AN OMEGA'S CYCLE: TRAPPED IN HEAT WITH MY FOUR STEPBROTHERS.

NICHOLAS’S POV

Lunch had been on the table in front of me for so long that the food had already gone cold. I had taken a few bites because I knew everyone was watching me, but I couldn’t force myself to eat anymore.

My appetite had disappeared somewhere between waking up that morning and remembering what had happened in the basement. I kept seeing the same moment in my head, over and over again, and every time I reached the part where I had the gun in my hand, my stomach twisted. I pushed the plate away and leaned back in my chair, staring at the table while the others continued eating around me.

"You’ve barely touched your food," Roman said, looking from my plate to my face before reaching over and moving the bowl closer to himself. "Are you not hungry?"

"I’m not hungry," I answered, rubbing my thumb against the side of my palm. "I tried eating, but I can’t."

Cassian glanced at me from across the table. "You’ve been doing that since breakfast. Something is obviously bothering you."

I looked down again, hesitating before finally saying what had been running through my head all morning. "Do you think I should have left him alive?"

Nobody immediately responded and the table went silent.

I swallowed and continued before I could change my mind. "I keep thinking about what would have happened if I hadn’t picked up that gun. Jayden was dangerous, but we had him. He couldn’t just walk away anymore. You could have handed him over to the police and let them deal with him. Maybe they would have gotten information out of him. Maybe he would have spent the rest of his life in prison. Instead, I killed him, and now there’s no chance of getting answers from him directly."

Adrian stopped eating and placed his fork down. He didn’t look shocked by the question, probably because he’d expected me to eventually ask it. "You’re looking at the situation as if you had been standing in a room with someone who was innocent, or hadn’t hurt you. That’s not what happened. You had just escaped from someone who had kept you captive, you were terrified, and you were reacting to everything that had happened to you." He paused, thinking. "It’s not— look, killing him wasn’t the wisest thing to do. But it certainly was warranted after everything."

I listened quietly, then nodded. "I just keep wondering whether we made everything worse," I admitted. "If the police had him, then they could question him. They could find out who helped him. They could find out what Dad was involved in. Now he’s gone, and we’re left with everything else."

"We still have evidence," Adrian replied, leaning forward slightly. "We have his phone, the reports, the connection to Dad and everything else we’ve already found. We aren’t completely dependent on Jayden being alive for this investigation to continue."

I nodded slowly, although the guilt hadn’t completely disappeared.

Roman leaned back in his chair and looked at me. "And before you start blaming yourself for everything that happened to you, remember something else. Rage is a strong feeling, and you were looking to settle."

I looked away. "You’re right."

Adrian made it clear that nobody was leaving the penthouse without discussing it first. The others agreed, although Roman kept arguing that staying inside all day was going to make everyone lose their minds.

By late afternoon, the room was tense, and I could tell everyone had a lot on their minds.

"We’re going to the beach," Roman announced, getting up from his chair. "Before somebody decides to start another argument in this house."

Cassian looked at him. "You’re the person who starts most of the arguments."

"Exactly, which is why I’m removing myself from the environment before I start another one because I’m beginning to get very restless." He clicked his tongue.

I couldn’t help laughing.

Adrian looked at me and seemed to make his decision immediately. "Fine. Everyone get ready. We’ll stay somewhere quiet."

Adrian suggested taking the body out, and with the help of the other brothers they loaded it in the trunk and we stopped by a downstream river where we stopped.

I watched as they bundled up the body and dragged it out to the shore.

For a second, I stared at it, my chest tightening. Hopefully I would be able to leave it all behind.

I immediately looked away as they threw it into the river. No one would look here. That was the point.

After a moment of silence, Adrian clapped. "Okay, let’s go."

We left shortly afterward.

The beach was empty when we arrived, and we sat near the shoreline for a while.

This was apparently somewhere people barely came. A nearly private place that we could stay without being seen.

Roman eventually stretched his legs out in front of him and looked at all of us. "I still can’t believe we’re sitting on a beach after everything that’s happened this week."

Cassian laughed under his breath. "You say that like we shouldn’t do that."

"I’m just saying the situation is ridiculous," Roman replied, picking up a small stone and throwing it toward the water. "Just yesterday we were deliberating what to do with you know who, I mean we literally disposed it a while ago, and now we’re sitting here with sand in our shoes."

"You’ve always complained about everything," Cassian said, nudging his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Ugh." Roman threw his head back. "You guys are so annoying."

Elijah looked at him with an amused expression. "You’re the one who suggested coming here."

Roman threw a bit of sand at Elijah. "Smartass."

I laughed again as the conversation drifted towards more comfortable topics that had everyone laughing.

At one point, Roman stood and walked closer to the water. "None of you are coming?"

Cassian looked up at him. "Why would I voluntarily get my clothes wet?"

"Because you’re boring. It’s a fucking beach." Roman kicked water toward him.

Cassian immediately stood. "You’re going to regret that."

Roman laughed and ran. Cassian chased after him, and Elijah joined almost immediately. I stayed where I was for a few seconds, watching them until Roman turned around and splashed water directly at me. "You’re not escaping either!"

I stood up, a grin on my lips. "You better run."

He laughed as he did.

I chased him toward the water while the others laughed, and within minutes all of us were soaked, shouting at each other and trying to get the others wetter than they already were. Adrian eventually got dragged into it despite repeatedly insisting that he wasn’t participating, and soon even he was laughing as Roman tried to push him farther into the water.

We eventually ended up sitting in the shallow water, breathing heavily after all the running.

Roman wiped his face and looked toward the others. "You know what would be completely insane?"

Cassian immediately shook his head. "Whatever you’re about to say, don’t."

Roman grinned. "Doing it inside the beach."

Elijah burst out laughing while Cassian stared at him in disbelief.

"You’re actually ridiculous, we are not having sex on the beach," Cassian said, shaking his head.

Roman shrugged. "I’m just saying."

The others continued making fun of him, but I looked at them for a moment before speaking. "Why not?"

Everyone turned toward me and I smiled. "Let’s try it."

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