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𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺'𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸.

𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘳 ... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 ~!

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𝑩𝑬𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑬 𝑰 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑪𝑻, 𝑹𝒚𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 

His grip was unyielding, tightening until it was nearly painful, but I didn't pull away. It was as if he was trying to tether me to him, to something solid and real. I flinched slightly at the intensity, but the trembling in his frame stopped me from saying anything.

He was shaking, his body wracked with a mix of relief and pain; his breath hitched against my shoulder. The sweet scent of his pheromones enveloped me, washing over me like a soothing balm, grounding me in a way I hadn't felt in what seemed like a lifetime.

Tears warmed my shoulder before seeping through my shirt, pooling into cold little wet spots that made his grief and relief feel even more visceral.

When he finally pulled back, his hands lingered on my arms, as if afraid to let go.

His tear-streaked face searched mine, his glassy eyes brimming with disbelief. "You're alive," he whispered, his voice raw and cracking under the weight of his emotions.

Despite being the older sibling, Ryder had always seemed younger in spirit.

As the only other omega in the family, aside from Papa, he was the sensitive one—the soft-hearted counterbalance to my rough edges.