Page 70 of His Bonded Omega Mate
It struck deep, a wound that would never heal that they thought we were lying. That they believed something was wrong with my bond with Roan to allow me to be with someone else.
There were even those in the shifter community that hated what Tate had become. Saying we were playing with The Luna’s gifts. We were against nature.
We were getting threats to the little house, another reason for moving, and daily there were requests that the council prove us to be frauds. That we be cast out for being liars and cheaters.
Our move couldn’t come quick enough.
My time away from my family, and in the Sweetwater pack, had given me clarity. I hadn’t seen that I’d been allowing them to control my life. I hadn’t lived with them full time for twenty years, but had still allowed them to dictate who I would be mated to. Why hadn’t I found Blake sooner? He could have saved me from the mess with Jared.
Mother firmly believed thatfather had the right to decide my future because I was an omega. That my grandparents could have a say where I was not.
Still, if they hadn’t pushed me towards Jared, I might never have met Roan and I wouldn’t be without him now.
“You need to stop ignoring her calls,” Tate chided from his place on the sofa beside me.
Sighing, I slumped back in my seat. “You’re right.”
“Just rip the band aid off. I’ll be here with you.” He squeezed me close before giving me space.
I needed to be brave. First, I messaged Roan and asked if he could leave a few minutes early so he could join us on the call. If I waited for him, I would chicken out and put it off again. For weeks now, I’d been letting this fester.
After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and fiddled with my phone, placing it on the coffee table, propped so they could see us from the sofa. I decided a video call would be the best. My family needed to see Tate, see my marks, and finally recognize that I was happy with my life as it was. I might miss parts of Japan, the culture and some of my family, but I’d grown and changed from the boy I’d been when I’d left. Sweetwater was my home now.
Mother answered the call, “Hiroshi-kun, you have been ignoring my calls.“ My mother ignored Tate next to me and spoke in clipped Japanese.
“Okaasan, I apologize. Where is Otousan?”I asked for my father, the more reasonable of the pair.“I would like to speak to him. Could we also speak in English? My mate does not understand Japanese, though he has learned some terms,”I asked my mother in Japanese, her preferred way of speaking with me.
“Where is Roan-san? I would like to meet him properly,”She continued in Japanese.
“He is on his way, Okaasan. Please speak in English. Tate is also my mate and he cannot speak the language,”I pleaded again for her to be polite and switch. She spoke fluent English.
“It is impossible for this pretender to be your mate.” This she finally spoke in English, fire in her eyes and a look of distaste on her face.
Tate flinched, his mouth gaped. His shock reverberated down the bond.
“Okaasan,“ I accidentally slipped into Japanese. “Mother,” I repeated, this time in English, “please. Look,” I inclined my neck, letting my bite mark show, then I did the other side. “Two bites for two mates.”
“Impossible.”
“Okaasan!”
“No, Hiroshi-kun. This is madness. This is not the way of our goddess. An omega needs an alpha. Not both. It is one mate for the rest of your life.” Her voice became shrill as she ranted at us. “This is wrong. Unnatural. It will teach those babies the wrong ways. You must come home before they are born to save them.”
“What about my mates?”
“Roan-san may come with you. This pretender cannot. He is not your mate. He belongs to another alpha. The mad one that your pack leader should put down. Disgrace! Attacking an omega is a crime punishable by death.”
“Did you call for Jared’s death when he raped me?” I demanded, tears welling. Part of me had always known that she would act this way. It was why I’d delayed this call for so long.
“Of course not. He has explained that you consented.”
“Okaasan—“ I begged for understanding in that one word. “Mother!”
She seemed to realize that she had crossed a line. “He admitted to being too rough. We cannot have such a precious omega be so badly mistreated.”
“He raped me, Mama,” I begged her to understand that what she believed cut me, my voice wobbling with the strain of holding back the tears. “Coerced consent is not consent. They trapped me in a room with him. It was Jared or the guys waiting outside to use me.”
That made her pause and soften. “We will speak of this another time. Now you have your fated, Jared cannot touch you. When are you coming home?”
