“I don’t need you to protect me,” Oliver cut across him. The words were quiet but edged with something sharp.
“What?”
Oliver couldn’t bring himself to look up, to see the pain and confusion in Lucas’ eyes. “I mean I don’tneedyou to protect me. I don’t need you, and I don’t need Matteus, or Julian, or anyoneelse. The past is mine and mine alone. Do you think you can take it away? Because you can’t.”
“No, but I?—”
“You can’t.”
Silence hung between them for a long moment. The longer it went on, the heavier the lump in Oliver’s throat grew.
“Don’t be angry with Matteus,” Lucas eventually said.
Oliver scoffed. “Oh, I’m angry as hell. Thank you very much.”
“Reed, I went to him for the information after I…” the words drifted into silence.
“Yes?”
“After I saw Patrick’s police profile.”
“What?” Oliver said through gritted teeth. “Why were you looking at his police profile? Do you know how much fucking trouble you could get in for searching someone’s records without a policing purpose?”
“Ihada policing purpose, Oliver. I went to the Inspector about my concerns before I knew about your association. He asked me to generate an intelligence package, to see if he might compromise the investigation.”
“An intelligence package? Fucking hell, Lucas! Whether or not the Inspector granted it, don’t you think it’s a bit of a conflict of interest for my new mate to be snooping into the past of an old flame? Fuck, what if professional standards catch wind of this? You and I could both lose our jobs.”
Lucas sucked his teeth as he turned the car off the main road. “At the point I generated the package, I still had no idea. It wasn’t until I?—”
“Until you what?”
“Until I looked into his previous history. I saw a West Newton crime number. Your name was linked to it. Then I stopped and informed the Inspector.”
So he’d seen it. He’d seen it all. Oliver’s bottom lip quivered, his voice growing shaky. “You had no fucking right…”
“He nearly killed you, Oliver. What I saw on the crime report was just a snippet of information. Matteus told me the rest. About how Julian nearly lost his medical licence because he tried to protect you.”
Tears burst from Oliver’s eyes at the mention of his brother-in-law. The memory of Julian being taken away in handcuffs after he nearly beat the shit out of Patrick, was just one of many he had locked away over the years. It was because—and only because—Matteus was his mate by both pack and bite that the old laws around extended pack protection prevented him from losing everything. Of course, Oliver hadn’t wanted to continue with the investigation. He’d been too weak and too confused to even consider it.
Eventually, Patrick just drifted away into obscurity for the following six years, and those six years had been enough time for him to heal. To grow strong. To trust in his own body again. Which was why, when his heat rushed forth unexpectedly, it felt like he was being betrayed all over again. He needed to ensure that his own stupidity didn’t cause harm to anyone else. Not Lucas. Not Julian, or anyone else that held a misplaced love for him. He wasn’t an omega, he didn’t need a mate or a pack to feel complete. Nor was he an alpha with the social expectation to protect their family. So, as they pulled into the underground parking, he wiped his eyes and unclipped his seatbelt.
“Do you finally see what I am, Lucas?”
Lucas’ eyebrows pinched together as he reached for Oliver’s hand. He snatched it back, tugging at the door handle.
“I’m a fucking curse. You said it yourself—I’m trouble. The Cock & Bull, the car dealership, the heat and nowthis. I’m a bad omen, and I won’t bring you down with me.”
“Reed, that’s not what I?—”
“It’s over, Lucas. This thing between us. It’s over.”
“No,” the alpha growled, leaning across Oliver’s legs to stop him getting out the car. Oliver ripped his arm away as he wrenched the handle.
“Yes,” he hissed, kicking open the door as he barreled out of the vehicle. He was vaguely aware of Lucas getting out the car, but he was already halfway across the car park before the alpha made it out.
“Reed!” Lucas called after him, the shout echoing around the garage. “For fuck’s sake, Oliver, I don’t think you’re a curse. I love you!”
Oliver slowly turned, unable to stop the tears streaming down his face. He smiled, but there was no joy in it. “Then you’re more of an idiot than me.”
