by Nora Phoenix
“Does that mean that Lidon’s family is strong?”
Enar looked at him, his blue eyes assessing. “If this ever ends up in one of your articles…”
“It won’t. Friends before a job, remember?”
Enar seemed satisfied with that answer because he said, “Lidon’s family is the most powerful in this region. His grandfather was the last person with a documented shift.”
Palani’s eyes about popped out of his head. “Seriously? How the fuck is that even possible? We were taught no one had shifted in over fifty years.”
“That’s the official line, yes. The truth is that his grandfather shifted for the last time thirty-four years ago.”
Palani cocked his head, his mind racing with the implications. “Wait, how old is Lidon?”
“Thirty-four,” Enar said. “His grandfather shifted on the day he was born. Hours later, he slipped into a coma and passed away the next day.”
“How…?” Palani shook his head, trying to organize the wild jumble of thoughts in his head. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“This is not common knowledge, so don’t tell anyone. We grew up together, so he told me at some point, but it’s something he doesn’t want to become public knowledge.”
“Exactly how strong are his powers?”
Enar met his eyes head on. “Strong. His alpha compulsion affects even alphas. At least, it does affect me. And his instincts are superior, and so is his hearing, his sense of smell, and his physical abilities. I can’t explain it, but somehow he’s closer to that wolf we all once were than anyone else.”
“Does that mean he can make Vieno do something he doesn’t want to?”
Enar hesitated. “Up to a certain degree. But Lidon would never do that. He’s an honorable man, Palani, I promise. Under all that macho alpha exterior, he’s a softie at heart.”
“This will sound horrible and I don’t mean it like that, but if he’s so special, why would he want to marry Vieno? I would think he’d have his choice of men. Or women.”
“Remember what you learned in school about how our wolf shifter ancestors chose their partners?”
Palani tried to recall all the stuff he’d once crammed into his head for exams. “Fated mates, right? Like, they would recognize whoever they were supposed to be with or something?”
“Scientists still haven’t figured out exactly how it worked, but they seemed to have an instinct as to who would be the perfect mate for them, and once that bond was sealed with an alpha claim, it was unbreakable.”
“Alpha claim suggests there was always an alpha in a relationship. What about the betas?”
Enar smiled. “This is where it gets interesting. The primary goal of any species is survival, right? That means that ensuring offspring was a dominant biological force. However, betas can’t sire children with male omegas, only with females, which is why their position—or your position, as you’re one of them—is complicated in our society. But research is clear that a few generations ago, betas could produce offspring with male omegas.”
Palani almost choked on his breath. “They…what?”
“Betas were fertile back then, so a beta-omega union would result in kids. Most likely beta or omega kids, but still.”
“And an alpha-beta union, was that something that ever happened back then? Because that doesn't result in children.”
Enar’s smile broadened. “If an alpha became mated with a beta, at some point, they’d add an omega to their union. A threesome. That was how they ensured survival, through threesomes.”
Palani couldn’t believe his ears. “God, I have so many questions I don’t have a clue of where to start. Why aren’t we taught any of this? Let’s start with that.”
He realized the answer, even before Enar had a chance to speak, so he answered his own question. “Because knowledge is power. They want us to believe the current system is the only option. But what changed? What happened to us as a species that we stopped shifting? And to us as betas that we became infertile?”
Enar’s smile dissipated. “That’s the big question, and even the most respected scientists do not have an answer. As a doctor, I’m privy to more information than the public, including some classified projects that are illegal, but I’ve not come across a scientifically proven theory.”
“This is mind-blowing,” Palani said. “Does this have any bearing on Lidon’s decision whether to marry Vieno?”
Enar spoke carefully. “Lidon is experiencing an attraction to Vieno I’ve never witnessed in him before, something at a very primal level. I think he’s recognizing him as his fated mate, though this is pure speculation, since I’ve never even talked to him about this.”
After everything he’d just heard, it was still possible for Palani to be shell-shocked, he discovered. “Fated mate?” he whispered.
“He probably doesn’t even think of it as such, not consciously anyway, but I’ve known him for a long time, and I’ve never seen him like this. The tenderness he has toward him, the protectiveness, it’s different. He had a fiancé before and was in love with Matteo, but this is on a whole different level. I didn’t connect the dots until his behavior tonight. He should not have objected that strongly to your scent on Vieno. He’s known you were partners all along. The fact that he did tells me his alpha recognizes something else in Vieno, something deeper. He wants to claim him as mate.”
Fated mates? How was that even possible? He’d learned about this in school, but it had seemed like a foreign concept to him, almost a fairy tale. And now Enar was telling him not only was it real but also happening with Lidon and Vieno?
“It’s good news, Palani. The best you can think of. He will not only marry him but also take such good care of him. He’ll treasure Vieno, I promise.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, Doc,” Palani muttered.
If it was true, it was good news for Vieno. The best. At the same time, Palani’s heart contracted painfully at the thought. Deep down, he’d always known he and Vieno had no chance together, but this connection Vieno had with Lidon was like a slap to Palani’s face. How could he compete with that?
“You can’t see it because you’re jealous.”
“Wouldn’t you be? If only I’d been an alpha, none of this would be necessary, and Vieno and I would’ve been happy with just the two of us. Instead, I’m forced to watch another man marry and pleasure my…” He sighed, feeling deflated. “And now you’re telling me they’re fated mates? That’s like…almost insulting to me and everything I’ve shared with Vieno.”
“Yeah,” Enar said.
“I fucking hate feeling like this. Useless. Not good enough. And fucking horny.”
He wasn’t sure why he added the last words, except that Enar had been hard ever since they’d retreated to the bedroom, so the man had to be sharing his discomfort in that aspect.
Enar’s eyes met his, showing quiet determination as he spoke. “If you want to, I’ll fuck you.”
13
Lidon’s blood pulsed through his veins so loudly it was a hum in his system that drowned out everything else. All he smelled was Vieno, that tantalizing aroma that was pure sex and pure him at the same time. All he felt was the deep craving to make the omega his all over again. His cock was painfully hard, throbbing for relief.
He rutted into Vieno again. “You sure?”
“Yes. Please?”
There was no denying the genuine eagerness on his sweet face. Lidon let out a satisfied little growl before he flipped Vieno onto his stomach. Without prompting, Vieno spread his legs and stuck his ass up, his hole already slick in preparation.
“I don’t have much patience left,” Lidon warned him.
“Do I look like I mind?”
God, he loved it when Vieno got all sassy. Was there a bigger turn-on than a man who was eager for your cock? Probably not.
He positioned himself. One day he’d be able to draw it out, tease Vieno and see how desperate he would get, but not today.
The desire to be inside him was too big to ignore any longer.
The fat tip of his cock found that perfect pink star, quivering for him. He watched as he breached it, gasping at the sensation of being drawn into that slick tightness. Vieno canted his ass more, his hips angled perfectly. His eager little hole sucked Lidon in, and the little moans he created were music to Lidon’s ears. He was so beautiful, so responsive, his little omega.
He froze.
His?
When had he started to consider Vieno as his? His alpha purred, deep inside him, communicating his pleasure with this development. It wanted to claim him as mate, to fill him with his seed, to drench him in his scent.
What the hell was happening? He’d never experienced this deep need, this possessive desire, this conviction that left no room for doubt that this was what he wanted to do. Needed to do. He needed Vieno as much as the little omega needed him. He had no idea why, but his instincts were screaming at him it was the right choice. They’d never failed him, had they?
But he wouldn’t merely marry him. If Vieno was truly his, as his alpha was shouting at him, he wanted more. He wanted absolute certainty that they would never be separated again. Ever.
“Lidon?”
Vieno’s voice was hesitant. No wonder. Lidon had frozen with his cock halfway inside him. He clenched his teeth, then pulled out. The plopping sound Vieno’s hole made was erotic as fuck. God, he wanted back in there. But he owed it to him to do this right.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Lidon rolled into a sitting position, then pulled Vieno up as well until he was sitting up, facing him. Lidon cupped his cheek when the omega was too scared to look at him. “No, sweetheart. On the contrary. I’ve made my decision. I’ll marry you.”
Vieno’s eyes lit up first, but the joy spread quickly to his entire face. Beaming was too tame a word to describe the radiant beauty of his face. “Thank you, I…”
Lidon placed his fingers against Vieno’s lips. “Don’t thank me. Not now, not ever again. I want you. I don’t understand why, but it’s what my instincts are telling me, and the concept of you with another alpha is…” A growl of displeasure rumbled in his chest. “You’re mine.”
Vieno nodded, still lit up like a Christmas tree.
“I will go to the courthouse tomorrow with you to make it legal, but with your permission, I want to alpha claim you right now.”
“You want to alpha claim me?” Vieno said, surprise painting his face.
“Yeah. Why is that so surprising?”
“I had expected you to marry me, not claim me right away as well.”
Lidon’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a problem?”
“No! No…it’s just…” Vieno swallowed. “It’s permanent. What if you decide you don’t like me? Or you get tired of me?”
How had a sweet, beautiful man like Vieno become so insecure of himself? What had been damaged through his horrendous encounter with that asshole fiancé of his that he had such a deep fear of being rejected?
“That's not gonna happen, sweetheart. I like you plenty.”
Much to his surprise, Vieno scoffed a little. “You don’t know me well enough to like me.”
An amused smile hovered on Lidon’s lips. Vieno was such an intriguing combination of sweet and sassy, of pliant and bossy, of innocent and seductive. “My alpha knows, and that’s enough for me.”
“I need more.”
Ah. Lidon understood what the issue was. A marriage could be reversed; an alpha claim could not. Sure, Vieno was concerned Lidon would grow tired of him on some level. But his real fear was that Lidon turned out to be a different kind of man instead of the honorable, trustworthy cop he’d presented himself as. With an alpha claim in place, Vieno would have no way out.
“Do you have trouble trusting me?” he asked.
Vieno bit his lip in that adorable gesture until Lidon put his thumb on the abused spot. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“I…Yes. I'm not sure if I can trust you.”
“I can understand that. You were right. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other. But we’ll have time to discover that after, don’t you think?”
“It will be too late to do anything about it then.”
“True. What are you expecting to discover about me that scares you so much?”
“You could have ten dead bodies in your basement, for all I know. Hell, I don’t even know where you live. Do you even have a basement?”
Palani hadn’t looked up Lidon’s background, apparently. Interesting. Or he hadn’t shared his findings with Vieno. If he had, Vieno would have known Lidon was loaded. For some reason, that made Lidon happy. Vieno at least wasn’t after his money. “I do, actually. And my ranch is very nice, you’ll be relieved to hear. There's a lovely pool in my backyard that I'm sure you'll love.”
Vieno’s face turned so white Lidon feared he’d faint.
“Vieno, you did realize that you’d have to move in with me if we get married, right?”
“I did. I just didn’t let it sink in that it meant I had to go outside.”
Realization hit. “Are you telling me you haven’t been outside? For how long?”
Vieno’s shoulders hunched. “Since I moved in here. Almost three years.” His voice was thin and breakable, and it cut deep.
“Oh, sweetheart…”
“I’ve been too scared of alphas smelling me and going crazy.”
“I can only imagine. But that problem will be solved, too, once I alpha claim you. No one will touch you anymore.”
“Are you sure it works that way, even with the gene?”
Lidon frowned. “Do you have any reason to believe otherwise?”
“Palani has been looking into it, and he says there’s still a whole lot they don’t know. I’d need to know for sure.”
Lidon nodded. “That’s fair. We’ll test it during your heat, okay? I’ll have a friend stop by and ask if he can smell you, hmm?”
“Are you sure you’d be okay with me moving in? I’m very…domestic.”
Lidon smiled. “If that’s code for an innate desire to clean and tidy, you’re in for a challenge. Let’s say household shit is not my forte, and I don’t tolerate other people around me. Well, so it’s messy.”
“And you don’t mind if I touch your stuff and shit?”
“You can touch anything you want,” Lidon teased him, smiling when he was rewarded with a cute little blush on Vieno’s cheeks.
“Do you see now how little we know about each other?” Vieno said.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t trust me. What does your omega tell you?”
“He likes you, and he wants you. Hell, he’s upset we’re still not fucking. He wants to submit…but I’m scared.”
“You can trust your omega. It’s why we have them. They rarely steer us wrong.”
Vieno’s lungs sucked in air fast before the words exploded out of his mouth. “It was my omega who begged Aloysius and his friends to take me, over and over again. So no, I can’t trust him. My omega is a slutty whore who will do anything for a good fuck.”
No wonder Vieno had such a hard time trusting his instincts. He was right. They had steered him wrong. Under the influence of his heat, arguably, but they had nonetheless. Poor kid.
“I understand, and I’m not trying to put pressure on you, but a legal union is still contestable. If your parents argue you married me under duress and that the marriage wasn’t consummated, since you’re not in heat, they might convince the right judge to nullify it. An alpha claim is final. You’d be free of Aloysius forever. And of your parents. No one would have any say over you anymore.”
“Except you,” Vieno said softly.
“Except me,” Lidon agreed. “But I hope you do trust me enough to rest assured I’d never abuse that privilege.”
The swift assurance he had expected didn’t materialize. Instead, Vieno’s teeth went into his lower lip again. Oh, his alpha didn’t like that, and Lidon had to bite
back a growl.
“Okay,” Vieno said finally.
“Okay what?” Lidon said, his tone snappier than he had intended.
“Okay, you can alpha claim me.”
“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence and the overwhelming enthusiasm,” Lidon said. "The love hangs thick in the air.”
“This has nothing to do with love,” Vieno said with an edge to his voice Lidon hadn’t heard from him before. “It’s a calculated risk I’m taking. You can’t fault me for trying to make an informed decision.”
“A calculated risk?” Lidon’s temper snapped. “What the hell? We’re talking about marriage and me claiming you!”
“No.” Vieno rose to his knees, his blue eyes spewing fire. “We’re talking about me giving you full legal authority over me as well as physical dominance. We’re talking about me leaving the safety of everything here in exchange for too many unknowns to count. We’re talking about me leaving behind my best friend, my lover, and the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We’re talking about me doing all that after having met you twice, simply because your alpha likes to fuck me or wants me on some deep primal level. That’s what we’re talking about. And if you honestly expect me to agree without even taking a few minutes to consider the enormity of what I’m about to do, basically signing my life over to a stranger, you have no business marrying me, let alone claiming me.”
Enar rarely acted on impulse, but that’s exactly what his rash offer to Palani had been. An impulse. One he regretted almost as soon as the words flew out of his mouth, as he expected Palani to reject him out of hand. Why would the beta agree to having sex with Enar? They were little more than strangers, brought together by fate.
Except…he didn’t.
Instead, Palani stared at him for a few seconds before he nodded. “I could use a good fuck,” he said.
Enar swallowed. “Have you ever been with an alpha?”
