Eris pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “I have savings. It’s not the end of the world.”
Ollie didn’t know how to answer. He rode with Eric back to the shop, wondering if Eric felt burdened because of his obligation to help Olivier’s Strings.
We shouldn’t have bonded at all.
Scarcely had they stepped into the shop when the front door opened, and Dad stepped in. Eric’s mom followed.
His heart sinking, Olivier stared at Dad’s stern eyes, and Wendy’s sullen expression.
Wendy curled her lip, sniffing. What had she found offensive? Not the wood and polish scents. Probably Ollie’s carnation-and-honey scent, and the musk that lingered on his skin from last night.
Eric sighed, glancing around the empty shop. “What’re you guys doing here?”
“I’ve had enough of being humiliated,” Wendy snapped, her eyes flashing. Her floral dress looked pristine, as always. “Your aunts and uncles have asked what I did to my children to make them turn out like—like this.”
She waved vaguely at them, as though she would combust if she looked at them too long. Eric tensed.
Dad rubbed his temples. “You were the ones who told your siblings, Wendy. If you’d just kept it quiet—”
“Shut up,” Wendy snapped, glaring at Dad. She jabbed a finger at Olivier. “That’s your child, not mine. I can’t tell you how much shame he’s brought on me over the years.”
Olivier looked away, his chest tight. He hadn’t wanted Eric to hear what his mother thought of Ollie.
Dad gritted his teeth. “He was seven when we married.”
Eric narrowed his eyes. “The fuck? You tell my aunts and then blame it on me?”
“Don’t you swear at me, Eric!” Wendy snapped. “I’m talking about that vile stepbrother of yours. I’ve had enough of that poisonous wretch in my family!”
In the backroom, Jenn began to cry. Levi carried her out, frowning deeply. “I just got Jenn to nap. What’s going on?”
Olivier backed away, his heart thudding dully. He’d never invited his stepmother to his shop. Dad had probably brought her here. And Olivier’s Strings didn’t feel like a safe place anymore.
Eric stepped in front of Ollie, his fists clenched. “Don’t you dare call him that,” he growled. “He’s my omega.”
“And you are no longer my son, Eric.” Wendy bared her teeth. “Don’t you step into my house. Don’t you dare return, or call me Mom. You aren’t my child.”
Eric froze, his face paling. He glanced at Dad, but Dad only sighed.
Ollie squeezed Eric’s hand. How did you comfort your alpha when this happened? Ollie had learned not to rely on his family. But Dad and Wendy were still important to Eric, even though he refused to speak with them.
“C’mon, Wendy,” Dad said. “Let’s go.”
Eric looked incredulously at their father. “But Dad—”
Dad shook his head. “I never taught you to sleep with your brother, Eric. It’s broken our entire family. Cole’s moved out. Aaron refuses to answer our calls.”
“Those are choices they made, not me.” Eric looked shaken, distraught.
“You aren’t coming home until you apologize to your mother,” Dad said with a greater sigh. “Let’s go, Wendy.”
Dad took Wendy’s hand, and Olivier boiled with the injustice of it all.
“He’s your son,” he said, the loudest he ever had. “I don’t care if you disown me. But Eric loves the two of you. You can’t turn your back on him.”
Dad turned, heavy disappointment in his eyes. “You should’ve known better, Olivier. Reflect on what you’ve done.”
It shouldn’t have stung, but it did. Ollie stopped breathing. Without another word, Dad tugged his wife out of the shop. Then she shrugged out of his grasp, striding onto the road.
None of them saw the car coming. Electric blue flashed, mowing Wendy down like a rag doll.
There was a thump. Eric went completely still.
“Holy shit,” Levi whispered.
Jenn clapped. “Shit!”
Ollie followed as Eric strode out through the door. Eric’s face was pale.
Dad had frozen on the sidewalk. Ollie followed his stare. Further down the road, Wendy lay in a growing puddle of blood, unmoving.
Ollie’s stomach turned. And yet, a tiny part of his heart rejoiced. A part that said, I’m not perfect. But I’m not the one crumpled up by a car.
“Mom,” Eric whispered, jogging onto the road without care for himself.
Ollie yelped in panic, checking the street for traffic before hurrying after Eric. The driver of the blue car had pulled to the side, and a small crowd was gathering nearby.
“Wendy!” Dad called, dialing desperately on his phone.
Eric had crouched next to his mother, his hands shaking. “No. No. Can’t happen. No.”
Ollie’s heart hurt for him. What do I do?
He padded forward, stopping next to Eric. Touched Eric’s shoulder. “Eric, it’s okay.”
Immediately after, he regretted saying it.
“It’s not okay,” Eric snapped, his eyes burning. He hovered next to Wendy, wanting to touch her but afraid to, his expression a whirl of chaos. Shock, terror, disbelief. “There’s so much fucking blood. She’s gonna die.”
Olivier didn’t know how to answer that. He squeezed Eric’s shoulder, but Eric had stopped answering.
The ambulance and police showed up minutes later. Ollie retreated into his shop, still shaken.
An accident had happened right outside his shop. Eric’s mom might die. Eric’s family had all but deserted him, and it was because of Olivier.
Sick with horror, Ollie turned to Levi and Jenn. “What do I do?”
Levi handed Jenn back to him. Jenn cooed in Ollie’s arms, warm and soft. Ollie held her close. Breathed in her sweet soap scent.
Eric trudged back into the shop, his lips a thin line.
Eric had lost his job. He’d been disowned, and his mom lay in a pool of blood. If he’d never met Olivier, if he’d stayed away and never left his bonding mark... none of this would have happened.
There was nothing Ollie could offer him, but himself as a burden. He’d taken everything else from Eric.
I shouldn’t have let him stay this long. He shouldn’t have become my alpha.
His stomach twisting with dread, Olivier held Jenn, realizing that this was perhaps the last time he’d see her.
