve known. I should’ve checked up on her.” He jumps to his feet and starts pacing around the living room. “Fuck it.” His hands ball into fists. His anger is clearly evident, but I think he’s almost more upset with himself than the man who took something from my omega.

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Why the fuck would she, Drake?” How does he not get this? “From what she said, you pretty much dropped off the side of the Earth, never to be seen or heard from again.”

He looks at me. Sorrow painting his expression. “I didn’t know, man.” He shakes his head. “Leaving her was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do. Seeing the look on her face when I said goodbye broke me. I was a wreck for months. I had to completely shut off all contact if I wanted to be able to do what I needed to do for my career. I did it for her, thinking that I’d get her back someday, and now… she’s with you.”

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