Page 82 of Primal

I nod once. “Yes.”

“What about Chucky’s bride? Your Luna-to-be?”

There’s no smothering my wolf’s reaction to this, to hearing that woman’s name while his omega is nestled in my arms. In his mind, talking about Talis McNamara while cradling Noa is a betrayal against our mate. I don’t wholly disagree with his primitive, black-and-white thought process, because I end up snarling, “She willneverbe my Luna,” before I can rein myself in.

My reaction to her question catches Seren off guard. She recoils, taking another half step back, her blonde brows pulling together. “And may I ask what changed your mind? Because not that long ago, you were letting that sea hag rip apart the precious cargo passed out in your arms.”

Again, she’s got a point.

Sighing, I resign myself to telling her pieces of what I’d prefer Noa hears first, since she’s the one who deserves these words, but winning over the best friend is a requirement if I want to make any headway with my omega.

“There’s a long list of things I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for, Seren. Letting Talis stand beside me and say those things to Noa—my mate—will always be near the top of it.” I pause, making sure she hears it, the truth in every word. “But the very top of that list? It’s that I let Noa believe I didn’t want her. That I stood there and made her feel like she wasn’t worth choosing.” I glance down at the woman in my arms, barelybreathing as I continue. “My reasons…they felt justified at the time. I told myself it was for the pack, that it was my burden to bear as Alpha. But all that logic doesn’t mean a fucking thing when the cost was her thinking she wasn’t worthy. The truth is, I’m the one who’s not worthy. Not of her forgiveness. Not of her trust. But I’ll spend the rest of this life, and whatever comes after, proving how wrong I was to ever make her believe otherwise.”

The blonde omega came at me swinging earlier, all fire and fury, so I brace myself for more of the same when I finish speaking. But instead of more venom, she sniffles, clearly fighting off tears. Her bloodshot eyes flick down to where Noa’s still curled against my chest, and for a split second, my heart drops. I think she might be awake. That maybe she heard what I said.

It’s not that I don’t want her to hear it. I do—more than anything. But I want the words to land when they matter most. When she’s looking at me and can see that I mean every goddamn syllable. I want her to hear them in a moment that leaves no room for doubt.

But she doesn’t stir. Her breathing stays soft and even, cheek pressed to my chest like she’s still listening to the steady rhythm beneath it.

I breathe again.

She wipes at her eyes before the tears can fall. I don’t really know the full reasons for the tears, but I appreciate that she’s so fiercely in Noa’s corner. “Yeah, well, what are you going to do about your betrothal? Because the last I heard, you’re still having an issue with your omegas…” She trails off, a contemplative look on her face, like she knows something else but isn’t sure she should offer up more details. “You should really talk to Noa about that, by the way.”

“I know,” I say quietly. “And I will.”

Seren doesn’t back off. “If you’re still tangled up in that alliance with the Canadian asshole, how exactly do you plan on fixing things with Noa?”

“That part’s still in motion,” I admit. “But what Idoknow—what I won’t budge on—is that there’s no version of this life where I wear a mating mark that doesn’t come from her.”

The blonde omega freezes, an expression of cautious hope that is riddled with fear overtaking her face. Her upturned-shaped eyes growing wide as she stares up at me like I might hold all the answers she’s looking for.

“Do you mean that?” she asks, her voice rough with something close to desperation. “Because Iwillsense if you’re lying, Fallamhain. So, answer carefully. I don’t have a single qualm about skinning you alive and waving you like a flag outside your pack’s gates if you’re full of shit right now.”

Sense. Am I dealing with another empath and didn’t know it? What else has she been able to pick up on since we started talking?

Has she been able to sense my sincerity, my raw honesty?

That might work in my favor, actually.

“Of course I mean it,” I tell her, without a hint of hesitation.

But when I look to her to explain herself, I find she’s the one who’s hesitating now. Her bottom lip between her front teeth, unease clear in her stiff posture. Finally, she exhales, and whispers dejectedly, “She’s going to kill me,” before squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. “All right. I believe you. Despite all your utter fuckery, I can sense your…desperation—”That’s putting it mildly.“—to fix this. Now, we just need to make her believe you because at the end of the day, that’s all what matters.”

I’m struck frozen because I think I just found myself an unexpected ally in Noa’s best friend.

Chapter 29

Noa

Isurface from sleep slowly, like swimming up from the depths of somewhere safe and warm. My body’s heavy, but not in the way it has been lately. Not in that bone-deep ache I’ve gotten used to greeting the day with. For once, there’s no fire laced through my joints. No weight pressing on my ribs. No cruel echo of what’s missing.

It’s just…quiet.

I roll onto my back and stretch, wincing in anticipation of the familiar spike of pain in my spine. But it doesn’t come. My fingers curl against the softness of my comforter, my legs extend beneath the tangle of blankets, and still…nothing. No agony. No dull roar of misery already settled in for the day

My sleepy brain lingers on the dream, not wanting to fully join the land of the living because of it. It wants to cling to it a little bit longer.

It wasn’t like the one I had of my mom, the one I know now was something she wove into my subconscious—strategically and deliberately planted. No, this one was new, but just as vivid. Every detail etched into my mind like it’s something I lived, not just imagined. I can still feel it, even now.

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