by Nora Phoenix
Even the thought of his mate sent warm flutters to Palani’s stomach. “Beautiful. Absolutely stunning. Sexier than I’ve ever seen him. Also, tired as fuck and crabby as hell. It’s about time that baby comes out.”
Kean slapped him on his back, chuckling. “I would repeat the first three statements to him daily, but you may want to keep the last bits to yourself if you want him to put out.”
Palani thought back of the perfectly filthy blow jobs Vieno had given the three of them the day before. “Oh, don’t you worry about him putting out. We’ve got that covered.”
“Ew,” Kean shuddered. “TMI, dude. TMI.”
Enar looked around in his new clinic, his breath catching all over again. Every time he stepped into the building they had created for him, he felt like he was stepping into another reality. Surely this gorgeous space couldn’t be his?
It was much bigger than he had anticipated when Palani had told him about using prefab materials. He had expected a sort of glorified shed, to be honest, or maybe more like a container-style building, but instead, Jawon had created a design using various prefab constructions to create a roomy, light space.
The front door of the clinic opened into a reception area with a waiting room that held twelve people. He had one office himself, but they had also created two more offices in case he found more doctors willing to work with him. Then there were two patient rooms, both outfitted with everything he needed for examinations and minor procedures.
As Palani had explained, they lacked the capability to create a full-blown OR, but he did have the equipment to do small procedures. And interestingly enough, Palani had also been right that giving birth wasn't considered a surgery, so he could schedule omegas to give birth under his supervision here. The only thing he was worried about was what to do in case of complications, since technically, he wasn't allowed to do a C-section and the nearest hospital was a twenty-minute ride away.
“What do you think?” Lucan asked. “Are we ready to open tomorrow?”
Enar put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “Yes. It’s looking great. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Much to everyone’s surprise, Lucan had asked Enar for a position in the clinic as soon as he heard about the plans to build one. As much as he had appreciated working with Bray, he wanted to go back into the medical field. After a short conversation, Enar had decided the beta would make a perfect office manager for the clinic and had hired him on the spot. Hired, of course, was a loose term here, considering neither of them was going to get paid for this.
Lucan sent him a big smile. “I’m really satisfied with how it turned out. Adding that extra window in the reception area made a big difference. The place looks so much lighter now.”
“I agree.”
The sound of something crashing onto the floor made them both freeze for a second before they looked at each other and smiled.
“I’m okay!” Sando called out from his office way in the back of the clinic.
Enar walked over, wanting to check the damage in person. They had discovered Sando had quite the aptitude for clumsiness, but so far, he’d managed to limit it to broken plates, glasses, and an endless number of dropped coffee cups. Lucan followed him, and together, they surveyed the latest damage.
It looked like another coffee cup had bitten the dust. Good thing Vieno had stopped handing out the good ones to Sando and had instructed him to use the cheap, plain ones. Maybe they should switch him over to paper cups.
“I’m sorry,” Sando said, looking sheepish. “I was excited about a new finding and forgot I had put my coffee there.”
Enar suppressed a smile. “Well, I’m sure you know by now where you can find a mop to clean it up. Don’t cut yourself on the shards, please. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.”
Sando looked like a puppy who got admonished by his owner. “I’ll be careful.”
Then it registered with Enar what Sando had said. “A new finding? Can you tell us anything?”
Grayson had come through with the funding for Sando, allowing him to buy a new computer, a whole bunch of textbooks about genetics, and access to a lab. For the last three months, Sando had worked in an outside lab three days a week on his research, spending the rest of the days at the ranch. Just two weeks ago, they had transferred the makeshift office in his bedroom to his own office here, which the omega had been ridiculously excited about. He still had a hard time believing they had so much faith in him, which wasn’t so strange, considering the cold reception he got everywhere else. Even at the lab, they still didn’t take him seriously despite the fact that he was clearly brilliant.
“I’ve managed to isolate a protein that is present in gene carriers but not in other omegas. I’ve also discovered that gene carriers show different amounts of this protein. Like, Vieno’s levels are higher than any of the other omegas I have tested.”
“Could that be because he’s pregnant?” Enar asked, intrigued.
Sando gently shook his head. “It could be, but I doubt it. I’ve used tests from him from right after he got pregnant, and even then, his levels were much higher than that of other gene carriers. That being said, his levels have changed considerably over the last three months, but I doubt that was caused by the pregnancy.”
“What do you think is causing it? Is it the foursome dynamic?” Enar wanted to know.
“I think so, but now that I know where to look, I can do more research. I have a lot more omegas who volunteered as a research subject, so that should help.”
“Did you get in contact with the McCains?” Enar asked.
Sando’s face sobered. “Yeah. I was super careful, as you suggested. They were so nice, these ladies, answering every question I had. I’m sure it must’ve been painful for them, but they soldiered through it. And two of their remaining sons volunteered to be a part of my research. Both are carriers, of course. I have identified about one hundred and fifty carriers now through the records Ms. Kelley provided. I contacted all of them, and about two-thirds of the surviving ones were willing to work with me.”
Enar sent him an encouraging smile. “That’s a great result, Sando. Well done. I’m sure the fact that you are an omega yourself helped them in trusting you. Don’t forget, you have a unique position that could do a lot of good.”
“I know. It’s what I have to keep telling myself every time some alpha asshole thinks he can degrade me and make fun of me.”
“Did I hear someone calling for an alpha asshole?” Maz joked, walking in.
Sando blushed instantly, Enar noted with interest.
“I-I wasn’t talking about you,” the omega stammered. “I meant no offense.”
Maz smiled. “I know. I was just joking, Sando.”
He stepped close to Enar for a hug, and he gladly obliged, happy to see his former resident again. “How have you been, big guy?”
Maz slapped him on his back, a manly, warm embrace that showed his complete acceptance of Enar’s identity. “I’ve been good, Doc. Finishing up my residency. Just two more months, and I’ll be all yours.”
The alpha let go of him, but Enar held on to his shoulders, meeting his eyes. “I still can’t believe you would choose to work here when you have so many options available to you.”
Maz shook his head. “We’ve had this discussion, Doc. We’re not doing this again. It’s two days a week here and four days at the hospital. It’s the perfect combination for me, and I can learn a lot from you, so stop giving me crap about it.”
From the corner of his eye, Enar caught both Lucan and Sando reacting with shock at Maz’s casual remark, but he just had to laugh. It was classic Maz, and it said so much about their working relationship that the alpha felt safe enough with Enar to make a joke like that.
“Well, the Hayes Free Clinic is honored to have you,” he said. “Even if you are a bit of an alpha asshole every now and then.”
Lidon had never excelled at delegating, but over the last few months,
he’d gotten a crash course. The operation of the ranch and everything it entailed had gotten so big that there was no way he could do it by himself anymore. He’d delegated most of the operational tasks to Palani, who was doing a phenomenal job. That was also because, unlike Lidon, the beta had no problem delegating, and he had entrusted each of the pack members with their own responsibility.
Lars had become responsible for all their crops, Kean for all the animals, Jawon for all construction and renovation, Bray for security, and Sven for running the household with Grayson as his backup, though that was more to boost Sven’s self-confidence than because it was necessary. The omega had demonstrated he had a good head on his shoulders, and he had the household running smoothly, even with all the different people living there.
Palani’s brother Rhene had stepped up as well. He had considered the offer of joining the pack but had come to the conclusion it was impractical for him as long as he was still attending college. Lidon could understand that, since the commute from the ranch to his college was quite a stretch. Rhene had agreed to help Lidon with the ranch’s finances, though, and that had been a godsend.
Every other week, the alpha spent a whole Saturday with Lidon to go over all the figures. Lidon thought he’d been good at bookkeeping, even though he had never enjoyed it, but Rhene had taken things two, three steps further. He had set up an automatic bookkeeping system that downloaded all Lidon’s financial transactions and put them in a spreadsheet, ready to use. That alone saved him a lot of time. Most of his bills were now on autopay as well, with Rhene having set up alerts in case something was out of the ordinary.
He had also devised an easy online ordering system for all their groceries, so everyone could order their groceries from the same store and have them delivered at the same time. Since they had now multiple self-contained units on the ranch, this worked well to ensure optimization of delivery costs, Rhene had explained. He’d lost Lidon at “optimization,” but he trusted the alpha to do right by him. Palani had not been exaggerating when he’d described his brother as a financial whiz, and Lidon was grateful for his contribution.
“Anything shocking?” Palani asked him, pointing at the TV Lidon had been staring at.
He reached for Palani’s hand, pulling him next to him on the couch. “They announced an initiative to change the legal status of omegas twenty-one and older and make them legal adults, no longer requiring an alpha guardian,” he said.
Palani leaned in, letting his body rest against Lidon’s. “Let me guess, York was all happy-clappy about it, praising it as a small step toward more equality.”
Lidon hummed his agreement.
“Say what you want, but they are taking steps to make things better,” Palani said.
“Maybe, but it’s still slow going, and there is a growing resistance, as you well know.”
“Have you heard from Watkins?” Palani asked.
Shortly after the elections, they had hired a private investigator to see if he could find out what had happened to Melloni, since that trail had run completely cold. Sadly, after a month of investigating, the PI had concluded that either Melloni had died in the fire or he had been kidnapped and killed by his abductors afterward. There was literally no trace of the man to be found.
Despite the lack of results, they had been impressed with the detective’s work and had asked him to see what he could find out about the false evidence against Lidon. The good news was that the indictments they had threatened with through the DA’s office had never materialized, but the bad news was that Lidon hadn’t been cleared of charges either, and his suspension had become permanent.
“Yeah, he called earlier this morning, as agreed. He says he has a source inside Internal Affairs that confirmed they’ve started procedures to remove Ryland from his position.”
Palani’s head shot to the side. “Seriously? That’s great news.”
Lidon shrugged. “I guess. No, you’re right. It is good news. I’ve just given up hope the truth about what happened will ever come to light. It’s been months now, and we’re no closer to finding out what happened than we were when we got suspended. Meanwhile, Enar will have his clinic, you have built quite the successful blog with one revelation after another, Vieno is about to give birth to our son, and I’m still unemployed and pretty much useless.”
Palani studied him for a few seconds. “Go cuddle with Vieno,” he said softly. “You’ll feel better after.”
“He’s too tired to hang out with me.”
Lidon heard the almost childish whine in his own voice, but he couldn’t seem to get past himself.
“You haven’t been yourself for the last few weeks, and don’t think I haven’t noticed. You’re off, somehow. What’s going on, baby?”
Lidon’s heart jumped up at that affectionate term, which Palani used so rarely with him. Lidon knew it was a sign of respect that the beta usually called him something else, but he loved it when Palani got this intimate with him.
“I’m restless. I feel like a stranger in my own body sometimes, all these weird hums and vibrations in my system that I’ve never felt before.”
He didn’t say more, too scared of putting into words what he feared and was excited about at the same time. Then again, he knew he didn’t need more words. Palani would pick up on it, as he always did.
“There’s nothing to be scared of, baby. We are right here with you, and we won’t let anything happen to you.”
This time, he leaned into Palani, needing his quiet strength. “I’m scared as hell. Something is changing inside me, and I can’t control it.”
They’d talked about it with Grayson and Sando, the possibility of him shifting, but neither had been able to tell him clear signs or indications. He’d read some articles Grayson had recommended with eyewitness accounts from shifters and interviews from the old days. It had given him some idea of what to expect, but not enough to ease all his fears.
Palani held him tight. “Do you think it’s happening? Are you close?”
Lidon let out a shuddering breath, closing his eyes and sinking into the safety of his mate’s arms. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s happening.”
30
Lars sat on his knees, naked, his head completely at rest while he waited for his Daddy to finish his shower with Sven. He loved listening in on their sounds, the greedy slurps as Sven took that big alpha cock all the way to the back of his throat. The soft moans as Grayson let himself go. Even the choking sounds as Grayson cut off Sven’s air supply were erotic as hell. Then again, everything Daddy did was erotic.
They were a little over five months into their six-month trial, and Lars couldn’t even imagine his life without Grayson anymore. The thought of not being with his Daddy scared the fuck out of him. He knew that was also the fated mates thing talking, but that didn’t make it any less real. His one comfort was that Grayson was as attached to them as they were to him; he had no doubt about that.
He still struggled with surrendering at times, but Grayson had patience with him. He’d gotten better and better at gauging whether Lars needed cuddles, comfort, or a stern speaking to. Or a spanking. God, the spankings. If someone would’ve told him a year ago how arousing spankings were, he would’ve laughed them out of the room. Yet here he was, on his knees, waiting for his daily spanking, and his cock was leaking like crazy.
Not that Grayson would allow him to come. He never did during their morning spankings, and though Lars had struggled at first with understanding why, he’d come to realize Grayson was right. Even though the spankings aroused him, it wasn’t about that. It was about his Daddy reminding him the rest of the day that he was in charge, not Lars. And that, more than anything, had taken a load of Lars’s shoulders.
“Are you ready for me, boy?” Daddy asked.
Lars kept his eyes trained on the ground, knowing better than to look up. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Mmm, such a good boy,” Daddy said appreciatively, rubbing his head with a slow caress. He draped himse
lf into the chair, spreading his legs wide. “Come here, boy.”
With a fluid move, Lars rose to his feet, then quickly walked over and draped himself over his Daddy’s knee.
“It’s Sunday today. What does that mean?”
Lars’s heart jumped up in his chest. He’d forgotten. The routine was the same six days a week, but Sundays were different.
“It means you let me choose, Daddy. What are my options today?”
“You can choose whether you want ten slaps more or an extra cuddle session with me before breakfast.”
Oh, that was a hard one. Twenty slaps would definitely be one hell of a way to start the day, but it would also mean fighting not to come. An extra cuddle session with Daddy was less arousing, but sometimes triggered emotional reactions he didn’t always understand and that he wasn’t able to control. Sometimes when they cuddled, he ended up crying, and he couldn’t always explain why. Daddy had said it was a good thing, that he was processing stuff from the past, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. The cuddles were sweet, though. So what would he choose?
“If I choose twenty slaps, can I come?” he dared to ask.
Daddy’s low chuckle shot straight to his balls. “That’s a naughty question, boy. And naughty boys do not get to come, do they?”
He sighed. Damn. “No, Daddy.”
“Make your choice, then, boy.”
“I’ll take the twenty slaps, please, Daddy. Thank you, Daddy.”
He heard the smile in his Daddy’s voice as he spoke. “I had a feeling you would.”
And then that big, strong hand came down on his ass, and Lars surrendered to the perfect feeling of getting his ass all hot and pink. He’d been right that he had to fight against coming, especially with the last few strikes, but he managed. He carefully slid off the alpha’s leg, back to his knees as per his Daddy’s orders.
“You leaked all over my leg,” Grayson said. “Come here, Sven, and clean me up, would you, pup?”