by Nora Phoenix
His own picture was the last one that added, his graduation picture from high school. After that, it was as if time had stopped. But now that Vieno and he were together, there was hope again. Hope for more pictures…of their kids. More family to fill this wall. Would Vieno want kids? They’d never discussed it, but Lidon assumed so. He’d never met an omega who didn’t. It was like an innate desire, an instinct. And with Enar around, Vieno would have the best prenatal care in the world.
His eye fell on the thick, red family photo album that contained pictures of the ranch going back decades. Once upon a time, the ranch had bustled with activity, filled with many families living here. Pack, his father had explained when he’d shown Lidon the old photos. When they were still wolf-shifters, they lived together on the land with their pack.
It was sad to see the big house so empty, the lands so desolate. They were fertile, but Lidon had never done much with it. He didn’t have the time all by himself. Rodrick had suggested selling off land, but Lidon had rejected that idea. Why would he? The ranch was paid off, so it didn’t cost him anything, and he didn’t need the money the sale would bring. Not that he had shared that tidbit with Rodrick. His almost-fiancé had known Lidon was well-off but had no idea how well. In hindsight, Lidon was extremely happy about that.
It was strange to be in his own home and hear someone else in his kitchen. Sure, Enar stayed over sometimes after he’d fucked him, but that was different. He froze. Fuck, he’d never even thought of Enar in all this. What would he do now that his one safe avenue of getting what he needed was closed off? Dammit.
How could he have been so selfish and not even acknowledge what his marriage would mean to Enar? He’d thought of Palani and how hard it would be for him, but not of his own best friend. Sure, Enar wasn’t in love with him like Palani was with Vieno, but still. A little more consideration from him would have been nice. Should he tell Vieno about it? He wanted to, since he didn’t want secrets between them, but it felt like betraying Enar’s confidence. Maybe he should ask his friend first if he was okay with Lidon sharing it?
“Breakfast is ready,” Vieno called out from the kitchen.
When Lidon walked in, he stopped in his tracks. Gone were the stacks of dishes and the counter sparkled, the scent of lemon heavy in the air. The breakfast table was set for two with his plate holding three times the amount of pancakes Vieno’s did.
“I would've served it with fresh fruit if you’d had any…” Vieno said, wiping his hands on his shorts.
“It looks…delicious. And the kitchen is…wow. Thank you. I would’ve helped you if you’d asked me.”
Vieno’s eyes widened in shock. “No! You’re not…that’s not your job,” he said. “I like cleaning and cooking, it’s just that I need more time here to…” His voice trailed off.
“To work your way through the years of neglect,” Lidon filled in. “I know. And I’m sorry.”
They sat down at the table to eat. The pancakes were wonderfully fluffy and light, and Lidon cleared his plate in no time.
“What do you usually eat for breakfast?” Vieno asked him, still working on his plate.
“Whatever I have available. I’m sorry to report I eat a lot of takeout and ready to eat meals.”
“Is there anything you don’t like?”
“Brussel sprouts. And I’m not a big fan of cabbage. Other than that, anything. Meat. I’m a big meat eater.”
He smiled when Vieno wrote it down on a little notepad. How sweet was that?
“And what shifts do you work? Irregular?”
“No, though my hours are unpredictable. In Narcotics, we work either an early shift or a late one, and night shifts are rare. But if something is going down, I can get called in at any time, or I stay late.”
“I’m used to that with Palani,” Vieno said. “I’ll make sure there's always a stack of healthy meals in the freezer you can heat up at any time.”
“Vieno,” Lidon said, reaching for his hand. “This house…it’s a lot for you by yourself. To take care of, I mean. Do you want me to arrange for someone to come over to do a thorough cleaning? It feels like I’m taking advantage of you if you do it all…”
“What happened to no outsiders inside the gate?”
“You can’t do this all by yourself.”
Vieno lifted an eyebrow. “You did.”
“I obviously didn’t. I didn’t realize how badly I’ve taken care of this place until now…and I’m sorry for bringing you into this. Clearly, I didn’t think it through.”
“It’s not like you had time… Why don’t you take me on that tour of the house you promised me and we’ll go from there?”
It was with a mix of shame and pride that Lidon showed Vieno around the house. After they’d inspected every room, Vieno wanted to see the outside. It warmed Lidon’s heart he felt safe enough to do that, even if he did grab Lidon’s hand with a deadly force.
The pool definitely held his interest, as his eyes went dreamy when he said, “I love swimming.”
“The pool needs servicing first,” Lidon said. “I do bring in a contractor for that, but he’s a cousin of mine.”
They walked around the pool with the pool house to a plot of land set against a tall barn. “This used to be a vegetable garden,” Lidon said. “My papa loved being outside and he could grow anything.”
“Did you have animals? Cattle?”
“Chickens, the coop was over there,” Lidon said, pointing to a fallen down structure. “That storm three years ago destroyed it when a tree came down on top of it. We also held horses, but I sold them after my parents passed away. Originally, I think there was cattle here, but not as long as I can remember.”
“Lidon, this place is amazing,” Vieno said, looking around. “You could do so much with this. If you’d rebuild some of it, renovate, clean up and rejuvenate, you could create an almost self-sufficient unit here.”
“Self-sufficient?”
“Yes. Chickens for eggs and to eat. Cows for milk and meat. A vegetable garden to produce what you need in terms of food. Grain won’t do well in our climate, but that’s about the only thing. You said there's a large lake on the property, right? Does that mean you have fish?”
Lidon looked guilty. “I probably need to get some fish out of there,” he said. “My guess is it’s horribly overstocked.”
Vieno nodded. “And you have rabbits and deer. You have pretty much all you need. Water, do you have your own water source?”
“Yeah. There are two wells that have never run dry as far as I know. My papa set up a fancy system to capture rain water, but like everything else, it’s gone neglected.”
“You can build something beautiful here, something that will last until the next generation…” Vieno’s voice trailed off.
Lidon put his arm around Vieno’s shoulder. His omega snuggled up against him, and it made his heart satisfied.
This ranch, the land, it meant something to him that he had trouble defining. It was home, but in a way that surpassed the traditional meaning, like he was connected to it. He loved his job and appreciated the city for what it had to offer but being here on his land brought peace to his mind. Even in the run-down state that it was, it nourished his soul to spend time here. And the fact that Vieno seemed to recognize that and strived to restore the ranch to its former glory, it caused his heart to sing in an unfamiliar way.
“I love what you see… Let’s talk about what you would like to start with. And don’t take on too much. I didn’t bring you here to run you ragged, and you also have your job.”
“I quit yesterday,” Vieno said calmly.
“You…what? Why?”
“Because as much as I liked my job, I wanted to focus on you first. On taking care of you. I’m not good at multitasking, and I get overwhelmed easily, so I wanted to make sure I could devote my full attention to you.”
Lidon turned him sideways so they faced each other. “I’m…touched by that. But are you sure, honey? I thought you
valued your job… I don’t want you to give things up for me.”
“I like being a homemaker. It’s what I always wanted to be. I know there are plenty of omegas with sky high ambitions and good for them, but the thought of creating a home for you, for us, makes me far happier than any career. And since you said we didn’t need my income… We don’t, right? You don’t…like, need my money?”
Lidon smiled and kissed him softly. “Honey, I make more money off interest in a day than you make in a month, so no. And it makes me happy you get to do what you want. Start making plans, sweetheart, because I would love to rebuild this place and make it vibrant again.”
Palani woke up in an empty apartment for the first time in three years. No Vieno who made breakfast for them both, softly singing a diva-tune. The sight of the empty kitchen stabbed him in his heart, and for a few seconds, he couldn’t breathe.
His knuckles turned white from his iron grip on the counter as he forced himself to inhale. It would get better. It had to. He just had to get through this. Time would heal the wounds…and all that crap. There was a reason people spouted shit like that, right? It had to be true. One day at a time, it was all he could do. One day at a time.
And it would help to focus on something else. Not on Enar, ‘cause last night had been confusing as fuck. The way Enar had talked about Vieno was… Palani wasn't sure what to think. Did the doctor have a little crush on Vieno as well? Not that he could blame him. Vieno was… No, he wasn’t going there.
He could ask his brothers if they wanted to hang out after work. Rhene, his younger alpha brother, was always in for a good time. His life goal seemed to be to fuck his way through town, and he was making stellar progress. Kean, who was a year older than Palani and a beta like him, was much more subdued and serious. He worked as a vet tech and Palani loves his stories about all the animals he encountered. Hanging out with them usually meant Rhene would leave them after an hour or so, following some hot beta he could fuck, and then Kean and Palani would have time to catch up. Yeah, he should do that, set something up to keep him distracted. In the meantime, he would focus on his work.
He'd been so preoccupied with Vieno’s wedding he hadn’t found time yet to dig deeper into the death of Robert McCain, another cousin of Colton McCain, the omega whose death notice had started his investigation. According to public records, Robert McCain had died at twenty-two from a self-inflicted gunshot wound only two weeks before Colton had hung himself. After everything he’d discovered about the McCain family already, it seemed suspicious to Palani.
He would focus on this investigation and force the all-too-visual images of Vieno and Lidon fucking their way through the alpha's massive mansion to the back of his mind. He rushed through his regular articles for the day, including one on another cop accused of corruption. It would make Lidon distinctly unhappy with him, for sure. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Here, his job came first. He informed his boss he was working on the McCain story and headed out.
Robert McCain had worked as a computer programmer, an uncommon job for an omega. It involved more education than most omegas were able to afford—or were given the opportunity to. But Robert had managed to get a degree in computer science from a respected online university. The online part had triggered Palani in his belief that Robert, too, had suffered from the gene.
Robert had worked from home—another clue—but had been employed by an IT company called Bits ’n Pieces. His boss was still in shock, according to his secretary, but willing to speak to Palani, albeit off the record. That was fine with him as he had no idea where the story would lead.
“Mr. Leigh, Palani Hightower is here to see you,” the secretary informed her boss as soon as Palani had reported to her desk. “You can walk in, he’s expecting you,” she told him after hanging up.
Adam Leigh was a sharp-looking alpha in his early forties, dressed in an expensive pinstripe suit. His handshake was firm, and he had no trouble meeting Palani’s eyes, always a good indicator of someone’s intentions and character.
“You indicated you had questions about Rob,” he opened as soon as he’d signaled Palani to sit down.
Palani waited until the secretary had brought them both a glass of water and had left the office again. “Yes.”
“I must admit your interest in him surprised me. His death was a shock to all of us, but I don’t quite understand why it’s of interest to the papers, let alone to someone who is known for investigative reporting, like you.”
Palani detected genuine curiosity in the man’s voice. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you why, sir, only that Robert…Rob is in no way under investigation for anything and neither is your company. It’s more of a…general curiosity, as I’m still gathering facts.”
Leigh leaned back in his seat, but his eyes remained sharp. “I understand. Well, what can I help you with?”
Usually, he would ask a few introductory questions first, stuff he already had the answer to, just to settle people or to test if they were being honest. Leigh didn’t strike him as the man who’d appreciate wasting his time, so Palani went right for the important stuff.
“Mr. Leigh, did you know Rob personally?”
“We only met twice in person over the year he worked for us, but we had regular contact through email and we spoke on the phone at least twice a week. So yes, I think I can say I knew him personally.”
“Did any of the other employees have a personal relationship with him, outside of work? Hanging out, that kind of thing?”
Leigh shook his head. “No, not that I'm aware of. Rob kept to himself and indicated when we hired him he wasn’t interested in socializing.”
“That wasn’t an issue for you in hiring him? Bits ’n Pieces is a small company, wouldn’t you have preferred someone willing to network more?”
“Not at all. Rob excelled at what he did, which was line-checking code from our other developers. It’s not the most glamorous job, but he found great satisfaction in it. I didn’t care if he never left his house since he did a damn good job. Besides, programmers aren’t known for their social skills, so it’s not like he was the only one who had trouble building relationships.”
“Are you saying he never left his house?”
Leigh looked uncomfortable for the first time in their conversation. “I’m not sure, but I suspect so.”
“But you said you met him in person,” Palani pushed.
“Once during his job interview and then once a month later for his first review. After that, we kept all our contact online.”
Palani’s instincts were screaming at him. Something had happened, something Leigh was reluctant to talk about. Yet he had agreed to speak to Palani, which told him Leigh wanted to talk, but he needed a little more encouragement.
People talked to reporters for various reasons, Palani had learned. Some did it for their five minutes of fame, to get their name in the paper. Others wanted to look important. Then there were the folks who genuinely wanted to help. Leigh didn’t fit into either of those categories. No, he’d wanted to talk to Palani because he had something to confess. All Palani had to do was ask the right questions.
“What was your impression of Rob when you met him, both times?”
“Impression?” Leigh swallowed.
“Did you like him? Did he behave in a professional way?”
“He was shy, somewhat aloof. But yes, professional. I…” He cleared his throat. “Yes, I liked him.”
Oh, that statement was loaded. Palani’s head buzzed with ideas about what could have happened. “You’re mated with children, correct?”
“Yes. My wife Patricia and I have three children. Two boys, one girl.”
“That’s her?” Palani asked, pointing at a large picture of a gorgeous Hispanic looking woman that hung on the wall near Leigh’s desk.
“Yes. We’ve been married ten years, mated for five. I love her very much.”
He was getting close, Palani could feel it. “She’s beautiful.”
“I wouldn’t dream of cheating on my wife, but… We’re speaking off the record, correct?”
Ah, here we go. “Yes, Mr. Leigh. Anything you tell me is background information or will be used in such a way it doesn’t lead back to you.” He waited a beat, before continuing in a softer voice, “Did something happen between you and Rob, Mr. Leigh?”
The man’s face distorted in guilt before he buried his head in his hands. “I don’t understand what happened. I’m not even attracted to men!”
All Palani had to do now was be patient and affirm with soft encouraging cues.
“The first time we met, I thought he smelled good, despite the fact he’d about drowned himself in cologne, which I attributed to him being nervous. But his scent still came through and it was…” He sighed. “It made me hard. I didn’t understand why, since I’m not gay. I’m not a homophobe, please don’t misunderstand me, because I fully support equal rights for gay couples. It’s just not how I’m wired. I love Patricia, and I’ve always been attracted to women. This reaction to Robert was…disturbing.”
He dared to look up at Palani, who kept his face friendly and encouraging. “It triggered guilt, because of Patricia, but also because Rob is…was so young. So innocent.” He sighed. “The second meeting was…disastrous. I… I don’t understand what happened,” he said again. “We were supposed to do his monthly review over the phone, but I was out to meet a client and that meeting wrapped up sooner than I had planned, so on a whim, I drove over to Rob’s to meet him at his place.”
Palani knew what was coming. “What happened?” he asked.
“As soon as he opened the door, it was like I wasn’t myself anymore. He was all I could smell, all I could see, all I wanted… I…God, I fucked up. I pushed him against the wall, kissed him. I had him undressed in seconds. He resisted at first, then seemed to give in and invited me to his bedroom. Next thing I knew, I woke up in the backseat of my car.”