by Nora Phoenix
Since Lidon didn’t need him for anything today, he figured he would start writing about the Melloni gene and publish his first article. It only took him a few minutes to get back into the writing zone, and he sighed with contentment. God, he’d missed this.
Writing didn’t just center him; it also helped him organize his thoughts. He’d always been better at reasoning through writing than speaking. Even now, as he wrote down the story that he had told others a few times already, he discovered new aspects that he hadn’t considered before.
Writing everything down also helped him determine what information was still missing. He wrote the questions down as they popped into his head. How had Maiitsoh managed to keep running clinical trials for their fertility drug long after the trials were supposed to end? And Dr. Baig, how had he been able to fly under the radar for so long? Who had deleted his files from the hospital records? And maybe the biggest of them all: how many women had they treated with this fertility drug? How many omegas were there with the Melloni gene? Palani wondered if they would ever find out. The scope of this was stretching even his imagination.
It took him a few hours to write an article he was satisfied with. In the end, he’d decided to use Lukos’s name after all. Grayson was right. Even though the company produced effective drugs for omegas, the methods they would have had to use to achieve their goals were questionable at the least. People had a right to know how those drugs had been produced, what the driving goal had been. In the end, Palani had to believe that would save more lives than keeping the name of the company secret and allowing them to keep selling their medications.
When he was done with the article, he saved it to his hard drive. He wouldn’t publish it today. He rarely published his investigative stories on the same day as he wrote them. He discovered through trial and error that it worked better for him to leave them be for a day or two so he could read them again with fresh eyes.
Satisfied with his work, he opened his browser to check on the news. His newspaper’s headline was about the new election polls that had been released today. The Conservative Wolf Party had jumped even further ahead in the lead. It was only five days till the elections, and the CWP was looking at a firm majority in the polls. Palani leaned in to read the article with rising worry. How the hell was this even possible? Where was their support coming from?
George York was quoted. The leader of the CWP—who would become Prime Minister if his party won—was elated about the results of the latest poll, which confirmed his sense that the people were ready for a change, the quote read. Palani harrumphed. Big surprise there.
He caught himself. It was a big surprise, actually. No matter what George York said, the people were not ready for a change this big, this fast, this radical. The powers that be couldn’t possibly support the CWP’s agenda. That meant either the polls were wrong, or…
Palani froze. If his suspicions were correct that the CWP was linked to the Melloni gene and to all the other efforts they had discovered to facilitate the comeback of the wolf shifters, he already had proof of how far they were willing to go to achieve their goals. But to really make the changes they wanted, they needed the power. They needed to win the election. How big a reach would it be to consider election fraud?
The thought filled his head, electricity buzzing through his veins. It had to be, right? There was no other logical explanation for why they were doing so well in the polls. His newspaper and a bunch of other new sources had reported many interviews with supposed supporters of the CWP. Their biggest competitor newspaper had done a whole series of portraits of CWP supporters, ranging from omegas to a few prominent alphas.
It all fed into the general assumption that the public supported the rise of this political party, that it was a grassroots movement that had caught fire. But Palani didn’t buy it. If the CWP’s platform had been less radical, sure, he could see betas and omegas supporting it. But their proposed changes, especially those to improve the lives of omegas, were too far-reaching to gain the support of more than a few alphas.
Considering the lengths these people had gone through to create the Melloni gene, would election fraud be really that outrageous for them? Palani didn’t think so. In fact, it would fit their approach perfectly. The question was how they pulled it off.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to run possible scenarios through his head. Creating a buzz about a political party wasn’t as hard as people thought. All you needed was to plant the idea with people that this was a party worthy of attention, and gossip would do its work.
As cliché as it might sound, in politics, any publicity really was good publicity. A lot of the voters weren’t exactly well informed and made their election day choices based on the party that sounded right to them. And you couldn’t deny that the CWP had done a marvelous job sounding right to voters, even when their actual program was a lot more progressive and radical than many people realized.
That would get them some new voters at best, not the whole election win. And it wouldn’t make the polls look like they did right now. So how the hell were they pulling that off?
Palani decided to do a little research. What were these polls based on exactly? Were all the newspapers basing their reporting on the same source? And if so, where did this source get their information from?
When Enar walked in, Palani checked the clock and saw to his amazement that hours had passed without him noticing. His stomach told him he’d missed at least one meal, maybe two. Enar leaned in and kissed his head.
“What are you working on?”
Palani groaned as Enar’s strong hands massaged his shoulders and neck. “Oh, that feels good. Sorry, I got sucked into a little research I was doing.”
Enar chuckled. “More than a little research, I would say. You’ve been sitting here for what, six hours?”
Palani’s eyes widened. Had it really been that long since he started working? He tried to think back to when he had come in here to work on the article about the Melloni gene. Jeez, Enar was right. It had been six hours.
“You won’t believe what I discovered. Even after everything we’ve already found out, I think you’re going to be shocked about this one.”
Enar’s eyebrows rose. “Well, you certainly got me intrigued now.”
Palani rose from his chair and turned to face Enar. He stretched his neck to the left, resulting in a satisfying crack, then did the same to the right, eliciting another pop. God, that felt good. “I think the CWP is falsifying the elections. No, let me correct that. I have credible evidence they’re committing election fraud. How’s that for shocking?”
Enar’s mouth dropped open a little. “Election fraud? Are you kidding me? Is there nothing these people won’t do to achieve their goal?”
“I know, right?” Palani said. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t found the evidence myself. You know I’ve been curious about the CWP’s apparent success as a political party despite their radical positions. So today, I started wondering after everything we found out about the methods of… Well, I don’t even know who they are. Let’s assume they’re all people who want the wolf shifters back. And we know they have no qualms about using highly questionable methods to achieve that goal. So it made me wonder if the CWP’s rise was in fact also the result of another questionable method. Turns out, I was right.”
“You said you had credible evidence,” Enar said. “What did you discover?”
Palani sighed. “You know how all the news outlets are reporting about the new election polls, right? These articles are all based on the same information: an extended press release from the company that executes all election polls. I discovered today that polling is actually illegal for anyone else but that company. Granted, it’s done exemplary work as far as I can tell for at least twenty years, but two years ago, the CEO was fired for reasons I haven’t been able to find out, and a new CEO was appointed. This is not a private company, though it appears so. It’s a company that is under the
control of the government, and the CEO is appointed by the secretary of state. You will never believe who the current CEO is.”
“Who?”
“A man named Jeffrey Ortner. Now, that name may not mean much to you. It didn’t mean anything to me at first either until I dug a little deeper into his background. Jeffrey Ortner decided to take his daddy’s name a few years ago, according to a news article I found, to honor his omega daddy, who had passed away. Before that, he was known as Jeffrey Baig. That name should ring a bell, as he is a younger brother of Dr. Morton Baig, aka the doctor who treated women for fertility issues and assured they had omega babies with the Melloni gene. How’s that for a coincidence?”
Enar slowly shook his head. “You know, you would think that after everything we’ve discovered about these people already, it would be impossible for me to be amazed anymore by their brazen methods. But I have to admit, election fraud raises their game to a whole new level.”
“I don’t know what to do. It’s become so complicated that if I try to explain this to anyone who hasn’t been following the story with us, I sound like a conspiracy nut. Who the fuck would believe a company would deliberately give women a drug that would harm their babies, then cover up the side effects with legal drugs, getting away with it for years, and now these same people are committing election fraud? It’s so farfetched that I have trouble believing it.”
“I know what you mean. If anyone other than you had told me this, I would’ve probably laughed them out of the room. I always thought our democracy was pretty fail-safe. Apparently, not so much. Which begs the question, by the way. Falsifying election polls is one thing, but how will they change the actual election result?”
Palani shook his head. “That’s what I was wondering too. I haven’t found a satisfying answer yet, but I’m sure they have figured out a way. I remember when I interviewed George York, I was astounded by how self-assured he was about their success in the elections. Like it was never even a question if they would do well. He knew they would. This makes me believe he knows they have the election in the bag. I just don’t know how. As you said, falsifying polls is one thing, but how will they cheat on election day?”
Enar sighed. “You know what this reminds me of? An endless game of whack-a-mole. Every time we think we’ve discovered the truth, another mole sticks his head out of the ground. At this rate, I don’t know if we’ll ever be done whacking all the moles. They just keep popping up.”
Palani chuckled at that accurate description. “I guess I have more researching to do.”
“Not today, I hope?” Enar said with that crooked smile that made Palani’s belly do somersaults.
Palani’s smile broadened. “Did you have something else in mind?” he teased.
Enar took two steps closer until Palani had to crane his neck to look up at him. He reached out with his right index finger and slipped it under Palani’s waistband. “Well, I can think of a few things we can do. You’re probably stressed and tense. And I know a perfect way to get rid of that tension.”
The sensation of Enar’s finger so close to his rapidly filling cock made Palani shiver. Still, he wasn’t quite ready to surrender. “You mean you’re going to give me a nice, long massage?”
He was still laughing when Enar’s mouth covered his, and then all he could do was close his eyes and allow himself to be swept away.
23
Sven had debated asking Grayson to handle this particular conversation for him, but in the end, he had decided this was not something his alpha should do for him. Grayson would do it, he had no doubt, but this was a battle Sven had to fight himself, if only because it involved Grayson’s son. He didn’t want to make things between Grayson and his oldest son even more complicated than they already were.
And so he waited till he had the opportunity to speak to Bray alone, which happened a few days after he’d decided to talk to him. Bray had come in for a fresh cup of coffee, and seconds after he’d entered the kitchen, Vieno had retreated to his bedroom for a nap. Bray kept his distance as he programmed the coffee machine for a double espresso.
“Tough day?” Sven said, deciding to initiate some small talk first.
Bray’s head whipped around, and it took the alpha a second or two to find words. “Yes, it’s been stressful today,” he said, surprise audible in his voice.
“Can I get you a cookie to go with your coffee?” Sven asked. “I baked fresh almond cookies earlier this morning.”
After a short hesitation, Bray nodded. “Thank you.”
Sven gestured for him to sit down at the kitchen table, and the alpha seated himself farthest from him. Sven didn’t take it as rejection, more as the alpha still being careful not to get too close to Sven, which he appreciated. He poured a glass of lemonade for himself and placed some of his cookies on a plate. When he sat down across from Bray, the alpha shifted in his seat nervously.
“Are you okay with this?” he asked.
Sven bit his lip. This was the moment of truth. “You still make me a little nervous,” he said. “But I wanted the chance to sit down with you and talk a little.”
“I am truly sorry for what happened,” Bray said. “I don’t know what else to say to make it better. I didn’t feel like myself. I’ve never experienced anything like it. All I could think about was…”
Sven swallowed. “Yeah. I know. It was…”
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, pushing down the slight nausea that rose up in him at the memory of what had happened.
“I wanted to say that I accept your apology. On a rational level, I understand that this was not really your fault, that you were under the influence of this gene, or whatever we want to call it. Emotionally, it may take me a while to process that. It’s not easy to come to terms with the fact that my body is sending signals without my permission, you know?”
“I understand. And I’m grateful for your willingness to even try and forgive me. I know it doesn’t come anywhere close to what you’re going through, but please know that I’m struggling with what happened myself. I would never assault someone, and yet I have, and that’s something I need to learn to live with. Somehow, it feels too easy to blame the gene.”
Sven looked up from the glass of lemonade he’d been slowly spinning around in an attempt to focus on something else. “I hate that you’re struggling with this as well, but on some level, that is good to know.”
“Am I interrupting?” Lucan said, walking into the kitchen hesitantly.
Sven was tempted to say yes but then decided this was really Bray’s choice. Everyone already knew he’d been assaulted, so he had little to hide from the other pack members. However, Bray might not be inclined to let his brother witness this, but that was between them.
“No, you’re fine,” Bray said, then added after a short hesitation, “Sven and I were talking about what happened that day I assaulted him.”
Lucan’s eyes widened, but other than that he took it in stride, it seemed. He chose a chair next to his brother, and for a second, Sven felt like he was about to get interrogated.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked Lucan.
“You don’t need to serve us,” Bray said.
He stressed those last words just a little too much for it to be a coincidence, and Sven understood it for the little jab that it was. “I don’t mind,” he said. “In case you had missed it, I like serving others.”
Lucan seemed to choke on his own breath, while Bray’s mouth dropped open a little at Sven’s innuendo.
Sven suppressed a smile. People always thought he was helpless, if not stupid because he was such a shy, introverted omega. But he knew how to verbally defend himself when he had to, if only from watching Lars do it for him for years and years. If there was anything you could learn from Lars, it was how to win a verbal match. His lover threw supreme shade.
“So, what can I get you?” he asked as he got up from his chair.
“L-lemonade would be good, thank you,” Lucan manag
ed.
He poured the beta a glass of lemonade and set it down in front of him, then took his seat again. Bray was nibbling on one of the cookies, studying him openly.
Sven sighed. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask me?”
“You don’t understand how weird this is for us,” Lucan said defensively. “He’s our dad, and you’re younger than us.”
Sven lifted an eyebrow. “Really? That’s your main argument, that he’s older than me? You think I hadn’t noticed?”
“It doesn’t bother you that he could have been your dad?”
Sven had to push down the wave of anger that rose up in him. “Lucan, I don’t know if you’re just that naïve, completely clueless, or if that was another jab, but the whole point is that he acts like a Daddy toward me.”
It shouldn’t have satisfied him so much to see Lucan’s cheeks grow fiery red, but it did, so he couldn’t resist adding a little more fuel to the fire. “I could give you more details, but I doubt it will make you more comfortable with the whole thing. So no, it doesn’t bother me. On the contrary, it works for him, and it works for us, so I don’t see why anyone should have an issue with this.”
He calmly took a big swallow of his lemonade, grateful for years and years of training in not showing his real emotions. It was weird to be thankful for anything his adoptive father had done to him, but he did appreciate this unintended effect of the man’s asshole-ness. Showing emotions to him had been dangerous because he would use anything they gave away against them, so both of them had learned to keep their mouths shut and their faces impassive.
“You’re not quite as submissive as I had expected you to be,” Bray said, then made an abrupt movement as if he caught himself.
