Part 46. Dante’s POV

As Ava continued with her story, her past and the reason she had to hide, it squeezed his heart until he could barely breathe, can barely see ahead, his eyes blurring everything. It haunted him, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach that they didn’t meet sooner.




“Why did you not tell us after you found out we were your mates?” Ares quirked a brow, his hands folding together. “I am sure you knew about that too, right?”




Silence settled over the room like a heavy quilt. Dante couldn’t help but take hold of his cup with trembling fingers to give himself something to do. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Ava was shifting in her seat, gnawing on her lower lip, her cup already emptied.




It must be overwhelming for the omega to answer all the questions at once, but they have been waiting for a long time now. Besides, there was no way Dante was letting her out of his sight now that he knew she’s their mate.




She pressed her eyes shut, taking air in through her nostrils and exhaling slowly. “I…I don’t know. I have grown so accustomed to hiding this secret that the thought of Alphas knowing about me scared me.” The omega was shaking, breath hitching and mouth twisting in pain; Dante only seemed to register now. “When I went to see the Senior Pack Alpha…your father told me about Nora and how excited he was for you three. I didn’t want to be the one to break that up.”




“So you continued your lies?!” Zach scoffed, his tone rising several octaves. For a second,





Dante thought that his older brother would be using his Alpha tone. They were all annoyed at Ava, but he’s sure that Zach was livid. He hated being lied to, having carried a lot of trauma from his military days that he didn’t talk about.




Dante shook his head, using a moment of distraction to take hold of the omegas dainty wrist, feeling the quick and uneven pulse, squeezing once to assure that it's okay. Her eyes flicker to him, and she held his gaze for a few beats before blinking rapidly, shrinking back in the chair.




Ava looked at him for perhaps a second or two; her face turned into a grimace as Zach was still glaring at her. “I didn’t lie to you, Alpha.”




“Do you expect me to believe that?” The Pack Alpha snarled, his canines almost baring, digging into the side of his cheek. “I caught you with those pills. If not for that, I would have never known about you.”





Ava clenched her eyes shut, pressing both her palms against her temples, biting down onto a groan. “I know! And I am sorry for doing that, but you didn’t left me any choice. You were not very accepting initially; wanted to get rid of me so much so you made me fight the deranged Pack guard; Ares was on my back all the time to find the truth! I felt cornered and scared.”





“Ava”, Dante tried softly, his voice dropping lower. “You could have told me at least.”



The Alpha was hurt. It stung that after all the times they spent together, she didn’t trust him enough to tell secret. He watched as the young woman lowered her eyes to the hands clenching in her lap, never meeting his stare, but at least she’s not getting up and running away.





It’s quiet then, for a long time during which Dante and his brothers didn’t dare to move or speak, afraid any movement or sound might spook the freshly out of heat Omega. So he sat and waited patiently for Ava to collect her thoughts or make up her mind, the tension given away by the tightness of the hold he had on the cup.




“I thought you might tell them. Burdening you with such a secret did not sit right. Also, you would have to choose between protecting my secret and your brothers every time we clashed. I didn’t want that to happen,” She said out of the blue, so quiet Dante could’ve easily missed it had he not been waiting for it. Ava turned her icy blue eyes onto Ares and Zach.




She pulled her lower lip into her mouth, biting down on it until the already pale skin whitened even further. “I am sincerely sorry for causing you pain. It was never my intention.”




Zach made a sound in the back of his throat, which intended to brush off the apology. Dante, on the other, bobbed his head, not wanting to hurt the omega.





Ares appeared blank, simply folding his hands together, his eyes narrowed on the omega in front of him. “How many of them know about you in this pack? Is our sister aware? Has she been helping you cover up too?”




Dante let out a shuddering breath through his mouth as he thought about Rayly. She usually shares everything with them, so there’s no chance the beta knew. Still, he peeked at Ava with curiosity and interest.




The omega shook her head, cheeks coloured red as she met Ares's eyes, her voice going soft, “No one knows…I did not intend on telling anyone, but Jade found out. So I had to come clean as I needed her help with my suppressants.”





There was a hitch in her breath as she spoke the following words. “Umm…If you want, I can move back to the packhouse. That way, you won’t have to see me again.”




“You are running away again?” Ares huffed, crossing his arms.




“No! I am not.” She almost yelped before lowering her voice, eyes cast on the floor. “I-I just don’t know what you want from me.”



They all shared a look. Dante wanted to court her regardless of what his brothers think. Just because she hid, her status didn’t mean he would shun the omega.




“You are not going anywhere.” Zach cleared his throat. “We will talk later.”




“Okay.” She nodded, getting on her feet.



“Are you hungry?” Dante suddenly asked, realising that Nora ambushed their breakfast plan. The omega looked at him blankly, didn’t give him the slightest hint that she understood the question for a few moments, so the Alpha rephrased. “Do you want something to eat? I cooked some eggs, and we have toast.”




The omega shook her head. “No, thank you. I think I will lie down for a while.”
***
Once she was gone, silence settled over the kitchen, Dante nearly falling over the table in an attempt to get on his feet. How long has he been sitting like that? His brothers have been quiet, too, lost in their thoughts after what Ava said. His heart was beating heavily, palms clammy as he leaned down to pick his teacup.





The Alpha walked a few hasty steps towards the windows and leaned his forehead against the glass, refraining from banging his head against it repeatedly to cease the thoughts that suddenly flood his mind.



Pouring the cold tea down the drain and putting the empty plate into the dishwasher, Dante rubbed his hands over his face to regain at least some sense of composure.




“Zach” He cleared his throat, breaking the silence in the room. “What are you thinking?”




“For the first time, I am truly lost as to how to go with this.” The honesty in his voice almost knocked the breath out of Dante’s lungs. His brother rarely admitted the things he felt, wanting to appear strong for both of them.




“I am not interested in courting Nora, by the way, if that’s where your thoughts are heading.” Ares sharply pointed out, crossing his legs together, a look of horror flashing across.




Dante’s lips quirked as soon as those words sank in. At least he had Ares on his side about that. They were not going to court Nora. A shiver ran down as he just imagined the look on her face earlier.




Zach ran a hand through his hair, fingers curling around the curly ends as he hummed under his breath. “Count me in on that. After the way she behaved today, I am not interested either.”




“So…” Dante started again, tilting his head towards Zach. “Does that mean we will court our true mate?”




Zach and Ares stared at each other for a second before looking back at him. He patiently held his breath, knees bouncing under the table. Both could grudge, so Dante’s hope was sinking slowly, but when they jerked their heads, a wide grin curved over his lips.




“We can court her, but she doesn’t want us to reveal her status to the pack. What are we going to do about that?” Ares raised his brow.




Dante let out a sigh, his eyes automatically shifting towards the door of the guest room, his stomach in knots. They had to convince her to reveal her omega status; that’s the only solution. But the question still stood how were they going to make that happen?
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So what do you think? Will they convince her? The story updates will continue from Mon-Thu this month because I’m busy finalising my college for Post graduation.
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