Page 112 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

My death had broken him, fractured his mind, created me.

I knew that wasn’t on him; he was in an impossible situation and none of us deserved the outcome.

He’d never see it as anything less than failure.

Generally I would hide behind Roman, cope with this by avoidance, but for once in our lives, Roman needed me.

He needed me to keep him human, to not let him dissolve in his own head, to be strong.

Could I be strong?

Would I be able to protect him from his own self-deprecation when I didn’t even feel like I should get a say?

Would Roman do this if the roles were reversed?

Would I ever allow him to feel like less because he wasn’t the host?

The answer was an immediate no to the last question, easily talking myself out of that hole from the start.

Roman had never in my mind been less. He wasmorethan I was. The strength, the brawn, everything I couldn’t be. And I was his comfort, his balance, and the one he could confide in without judgment.

For a moment I swore I could see him in my mind’s eye, pacing back and forth.

Guilt. Confusion. Grief. Devotion. Pain. Fear.

It all melded together as he fought through it in his own pocket of my brain.

No wonder people thought we were a freak. It wasn’t a sensation I could explain, even if I were willing.

This was the closest to real-time communication we’d ever had. Even though we’d never connected like this before, we knew each other well, couldseeeach other.

“That’s an awful lot of thinking.” Drake startled me and the papers scattered to the floor as I clutched my chest.

His hand fell to my thigh, squeezing slightly. His earnest green eyes, so different than my own, met mine. He was waiting for me to calm my racing heart and tune into him. To get out of my own head.

The head that wasn’t truly mine.

Fear like I’d never known raced through me. If Roman ever won the battle with his mind… I would be erased.

My stomach churned and I tried to push away the nausea and horror that it brought out.

Drake squeezed my thigh, bringing my attention to him again.

“Sorry, I just didn’t want you over here alone if you were battling something so serious.”

“W-what?” I stuttered out. “Serious?”

My eyes met his and my breath caught. Drake was gorgeous and intimidating, and right now his emerald eyes burned with an intensity that had warmth spreading through me as I was once more seated firmly in reality.

His scent captured me, bitter, rich, and spicy, infiltrating my senses and grounding me as his chest rumbled for me. The alpha purr had my eyes fluttering closed and my breathing to return to normal.

I couldn’t keep my eyes closed for long. Not when I needed to see him this close, to drink in the sight of him and commit it to memory.

It was a relief to see him at all.

He’d been in and out for days, bringing supplies and ensuring us we were safe here, but we knewhewasn’t.

Every day, the circles under his eyes grew and so did my fear for him.

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