Page 33 of Omega in Love
"I was already out by then. My parents kicked me out the day I designated as a male Omega, they said it didn't fit theirpicture. . .and so much more." I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste copper. "I was crashing in a shelter downtown when the first heat hit. No one was prepared. Least of all me."
I remember the tile floor. Cold and unyielding beneath my feverish body. The shuddering sobs I buried in a pillow that smelled like bleach and strangers. The feeling of crawling out of my own skin while my body begged for touch that I didn't dare ask for. The way my rose scent had filled that tiny room, becoming sickly sweet with desperation as the hours stretched into days.
"They kept me quarantined," I murmur, my voice barely audible. My gaze falls to the window where raindrops chase each other down the glass. "No one came near me. Just left food and water by the door. Plastic bottles and packaged snacks slid across the threshold by volunteers wearing masks. I could hear them whispering outside. I clawed through it alone."
The memory of that agonizing week still lives in my muscles, my bones. I can feel phantom echoes of that pain even now, sitting safely in my house with Dante's steady presence somewhere in the next room.
Dr. Kendrick's face is lined with empathy, his eyes holding mine through the screen. "That sounds incredibly painful. Both physically and emotionally devastating for someone so young."
"It was," I say simply. "After that, I went on suppressants. Haven't come off them until recently. Until. . .Hero, Dante, and Levi. My pack."
The word 'pack' still feels foreign on my tongue, like a luxury I'm not sure I deserve. It's been so long since I've belonged anywhere or to anyone.
He nods again, patient. "And how do you feel about that choice now?"
I think about it. The fevered touches, the careful way they held me through every peak and tremble. How they built a nestfrom nothing and made it feel like everything. How Hero had whispered reassurances against my temple while Dante's strong hands steadied my shaking limbs. How Levi had wrapped his warmth around me like a living shield against the world.
"I don't regret it," I say quietly, tracing the edge of a throw pillow with my fingertip. "It was scary. But not. . .not like before. They made me feel like I mattered. Like my body wasn't just something to endure, but something to cherish."
My stomach churns with nervous energy at the admission, but Dr. Kendrick's face remains open, without judgment.
"You do matter," he says, his voice a grounding force. "They see that. And it sounds like you're starting to believe it too."
I nod slowly, biting the corner of my thumb. A nervous habit from childhood I've never quite shaken. The rose scent I normally keep carefully controlled blooms slightly with my anxiety, filling the space around me.
Then he asks, "What about your career? I hear there's been some interest?"
I blink, momentarily thrown by the shift. "You already know."
"I always know. Hero updated me on this new development," he says with a faint smile, tapping his tablet. "But what matters is what do you want?"
I exhale, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. The rain outside has picked up, drumming against the windowpane in a rhythm that matches my heartbeat.
"Mathéo Delvecchi wants me for his NYFW show," I finally admit. "It's the comeback moment everyone keeps whispering about. The one Charlotte's been rooting for. The one I've been running from."
"And you're afraid." He clicks his pen, tablet at the ready. The motion almost brings a smile to my face. I would love to see just what he thinks about my crazy ass thoughts. I wonder whatclinical terms he uses to describe the chaos that lives inside my head.
"Terrified," I admit, my fingers twisting in my lap. "I'm scared the cameras will feel like knives, slicing through me with every flash. I'm scared people will see my scars before they see me. That they'll look at me and only see what happened, not who I am." The rose scent around me intensifies slightly, betraying my anxiety despite my careful control.
Dr. Kendrick tilts his head, rain-shadows from the window playing across his thoughtful face on the screen. "But?" he prompts, his voice gentle yet probing in that way that always makes me confront what I'm hiding from myself.
I hesitate, drawing a deep breath that catches slightly in my throat. Then I speak the truth that's been hovering behind my ribs since Hero first mentioned the opportunity, a secret whisper I barely allowed myself to acknowledge.
"But I want to try," I say, the words coming out stronger than I expected. "I want to reclaim that part of myself. Not just the runway but being seen without being afraid of what people see."
He smiles, a warm expression that crinkles the corners of his eyes. "That's growth, Brookes. Real, tangible growth. You're not waiting until the fear disappears completely, because it might never fully go away, you're choosing to move forward anyway, to coexist with it. That's not just coping. That's healing."
I lean back against the chair cushions, eyes stinging a little with unexpected emotion. The rain's rhythm seems to slow, matching my calming heartbeat. "You really think I'm healing? After everything?"
"I know it," he says with quiet conviction. "This pack, this life you're building around yourself. You're constructing it piece by piece. Carefully. Intentionally. With boundaries and trust and genuine connection. That's not a person merely surviving. That's a person living."
I let the words sink in and settle somewhere deep inside me, in a place that's been hollow for too long. Then I say it aloud, even though my voice trembles with the weight of the decision.
"Okay. I'll do the show. I'll walk for Delvecchi." I say, shaking my head more to myself than to Dr. Kendrick.
Dr. Kendrick doesn't clap or celebrate extravagantly. He just nods, proud and grounded, like he knew I'd get here eventually. Like he was just waiting for me to catch up to what he already saw.
"I think it's time the world sees the real you again, Brookes Daniels. Not as a victim, not as a comeback story, but simply as yourself, scars, strength, and all."
