by Nora Phoenix
His hole was still somewhat soft and pliable from Enar’s rimming, and the alpha had no issue prepping him fast. He rolled a condom on, coated himself, and nestled between Palani’s legs. The soft, wet kiss he gave him made Palani’s stomach curl.
He took his time entering him, a frown of concentration on his face, and his blue eyes reading every signal on Palani’s face. As soon as he cringed, even a little, Enar stopped and allowed him time to adjust.
“Fuck, you’re tight…” Enar panted.
“I told you it had been a while,” Palani grunted, focusing on relaxing.
“Let me know if it’s too much.”
“It’s not. It’s about to get good…”
When Enar was fully seated, they exhaled at the same time. His eyes had never left Palani’s face. “I like looking at you,” he said, then blushed in a way that made Palani want to cuddle him.
“Do you now?” he said instead.
“Your face, it’s… I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone where their face matches their character so well. It’s as sassy and complex as you are.”
His cheeks still flushed, Enar seemed embarrassed by his words. Palani’s heart did a funny little hop inside his chest. “That’s pretty deep,” he said softly. “But I like it.”
“I’m a pretty deep guy at times,” Enar said, his face relaxing into the trademark crooked smile that made Palani’s insides twist.
“You do realize I could make, like, a ton of puns about that, considering what we’re doing right now, right?” he said to lighten the mood a bit.
Enar’s smile widened. “One day, I wanna hear all of them. But not now.”
“No,” Palani said. “I had other ideas for what we could do now.”
“Me too,” Enar agreed, and then he stopped talking and, instead, pulled back and thrust in with a precise move.
“Ungh,” Palani moaned. “That’s much better than talking.”
Enar repeated his move, then transitioned into a slow but steady tempo, every move exact and controlled. Palani wrapped his legs around him, holding on to the alpha’s arms to anchor himself. No more words were spoken, the only sounds audible the slick noises of Enar’s thrusts and the grunts and moans from both of them.
Palani closed his eyes, his senses too overloaded to deal with seeing Enar’s intent gaze. It intensified his focus on his body, on Enar’s cock sliding in and out of him, creating a delicious mix of burn and pleasure that had his body throbbing with need.
This wasn’t the frantic fuck they’d initiated during Vieno’s heat. This was slower. More deliberate. Thorough. This was Enar showing him what it was like to be fucked by an alpha who was in control of himself. And fuck, Palani loved it.
He let go of Enar’s biceps with his right hand and wrapped it around his weeping cock. Within seconds, he fisted himself in the same cadence as Enar’s thrusts. His cock was warm, slick steel in his hand, his ass liquid fire, and his balls white-hot pressure. He focused on the fullness inside him, the friction and the hot sparks every time Enar tagged his prostate.
Palani arched, his body straining to get as much of Enar as possible. God, he wanted to crawl out of his skin with the sheer want of it, the need that thundered through his system. His cock flexed in his hand, his balls painfully tight.
He opened his eyes, immediately meeting Enar’s blue eyes, which had gone dark with desire but had not lost any of their intensity. “God, I love watching you fall apart,” Enar said, his voice low and raspy.
Palani lifted his ass, begging with his body for more. He wanted to come so badly he heard himself make sounds he’d never made before. “Please…”
Enar slammed into his ass, letting go of the finesse he’d demonstrated so far. Palani didn’t need it anymore. He needed… Another deep shove. That. He needed that.
His left hand clawed at Enar’s biceps as Enar rammed inside him again. His right hand squeezed his cock with a force that made his eyes tear up, and then he came. Thick ropes shot out of him in bursts at the same time as Enar did a frantic last pounding before letting out a long moan that sounded more like a howl, his strong body quivering with the force of his orgasm.
He collapsed on top of Palani, his body still shaking and trembling. Palani wriggled his hand out, which had gotten trapped between their bodies, and he wrapped his arms around him, holding him as he shuddered one last time.
“That was…” Enar muttered finally against Palani’s neck, his cock softening inside him.
“Epic,” Palani said, still coming down from his high. “Epic is the word you’re looking for.”
They stayed like that, their hearts and breaths slowing down until Enar’s soft dick slipped out of Palani. He rolled off to take off the condom. “Do you want to take a shower?” he asked, uncertainty lacing his voice.
“Yeah. Shower would be good.”
They barely spoke as they showered, but the intimacy lingered. Soft kisses. Touches. Palani washing Enar’s back. Enar holding him close as they let the warm water rain down on them.
They toweled off, then crawled back into bed. Palani hesitated but then installed himself with his back against the headboard, supported by a few pillows, and pulled Enar toward him between his legs.
His instinct told him that Enar wanted to talk, and to do that, he needed to be held, even if he had a hard time giving in to that need. It was what he had done when he was drunk, crawl into Palani’s arms instead of the other way around. Enar avoided his look as he gave in and nestled himself against Palani’s chest. It was a strange but wonderful sensation to hold the bigger man, and Palani’s heart did a happy little jig.
“Talk if you want to, but if not, this is pretty sweet too,” he said, kissing Enar’s head.
“Damn,” Enar said, “you not only are a good listener but also know exactly what to say. You’re good with words.”
“Thank you.”
They sat for a few minutes like that, and Palani thought Enar had decided not to talk when he spoke up. “I’ve always felt different not only from my parents but from others as well. I’m the only alpha in my direct family, so I’m an anomaly, and it would make sense for me to experience a certain estrangement. But I’ve been different from other alphas as well.”
He took Palani’s hand and played with his fingers, clearly needing to do something with his hands, so Palani let him.
“It seemed to come so naturally to them, being an alpha, whereas I always had to work for it. My powers are weak, which became clear in high school when everyone else developed theirs. But my…my sex drive was too. You know how young alphas fuck around? Well, maybe you don’t, but they do, mostly with beta friends. They’re like rabbits at that age, but I wasn’t. I tried, and I liked it, but I didn’t recognize that crazy sex drive my alpha friends had.”
Palani hmmed to affirm he was listening.
“I try to be what and who people expect me to be, but it’s hard. The dominant stuff, the role expectations, it doesn’t feel true to how I am on the inside…like I’m acting, playing a role.”
Palani waited to make sure Enar was done speaking, and asked, “If you were to act like how you are on the inside, what would that look like?”
It took a minute, maybe more before Enar answered, and when he did, his voice was barely audible. “Like a beta…”
19
“Good morning, sexy,” Charlene called out to Lidon. “How’s married life treating you?”
He sent her a grin as he folded his long frame into a chair next to her desk. “Pretty sweet, thank you.”
“Have you guys christened every room in your house yet?”
Charlene was one of the few people who knew of Lidon’s home, and the only reason was her husband, John, had been Lidon’s boss when he first started on the force. He was now a high-ranking officer in the corps. Charlene knew he wanted to keep that information to himself, so she never breathed a word to anyone.
“We’re making good headway.” He laughed, hoping she wouldn’t see
through it.
The truth was that something was off with Vieno that he couldn’t put his finger on. At first, he’d chalked it up to him needing time to adjust to all the changes, but three days later, he wasn’t so sure that was the case. His heat was coming in a few days, but it felt like something else. Something bigger.
Charlene’s eyes narrowed for a second, but she decided to let it go. Thank fuck for that.
“Excellon,” she said, lowering her voice. “That birth control you asked me to look into for possible bribery?”
He nodded, leaning in. “What did you find out?”
“You were right about the company that owns it. It’s a small company called Lukos, founded five years ago. They developed Excellon as well as two other drugs. One is still in clinical trial, a heat suppressant for male omegas called X34 for now while it awaits approval from the government. The other is—”
“X34?” Lidon interrupted her. He’d heard that name before. He’d even discussed it with Enar. Wait, Blondie. The blond beta he’d arrested and then let go, the one who had bought the meds for his omega husband. “I recently arrested a drug dealer who sold that stuff.”
Charlene nodded. “I’m not surprised. I don’t understand half of what I read, but the clinical trial results are promising. If the stuff is half as good as they claim, I bet omegas can’t wait to get their hands on it.”
Lidon’s thoughts drifted to Vieno. Would this be an option for him to suppress some of the excesses of his heat? Then Enar’s remarks popped back into his head. Did Lidon really want to diminish Vieno’s heat? Enar had been right. There was something powerful about being needed and wanted that way.
“You still with me?” Charlene asked.
“Yeah, sorry. Went on a tangent. What else did you discover?”
“The third patent they have is for another birth control method, also aimed at male omegas. It passed clinical trials with flying colors, but there’s administrative holdup at the approval level. It’s called Optimon.”
Hadn’t Enar said something about that as well, about a more effective birth control method that still hadn’t been approved? He’d called Lidon naïve when he’d asked why.
“Anything strike you as unusual in what you discovered?” he asked.
Charlene leaned even farther forward, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Yes. One, it’s highly unusual for a company that young in that field to have three successful patents in such a short time. Medical research usually takes a decade, if not more, and requires a high degree of experience and a truckload of money. No one had ever heard of Lukos until five years ago, and they’re highly secretive. It’s not a publicly traded company either, all privately owned.”
Lidon frowned. She had a good point, though he wasn’t familiar enough with company structures and research processes to have thought of that himself. He could check that with Enar; maybe even with Palani, who excelled at investigating stuff.
“Two, I do believe there’s bribery going on, on various levels. The delay in government approval for Optimon is suspicious, considering the results of the clinical trials. And your source was correct that insurance companies are putting pressure on doctors not to prescribe it. I suspect they’ve teamed up with the three big drug companies, but I haven’t gotten clear evidence yet.”
“Damn, if that’s true, this is big,” Lidon said, his mind reeling with the implications of a case this big. Why hadn’t the White-Collar Division looked into this? Were they in on this as well?
“This is as far as I can go because Ryland is monitoring me closely. He can’t fire me because of John, but he stopped trusting me a long time ago. I think he may somehow be plugged into my emails or even all my electronic actions, and I can’t risk him finding out what I’m discovering. You’re on your own now, Lidon.”
Shit, he’d been right. They were part of the problem, at least Ryland was. He’d never liked the guy, but he hadn’t been expecting this. If Ryland was dirty, how many more cases were not being investigated because of him or others who had been bribed?
“Have you talked to Internal Affairs?” Lidon asked, his voice barely audible.
She nodded. “Yes. For months now. They’re building a case, but he’s slippery.”
“Thank you. Be careful, okay?”
She grabbed his wrist. “You be careful. He’s…dangerous. I know you’re a badass cop and all, but he’s operating without any morals whatsoever. If he finds out you’re digging into this, he’ll come after you. Promise me you’ll protect yourself.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I will.”
As he walked back to his desk, her words spun around in his head. What the hell had he gotten himself into? This was far, far outside his scope of responsibilities, and yet he couldn’t let this go. Not if other cops, fellow officers, deliberately turned a blind eye to crime. But was he willing to face the shitstorm this could cause when he got himself involved in this? Charlene’s warning sat fresh on his mind.
Protect the Pack.
His father’s words rang clear in his head. If what Charlene said was true, and he had no doubt it was, Ryland wouldn’t only come after him. He’d come after those Lidon loved. His main priority wasn’t to protect himself but those around him: Vieno, Enar, even Palani. He had to find a way to keep them safe. Vieno, first and foremost.
As soon as Lidon left for work after eating the breakfast Vieno had cooked for him, Vieno worked on the kitchen. Lidon had spent the two days after their wedding home with him, helping Vieno find his way around and explaining how everything functioned.
Plus, consummating their marriage. They’d fucked like rabbits, to put it crudely, which was wonderful and confusing at the same time because first, Vieno wasn’t used to having sex outside his heat, and second, he hadn’t expected to love the sex as much as he did. What did it say about him that he so easily switched from one man he’d claimed to love to another?
The thought made him slightly nauseous, so he pushed it away. He needed to focus on what made him happy, not dwell on what made him sad. Otherwise that sinking sensation would come back, and he couldn’t do that to Lidon. The man deserved more. After everything he’d done for Vieno, he deserved a happy omega who took great care of him, so Vieno would do his damnest to be that person.
He put on some happy music, spending a minute or two trying to remember how Lidon’s expensive sound system worked, then another five minutes being wowed by the sheer sound of the thing. Wearing bright yellow gloves, he tackled the fridge first. God, the thing was gross. He’d opted to make Lidon oatmeal this morning, too afraid to open anything other than milk until he’d sanitized the fridge.
True to his word, Lidon had arranged for an almost literal truckload of groceries to be delivered to the gate the day after their wedding. Vieno had spent an hour making a grocery list, and Lidon had called it in to get it delivered the same day. It was amazing what you could accomplish when money wasn’t an issue.
Most of the groceries still stood stacked in crates outside the kitchen. Lidon had offered to help put them away, but Vieno had declined. It was senseless when he would have to take everything out again to clean.
He scrubbed the fridge until it looked new and smelled like lemon, then put all the refrigerated products back in. Phew, that was done. He emptied his bucket in the sink, then took off his gloves to rest for a second.
He was tired, for some reason. His heat was two days away, so was that bothering him? He always slept more the day before, as his body stored up sleep since he wouldn’t get much the forty-eight hours of his heat. It could also be because everything was still so new. The house was magnificent, but it felt empty to him, all by himself. The emptiness didn't scare him, but he felt more alone than in their apartment. Palani’s apartment.
God, he missed him. He hadn’t dared to contact him with Lidon at home, even though his alpha had assured him he could call Palani at any time. He didn’t want them to stop being friends, he’d explained to Vieno, just
hold off on seeing each other for a little bit to get used to the new situation. Vieno considered that a reasonable request, so he’d agreed.
He had not expected to miss Palani this much. Even the thought of him made his stomach cramp and his heart contract painfully. He needed to hear his voice, ensure he was okay. He’d dialed the number before he could talk himself out of it over guilt toward Lidon.
“Hey, baby,” Palani answered, then quickly corrected, “Vieno. Sorry, force of habit. How are you?”
Vieno’s knees buckled at the sound of his voice, and he slid onto the floor, his back against the kitchen cabinets. His throat was so constricted he had to swallow a few times.
“Vieno? Are you okay?” Palani asked with concern in his voice.
“I’m…I’m okay. Good. I’m good,” Vieno managed.
“You don’t sound good.”
He’d never been able to fool Palani. He knew him too well and was tuned into him to read his every mood.
“I’m adjusting,” he said.
“I know it’s hard, baby.” This time, Palani didn’t seem to realize he’d used the endearment again, and Vieno wasn’t telling him. He loved it when Palani called him that. “It’ll take time before you feel settled.”
“His house is huge.”
Palani laughed, but it didn’t sound all that happy, more like he was trying to cheer Vieno up. “It's massive, right? Enar gave me the five-minute tour when we dropped off your stuff, but holy fucking hell, I’ve never seen anything like it. I take it you’re cleaning?”
He knew him so well. “Fridge is done, and I’m about to start on the rest of the kitchen.”
“Good. That will help you feel better as well. You love cleaning, and the dirt is probably getting on your nerves, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. Lidon says I can start any renovation project I want. Did you see the outbuildings and stuff? I want to rebuild the chicken coop and start with a vegetable garden.”
“You’ll love that. I’m so happy Lidon gives you a free hand in that. Are you still happy you quit your job?”