Omega (Alpha & Omega #1)

{Chapter Twenty Eight}

"Phoenix." Cayson knocked on the door.

I heard Keon pacing back and forth, muttering something I couldn't hear through the thick wood. I probably could have heard him if I put my ear to the door and listened hard enough, but I didn't want to move from my spot and listen.

I'd finally got up off the floor and went to the bed. I just sat there, keeping my eyes away from the clock.

Even so, I knew an hour had passed before they even made a move to come see me.

"Let us in." Cayson would not stop knocking on my door. "It's not a request either. Open the door."

I stared at the door with narrowed eyes. They just expected me to get up and open it? Why didn't they just open it themselves? Kick the door down? Whatever. I didn't care.

"Phoenix," Keon growled, "will you let us explain?"

I stood and walked to the door. The moment I unlocked it and stepped back, it swung open so quickly that it slammed against the wall. I would have flinched if I hadn't already been expecting it.

"I don't understand why you're so angry," I said.

Cayson looked at the broken laptop. Soon, Keon's eyes fell on it as well. They stared at it, silent, for a good minute before they turned their attention back to me. Their faces were carefully controlled, kept in a stoic expression.

They could be angry about the laptop, that was fine. But they had no reason to be angry at me for leaving.

"You didn't give us time to explain," Cayson said, shutting the door to block out any unwelcome ears.

I shrugged one shoulder. "There's nothing to explain. It seemed you had more to say to her, so I left you to it."

Keon looked like he was holding himself back from growling. It wasn't about the laptop either. It didn't look like they cared about that at all.

"The whole thing is a misunderstanding." Cayson glanced at his brother, who started pacing again.

I nodded slowly. "I'm sure."

"Don't do this," he said.

I tilted my head. What was I doing?

"It's been close enough to a month for me to make a decision," I said. "I'd like to leave."

Keon stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't look at me, but his eyes flashed bright for a second before dying out.

Cayson's face went pale. "Phoenix. Savvy is, and never will be, our mate. We dated her a long time ago and said once we're ready, we'd mate with her."

And? That didn't change anything. They could be ready and she was definitely willing. Who wouldn't be? I almost let myself believe I was willing.

Almost.

"All I'll ever be is an omega," I said. I motioned towards them. "And you two will always be alphas. An omega doesn't belong with an alpha, let alone two. I had a slip of judgment last night."

"Stop." Cayson shook his head. "We told her we aren't mating with her."

My stomach was cramping up. Nerves wracked every part of my body.

"You should," I finally said. "At least with a beta, no one will look down on you."

"We don't care," Keon yelled, spinning to face me. "What part of 'we love you' do you not understand, Phoenix?"

They could learn to not love me, even if I was their fated pair. Eventually, if I left and went far enough away...they would stop wanting me the way I'd come to want them.

I hated it. Hated to do this in any form of the word, but I told myself the first day I got to their house that I wouldn't allow them to stoop so low as to mate with an omega. Their jobs, their friendships, and their entire livelihood would crumble and fall.

Just like their father, I knew that eventually, they'd come to regret their decision. I knew I would.

"Stop it," Cayson said, his voice raising. "You're blocking us out. I know what you're thinking and you need to stop it."

"What am I thinking," I asked. My voice sounded so dull.

"That we'd be better off without you."

He wasn't wrong. And he couldn't say it wasn't true, could he? Neither of them could. Their life would be so much more difficult with me in it, as their mate or otherwise.

There was a crash and I flinched back from the sound. One look to Keon told me that he'd slammed his fist through the wall.

Cayson glanced back at him, then looked at me.

I sighed and bowed my head.

Cayson stepped towards me. "What do you want us to do, Phoenix? What do we need to do to get you to understand that you are all we want? We've been looking for you for too damn long to just let you go."

Keon finally pulled his hand out of the wall and turned towards me, his head lowered but he looked at me through his lashes. "Savvy knows who you are now. What you are."

I narrowed my eyes. "What? An omega?"

"Don't be difficult," he hissed. "You know what I mean. She knows that you're our mate."

I puffed out a sarcastic laugh. That was cute. And that's why it took them so long to come back upstairs to "explain" all of this to me?

"She didn't take it well," Cayson said. "We had to calm her down."

I thought for a moment that they could read my mind, but I realized it was probably my expression giving it away.

I puffed out a laugh. "I honestly don't give a shit if she took it well or not."

They only looked at me. Keon's nose twitched in annoyance.

"It pissed me off, okay?" I threw my hands up. "This woman walks in and claims to be your mate. How else am I supposed to feel? All this time you were saying 'Oh, we love you' and 'We want to mate with you', then this girl comes in and throws all that down the drain. Then what? She just clings onto you like you're hers, and you're fucking not."

Cayson's lip quirked.

Why the hell was he smiling? Nothing I said was worthy of that stupid dopey smile he was suddenly wearing.

"Whose are we, then," he asked.

"Mine, God damn it," I hissed.

Keon suddenly went from incredibly angry, to incredibly happy with that same stupid grin. It pissed me off. They were both just standing there grinning at me like I was the funniest thing they'd ever seen in their damn life.

"For fuck's sake." I crossed my arms. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's pissing me off."

"We're yours," Keon murmured.

I felt my eyebrows furrow. Then what I said finally hit.

I raised my hands out in front of me and took a step away. Why had I said that? I was trying to leave, not make them think I wanted to stay. I shouldn't have said any of that.

"That doesn't mean anything," I tried. "You still...you shouldn't want me. Your jobs, your-"

"Fuck" - Cayson took a step towards me - "our" - another step - "jobs."

He was in front of me, the toes of his shoes touching mine. Keon, suddenly behind me, placed his hands on my waist. They were so close, enveloping my bubble with their heat.

I could tell by the look in their eyes that they were still angry with me for telling them I wanted to leave. Even though they'd agreed to let me go at the beginning, they didn't look like they'd let me go now, or ever.

I bowed my head.

"She won't be coming back here." Cayson knelt and places his lips on my neck. "I promise."

I pursed my lips.

We'd see about that.