by D. J. Heart
“Really?” Topher looked like he was having trouble believing it.
“Very nice,” Chad confirmed.
“Huh.” Topher nodded to himself like he was making a minor adjustment to his worldview. “So does that mean that you’re gay?” he asked. There was no judgment in the question, which Chad appreciated.
“I don’t think so? I mean, it’s not like I’m not attracted to omegas… I just also like Peter.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
Chad shrugged. “I hope so. I left my number, but he hasn’t called yet. I don’t know if it was just a one-night stand or what.”
“Well… if you want him to call I hope he calls.”
Chad grinned. Topher was being way cooler about this than he needed to be.
“What about you?” Chad asked, curious about his new friend. “Are you seeing anyone?”
Topher shook his head. “Not really. I’ve been dating this beta for a while, but I’m not sure if it’s going anywhere. I think she’s just using me to stick it to her parents.”
Chad winced in sympathy. “That’s too bad. Is the sex good at least?”
Topher grinned and nodded, and Chad laughed at the sheer licentiousness of his expression.
At least Topher was getting something out of being used.
***
Chapter 12
Chad was torn out of sleep at three a.m. by the sound of his cell phone ringing on the nightstand. At first Chad wondered if it could be Peter, but that didn’t make sense. Grabbing the phone, his body aching worse than it had when he went to sleep, Chad’s adrenaline spiked when he saw his mom’s name flashing on the screen.
His mother would never call him this late unless something was wrong.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Chad answered the phone.
“Your father is fine,” his mom said, and Chad felt his anxiety spike. If she was starting the conversation with a reassurance it had to be bad.
“What happened?” Chad demanded, cutting his mother off just as she continued. “Sorry,” he said, forcing his mouth shut as he waited to hear what had happened with his dad.
“Your father had a small heart attack. We’re in the hospital now, but the doctors say that we got here in time. They put a stent in one of his coronary arteries and… wait a minute, what time is it there?”
“Three a.m.,” Chad said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot about the time difference. I shouldn’t have—”
“No, mom. I’m glad you called. I’ll book a flight and be there tonight.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I didn’t call you to guilt you into coming home. Like I said, the doctors say that your father is going to be fine. You have things to do with your new job and—”
“Mom, I’m not going to stay here when Dad had a fucking heart attack. Jesus. I’ll be there tonight.”
There was a loaded pause.
“Well, your father and I will be happy to see you,” his mother said, sounding reluctantly relived. “And watch your language. You know I don’t like hearing the F-word.”
“Sorry.” Chad’s heart stopped racing. He couldn’t believe his father had had a heart attack. It scared the shit out of him.
Chad had a sometimes-complicated relationship with his parents. He loved them very much, but they were betas, and sometimes there were parts of being an alpha that they just didn’t understand, instincts that they were aware of on a theoretical level, but that didn’t make sense to them.
Chad, tall for his age and cocky after popping his first knot, hadn’t exactly been an easy teenager to deal with.
He wondered now if the added stress of having an alpha was part of why his dad was sick.
Fuck no. Chad gave himself a mental shake. His dad would smack him over the head if he knew he was thinking like that.
“Well, I should let you sleep,” his mother said. “Call me in the morning when you have your itinerary and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“I can take a cab,” Chad said. “You stay with Dad.”
“All right,” his mother said. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Chad hung up the phone and got out of bed to get his laptop. He booked the earliest flight he could find, which was at noon the next day. There was no way he was making it home before the morning West Coast time, but there was nothing he could do about that. He sent his flight number and arrival time to his mother via a text message, and then went back to bed to try to go back to sleep.
It wasn’t easy. Chad’s mind wouldn’t stop racing, and when sleep finally claimed him, his dreams were uneasy and tense.
When he next opened his eyes and saw that it was six a.m., he was only too happy to wake up and get packed.
***
Chapter 13
Peter was disappointed when he didn’t see Chad in the gym the next morning. He went through his usual weightlifting routine, looking around to see if Chad was anywhere to be seen, and then spent forty minutes on the treadmill.
The gym was busy, but no one approached him or talked to him. That wasn’t unusual. Most of his employees—even his team leaders—found him intimidating and stayed away unless explicitly summoned. But that was how Peter liked it.
As he stepped off the treadmill, his body covered in a fine sheen of sweat, Merchant came strolling up to him.
“You’re looking extra mean today,” the man said with a grin. “Having a bad day, or are you just scaring the grunts?”
Peter would have rolled his eyes if it weren’t beneath him.
“Can I help you with something?” Peter asked, grabbing his towel and wiping his face and neck. Merchant shrugged.
“I don’t know. I tried calling you, but that prissy little beta of yours with the tight ass told me you were here.”
Peter started walking toward the locker room, wondering if he needed to warn Merchant off doing anything with his assistant. David was competent and unobtrusive, and Peter didn’t want to lose him just because Merchant thought he had a nice ass.
“And you called me because…?” Peter asked, stopping at the water cooler for a cup of water.
“Well, after you called me about that Brand kid I’ve been keeping my ears out, and this morning he used the company discount to book an airline ticket back home. I figured you might want to know…”
Peter felt regret well up inside him like a hungry parasite. He should have taken the time to talk to Chad before they went to sleep and made sure that he was okay. And even then, he should have stayed with Chad after. His thoughts must have shown on his face, because Merchant nodded.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, crossing his arms. “You want me to deal with him? I could get to him before he makes it to the airport and see if he’s already called a lawyer.”
Peter clenched his jaw. He didn’t think that Chad would sue. He wasn’t the type. But still, Peter didn’t really know him. If he did try to get back at Peter using legal means, he had an excellent case.
“Go talk to him,” Peter said, deciding that he couldn’t just put his head in the sand and hope that Chad didn’t hold that much of a grudge. “But just talk. See where his head is. Either way, don’t stop him from getting on the plane.”
Merchant looked a little surprised by the instruction. He lifted his left eyebrow and uncrossed his arms. “Any reason why he’s getting the kid glove treatment?”
Peter narrowed his eyes, annoyed at the implication that he owed Merchant an explanation. Merchant twitched, nervous in the face of Peter’s displeasure, but he held his ground and managed to keep his expression unbothered.
“We spent the night together,” Peter said, figuring that Merchant should know if he was going to talk to Chad.
“And by spent the night together I’m guessing that you mean you fucked him silly and made him call you Daddy.”
Merchant’s smarmy grin was a step too far. Peter’s attack was driven entirely by instinct. He kicked Merchant’s legs out from under him a
nd put him in a chokehold before the other alpha even had a chance to cry out. With his opponent subdued, Peter managed to get his instincts under control by the skin of his teeth.
He felt wild.
Catching sight of himself in the mirror, Peter was shocked to see that his teeth were bared, sharp and deadly. Merchant was lucky he hadn’t torn his throat out.
He let go of Merchant’s neck and pushed him forward so that he fell to the floor. He still felt wild and pumped, and the reaction was as confusing as it was natural.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was like that,” Merchant choked, staying on his hands and knees. Looking around, Peter was unsurprised to see that the gym had completely cleared out.
“Like what?” Peter growled. The urge kick Merchant down and force him to show his belly was hard to get a handle on.
“I didn’t know he was your mate,” Merchant said.
Peter scoffed and said, “That’s ridiculous.” But the words felt false in his mouth. He’d never reacted to anyone like he had Chad. They couldn’t really be mates, could they?
Peter wasn’t stupid. He didn’t believe in that whole true mates nonsense that some people believed in, but he did believe that some people were biologically more compatible than others. If you had someone you were extremely compatible with, it would manifest in much the same way as the true mate cliché.
“Just go talk to him and figure out what he’s thinking, and then come see me in my office,” Peter said, marching toward the locker room without a look back.
This whole thing was a mess.
***
Chapter 14
Chad didn’t bring anything more than he could carry in his backpack when he left his apartment, and he made his way down the stairs to get into the cab that would take him to the airport. Only when he exited his building the car was nowhere in sight, and the alpha that had interviewed him after he got back from his first mission was waiting for him.
“Mr. Merchant?” Chad asked, moving to stand on the opposite side of the sidewalk from the intimidating man. Merchant was leaning against a black SUV, his eyes hidden behind a pair of mirrored shades. He took the sunglasses off as Chad approached.
“Mr. Brand. I need to have a few words with you. I understand you’re heading to the airport?”
Chad nodded, wondering how the hell Merchant knew that.
“Great. I’ll give you a ride and we can talk on the way. Do you have more luggage?”
Chad shook his head. He couldn’t imagine why Merchant needed to talk to him. Was he in trouble?
“Then hop in.” Merchant walked around to the driver’s side of the car and got behind the wheel. Wondering what the hell was going on, Chad opened the passenger-side door and hopped in.
“How did you know I was going to the airport?” Chad asked as Merchant started the engine and pulled away from the curb.
“You used the company discount code,” Merchant said, like it was obvious. Chad bit his lower lip and frowned. Why would anyone be monitoring that?
“So what did you want to talk about?” Chad asked. Normally he would have been much more polite, but he was tired and worried about his dad and not in the mood for weird power games.
Merchant gave him a look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t comment on Chad’s rude attitude. Chad shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. An alpha like Merchant wouldn’t normally let an alpha like Chad get away with any kind of disrespect. It was weird.
“Sorry, I’m having a bad day,” Chad said when the silence became uncomfortable.
“Anything to do with Tank Security?” Merchant asked. Chad frowned, wondering why he’d ask that.
“No?” he said, phrasing it like a question. “Why?”
“So you’re happy with the company?”
“Yes, of course.” Chad wondered what this was about.
“I couldn’t help but notice you’re moving a little stiffly,” Merchant said after a few seconds. There was an odd hesitation in his voice, like he wasn’t quite sure how he should be wording his statement.
Suddenly Chad understood. This was about Aiden. The asshole had clearly crossed a line with Chad, and now they were worried he was going to be a coward about it and sue.
Chad might not be able to beat Aiden in a fair fight, but that didn’t mean he’d use the law to get his way. He wasn’t that much of a traitor to his own kind. An alpha either fought and won, or they yielded to the natural order. Doing otherwise would get you shunned and held in contempt.
“If this is about yesterday, you don’t have to worry,” Chad said.
“We don’t?” Merchant turned to him with a questioning glance. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to sue,” Chad said. He hoped this wasn’t coming from Peter. If the alpha thought that Chad was the kind of alpha who couldn’t take care of his own problems… it would be humiliating.
“That’s good,” Merchant said. He didn’t sound convinced.
“I mean, I’m angry that he beat the crap out of me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to humiliate myself by getting a lawyer.”
Chad regretted his outburst immediately, and the look Merchant was giving him wasn’t helping matters. He felt like a hormonal teenager.
“Is this… is Peter Tank worried I’m going to sue?” Chad couldn’t help himself. He wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it unless he got an answer.
“No. I was the one who raised the concern. He didn’t think you were the type.”
Chad was relieved. Knowing that Peter thought him weak and craven would have tainted the night they’d shared together. He wanted to ask if Peter had said anything else about him, but he couldn’t figure out how. For all he knew, Peter might not want anyone to know what had happened between them.
The rest of the drive was conducted in silence. When they got to the airport Chad was relieved. Merchant had been unfailingly pleasant, but there was something off about him.
“Do you have any idea when you’re coming back?” Merchant asked as he pulled into the departures lane.
“It depends on my dad,” Chad said. “I’d like to be there for my mom until he gets out of the hospital, if at all possible.”
“Your dad?” Merchant prompted, stopping the car. Chad realized he hadn’t actually told Merchant why he was leaving.
“Yeah, he had a heart attack yesterday. I’m flying out to see him and to help my mom out.”
“Oh,” Merchant said, looking surprised and oddly pleased. “Well, I hope he gets better soon.”
“Thanks,” Chad said, feeling more unnerved than ever. He’d never met someone who could make smiling look so sinister. Grabbing his backpack from the back seat, he opened the door and jumped out onto the sidewalk. He winced as the impact sent a jolt of pain through his ribs.
He turned around. “Was there anything else?”
Merchant shook his head, another strange look on his face. “No, that was it. Have a nice flight.”
Chad nodded and slammed the door shut behind him. He turned around and walked into the airport without a look back.
***
Chapter 15
Peter made no effort to put Merchant at ease when David let the man into his office. He leveled him with a narrow-eyed stare, his body language letting the other alpha know that he was still in deep shit.
“Well?” he asked, leaning back into his chair with his elbow propped up on the armrest. Merchant fidgeted.
“He’s not going to sue,” he said. Peter relaxed. “He seemed pretty offended by the suggestion, actually. He wanted to know if you were the one who was worried about it.”
“And?” Peter didn’t mean for the word to come out in a growl, but it did. Merchant actually took a step back.
“I told him I was the one who was worried about it and that you didn’t think he was the type.”
Peter took a deep breath, satisfied with Merchant’s answer.
“There’s another thing,” Merchant said. He didn’t so
und nervous, so it couldn’t be bad news.
“Yes?”
“His trip home doesn’t have anything to do with you or Tank Security. His father apparently just had a heart attack and Chad booked the flight as soon as he heard.”
Peter wasn’t exactly proud of himself for being happy by that news.
