Page 26 of Saving His Omega
Graham frowned. “What do you mean? Your brother killed your mate protecting you from him. What else is there to know?”
Taking a deep breath, Tripp let the poison out. “He didn’t. Blake didn’t kill Victor. I did.”
Chapter Ten
Graham worked hard to keep himself under control as he helped his mate calm down. Tripp’s confession had hit him hard, and yet, in hindsight, it shouldn’t have. As protective of each other as the two brothers had been, the truth should have been something he’d at least considered. He’d always sensed there was more to their story than they’d revealed. He’d allowed his prejudice about what an omega and a sigma were capable of to overrule his instincts. When he mulled it over now, it was obvious that if Blake been the killer, he could have simply taken off on his own, knowing that he’d at least liberated Tripp from Victor’s abuse. Only the most extreme situation could have led him to take the most dangerous step of fleeing with a breeding omega.
He pressed a cup against Tripp’s lips as the boy’s crying subsided. “Drink some water.”
Of course, Tripp obeyed. With the scent of the mounting permeating the air, the omega’s deeply ingrained nature was obvious. He was submitting to Graham’s authority and knowing that he had his mate under control once more gave him some relief. He’d feared that anger had put up a wall between them that he’d have to again gently knock down. Now, his only concern was to hear the full truth of what had happened so that his beta brain could start figuring out a solution.
Once Tripp had sipped down some water, Graham put the cup aside and settled against the headboard with his mate cradled in his arms. “Tell me what happened.” Then he braced himself for what he was about to hear.
Tripp didn’t answer right away, but he did relax into Graham’s hold. Finally, his story came out in a halting fashion.
“Victor was beating me. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but that wasn’t unusual. He kept changing his rules without warning. I think…I think he wanted an excuse to punish me. He always mounted me afterward and he was so rough…”
Graham forced himself to keep his grip relaxed. Fury threatened to overwhelm him. It was a struggle for both him and his wolfto remain calm.
Tripp sniffed and cuddled closer. “He used a belt, mostly. Sometimes I couldn’t sit without pain for days and it was hard to hide it, especially from Blake. I didn’t want him to worry. Of course he did. There was nothing for him to do about it and I didn’t want him to get into any more trouble with the alpha.”
When Tripp paused again, Graham ran a soothing hand over his belly. The pup was quiet, as if sensing the need for her parents to focus on each other.
“I cried and begged him to forgive me because he seemed to like that and would end it early. Usually. Not this time, though. He laughed, like my misery was funny, and hit me even harder. And when he finally mounted me, it was unbearable. He’d been particularly hard on me the night before and I was so sore…
“I struggled to be free of his hold and managed to slip out of his grip. I’d never done that before. Of course, I hadn’t. I knew my duty was to obey and give myself to my mate whenever he wanted me, but it hurt so badly.” Tripp bit back a cry.
Needing to do more to calm his mate and himself, Graham peppered the boy’s head with kisses. “No dominant could have a better mate than you. How you reacted is understandable, given what you were going through.”
“Victor didn’t think so. He and his wolf both howled and when he lunged to grab me again, I…lashed out. I kicked him. Hard. I didn’t mean to. It just happened. Victor fell back and hit his head on the corner of a table. He just lay there on the floor, not moving, his eyes staring up at the ceiling.
“I froze on the bed, watching, waiting. I was sure he’d leap up and hurt me more than he ever had before. But he didn’t.” Tripp shook his head. “I don’t know how long I stayed like that. Eventually, I found the courage to scurry around him and run to find Blake. He was the only one I trusted.”
“Of course,” Graham murmured, tamping down sudden impatience for the story to end now that he had the essence of it.
“At first, Blake was simply going to take responsibility for killing Victor, accept whatever punishment our sire meted out. I couldn’t let him sacrifice himself like that.” He turned his face toward Graham’s. “Leaving was my idea. Taking our chances as feral shifters or hiding in the human world seemed worth it. I was sure Blake could take care of me, and he did.”
Graham ran his hand through the loose strands of his mate’s beautiful hair. “And you decided to stick with the story that he killed Victor even if you managed to join another pack.”
Tripp nodded. “Blake said that I was too valuable for a pack to give up, that we’d be followed no matter where we went.” He closed his eyes. “I didn’t think we’d be found, so I agreed to the lie. I wish I hadn’t.”
As a fresh bout of tears overwhelmed his mate, Graham cradled and rocked him. Calming the omega was his first duty. But he was undeniably relieved when the crying stopped. Now was the time for action.
Graham helped Tripp to sit up, then stand. “Let’s get you dressed.”
The boy remained passive as Graham tugged a shirt, pants and shoes on him. He seemed steady enough to let go of him as Graham yanked his own clothing on.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
He led his mate out of the room and through the longhouse, keeping a firm grip on the omega’s shoulders so that he stayed safely upright. The building was quiet as most everyone had retired, if not fallen asleep already. He made for the backdoor and escorted his mate to his parents’ house. The skeleton of the one he was having built for his mate and pup caught his eye and tugged at his heart. He wished it were finished to give Tripp a private place to stay on his own. His old family home was the next best thing, however. He knew his mate would be well cared for there.
His father opened the door with an expression of surprise, but his mother quickly followed and sized up the situation quickly. She gently tugged Tripp out of Graham’s arms and led the boy over to the couch.
Graham waged an internal struggle between wanting to race over to his mate and reclaim him in his arms, and moving on with what was necessary.
He dropped his chin for a moment. “Dad, I need you to take care of Tripp for a while. Probably a few days.”
His father held up his hand. “Don’t bother to say more, son. You just do whatever it is you need to. We’ll be fine.”
