by Nora Phoenix
His voice sounded muffled, emotional. “Okay,” Lidon said. “I got you. My shift ends in an hour. Wanna meet at the ranch?”
“Yeah. I’ll wait for you.”
“Good. I’ll see you in a bit.”
He’d known this was coming, he mused, as he drove home after finishing up paperwork from an arrest he’d made earlier that day. It had been a while since they’d met like this. He tried to pinpoint the date. Two months? It maybe even be closer to three.
The last time had been a middle-of-the-night call after Enar performed an emergency surgery on the victim of a brutal rape. Cases like that always hit him hard, and he’d needed the release. Lidon suspected something similar had triggered tonight’s code yellow. Enar would stubbornly hang on until something tipped the balance, and he’d call Lidon.
Lidon’s ranch—if you could even still call it that, considering it was more of a mansion—sat on a hill, overlooking a hundred acres of land surrounding the main house and the various other buildings. The property was fenced off with the white fence common to the area, but the house itself was protected by a much larger closed fence with a main gate that required a code to get in.
It had been the Hayes family estate for generations, Lidon’s father had explained to him when he turned eighteen. Lidon wasn’t sure what his family had done in the past to be able to afford it, and he’d never gotten the chance to ask his fathers. Lidon had still been in college when a drunk driver hit his parents’ car head on as they were on their way back from a concert. As an only child, he’d inherited everything from them, including this ranch and all the land. He still missed them but was happy to live in a home that held many warm, loving memories for him.
That being said, the house was ridiculously big for him. He’d closed off a good portion of the main house, only using the few rooms he needed. Once upon a time, he had hoped to fill the house with his kids, but first Matteo’s death and then Rodrick’s betrayal had ended that dream. He’d considered selling it, but the thought had left such a bad taste in his mouth he had pushed it aside.
When he turned his car into the driveway to the main house, the lights inside were already on. Good. That meant Enar had let himself in with his key, which was exactly what the purpose of having a key was. Enar loved coming here because of the privacy Lidon’s ranch provided compared to Enar’s own modest townhouse. Lidon had offered his friend to move in on more than one occasion, but Enar had always refused without giving a clear reason, so Lidon had let it go.
When he walked in from the garage, he heard Enar moving around in the kitchen. “Beer?” his friend called out.
“Coke,” he shouted back. He dumped his bag in the hallway and kicked off his shoes. He put his gun in the gun safe in his office before walking into the kitchen, unbuttoning his uniform shirt. “And you’d better not be drinking either. You know I don’t want to mix alcohol with this.”
Enar held up his can of Selzer. “I know, sorry.”
Damn, he looked like death warmed over. He always had a tan, but his skin was pale, and dark circles betrayed his exhaustion. Lidon took a few appreciative gulps of his Coke before he spoke. “What happened?”
Enar shook his head. “I can’t. Maybe later. After.”
“Okay. You on call?”
His friend shook his head. “No. My phone is off. You?”
“Nope. Just came off my sixth consecutive day. I’m off for two now.”
Enar looked around the kitchen, then smiled a little. “About time. This place is a pigsty, man.”
Dirty dishes were stacked high on the counter next to foil wrappers from microwave meals and a ton of empty cans. Lidon was well aware his fridge stocked a few questionable food items and his freezer was almost entirely covered in frost. “Yeah.”
“You need a housekeeper.”
“You know why I don’t have one.”
“Is your privacy worth that much?”
Lidon lifted an eyebrow. “You wanna ask me that again when you sneak out tomorrow morning?”
“Touché,” Enar admitted.
Lidon took the last few gulps of his Coke. “Let’s shower.”
“I haven’t finished my drink yet,” Enar protested, as he always did. It was like he needed this reminder, this bit of force to be able to let go.
“I wasn’t asking, Enar,” Lidon said, his voice deceptively friendly. Then he allowed his alpha to come through full force. “Shower. Now.”
Lidon’s alpha power rolled through him, making it impossible to resist. It was ten kinds of fucked up, but Enar let go. He needed this, craved it to find some semblance of peace in his head.
He followed Lidon into his bedroom where he stripped without saying another word and then turned on the shower. He waited till it reached the right temperature, then stood patiently till Lidon had stepped under the double shower head and indicated he could come in. This was all part of the ritual he needed, and he could already feel his anxiety retreat.
They washed, Lidon studying him with those assessing brown eyes. Eyes which could be as warm and kind as a Labrador dog but also as cold and calculating as a hawk. He missed little, and his brain always tried to find patterns, reasons, explanations. Those analytical skills made him such an excellent cop.
“You done?” Lidon asked after a few minutes. His long, dark hair stuck against his head, curling in his neck. He needed a haircut, Enar thought. It was way past the norm for cops—not that Lidon worried about sticking to those norms.
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
They both knew what his words meant beyond the fact that he was done showering. He wanted this, but as always, Lidon would give him several opportunities to change his mind. In all those years, he never had, but that didn’t stop his best friend from checking.
They both toweled off, Enar taking a moment to admire Lidon’s body. He possessed an innate grace to his movements, every motion fluid and controlled. Broad shoulders connected to strong arms, a well-developed chest. His legs stood long, his hips lean, and his ass firm and tight. It was hard to say what his best feature was because he had many. That aristocratic face, maybe, that hinted of Slavic forefathers, at some point? Personally, Enar was partial to his cock, which stood thick and long and split him open in the best way.
“Come,” Lidon said, and the simple word caused Enar to shiver and break out in goose bumps.
He hung up his towel and walked into the bedroom, to the unmade king-size bed. Housekeeping was not Lidon’s forte. Not that Enar cared, not even in the least. He loved smelling his strong alpha scent in the sheets as Lidon fucked him till he had nothing left to give. The thought alone made him tremble.
This part was a ritual too. Him planting himself facedown on the mattress, burying his head in Lidon’s pillow so he wouldn’t have to see, to talk. They included no kissing, nothing romantic. He needed a hard fuck, and he was damn lucky he had a trustworthy friend willing to provide it. If anyone found out what they did, his career would be over.
It was one thing for Lidon to fuck another alpha. As an alpha, you could get away with that because you were supposed to be the dominating partner. No, it would be Enar who would be vilified for letting another alpha take him. For an alpha, it was about the worst thing that could be said about you. It was unnatural, people said, against the very core of who he was supposed to be.
For Enar, it was very much who he was…hell, what kept him sane, the ability to surrender to Lidon every now and then and let himself be taken instead of being the aggressor, the dominant one. He was so damn lucky that Lidon agreed to take care of him, time and again. What they did constituted the ultimate pity fuck, and yet there had to be something in it for his best friend because he’d been undeniably hard every single time and never had trouble reaching a climax.
A lubed finger tapped his hole, and he relaxed to let him in. Unlike omegas, he had no natural lubrication, and his channel was a lot less flexible, so Lidon had to prep him well, which he always did. The finger fucking made
a sloshing sound, and Enar sought friction with his cock against the sheets.
“You’d better not come before me,” Lidon warned him in that deceptively mild tone of his. It was fucking deadly because people tended to underestimate how serious he was. Boy, did they find out when they ignored that first mild order. An angry Lidon was a frightening sight.
“I know,” Enar mumbled into the pillow, letting out a small groan when a second finger demanded entry.
It took a few minutes before he was loose enough. He never rushed Lidon. No one told Lidon what to do. He was the epitome of an alpha, unlike Enar who demonstrated at this very moment what a sorry excuse for an alpha he was, at least according to society.
He pulled up his legs, spreading himself wide open for the taking. His skin prickled with anticipation, like a low charge dancing across his body. His breath rushed out when Lidon pushed in and breached that first line of defense. He didn’t wait but steadily entered him, inch by inch, splitting him open in that indescribable mix of pain and pleasure.
“S-so good,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I know,” was the calm answer.
Lidon didn’t wait for Enar to adjust, because that was exactly the point. It wasn’t about him, about his pleasure—it was about being taken for Lidon’s enjoyment and fulfillment. And so the alpha took him with slow, deep thrusts that made his eyes water at first and his breath come out in puffs. Then Lidon sped up and sank deep inside him, that powerful body filling him completely.
“You are so damn tight,” Lidon said, underlining his statement with a forceful thrust.
Enar moaned, finally closing his eyes, causing two tears to start their descent down his cheeks. His body burned, his ass throbbed in the best way, and his dick leaked with pleasure. He ached like he'd grown too big for his skin, like it could rip open at any second, making him explode.
“What do you say to your alpha when he compliments you?”
He should fight this dominance, should battle Lidon for it, but why would he when he craved it all along? So he surrendered, his body relaxing, even as Lidon fucked him deep. “Thank you, alpha.”
Lidon let out an appreciative rumble, the sound echoing through the room. He sped up, his thrusts coming faster now, an indication he was about to blow his first load. Enar held on to the sheets, his head still buried in the pillow. He didn’t dare to move, not when he was so close to coming himself. He couldn’t, not in this situation, not when he acted like a beta. Alphas came first, that’s how it worked. Besides, he didn’t even want to climax first. That was not what this was about.
“Ugh!” Lidon shouted as his cock inside Enar spasmed, then released warm liquid. God, he loved the sensation of being filled with spunk. It was so wrong yet so wonderfully filthy and right.
Lidon’s whole body trembled before he sighed with contentment. “Damn, that was good.”
He kept fucking him lazily, his cock still hard. The man had serious stamina, even with another alpha. He wouldn’t knot him, though technically he could if he wanted to. Younger alphas had little control over their knot, as it was usually triggered by sex with an omega, but more experienced ones like Lidon could knot when they wanted to, regardless of their partner. Few alphas ever did it with betas since their channels weren’t as flexible as omegas'. But if you had a partner who got off on a bit of pain, knotting was supposed to feel exquisite. Maybe, someday.
For now, Enar was happy with whatever Lidon chose to share with him, knowing that what he requested of his friend was anything but ordinary. Lidon had never turned him down when he’d reached his yellow, his own perceived edge of sanity.
Enar’s hole made sloppy sounds now that Lidon pushed his cum out of it, a big gush dripping down Enar’s crack. It was fucking hot, this sound, this sensation. His body tightened, his balls pulled flush against his body. He balled his fists, fighting back the orgasm that had already built inside him. He wouldn’t let go, not until…
Enar waited for it, the words that would set him free, release his pent-up frustration and anxiety and stress.
Lidon waited a minute before he spoke, thrusting in deep all that time. “Come for me.”
Enar threw his head back and came without ever touching his cock.
They took another shower after they had both come a second time. There was no touching, no lingering intimacy. In many ways, this was kind of a business deal where they both got what they needed.
“You look like crap,” Lidon said when they got dressed again.
Enar couldn’t help but laugh. “Always the charmer, aren’t you?”
Lidon shrugged. “There’s no need for me to charm you.”
That, at least, was true. They’d known each other since kindergarten. They’d stayed friends in high school, then attended the same university, playing football together—though Enar’s career on the team had been short-lived, since he lacked the necessary aggression for that sport. He and Lidon had remained friends since, though the word friends didn't capture their complicated relationship. Lidon was one of the very few people who knew Enar’s secret.
“I’ve been working a lot,” Enar explained.
“What happened today that got you so upset?”
Enar had known he wouldn’t let go. Lidon was willing to provide the release, but he always wanted the whole picture. “I lost a patient. A regular.”
Lidon turned toward him as he pulled up clean jeans. “How?”
“He…he bled out after giving birth to his fifth child.”
“Fifth?” Lidon’s eyes grew big.
“Yeah. I told him after the second he was high risk, but his alpha… He only had daughters, and he wanted a son. An alpha or beta, preferably.”
Lidon shook his head, his face tight. “Did the baby make it?”
“Yeah.” Enar swallowed back bile that rose up in his throat. “It’s a boy. A healthy alpha boy. His omega daddy is dead, but apparently, that was a price his alpha father was willing to pay.”
Lidon’s anger showed in the brusque gesture with which he pulled a clean T-shirt over his head. “Selfish bastard.”
With tired movements, Enar lowered himself onto the bed, wincing when his ass reminded him of his activities minutes before. “We’re failing them, Lidon,” he said, putting on his socks. “We’re failing omegas, especially the men. I see the results every day.”
He put his feet back on the floor. Lidon was fully dressed now, leaning against the wall.
“They don’t have access to the same medical care we do. Omegas need permission for treatments crucial to their health from their parents or partners, and that’s not even taking into consideration all other decisions they can’t legally make. They’re third-rate citizens, as Palani worded it, and he’s right. We’re failing them on every level.”
“I hear what you’re saying, and it’s not that I don’t agree with you, but aside from trying to do better ourselves, what can we do? This is the law that’s in place. You and I, we can’t change that,” Lidon said.
“If we keep saying that, nothing will ever change. Someone has to take the first step, and it has to be more than doing something on a personal level.”
“Like what?” Lidon wasn’t attacking him. He was trying to understand, to gather the facts, like he always did.
“I have no idea,” he said, his shoulders dropping. “I wanna do more but have no clue where to start.”
“Enar, no one else does as much for omegas as you do, and you do it all for free. I don’t know how you could possibly do more without completely losing yourself. You’re already spreading yourself thin, my friend.”
“I know,” Enar said, miserable. “I feel so powerless, but there has got to be something we can do, something that other, more progressive alphas can do. If only I could figure out what.”
Lidon, ever the pragmatist, said, “If you figure it out, let me know. In the meantime, why don’t you give me a hand in somewhat sanitizing my kitchen before we throw some steaks on the grill?
”
8
Palani sighed as he got into his car after a long day at the paper. It had been a shitty assignment his boss had saddled him with. Despite the success of some of his articles, he was still very much the junior reporter and regularly got stuck with jobs no one else wanted to do.
Like asking the mayor what his opinion was on a string of lawsuits against alphas who weren’t paying paternity support. Like anyone doubted the alpha mayor would defend other alphas, in this case with a verbose rant so stuffed with clichés Palani struggled to distill the core message from the verbal barrage. It was an election year, and the mayor took every opportunity to promote himself and his pro-alpha platform. Sigh.
Oh. well, at least he’d tried. Like he had for the last four weeks, ever since Vieno’s heat. Palani had done nothing but try his best, but it turned out it wasn’t quite so easy to erase the image of your lover riding another man’s cock. Especially not when it was evident it had been exactly what he wanted, what he needed.
Hell, he couldn't deny the striking improvement in Vieno's health. He’d gained some of the weight he’d lost, his cheeks had their color back, and he’d resumed his usual household routines with enthusiasm and energy. The apartment sparkled and shone, and a home-cooked meal had waited for Palani after work every single day.
Granted, Vieno still hadn’t set foot outside, but maybe that would never happen until he found an alpha mate. Or got fucked by an alpha so often his own alluring scent would be undetectable. He’d smelled like Lidon for days after—another painful reminder to Palani of his failure to take proper care of Vieno.
Despite his frustration, Palani was grateful Vieno was doing so much better. Enar had administered a shot that prevented pregnancy and had come back two days later to give Vieno another one. He’d been professional yet kind, which made it hard to be upset with him.
Plus, Palani didn’t have a reason to be upset, now did he? He’d invited them in. Hell, he’d all but explicitly given permission, and so had Vieno. They had both wanted this, if out of necessity, so there was no reason to be…frustrated.