by Nora Phoenix
In that moment, Enar realized that everything Grayson had told them was true. Lidon was so much more than a mere man… He not only was their alpha but also the True Alpha, and he’d bring change. A peace settled in Enar’s heart at the knowledge that he was a part of this, that he would not only witness history being made but also would help shape it himself.
A little trail of blood trickled down Palani’s neck, and Lidon licked it up, moaning low and deep. Without saying a word, he rolled Palani onto his back and slammed inside him, forcing the air out of his lungs with an audible swoosh. He repeated the move as Palani held on to his shoulders for dear life.
“Mine,” Lidon snarled. “You’re mine.”
The possessiveness was unlike anything Enar had seen from him before, and it showed the alpha claim had taken root.
“Yours, alpha,” Palani repeated, his voice raw.
Lidon fucked him harder than Enar had ever seen him do before, but Palani took it, encouraging Lidon with grunts and moans. “I’m yours,” he kept repeating until Lidon sped up and came inside him, throwing his head back and letting out another alpha roar.
He collapsed on top of Palani, whose arms came around him as he nuzzled his neck, mumbling things too soft for Enar to hear. Enar smiled. Even Lidon couldn’t resist Palani’s cuddles. The man was too damn inviting not to seek shelter in his arms. He was their safe spot, the place they could be themselves, vulnerable.
He held Vieno as they watched in silence how Lidon returned to earth, finally pulling out of Palani, kissing him before rolling off him.
“It’s your turn,” Vieno said softly but with excitement in his voice.
“Thank you for sharing him with us, little one,” Enar said.
Vieno turned around in his arms. “He was never only mine. He always was ours, just like you’re ours.”
Enar nodded, finally feeling the truth as much as he believed it and knew it in his head. “Will you prep me?” he asked Palani. The mark on his shoulder was furiously red, but Enar looked at it with longing. A few minutes more and he’d have one of his own.
“Gladly.”
Palani took his time, stretching him with slow, sweet gestures, kissing him until he was a writhing mess, dying to be filled. “I love it when you get all needy,” the beta whispered against his lips. “My beautiful, strong man. I’m so proud of you.”
“I love you,” Enar said, his throat constricted. He’d never thought he’d ever be in this position, to be claimed. For so long he’d believed he should do the claiming, even though it had felt ten kinds of wrong. The freedom of this moment, it was indescribable.
“He’s ready for you, alpha,” Palani said.
Enar expected Lidon to take position on his back again, but the alpha hesitated. “This one is different,” he said. “He completes us, so it should be all of us, united.”
Enar frowned. What did Lidon mean?
“Enar, on your knees, your ass toward me,” Lidon commanded. “Palani, take position in front of him, and, Vieno, you’re in front of Palani. All four of us, connected.”
Only then did Enar understand. Vieno and Palani took position, Palani sinking deep inside the omega without a problem. No wonder, Vieno had to be horny as fuck after what he’d witnessed. Enar positioned himself behind Palani and entered him, his hole still slick and stretched from Lidon’s not-too-gentle claiming.
Lidon’s head pressed against him, and he opened up, spreading his legs as wide as they would go and pushing his ass back. Palani and Vieno moved with him, never losing their connection.
“My man,” Lidon said, pushing inside with one steady move. “My men.”
“Yours, alpha,” Palani mumbled, echoed by Vieno.
“How about you, my beta?” Lidon asked, wrapping his strong arms around Enar. “You ready to accept my claim?”
Enar raised his head. “I’m yours, alpha.”
“Do you accept my alpha as your mate for life, sealing our unbreakable bond as long as we both shall live?” Lidon asked again.
“Yes, alpha.” Enar’s eyes filled, and his voice broke as he spoke the words he never thought he’d utter. “Do you accept my beta as your mate for life, sealing our unbreakable bond as long as we both shall live?”
“Yes, beta.”
Lidon was quiet for a second, but then he continued, his voice ringing out.
“We are four, and we are one, alpha, beta, beta, and omega. Four hearts, one soul. Four bodies, one mind. What we bind together, no man will ever break apart. I am the alpha, and I claim these men for life!”
Lidon roared, and Enar’s ears rang with the force. He roared again, and the power would have knocked Enar over if Lidon hadn’t held him. On the third roar, Lidon snapped his hips back and drove deep inside Enar, making him dizzy with the force. Once more he roared, and then his mouth descended on Enar’s shoulder, and his vision went white hot, then black. He was split in two, made whole again, and he cried as he came, as they all came.
A haze settled over him, over them all, and he was hard, so hard, so hungry for sex, for cock, for his men. Was this how Vieno felt during his heat? Like a hot, throbbing ball of need, that wanted to come, then come again, and then again until he was full and empty at the same time?
He took, and he was taken, again and again and again, until he went limp, and he slept in his men’s arms.
22
Palani couldn’t explain it, but when Franken called him into his office a week after the alpha claiming, he knew it was bad. Franken hadn’t said anything, but Palani had sensed it. Maybe it was because he’d seen the big brass who owned his paper come in yesterday and talk to Franken. He wasn’t sure, but something was going on, and it had to do with him.
When he walked into Franken’s office, his boss’s face was tight. “Have a seat,” he told Palani, and his friendly tone affirmed something was up.
Franken leaned forward in his chair. “There have been complaints from the cops since you started your investigation into corruption,” he began. Palani nodded, since he was well aware. “And we’ve always supported you, since you could back up your findings with evidence.”
Palani nodded again, and Franken sighed as he dragged a hand through his receding hairline. “Your last piece, about the corruption in the White-Collar Division did not go over well.”
Palani had debated hard whether he should write the piece, scared he would trigger Ryland into more violence like the attack on the ranch. In the end, he’d decided not to name him by name but paint a bigger picture of incompetence and corruption in his division. He’d also omitted any mention of Excellon, since he felt it was too soon to go public, since he still didn’t have all the facts. If the conspiracy was as massive as he feared, showing how much he knew could prove catastrophic.
“I’m guessing that’s an understatement?” Palani asked with feigned indifference, since he knew all too well the absolute chaos and fury his piece had caused at police headquarters, courtesy of Lidon.
“The chief of police was livid, but…” Franken hesitated. “Look, there’s been a ton of pressure from high-ranking officials on me and the paper to make your investigations stop. The reasoning is that people are losing trust in cops, and that’s a bad thing for all of us, since it erodes trust in government.”
“The truth gets too painful, huh?” Palani said with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew where this was headed. Dammit.
“Well, they’re claiming it’s not the truth, but that the evidence you showed was fabricated by an inside source.”
Palani’s hands started to sweat. This was worse than he had expected. “An inside source, sir?”
“Yes, a cop. They’re saying he helped you fabricate this evidence to further your career.”
“What cop, sir?” He knew, but he had to ask.
“Palani, is it true you are involved in a clandestine four-way relationship with three other men, one of whom is a cop?”
His heart dropped out, but he looked Franken straigh
t in the eyes as he answered. “Yes, sir. But there’s nothing clandestine about it. Our alpha alpha claimed all three of us, and none of us are hiding it.”
“What you do in your home and especially in your bedroom is none of my concern, but—”
“No,” Palani interrupted him. “It’s not. We are four legal adults in a committed, consensual relationship. That is no one’s business but ours.”
“It is if the cop you’re sleeping with is accused of doctoring evidence for you, so you could write flashy pieces and get famous.”
“You don’t seriously believe that, sir.”
Franken’s body language was contradictory. His stern face and tone seemed to say he was upset with Palani, but the hesitance in the rest of his body, the slight twitching of his fingers, told Palani there was more to this.
“I don’t know what to believe.”
“Sir, my first articles came out before I had even met Lidon. And I showed you how I collected evidence, every step of the way.”
Franken’s face softened. “You did, and I gave the okay, but now I’m telling you that we can no longer support you in this. You’ve gone too far, pissed off the wrong people.”
Ah, now they were getting to the real issue. “What people would that be, sir?”
Franken leaned back in his chair. “My hands are tied. I hope you realize that. I’ve stood by you, but I’m not willing to lose my job over you.”
“Am I…am I being fired, sir?” Palani asked.
“You’re suspended without pay. For now. The board wants a full investigation into your sources and methods.”
Palani shook his head. “I won’t give up my sources, sir.”
“No, I didn’t think you would. But it’s what they’re demanding, so you need to ask yourself how much you’re willing to lose over your ethics.”
“If I don’t give up my sources, they’ll fire me?”
“Count on it,” Franken said. “For now, you’re suspended, which will give you a little time to figure out your strategy, but if you don’t cooperate, they will boot you.”
Regret colored the man’s voice, and Palani took comfort in that. “I appreciate the heads-up, sir,” he said. He rose from his chair.
“Palani,” Franken said, using his first name since he’d started working for the paper. “For what it’s worth, I’m truly sad to see it play out like this. You deserve better.”
He nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
He walked over to his desk to grab his bag and discovered two security guards waiting for him. “We’re here to escort you out. You can take personal items only,” one of the guards said.
Palani nodded. Good thing he always scanned his notes into his own laptop and then destroyed the paper copies. He never stored any privacy sensitive information on his work laptop, knowing it wasn’t safe. Journalism 101, always protect your sources.
He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and walked out, sending Adar a quick text he was already on his way. He waited outside the office till Adar had shown up.
“I thought you were staying in all day,” the bulky alpha greeted him.
“So did I. I got suspended.”
Adar’s eyes widened. “Interesting timing. Isam just called me, said something was going down at the clinic.”
“What’s happening? Is Enar okay?” Isam was Enar’s security guard. Enar had left early that morning because he had a full day of procedures at the clinic he rented an OR from.
“The Health Department is raiding the clinic, from what I understand.”
“Oh, shit,” Palani said. If they discovered the illegal procedures Enar did, the meds he gave patients without prescriptions, he could not only lose his medical license but also go to jail. That in itself was worrisome enough, but the timing was conspicuous, the fact that it happened on the same day as Palani getting suspended.
“Have you checked in with Bray? Is Vieno okay at the ranch?” He hadn’t felt anything from Vieno, but he couldn’t rely on that, since they still weren't sure how that connection with the omega worked.
“Yeah, everything is fine, but Bray is on high alert.”
“Can we go to Enar? Is he still there?”
“Yes. They told him he couldn’t leave until they’d concluded their on-site investigation.” Adar looked as worried as Palani felt. “Will they find anything?” he asked Palani. “Does he keep any proof there of what he does?”
Palani’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know what he does?”
Adar’s strong hand landed on his shoulder. “He helped my youngest sister when she was pregnant at eighteen. I took her, and he took care of it, of her. She’d been foolish and careless, but her life would’ve been over had she kept it, so he helped her. He’s a good man.”
Palani’s face softened. “Yes, he is. And no, they won’t find much. He keeps records of his legal patients only. The rest is in his head. He’s as careful as he can be.”
“Good,” Adar relaxed a bit, though he was always on alert, constantly checking his surroundings. “And you showing up won’t complicate things?”
Palani smiled. “I always complicate things, but that’s what makes life interesting. No, he needs me, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”
The men had shown up midway through a surgery. Enar had been tying his patient’s tubes—a perfectly legal procedure, thank fuck—when he’d heard the commotion outside his OR. Loud voices, lots of footsteps. His stomach sank. He’d feared this day would come.
“What the hell is going on?” Nancy, his OR assistant, asked.
“I don’t know, but can you find out, please?” Enar asked. “And make sure they don’t step foot inside because we can’t contaminate the OR.”
Nancy walked out, leaving Enar with Jaser, the anesthesiologist, and Maz, an ob-gyn resident, who volunteered with Enar as much as he could. He was a fourth-year resident and a gifted one who shared Enar’s passion to better to health and lives of omegas. He’d done countless procedures with Enar, knowing damn well at least half of them weren’t legal.
Jaser knew too, but if that man cared about anything else than money, Enar hadn’t discovered it yet. He wouldn’t sell Enar out—the man assisted in clinics like this all over the city and wouldn’t want to lose that lucrative side business—but he wasn’t exactly an ally either.
“Do you know what that’s about?” Maz asked.
“I have a suspicion. Don’t get sucked into this, Maz,” he warned the man.
“Into what?” Maz asked, his tone light.
Enar had met him at a mandated training from the Health Department, and they’d hit it off instantly. Maz exuded a calmness that Enar appreciated, and so did patients.
“Sir, no!” he heard Nancy say outside. “That’s a sterile environment.”
The OR sliding door swooshed open, revealing two men in suits.
“Enar Magnusson?” one of them asked.
“That’s Dr. Magnusson to you. Who the hell are you?”
“We’re inspectors from the Health Department, performing an inspection on your facilities after complaints.”
Complaints, his ass. They’d found out about his illegal activities somehow and were trying to find evidence. Good luck with that. “That’s all good and well, but you need to get the hell out of my OR because I have a woman exposed on the table here. You’re contaminating the OR.” Enar pushed as much alpha into his voice as he could.
“What procedure are you performing?” the other man asked.
“A bilateral tubal ligation. Can you leave now? I’d like to focus on my patient here before I accidentally kill her, if you don’t mind.”
“We’ll stay right here until you’re done, Doctor.”
They stayed in the doorway, at least, while Enar finished the procedure. Luckily, the ligation went flawless, and his patient should be up in no time. And their timing was perfect because an hour later they would’ve caught him performing an illegal abortion on a male omega.
He waited before sp
eaking till Nancy had wheeled their patient out of the OR into the recovery room. “Now, what the hell is going on?”
It was amazing how much effort it cost him to be so alpha after having the freedom to be himself at home. It felt forced, unnatural.
The two inspectors stepped into the OR. He could complain about contaminating the room, but that was a lost cause anyway. Besides, he wouldn’t be performing any more surgeries today, that much was clear. Behind the two men, Nancy gave him a quick A-okay sign, and he breathed with relief inwardly. It was the signal to confirm she’d managed to send out an emergency text to his illegal patients from today that they shouldn’t show up. It ran through an untraceable online service, so Enar wouldn’t be caught doing it either.
“As we said, Dr. Magnusson, we’re here to inspect your clinic after a complaint.”
“It’s not my clinic. I rent an OR here to perform procedures like the one you witnessed. And what complaint? This is the first I’ve been made aware of any complaint against me. Aren’t these supposed to go through the medical board?”
“Not when it concerns a public safety concern, like the sterility of your equipment.”
“If that’s a concern, you shouldn’t have barged into my OR,” Enar pointed out.
“We needed to make sure you wouldn’t have the opportunity to hide any information pertaining to our investigation.”
“Hiding information? Where? Inside a patient?”
“No need to get riled up, Dr. Magnusson. Why don’t you wait in the waiting room while we do our inspection of your facilities here?”
Technically, it was a suggestion, a question even, but the way the inspector worded it, it was more like a command. Enar did as he was told, signaling to Maz to follow him as they took off the rest of their surgical wear, then washed their hands. Enar didn’t have to tell Maz not to say anything. Maz was well aware of the risks and the most likely real reason the inspectors were here. It could cost him his career as well, so he kept as quiet as Enar.