Omega's Tarnished Heart [MxM] (Moon Cave Book 2)

Chapter 3 - "Lying by omission"

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TOREN ■ POV

"You lied to him."

Kenzo's matter of fact statement sliced through me, making me wince where I sat on the ratted motel room bed and I scrubbed at my face as though doing so would wash away the stabbing guilt.

"I didn't lie... I just didn't tell him everything," I muttered back at my wolf, knowing that my pathetic excuse didn't make anything better, but the need to defend myself plagued me. Lying by omission wasn't as bad as direct lying and besides, I had my own reasons. I'd been protecting my family.

"He might have been able to help! He's our mate, that's what mates do!" Kenzo protested, his fur spiked with his irritation and I quickly shook my head, gritting my teeth. That's what alpha mates do, not omega mates. I couldn't find it in me to express vulnerability so early on when I'd just met him. This was the time to impress him, to show him that I was worthy of being his mate, that I could look after him, not the other way around. If he knew... he might send us away, and that was even worse.

"Pride is going to kill you one day," Kenzo growled, before turning his back and planting his ass down, letting me know he was done talking to me about it. I let him ignore me, knowing that he was hurt. I was too. Lying to my mate was not something I was proud of. But I needed more time to get my own life together and presentable before I could bring that down on Mika. Sweet, beautiful Mika.

Meeting him in that ice-cream parlour had been like running into a bright angel in a very dark cave. He was absolutely gorgeous and the fact that he was mine, was so mind boggling, that for a moment I hadn't believed what was right in front of me. That was before I touched him and felt the bond like live wires between us. All of that golden brown skin, those huge blue eyes, the splattering of freckles over his button nose. The attraction was instantaneous and the bond was stronger than anything I'd ever felt.

Even now, the urge to find him, to have him by my side where I could take care of him, nurture him, protect him, was so strong that my soul ached and my legs tingled with the urge to take off in a raging search. All of my baser alpha instincts screamed that I should be near him, and he be near me. But that couldn't happen just yet.

When I walked away from him in that ice-cream parlour, it felt so wrong that I'd almost fallen to my knees. But I forced myself to leave for a few good reasons. For one, I wasn't just travelling with my family for shits and giggles, I was running with them from danger. Secondly, I had two wolves back here who needed me to take care of them and I couldn't go off with Mika no matter how desperately I wanted to follow him wherever he went.

The third, and probably most important reason was well.. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I was an Alpha without a pack - without a home to offer my mate. An alpha who couldn't offer him everything he deserved - at least not right now. I'd been terrified of rejection and that's why I couldn't tell him the truth. I'd been rejected before, by my own family... so who's to say my mate wouldn't reject me too?