by Nora Phoenix
“What did you want to do?” Gia asked, stretching out on his belly on one of the lounge chairs near the pool.
“Civil rights law. I had this dream of taking up cases revolving around discrimination of betas and omegas.”
The wistful tone in Felix’s voice was easy to spot. “What happened?” Gia asked.
Felix shrugged. “I had to eat, and civil rights law, no matter how noble, doesn’t pay the bills. I had to take this job or get evicted from my apartment.”
“I don’t have a job anymore either,” Sean said. He let out a deep sigh. “I’m so torn about it. The job I signed up for, the job that I wanted to do, I haven’t been doing that since Lidon got fired. And with everything I’ve learned about what goes down behind the scenes at the force, it sickens me to be associated with that. So even if by some miracle they’d be willing to reinstate me, I’d never wanna go back.”
Sean and Felix both looked at Gia at the same time. “You guys can’t be serious about moving in here,” Gia said. “You don’t know these people. Hell, we barely know each other.”
Before he said anything, he needed to know where they stood at least a little. Sure, the fact that they both seemed open to stay was a good sign, but to Gia it said more about how much they liked the idea of the pack and this ranch than of the three of them together.
“Gia…” Sean said with tenderness. “You know that’s not true. Technically, we may not know each other very well or for very long, but doesn’t your omega recognize what we have? There’s a bond between us, and we owe it to ourselves to figure out what we are.”
“I’m the least sappy person on the planet,” Felix said, “but I have to concur. It’s like we were together in a previous life or something.”
Gia couldn’t hold back the tears that burned behind his eyelids. How was this possible? How had they recognized the truth without him even telling them? Every doubt he’d had was gone now.
“Gia, kitten, what’s wrong?” Sean asked, sitting down next to him on the sun bed and putting his strong hand on Gia’s shoulder, sending a wave of power through him.
“Nothing,” he said. “Everything is all right.” He wiped off his tears, leaning against Sean’s leg as Felix sat down on the other side of him. “Have you guys ever heard of fated mates?”
“You’re shitting me,” Felix said, which perfectly summed up Sean’s thoughts as well. After everything else they had learned, fated mates didn’t seem like such a stretch, and yet it was the thing that most blew him away. “You’re saying that fate has decided we’re mates?”
Gia nodded. “I don’t understand it any more than you do, but apparently, it’s quite common here in the pack.”
“Fated mates, wolf shifters, a pack… It’s like we’ve landed in a fucking fantasy world,” Felix muttered. “I would call it utter bullshit except for the fact that I feel it to be true, and maybe that’s the scariest thing of all because I’m not a person who puts much stock in feelings, usually.”
That was so classic Felix that Sean smiled. “Same here,” he said. “I find it hard to believe that something as intangible as fate could pick us for each other, let alone bring us together, and yet here we are, and my alpha insists he wants to be with you two. How else do I explain this but by accepting the inexplicable?”
Gia rolled his eyes at him. “God, do you two need a moment to wax philosophic about the mysterious ways of fate?”
Sean loved his dry sense of humor. “We’d be here a while, kitten. I wouldn’t do that to you. But how do you feel? You’re the one who knew first and didn’t say anything.”
Gia lowered his eyes, peeking at him from between his lashes. “Are you guys mad about that?”
Felix answered before Sean could. “No. I’m not. I completely understand why you kept this to yourself. It would’ve given us too much power over you, Sean especially.”
It hurt, being thrown onto the same big pile as all the alpha-assholes out there, and yet Sean swallowed that feeling down. Felix made a good point. “Is that why you didn’t tell us?” he asked.
Gia nodded. “I wanted to know first if you felt something. If I told you, then I would never know if you felt it because you thought you were supposed or if you really felt it.”
Sean smiled at him, sweeping a lock of hair from the omega’s forehead. “And you accused us of going philosophical on you.”
That earned him a smile back. “The struggle is real,” Gia said.
“I like you both very much,” Sean said. “My alpha wants you and not sexually, though that’s certainly the case, but I genuinely like you. I want to get to know you better, spend time together, hang out. I’m not gonna pretend I’m deeply, madly in love, but I think I could be, somewhere down the road.”
He knew it was the least romantic declaration in the history of mankind, but he wanted to be honest first and foremost. Romance could come later, but with everything that had been revealed, they needed to get their foundation right and build on that. And the foundation had to be honesty.
“I dig that,” Gia whispered. “I love the possibilities it offers…and the truth it brings. That’s enough for me. I like you both very much, and I’d love to see where this road takes us.”
“What about your job?” Felix asked Gia, and it didn’t escape Sean’s notice that the beta hadn’t responded to their statements.
Gia shrugged. “I worked as a line cook in a restaurant without much hope of ever running the kitchen like I dreamed of. If I can help in the kitchen here, I’d probably be much happier.”
Sean liked that plan, and he couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t appreciate a talented cook like Gia helping out.
“What about you, Sean? What will you do here?” Felix asked.
When Palani had given them the tour, he’d mentioned a little tidbit that had Sean sit up and take notice. “Palani said they’re looking to extend their security. I think I’ll talk to Bray, their head of security, to see if he can use me.”
He rather liked the idea of working here on the ranch, protecting these honorable men. It beat the hell out of being forced to stand with the dirty cops, including his own family. The fact that he’d be out of their reach on the ranch, why, that was just icing on the cake.
“And you, Felix?” asked Gia.
That’s when it hit Sean, the reason Felix hadn’t said anything. For Sean and Gia, their possible tasks on the ranch were rather obvious. But what about Felix and his dreams of becoming a civil rights lawyer?
“Not much law practiced here, is there?” Sean said before Felix could say something, wanting him to know he understood.
Gia sat up on the sun bed, then flung his arms around Felix and hugged him from the side. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t think of how hard it might be for you to find something here you love to do.”
Sean held Felix from the other side, and they sat like that for a while. “I still want to stay,” Felix said. “I hate to sound all sad and shit, but the thought of leaving you is even worse than the thought of being stuck in some lame job here, so I want to stay. I want to know what we are, how we are together.”
Sean kissed his head. “Thank you.”
“Well, this has to be by far the most romantic discussion ever,” Gia said. “Instead of I love you forever we have let’s try this. All the great poets would fucking kill us right now.”
Felix giggled first, and then Sean burst out in laughter, followed by Gia, and seconds later, the three of them hung against each other, their bodies shaking with laughter.
“I’ll show you romance,” Sean joked, then picked up Gia and jumped in the pool with him, holding him tight.
When they came up, Felix was laughing so hard at them Sean thought he was gonna give himself a hernia, but instead, the beta jumped right into the pool with them. They swam to the shallow end, where they splashed each other until they were too tired to continue.
Sean reached out his hands, delighted when both his men answered his unspoken request and
allowed themselves to be pulled close to him. He brought their faces close. “Let’s do this,” he said. “Us. Let’s do us.”
He kissed Felix first, wanting to taste those plump lips again. The beta was so eager, so greedy, opening up instantly. Then a third mouth pressed against theirs, Gia half climbing on Sean to be tall enough, joining them in a messy, uncoordinated three-way kiss, Tongues swapped, changed positions, as mouths searched and found. The urgency went down until they melted together as one.
“I found them,” a voice called out, and Sean let go of his men with reluctance. “They’re making out in the pool.”
Sean looked up to find an imposing alpha staring at them. He was a little worried until Kean, Palani’s brother, took up a spot right next to that alpha and slung his arm around him. “Aw, look at them, Bray. They’ll fit right in, baby.”
The alpha was Bray then, the head of security. Not the first impression Sean had hoped to make. But Bray looked at Kean, and his stern face transformed into that of a man in love. “You know what else fits right in?”
Kean laughed. “Worst segue ever, baby.”
Bray wiggled his eyebrows. “But did it work?”
“If you guys are so inclined, we’re serving dinner in Jawon’s House in about half an hour,” Kean called out toward the pool. “That should leave us enough time to see if you were right about that perfect fit.”
Bray slapped his ass as they hurried away, and Sean didn’t have to guess what they were up to. It felt wonderfully free, to be this open about sex.
“Let’s go get dressed,” he said. “My dick is still way too tender to do more than kiss.”
“From your dick to my ass,” Gia said, and that made them laugh all the way back to the cottage.
9
Two days later, Felix found himself alone in the kitchen of Jawon’s House. He’d discovered it was the focal point of the house, and he’d overheard Palani discuss with one of the construction workers on the ranch that they needed to remodel and extend it. Considering how many people had been in the kitchen that morning, that seemed like a smart idea.
But after breakfast, everyone had left to do their jobs. As it turned out, Bray was over the moon to have Sean join his security team, and the two took off together, talking about perimeters and surveillance and whatnot, clearly in their element. Gia had found soulmates in two of the other omegas who were running the kitchen. They, too, had been delighted with his offer to pitch in, especially the pregnant one.
And Felix was happy for them that they’d found their place in this organization, even if he was jealous at the same time. Why was it so much easier for everyone else to fit in? Why were Sean and Gia asked but not him? It wasn’t that they didn’t want him here—Felix knew that rationally. But maybe they didn’t see his talents? Palani had said they looked at people’s gifts and talents, not their status, but why then had no one approached him?
He was just sitting there, while everyone else was at work. It was a strange realization. After years of working his ass off in every job he could get in order to survive, he suddenly had nowhere to go and nothing to do. It turned out Sean had been right: Felix had been fired from his job. And his boss had been less than friendly about it, too, though if Felix were honest, he couldn’t blame him. The way he’d taken off work hadn’t been responsible, and he’d left them hanging.
So now what? He wandered around the house a bit, exploring the various rooms. Palani had made it clear that everything was accessible with the exception of the private bedrooms, which were all neatly marked on the doors. He ran into some people, some of whom he recognized and others he had trouble placing, and they all had friendly greetings for him. But none of them offered him anything to do.
The house was massive, a sprawling collection of room after room, including a gym room, he saw. That should make Sean happy, as it looked like he spent regular time in the gym. Felix went every now and then, but he didn’t particularly enjoy it. Good thing he had a naturally fast metabolism.
He wandered outside to the pool where he, Sean, and Gia had had their conversation. He’d promised to stay, knowing he’d have trouble fitting in, and here he was. He’d called that one, hadn’t he? Then again, he’d always had trouble fitting in. Too smart, too ambitious for a beta, too intense, according to various people who’d called him out on it. Never his mother though. She’d been nothing but supportive and proud till the day she’d died of cancer, two years ago now. God, he missed her.
“Bored?” Palani said, and Felix’s head jerked up from the tiles he’d been staring at, lost in thoughts.
Palani sat down on a chair next to him, adjusting the umbrella a bit so it shaded him as well.
Felix hesitated, then decided to be honest. “Yeah. Everyone’s at work, it seems, and I’m…not.”
“Do you want to be?” Palani asked, and Felix frowned. What kind of question was that?
“Of course,” he said, maybe a little snappier than he’d intended to.
Palani’s eyes grew sharp. “Why haven’t you approached anyone yet, then?”
Felix’s frown intensified. “What do you mean?”
Palani leaned forward, his eyes kind but focused. “If you want something, you gotta ask for it. Nobody here will put pressure on you by putting you to work doing something you don’t like. They’ll wait until you’ve figured out where you want to pitch in.”
“But Sean and Gia have—” Felix started, but then he stopped.
“They weren’t asked, Felix,” Palani said. “They offered. They asked themselves. Sean stepped up to Bray, and Gia approached my mate Vieno. They took the initiative.”
It hurt. Felix had to take a deep breath, because being confronted with the truth hurt. In his head, they’d been asked, but they hadn’t been, had they? They’d picked a job themselves and had talked to the right people.
“I’m… I’m scared,” he finally said. It was crazy to admit that to a man who was not only an almost-stranger but who held so much power in this place where he wanted to stay, but he felt compelled to admit the truth. “I don’t fit in, usually.”
Palani put a hand on his arm. “I promise you you’ll fit in here. We’re all outliers here, one way or another. But you’ll have to speak up, find the courage to ask. Tell me where your heart is, Felix.”
And Felix took a deep breath and jumped. “I want to fight for equal rights for omegas and betas. I want to not only help uphold the new laws, even if they’re only small steps in the right direction, but I want to fight for better laws. Omegas and betas still face so much discrimination, so much injustice, and I can’t stand it anymore.”
Palani sent him a blinding smile. “Awesome. When can you start?”
“I… What do you mean?” Felix stammered.
“What you just described, that’s what we do here. That’s our whole vision, not merely for our pack but for society. It’s why Enar has his omega clinic, why we do scientific research into the gene, why we open up our ranch for omegas to ride out their heat in a safe environment. It’s why we let people serve according to their talents and not their status.”
Felix’s heart sped up, beating in his chest with an excitement he hadn’t felt in years. “But how?” he asked. “What would I do?”
“Do you have any idea how many omegas Enar treats whose medical insurance refuses to pay for their treatment? They stonewall them on purpose, knowing most omegas don’t have access to legal representation. No one fights for them, Felix. No one.”
“I could,” Felix said. “I could represent them, write letters on their behalf or even take it to court.”
“Yes, you could. Also, do you read my blog?”
Felix nodded. “I do. The stuff you keep uncovering is amazing. I mean, heartbreaking and infuriating, but amazing.”
“So join me in investigating. As a lawyer, you’re good at gathering facts and interpreting them. With everything on my plate, I can’t devote the time to my blog that I want to. But you could. Investigate, dig
into whatever rumors you pick up and find out the truth. Be the voice for those whose voice has been muted.”
Felix was surprised to find his eyes wet, but Palani’s words stoked up a fire in him that had been mere embers for a long time. “Thank you,” he said, his voice a little choked. “Thank you for reconnecting me with my heart’s passion.”
Palani put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “You’re welcome. Now, let’s get to work, because there’s no time like the present. I’ll walk you over to the clinic, and Lucan, the manager there, can set you right up with names of omegas who are battling their insurance company.”
“And just one phone call to the insurance company had them reverse course and pay for his heat blockers,” Felix said, his hands flying in animated gestures as he told Sean and Gia about his day.
Sean watched him with happiness. It was simply amazing to see Felix this fired up and passionate.
“I’m so happy for you,” Gia said. “And as a fellow omega, I’m so grateful someone is coming to their aid.”
“Maybe this Duer guy could pitch in as well,” Sean said. It was interesting, because after three full days on the ranch, he still hadn’t met the guy who’d been instrumental in saving his ass. Where was he hiding?
Felix’s face sobered. “I doubt it,” he said softly. “I’d heard Duer had been attacked and that’s why he had to leave his job, but it was a little more than that. I mentioned him to someone today, and it turns out the attack was far worse than I thought. He’s recovering physically, but it appears he’s struggling mentally.”
“Oh damn,” Sean said, his heart filling with compassion. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah,” Felix said. “Me too.”
“I didn’t mean to kill your happy mood,” Sean said, feeling bad for bringing it up.
Felix waved him off. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I would’ve probably brought him up myself since I’d been thinking about him. I wanted to meet him, you know?”