by L. C. Davis
“I haven’t?” Kent scoffed. “For the last ten years, I’ve devoted my life to protecting the soldiers you and your fellow Alphas sent out to fight your battles. I know what it means to sacrifice, to put someone else’s wellbeing ahead of your own, and that’s exactly what Nathan is doing. It’s his right as this baby’s father, just like it’s my right as his mate to protect them both.”
“And you’re fine with raising another alpha’s child?” Duke demanded. “That doesn’t bother you?”
“I was raised to believe that being a father is about more than DNA,” Kent said with a shrug. “It’s about being there, and as long as Nathan wants me, that’s exactly what I plan to do. Maybe I’m new to this, but we can figure it out together. Now, according to Council and Federation law, I don’t need your permission,” he said, sensing the rage building in the other Alpha’s aura. “But I care too much about Nathan not to want it.”
“You’re treading a fine line.”
“Maybe, but so are you. If it’s a fight you want, then fine, but it’s not a fight you can win,” Kent said calmly. “If I have to mark Nathan to solidify my claim, I will, but I don’t want it to come to that.”
“Why not?” Duke asked, obviously curious in spite of himself.
“Mostly because that would put even more distance between you and Nathan, and he needs you now more than ever,” said Kent. “And also because I would rather mark him because that’s what he wants, not because it’s the only way he can stop you from forcing him to give up his baby.”
Duke flinched. Kent knew it was a low blow, but there was no time for sugarcoating and he could tell Duke was too far gone into protector mode to be willing to hear the truth from the omegas in his life. If it earned Kent a black eye, so be it.
“I was trying to protect him,” he said, his tone as gruff as ever even if doubt was creeping in. “Everything I’ve done has been to protect him. I just want him to have everything he deserves in life.”
“We can agree on that. But if you want my unsolicited advice, I think he needs to hear that from you,” Kent said. “He knows you love him, but knowing and hearing are two different things.”
Duke watched him, his jaw clenched and his face set in stone. Kent still wasn’t sure punching was off the table, but the other alpha’s shoulders finally sagged as he let out a deep sigh. “I always wanted him to end up with an Alpha who had the balls to stand up to me. I just never imagined what a pain in the ass it would be when it finally happened.”
Kent grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment. And no offense, but your mate is the one I’m afraid of.”
Duke snorted. “That makes two of us.”
Applause filtered out from the main room and Kent listened as the announcer called the next recipient. He frowned, moving closer to the door. “Whose name did they call?”
Duke paused. “Vance Kellun. He’s an officer who was stationed in Mountain Ridge for a time, why?”
A curious blend of panic and possessiveness washed over Kent as he made the connection between the name the announcer had called for the fourth time and the one Nathan had mentioned in passing. “Because I think Vance is the Alpha.”
“The alpha?” Duke frowned. Realization slowly crossed his features. “Son of a bitch.”
Kent was already reaching for the door, stalking out into the ballroom. He scanned the crowd but saw no sign of Nathan. Something pulled him toward the back hallway and he rushed out of the room without even bothering to check if Duke was still on his heels.
Chapter Twenty-One
NATHAN
Nathan could hear Vance’s footsteps right behind him, but he didn’t dare to look back. Most of the pack was inside the banquet hall, but he knew there would be security on duty if he could reach the front gates. Before he had the chance, someone caught him from behind, grabbing a fistful of his hair to yank him back.
“So now you’re playing hard to get,” Vance taunted, his breath hot on Nathan’s neck. The omega thrashed and clawed at his captor, but Vance held him fast, twisting his arm behind his back. His teeth scraped against Nathan’s neck.
Nathan screamed as he felt the edge of Vance’s fang pierce his flesh. Before the Alpha could bite him properly, footsteps from further down the path gave them both pause. Nathan felt a surge of hope as he waited for an Alpha to appear, but it faded to fear when he saw Connor standing in the path, the older omega’s eyes filled with such malice that Nathan almost didn’t recognize his own father. Connor was holding a gun and he had it aimed at Vance’s forehead. The metallic click made Nathan jolt.
“Dad, run,” he pleaded.
“Let him go,” Connor said, ignoring him. His voice was pure ice.
Vance shifted, using Nathan as a shield. “You wouldn’t shoot and risk hitting your own son,” the Alpha said in a syrupy tone. “Unless you really do live up to the rumors about being a psycho.”
“Oh, I live up to all of it,” Connor said with a wicked smile that made Nathan shudder and even seemed to give Vance pause. “Unfortunately for you, you happen to be endangering one of the very few people in this world I give a shit about. Here’s a hint: you’re not one of them. Now let him go and they won’t have to scrape the pieces of your skull off these pristine streets.”
Vance laughed, but the sound was stiff and he held Nathan closer against him. “You wouldn’t. You’re still an omega.”
Connor took a step closer without blinking or lowering the gun a fraction of an inch. “Keep going. I do so love it when an Alpha tells me what I will and won’t do.”
Vance took a step back.
“Dad,” Nathan pleaded. “I’m f-fine, just go get help.”
Connor kept advancing, but came to a sudden stop. He raised his left hand and slowly crouched down to place the gun on the pavement with his right. Vance lunged for it immediately, throwing Nathan aside. Before Nathan could even catch his balance, Connor was on the Alpha with a guttural snarl. Rather than going for the gun, Connor sank his fangs into Vance’s neck and bit deep.
Vance let out a startled cry and grabbed the smaller omega, tossing him to the ground. The Alpha fumbled for the gun and aimed at Connor with a trembling hand, keeping his other pressed to the wound at his neck. Nathan rushed to his father’s side as Connor stared at the Alpha with a twisted grin, blood dripping from his fangs. Nathan had never seen his father resemble the monster he once was, but in that moment, there was no doubting it.
Nathan cringed, waiting for Vance to fire in retaliation, but he didn’t. When Nathan finally dared to open his eyes, he realized Vance’s were locked on Connor as if in a trance. The older omega gently pushed his son aside, murmuring, “It’s alright, sweetheart. He’s not going to hurt you again.”
Nathan looked between them and for a split second, he wasn’t sure which one of them had the upper hand. Vance was armed, but he stood frozen and helpless like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Connor crept forward, unblinking as he held the Alpha in his thrall. “Lower the gun,” Connor said in a smooth, dangerous tone, his words eeking out through gritted fangs.
Slowly but surely, Vance’s arm lowered as if someone was forcing it down. The Alpha seemed to be straining to look down at his own hand in bewilderment, but he couldn’t look away from Connor. “What are you...doing...to me?”
“Nathan, is this him?” Connor asked without turning around.
Nathan didn’t need clarification to know exactly what his father was asking. “Y-yes,” he choked out.
Connor took another step forward and Vance jerked, as if he wanted to run but something was holding him in place. “Please,” he sputtered. “Don’t kill me.”
“You put your hands on my son,” Connor said in that cold monotone Nathan didn’t recognize. “Big mistake.”
“Please, dad,” Nathan begged, terrified of what was about to happen. He could feel it all leading up to something horrible, and as much as Vance terrified him, the change that had come over Connor scared him even more. “Let�
��s just go.”
“Go find your father,” Connor said in a smooth, strangely pleasant tone without looking away from Vance. He was like a cat stalking his prey and Nathan knew what would happen the moment he left.
“N-no,” he said, standing his ground.
Connor finally turned, his eyes narrowed in frustration. Frustration, Nathan could handle. It was the emptiness that scared him. “Nathan, go back,” he snarled.
“No! Please…”
Connor held his gaze before finally relenting. He turned back to Vance and leaned in to whisper something in a hushed, malicious tone that Nathan couldn’t make out. The Alpha turned and walked stiffly off into the distance until Nathan could no longer see him through the trees.
Nathan threw his arms around Connor’s neck, sobbing. A moment later, the sound of a gunshot pierced the night air and Nathan gave a startled cry of horror. Connor held him close, stroking his hair and murmuring reassurances, but while he sounded more like himself than he had while talking to Vance, there was still something off about his tone. “It’s alright,” he soothed, holding Nathan close. “He’s never going to hurt you again.”
Nathan clung to his father, barely able to speak through his strangled sobs. He heard footsteps somewhere behind them and Connor let him go as Duke came to check on them both. Kent was at Nathan’s side, looking him over frantically as the Alphas tried to ascertain what had happened. Nathan was too numb to speak, and Connor fell into stony silence with the exception of casually telling his mate where to look for Vance’s body.
In a matter of minutes, the courtyard was swarming with guards and curious onlookers. Nathan’s ears rang shrilly, blocking out most of the sounds. When one of the guards tried to question him, Kent quickly shooed him off. The rest of the night passed in a blur and Nathan was only vaguely aware of the Alpha leading him back to the homestead. Kent carried him upstairs and placed him in his bed, and Nathan grabbed his arm, pleading with him to stay.
Kent pulled up a chair beside Nathan’s bed and only as exhaustion set in did the omega become aware of the stinging at his neck. He remembered Vance’s fangs piercing his flesh, but he couldn’t summon the energy to ask any of the questions that were destined to haunt his dreams. All he knew was that with Kent close, he felt as safe as he was going to feel for the foreseeable future.
Chapter Twenty-Two
KENT
“Is he alright?” Connor asked, wringing his hands as he looked at the door Kent had just come out of. Duke was still downstairs discussing the chaotic turn the night had taken with Barnabas and his enforcers, and Kent still wasn’t sure what to make of it. He knew if it hadn’t been for Connor, Nathan would have been going through worse than shock. There had to be an investigation, if only because a body had been found in the woods, but as far as Kent was concerned, the end Vance had met was far better than he deserved.
“He’s in shock,” Kent said carefully. He had already heard Connor’s retelling of events, but he still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “I cleaned his neck. That puncture wound...it’s from Vance, isn’t it?”
Connor nodded somberly. “I didn’t make it in time.”
“Nathan is alive,” Kent said, struggling to control his rage. “That might not be the case if you hadn’t shown up when you did. I never should have let him out of my sight.”
“You couldn’t have known that coward was going to be there,” Connor seethed. His anger was a far less troubling development than the side of the omega Kent had caught a glimpse of in the courtyard.
“Do you think he came because of Nathan?”
Connor shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that he was going to force a mark, and for all we know, he succeeded.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Kent said. He looked Connor over worriedly. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” the omega said shakily, leaning against the wall. Guilt contorted his modelesque features. “I never wanted Nathan to see me like that. When I saw that...thing putting his hands on him, I just…” Connor trailed off, but Kent didn’t need to hear the rest to know what had happened. The omega had snapped, just like everyone had been insisting he would for the last twenty years. If anyone had a damn thing to say about it, they could answer to Kent.
Kent fell asleep outside of Nathan’s door that night, but the sound of the omega waking in a panic jolted him awake. He was at Nathan’s side in an instant, pulling the omega into his arms.
“Kent,” Nathan whimpered.
“I’m here. I’ve got you,” the Alpha promised, holding him tight. Within a few minutes, Nathan had fallen asleep again. Kent gazed down at the half-placed mark on Nathan’s neck. Unlike a rightful mating mark, the wound hadn’t healed over. The visual reminder that another Alpha had thought it his right to touch Nathan against his will stirred rage deep within him, and he had to focus just to stay calm.
Vance was gone, and Nathan needed him now. Kent was trying not to think about the possibility that the trauma might have already hurt the baby, but the fact that the doctor was staying downstairs made it difficult. By the time Kent managed to slip from the room without waking the sleeping omega, Duke was waiting for him in the hall.
The Alpha motioned for Kent to follow him downstairs and he did so without a word. Once Duke closed the door to Barnabas’ study, it became clear that Kent wasn’t the only one who hadn’t slept. The Alpha’s eyes were rimmed in dark circles that matched the worry within them. “He’s still asleep?”
“For the most part. I’d rather not be gone long.”
Duke nodded. Under any other circumstances, Kent’s presence in the omega’s bedroom wouldn’t have been tolerated, but there was an unspoken agreement between the Alphas.
“How is Connor?” asked Kent.
“Not good. I convinced him to take a sleeping pill,” Duke muttered, pouring himself a drink. “I haven’t seen him like this since...well, since I was hunting him.”
Kent took a moment to process the admission. He knew speaking of those days wasn’t easy for Duke. “He did what he had to do to protect Nathan.”
“I know that,” said Duke, his tone laced with guilt. “Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about. The doctors think Nathan is having an adverse reaction to Vance’s bite. They’re worried it could affect the baby. It’s something you should discuss with Nathan, but if you’re serious about what you told me last night, I want you to know you have my permission to mark him.”
Kent’s eyes widened. “Is that even safe?”
“The doctors think it would help. I don’t know if it will, but it wouldn’t put him in any more danger than he’s already in.”
“If there’s even a chance it’ll help, I’ll do it. I want to mark him, I just didn’t think it would be like this.”
“I know there’s a way of doing these things in your pack…”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Kent. “The mating bite should be enough to counteract Vance’s if this works, right?”
“So the theory goes. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, unfortunately.”
“No,” Kent said darkly. “I guess not.”
“Like I said, talk to Nathan. Enough choices have been taken away from him,” Duke said, his voice thick with guilt. “I just wanted to let you know that whatever happens, I won’t stand in your way.”
Kent nodded. “I should get back to Nathan.”
“Take care of him.”
“I will, sir. Always.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
NATHAN
Nathan opened his eyes to find Kent sleeping in the chair beside his bed. The Alpha’s hair was disheveled and his clothes rumpled as he slumped down in a rocking chair that had obviously been built for someone with a much smaller frame. Kent was impressive even when he was sleeping, and the contrast between his strong build and his boyish charm made him all the more endearing. Nathan watched him for a while, reluctant to wake him up if only because he knew Kent
had hardly gotten any sleep the night before.
Every time Nathan had woken from a nightmarish reimagining of Vance’s attempt at forcing a mark, Kent had been there. The Alpha’s strong arms were a much needed tether to reality for Nathan, and as he watched Kent sleeping peacefully, he decided he could get used to waking up next to Kent every morning.
Kent’s eyes popped open and the Alpha sat up with a bearlike yawn, looking around the room as if to get his bearings. “Oh. You’re awake,” he said with a bleary eyed smile. “How’re you feeling?”
“Okay,” said Nathan. It was the truth, all things considered. His neck had never stopped burning, and he felt vaguely feverish, but his physical ailments were nothing compared to the trauma. At least the numbness had finally set in. It made it possible for Nathan to redirect his thoughts, which was a necessity at the moment. “Kind of tired, but I don’t think sleeping is going to help any.”
“No,” Kent said, his eyes full of worry. “Nathan, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Something your parents and the doctors think might help.”
“You marking me?” Nathan smiled at the surprise that registered on the alpha’s face. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it.”
“It’s just an option. We can find another way.”
Nathan’s cheeks puffed up with air and he let it out slow. “I’ve been hearing nonstop about my ‘options’ ever since I got here. I want you to mark me, Kent, but not because of what Vance did. I want it because I want you.”
“Are you sure?” There was doubt in the alpha’s voice and eyes for the first time, and seeing him like this, vulnerable and uncertain despite all his strength and standing within the pack, made Nathan want him all the more. “There’s no undoing it. There’s no going back.”
“There never was,” Nathan said softly, reaching out to touch Kent’s stubbly cheek. “There hasn’t been a redo button for any of this, but coming here and getting to know you the way I have is one of the few things I wouldn’t change if I could.”
