19. A New Bodyguard

She was going to kill him.

Alice watched as the cut across Gabriel's cheek slowly closed, and the dark purple of the bruise that covered half his face faded in color.

"What are you thinking about?" Naomi asked, wrapping her arms around her and resting her face on top of Alice's head.

"That I'm going to kill him as soon as he gets out of the Tube," she replied.

Daniel huffed. "Why am I going through all this trouble, then?" he asked, waving at the medical console with both hands.

Naomi laughed, the sound vibrating on Alice's back, and she hugged her tighter.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Naomi asked Daniel, pointing in Gabriel's direction.

Alice could feel her distress, as well as Daniel's. They were both afraid of losing another alpha, though they didn't directly voice their concerns.

"It's still going to take a couple of hours, Naomi." Daniel sighed in an attempt to look calm. "You should remember from when you twisted your ankle."

"Okay, no need to get your doctor panties in a bunch," Naomi teased him. "I just wanted to know how much longer the Norwegian Dracula is going to hang around, since he refuses to leave until Gabriel wakes up."

"Norwegian Dracula?" Daniel chortled, choking on his water bottle.

"Don't call him that," Alice said patiently.

"Why? Don't we hate him?" Naomi walked around Alice's chair and stood in front of her. "We still hate him, right?"

"No, no hate…" Now it was Alice's turn to sigh. She could feel the dislike coming from her friends, the resentment of Matts's presence. They were decidedly against the alpha, which was understandable, considering he wanted to spirit her away. But Alice felt a need to change their minds.

"No hate? Since when did you stop disliking the man?" Naomi demanded.

"Since he became more reasonable than that big-headed male in the Tube." Alice pointed to Gabriel with her chin. "And since he kept me from being kidnapped like Sophie."

And other reasons. Some things she wasn't ready to share with anyone, including Naomi.

"All right, then." Naomi pouted and went around to Alice's back, hugging her shoulders. "But I still don't like him."

Naomi's nervousness subsided when she touched Alice, the physical contact soothing her emotions.

"I still don't understand why he insisted on returning before he went to the Tube," Alice said for what felt like the tenth time. "They have Tubes in France, right?"

"They do." Daniel turned to her and began to repeat what he'd been telling her. "Henrik didn't feel it was safe—"

"He still won't be safe when he wakes up, because Alice is going to kill him," Naomi joked, completing the conversational circle they had been going around for the last hour.

Alice tried to give Naomi a mean look. It wasn't something easy to do with a best friend, and they both ended up giggling.

"I'm going to grab some coffee before we all fall asleep watching Gabriel get his pretty-boy face back," Naomi declared, stretching her arms. "You guys want anything?"

"Coffee!" both Daniel and Alice answered at the same time.

"All right." Naomi replied. She left Alice and Daniel to watch over Gabriel.

"How are you feeling with all this?" Daniel asked her. It was an honest question, but his compulsion to report everything that Alice was going through made her hesitate before replying.

She finally decided on honesty. "Worried. Angry. He wants a bond, a real bond like I had with Bruno. And then he goes to France and almost dies on me."

"That's not his fault," Daniel said defensively.

"Of course it's not his fault, Daniel," Alice replied, exasperated. "But if we had a bond, and he had died, I couldn't take another cut like that, no matter how much you guys watched over me."

Daniel turned to her in his chair, the concern he was feeling was evident on his face. "You don't mean that," he mumbled.

An awkward silence settled between them, and Daniel fidgeted with the buttons on the console. A wave of conflicting emotions rose from him, as if he was fighting with himself about something.

"Would it be that bad?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Taking a deep breath, he turned in his chair again and gave her a look that reminded her of Boss asking for a treat. "Would it be that bad to bond with Gabriel? Can't you see yourself loving him like you loved Bruno?"

She focused on Gabriel and took a few moments to distance herself from the onslaught of emotions coming from Daniel: anger, doubt, resentment, and fear. So much fear…

"What are you so afraid of, Daniel?" she asked, keeping her voice gentle, and ignoring his question.

"I just… nothing," he stammered and turned back to the console.

It was as if everyone had something to hide from her, and she was tired of it. She rolled her chair closer to Daniel, invading his personal space, and fully gave her attention to him.

It was interesting, seeing him both shrink under her gaze and relax under her close proximity.

"What are you afraid of?" she asked again, more assertively.

"I can't tell you, Alice. He told me not to," he whispered, as if he was afraid Gabriel might overhear him from behind the glass.

"Please talk to me," she pleaded.

She wasn't being fair, using her omega charm on him like this, but she might not get such an opportunity again.

Daniel's shoulders hunched, and he refused to meet her gaze. After a few moments of silence, he stood up straighter and put both hands on the console, steadying himself.

"All the other omegas have mates. Real mates," he started. "You are the only one holding back. The Brazilian omega also lost her mate and she recovered. Why can't you?"

His voice rose to an accusatory note at the end, making her wince.

"Malu accepted someone new because she was already in love," Alice confided to him. "And she was desperate to close the gap."

"The gap?" he asked.

Alice put her hand over her heart, the broken link fluttering against the dark winds of the void. How did you explain this to someone? There were no words that could convey how empty her heart was, and the constant painful pull on Bruno's bond.

"It doesn't work," she told him bluntly.

"A new mate doesn't close the gap?" Daniel hesitated, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Confusion poured from him, but there was a hint of understanding. Maybe in time, he would get it.

"From what Malu told me, it numbs it a bit, but you still feel it." Alice rubbed the skin above her heart. "So unless you have another good reason why I should bond with Gabriel, I'm not in a rush to get my heart broken again, thank you."

Daniel stared at Gabriel, his body going stiff and his hands wrapping around the console's edge, his knuckles turning white and his fingertips red with the strength of his grasp. He was struggling against something. He did have another reason why he wanted them to bond, but whatever the reason was, he couldn't tell her. It was clear Gabriel had commanded him not to. He couldn't go against his alpha's command, and he was going to hurt himself if he continued to struggle like this.

"I need to ask you something." Alice placed her hand on Daniel's shoulder. He relaxed and let go of the console.

"Sure," he replied in a rough voice.

"Is there a way to stop the…" Oh, shit, how was she going to ask this? "You remember those times when… when Bruno and I…"

She blushed furiously. Daniel was a doctor, and he knew about the sudden increases in her libido, so why was it so hard for her to say it?

"You mean your heat?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Don't call it that." She pouted. How she hated that word. She wasn't an animal who went into heat; this was something different.

"Sorry, but all the other omega doctors started calling it heat. It kind of stuck." He snickered, his mood getting lighter.

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. She was not going to use that word. She would think of something else.

"Is there a way to stop the heat?" she asked, furious at being unable to find an alternative word.

Daniel faced her. "We discussed that a few times on our chat, but never made any progress on that front." He shrugged. "We never saw an actual need for it. Are you going into heat, Alice?"

She blushed even harder. Her libido had been very subdued since Bruno died, but lately… No, not lately—ever since Christmas? Maybe even before, since she first went to Gabriel's nightclub? Yes, maybe then, her libido had increased again. Those nights in his bed had not done her any favors.

"I'm afraid that it might happen, and…" She knew Gabriel wouldn't do anything without her consent, but would she be able to control herself?

"And you would like to prevent it," Daniel completed for her. His eyes turned very serious, and Alice could feel conflict coming from him.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I don't have a way to prevent it. I could research it, but can't make any promises." He grabbed her hands and held them in his. She could feel him fight against himself again, trying to make a decision. "If you do go into heat, and you don't want Gabriel's help, there are ways for you to help yourself."

"Oh, no, no way. I'm not going to discuss masturbation with you, Daniel."

"Why not? It's a perfectly natural—"

"No." She put a hand over his mouth and another over her ear. "Not going to hear this. Nope."

"Okay." He sighed through her fingers.

There was an awkward pause.

"I'll be honest with you. If it does happen, you should just go to Gabriel," he told her.

"You know I can't do that." She turned back to the console, his disappointment making her wince.

"You can, Alice. I understand that you don't want to, but there is nothing stopping you but yourself," Daniel said, again with an accusatory undertone.

"Why are you so keen that I bond with Gabriel, anyway?"

"Because you are an omega and, like it or not, our happiness depends on your happiness," he vented. "And yes, you didn't ask for it, but neither did we. And if something were to happen and we couldn't be with you anymore, it would hurt us far more than it hurt losing Bruno."

The fear again… That gave her a lot to think about. If Daniel had any real idea of how strongly she felt his emotions, he might not have said anything at all. But there was real fear here, of losing her. Were they afraid she might choose Matts instead of Gabriel?

"Two coffees, extra sugar for the sweet-toothed omega." Naomi boomed from the door. She barged into the room holding a tray, and placed it on a table behind them.

She looked between them, and her happy expression turned to worry. "Did something happen?" she demanded.

"No, nothing," both replied, grabbing their coffees. Alice busied herself with the sugar, and Daniel started fidgeting with the console dials.

"You guys are weird," Naomi declared, and she hugged Alice again.

Now she was the one keeping secrets from her best friend.

"Is the Norwegian vampire still there?" Daniel asked Naomi.

"Don't call him that," Alice said. Daniel's dislike for the man increased.

"Yeah, he's with Henryk. The poor guy," Naomi replied.

Alice took a deep breath. They watched in silence as Gabriel's wounds healed.

She was definitely going to kill him when he got out of there…

Gabriel made polite chitchat with one of the security guards while he waited. The security office at the entrance to the gated community was stacked with monitors, flipping between various views. Cameras overlooked the entirety of the small private neighborhood around the beach house. Every nook, every corner, and every road were rigorously monitored.

But since the stray attack in France, even this little secure paradise had felt unsafe.

It was a constant itch between his shoulders, this nagging feeling that they would come for Alice again. So Gabriel had reached out to one of his friends.

Michael was just as overprotective as Gabriel, which made sense considering he was mated to the American omega. Before he became the U.S. first chair, he had been rising in the CIA ranks. So when Michael made a suggestion, Gabriel listened.

A car stopped outside the gate. Checking a monitor, Gabriel saw a man with dark-brown skin and a military haircut lower the car window and press the security intercom. He quickly compared the man's face with the one on his phone. Satisfied, Gabriel made his way outside to greet him.

"Elijah Green?"

"Yes," the man replied in a hoarse voice. He took out a card and gave it to Gabriel. It had Michael's signature on it, and four numbers they had agreed upon. "I'm here at the request of Gabriel Taveira."

"You're early." Gabriel tried not to sound impressed. He had expected the man to get lost.

"Yes. I can circle around and come back in a bit, if you like?"

"No need." Gabriel chuckled.

Gabriel walked around the car, and let himself into the passenger seat. The other alpha shuffled uncomfortably but kept calm.

"I'm Gabriel, the First Chair of Portugal." Gabriel extended his hand.

The alpha's mouth went round in a mute oh!

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Elijah shook his hand. He had a strong grip.

"No need to call me sir. Just call me Gabriel."

"All right, then, Gabriel." Elijah smiled politely. "I thought we would be meeting at the house."

"You can't get there without me," Gabriel replied as he gestured for Elijah to drive through the gate. "There are several security checkpoints that can only be passed by someone with clearance."

"Then why not send a car to pick me up? You didn't need to come all the way out here yourself."

"I wanted to see how you fared on our roads," Gabriel admitted with a mischievous smile.

"Fair enough. A bodyguard that can't find his way around wouldn't be very useful." Elijah laughed.

Gabriel directed Elijah along the narrow road and up a hill, using his phone twice to turn off the security measures that were in place to stop unwanted cars.

"Do you know what this job is about?" Gabriel asked him.

"Yes. You need a bodyguard for your mate, right? A stalker is threatening her security?"

"Did Michael give you any information about my mate?"

"Michael?"

"Michael Barlowe? The American First Chair?"

"Ahh! I didn't think the American First Chair called anyone by their first name, even the other chairs," the man joked. "I talked mostly with Emilia Jones, his main bodyguard. She was the one who recommended me."

"All right…" Gabriel rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's for the best."

"Any particularities about this position I should know about?" Elijah asked.

"You'll be finding out soon enough," Gabriel reassured him.

They passed through another gate and parked the car in the large open space in front of the house.

"Did you have lunch?" Gabriel asked as he invited him inside.

"Yes. I must say Portuguese cuisine is wonderful. Best cod I ever had."

"Good. How about some coffee?"

"Coffee would be wonderful, thank you."

"Great, my office is down the hall that way." Gabriel pointed to double doors on the left. "Why don't you go to the kitchen and ask Alice for a cup of coffee and join me when you're ready?" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

"Sure. I'll meet you in two minutes, then," Elijah replied, doubt on his face.

"No hurries, take all the time you need. We have all afternoon."

Gabriel made his way to his office and sat behind his desk. So far he liked the new guy, but the final say was Alice's. He sent her a text message, asking what she thought of the alpha. Ten minutes later, he got a reply with a thumbs-up emoji.

Good. Now he just needed to wait.

Elijah knocked and walked into the office, looking slightly dazed.

"I'm so sorry I took so long."

Gabriel just laughed. It was fun seeing just how much Alice could make an alpha lose his footing.

Elijah stopped. "What… what is she?"

Gabriel smirked. "She makes quite a first impression, no?"

"Is she an alpha? She didn't feel like an alpha."

"She's an omega."

"An omega?" Elijah looked thoughtful as he sat down. "I heard the rumors about a third dynamic, but like most people, I thought it was fairy tales and wishful thinking."

"And that's how we would like to keep them. Fairy tales, at least for the general public. Although rumors do get most things right about them."

"I'd never seen one before. I don't know why I reacted that way." Elijah closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I didn't expect you to have met one before. There are only nine in the world so far."

"Only nine? That's absurd. Even alpha judges are in the hundreds, and they are the rarest dynamic so far."

"The mate of the American First Chair is an omega," Gabriel volunteered.

A puzzled look crossed Elijah's face, but he didn't seem surprised. Gabriel could see him putting some pieces together. "And the mate of the French First Chair Alice mentioned? The one who got kidnapped?"

"Also one." Gabriel played with a pen in his hands. He stared into the distance as he remembered Sophie's fate. "She was kidnapped three weeks ago by a terrorist group of strays."

"Strays? That sounds like a bunch of lost kids."

Gabriel chuckled. "If only. They don't obey any alphas but their own, and are cut off from the genetic hierarchy. Their leader has been targeting Alice for a while now, but they saw an opportunity for Sophie, and they took it. It will be your job to make sure there is no such opportunity for Alice."

"I understand." Elijah nodded. "Why doesn't she like you?" he asked without qualms.

Gabriel's eyebrows rose.

"She doesn't ‘not like' me." He rubbed his face and put his hands behind his head. "She…" He hesitated.

"You know about my history, right? There are some things I do not abide." Elijah's tone was rough. Gabriel could bet he already felt protective of Alice.

"I know. I'm counting on that." He was honest. It was good to have someone around strong enough to call him out, if he pushed a boundary he shouldn't.

Now it was Elijah's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Alice is the widow of the former First Chair of Portugal. One of my best friends."

"You mean the one who died in an accident? A fire, right?"

"It was no accident." Gabriel leaned forward and rested both elbows on his desk. "The same strays that took Sophie were responsible."

Elijah leaned forward too, giving Gabriel his undivided attention.

"I was second on her list, and before you can say anything, it was because Bruno, her husband, asked me to sign up for it."

"She's not happy to have you as a mate." Elijah's tone was slightly accusatory.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "She's not happy to have anyone as a mate. She's a widow." He focused his eyes on Elijah. "But she's also an omega. First thing you should know is that comes first. Powers stronger than First Chairs want the omegas safe, and powers that elude us all want to capture them."

Elijah nodded.

Gabriel studied him for a moment, trying to understand the alpha's behavior.

"It's normal if you feel protective of her. It's part of what they are. They make alphas want to protect them."

"Why else are they so important? Apart from being rare."

Gabriel considered his question. It was not something he liked to share with strangers.

"Will you take the job?"

"Yes," Elijah replied without hesitation.

"Omegas don't obey alpha commands. One of the reasons this country was becoming a great example of what an alpha could do was that Alice kept Bruno in check for every decision he made."

"That's it?" Elijah shuffled in his seat.

Gabriel hesitated.

"Omegas also make their bonded mates stronger," he finally admitted.

"Bonded? And stronger how?"

"It's hard to explain. All alphas mated to omegas change somehow, not physically but mentally. Whatever they do, they will excel at it. Can you name me the strongest countries in the world right now?" Gabriel asked.

"That's easy. America, Japan, India, Brazil, Nigeria, China, and Indonesia."

"Can you guess which countries have omegas?"

Elijah's eyes opened wide. "All of them?"

"Yes. Portugal was well on its way to becoming one of the strongest. At least, until Bruno died."

"Yes, I remember reading about it. But then Portugal's success plateaued. Why is that, if you still have an omega?"

"Because although I am Alice's official mate, we are not bonded."

"Bonded? As in married?"

"No. A bond is something unique to an omega. It's a connection they make with the alpha they choose." Gabriel sighed. "But I can't explain what it is because she hasn't chosen me. At least, not yet."

"She's still grieving for her husband." It wasn't a question.

"Right now my priority is to be her friend and her guardian." He couldn't help the sadness in his voice.

"If what you say is true, then I expect for any alpha to want an omega as a mate. Is this why these so-called strays are after them?"

"Not just strays. There are other alphas also desperate for one."

"When can I start? There are a few things that I would like to look into as soon as possible."

"Today, if you don't mind watching a football game."

"Good. I always wanted to watch a game of European football." Elijah looked eager to start. "One more question?"

"Sure."

"Who is Matts Hansen?"

If Elijah thought it was hot in April, he was nowhere near ready for a real Portuguese summer. When August came around, Alice was happy her bodyguard wore more than just suits, otherwise he would just melt in the heat.

"I'm so happy that Gabriel isn't strict about uniforms," Elijah said as he tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. That meant short-sleeved shirts and a light linen vest to hide his gun. There were a few days when he even dared to wear shorts. He had sent a few pictures of himself to his colleagues back in Washington and received a wave of envious messages complaining about wearing hot suits in the middle of summer. He would often show them to Alice with a laugh.

"If I walked around like this back home, I would get in so much trouble," Elijah joked. "Not that it would make much difference in the end."

"Why did you get in trouble, anyway?" Alice asked as they were walking Boss along the riverside. "If you want to share, of course. I understand if it's private."

He gave her a warm laugh. "It's not private. In fact, it became quite public very quickly. You would probably have heard about it if you could still talk to your omega friends."

Alice politely waited for him to proceed.

Elijah looked around them before continuing. The winding path along the riverbank was surrounded by high foliage, shielding their conversation from other people enjoying the warm afternoon. Further ahead Lemos was carefully inspecting the path before them.

"I was one of the bodyguards for the American Fourth Chair. I was just on the edge of a big promotion, about to join the contingent to protect the First Chair's mate."

Elijah paused while Boss offered a stick to her. Her attention was all on him, and Boss was an easily jealous dog. Elijah waited for her to throw the stick before he continued.

"Days before the promotion, I punched the Fourth Chair right in the face."

Alice was unsure if she should laugh or be appalled, but he was grinning.

"Why did you punch him? Did you wake up that morning and choose violence, or was there a reason?"

Boss returned with the stick, and this time she threw it further away. She really wanted to hear more now.

"I had never met his wife until that day. I don't think I ever even thought about her before then." He sighed. "I just thought he was one of those alphas who likes to keep his mate away from other alphas."

There was a beta woman jogging along the river and an elderly couple sitting on a bench, probably still basic human. Boss was trying to retrieve the stick from some shrubbery. Alice couldn't see any threat, but she felt uneasiness and even some embarrassment coming from Elijah.

But he went on. "His wife was attending an official lunch for the first time. The First Chair and his mate were also in attendance. Right away, I could tell something was wrong. She looked scared and embarrassed. She flinched when her husband talked to her, and when I got closer to their table, I understood why."

He stopped and took a deep breath. "He kept berating her, telling her she was doing everything wrong and calling her names. All under his breath so the other tables wouldn't hear. And everyone at their table just ignored it all, like it was perfectly normal. When she got up from the table to go to the powder room, he followed her, and I followed both. I caught him yelling at her, and winding back his arm to hit her."

Alice stopped in her tracks. She could feel his anger.

"So I stepped between them and punched him in the face. Knocked him out cold," he told her proudly.

"Just one punch?" Alice probed, seeing right through him.

"Maybe more…" he relented but didn't elaborate.

"Wife. So, not a mate from the lists. She was with him before conversion?" Alice asked.

They began walking again. "She was with him before," he confirmed. "He was a senator, and they had been married for quite a few years."

Alice nodded in understanding. "It has happened to a few couples. After conversion, they realize they're not compatible. Most just separate discreetly. Funny how quickly being married became outdated."

"This guy couldn't just separate. It would hurt his public image to go through a divorce."

"What happened next?"

"I had punched the fourth most powerful guy in America. It became a silent fight between the First and the Fourth Chair."

"Did Michael do anything about the Fourth Chair?"

"He couldn't—at least, not what he wanted to. You know how things are now. You can't just remove an alpha from his position. Our conditioning won't allow it," he griped. "But, at the same time, people were not happy with that alpha. The Fourth Chair tried to make my life as miserable as possible, but I would say he failed, considering where I ended up."

Alice gave him a warm smile, feeling his satisfaction. "What I don't understand is why Michael keeps him around. He has Zoey. He can disobey the High Court's commands."

"Things are a bit different in America. We have a larger-than-usual unconverted population, and any infighting among the chairs can cause serious issues. The High Court has been pushing for mandatory conversion for a while now. The First Chair is fighting it—he thinks we can convince people to convert of their own free will. But when enough people are converted, I'm sure he will deal with the other Chair." He shrugged.

"Would you return to America, if that happened?"

"Hell, no! I'm falling in love with this country. Wouldn't change how things are now, for anything."

"There have been some countries in Europe that pushed for mandatory conversion," Alice confessed.

"What would they do with those who fail to convert?"

"Suggestions have come from the High Court to separate the unconverted population to certain areas of the country—for "their protection," as they put it. A suggestion for now, but it could become an order later."

"That is fucked up."

"Fucked up, indeed. I noticed a pattern in the unconverted people, last time I checked the listings," she confessed.

"Oh?" This time, he was the one who stopped in his tracks, seemingly nervous that someone could hear them.

"Everyone with serious criminal records fails to convert. Many in the wealthiest upper class failed to convert. None become alphas. Politicians who have extreme views fail to convert. People who support certain ideologies fail to convert," Alice explained.

"That means those politicians are pushed out of office," he concluded. "Can't say I'm not happy about that."

"They became the second-class citizens they wanted to create," Alice continued. "Murderers and rapists are the only ones left in prisons, which will likely close as they die off. And the one percent, when they die, their fortunes revert back to their converted children, who are conditioned to obey."

"A neat little package to change the world. But we always knew that's what the Potentia ad Opus wanted. A radical change."

"Yes, but what's the point if we lose what makes us human?"

"What would that be? I see nothing lost."

"Our empathy," she told him with a smile. It was hard for alphas to remember empathy.

"It's hard to feel empathy for murderers, Alice."

"I know. But we are putting them in the same bucket as people who genuinely failed to convert, or those who chose not to, and calling them all basic humans. As if they are less worthy of humanity than us."

"I see, but I still can't say I feel bad for some of them."

"You don't have to feel bad for them. I understand you don't want to show compassion to a rapist, or to someone who exploited their workers for profit. But they are still human beings, and even if they die out, they should be treated as human before they do. Otherwise, we become that which we try to erase."

"It's hard mental gymnastics, trying to equate some people with being worthy of respect," he admitted.

"Yes. But that's what I meant. Not respect for the individual, but for their humanity. There should be respect for human dignity, no matter how much your values and morality clash with other people's. Converted or not converted, we are all human, after all."

"I swear, this is the most horrendous, useless, parasitic creature to have ever existed," Alice complained.

"It's a tick," Elijah commented. "It's not the end of the world."

"I managed to keep him free of pests all this time. How did it sneak past me?"

"It's just a tick, Alice," he said once again, trying and failing to hide his amusement. Not possible from an omega, so she scowled at him.

"Well, as long as we're here, we might as well get some of his food. He goes through each bag faster than Gabriel goes through cake."

"If you mean that salty cake you make, with ham and bacon, then it's entirely understandable."

"It's called a bola. I'm still not over the fact that you don't like sweets." Alice laughed as she went to open the pet-store door. Elijah put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Me first," he reminded her. Lemos stood next to the car, dark sunglasses on, watching the street.

Elijah went in and quickly scanned the place. From outside, Alice could see a few patrons, and the man behind the counter was a familiar face. Elijah, not detecting any immediate danger, opened the door to let Alice and Boss in.

Once inside, Boss began his pet-shop routine of smelling all the patrons and their pets. The man behind the counter greeted them before returning his attention to the woman he was helping.

Elijah had once told her about his experience with the wives of rich men, and their shopping trips. How they usually pushed for the stores to stop everything they were doing, and pay attention only to them. He had confessed that he'd expected her to do the same. Alice, however, detested being the center of attention. This was one of her favorite shops. It was usually quiet, and no one bothered her here. The stores where they crowded her rarely saw her patronage twice.

She made her way to the dog-food section, Elijah quietly trailing her and keeping an eye on everyone. As she reached for a bag of dog food, a loud yowl bellowed across the store, and the sounds of a distressed man joined in the choir.

"Oh, shit, no! Down, boy!"

She knew that voice…

Elijah and Alice both rushed to the cat-food section to find Boss half-climbing up a familiar man to reach the cat carrier he had in his hands.

"Boss, no!" Alice shouted. "Sit." Boss immediately sat at the man's feet, giving Alice a sorrowful look and a howl.

Elijah scrutinized the man, probably trying to discern if he could pose any danger. But with both arms in the air, trying to keep the cat carrier out of the dog's reach, the man posed no threat. Then Elijah did a confused double-take. This was normal around her former boss, who was still keeping the cat carrier as far up as he could. Although he was tall and had the build of an alpha, he was a beta. Most alphas did double-takes when they saw him for the first time.

"I'm so sorry, he—" Alice tried to apologize but was interrupted by Boss's second attempt at human mountain-climbing. She caught Boss by the collar and made him sit down with a stern command, the same tone of voice she sometimes had to use on stubborn alphas in the office.

"I'm sorry, Vicente. I don't know what has gotten into him," Alice apologized.

"That's all right, Alice. I guess he really likes my cat." He lowered his arms and carefully placed the cat carrier on the ground next to him so he could greet her with a kiss on each cheek.

Elijah scoffed lightly. He didn't like when she greeted people the Portuguese way, but she only did it with people she knew well.

Boss's eyes were glued to the cat carrier in a way that made Alice think he might go for a third attempt at the cat.

"Everything all right?" Elijah asked them in his awkward Portuguese.

"I'm quite all right," Vicente offered as he settled his rumpled clothes into place.

"Vicente, this is Elijah, Elijah, this is Vicente," Alice introduced them. "I guess you may have seen him before, back at the office? He works on the second floor."

Elijah visually assessed Vicente before offering him a smile and his hand to shake. Vicente's eyes fell on Elijah's gloves.

"A bit warm for gloves, no?" Vicente asked, pointing at Elijah's hands.

"It is indeed," he acknowledged but didn't elaborate.

Alice tried to distract Vicente as Elijah scrutinized him. She crouched on the floor to peer inside the cat carrier, and Vicente squatted next to her.

"I would open the door so you could pet him, but I think your dog might just try to get into the carrier if he sees the opportunity," he joked.

Indeed, Boss had lay down on the floor, and half-dragged himself toward the carrier. Alice put a hand on his head.

"You be nice," she admonished the dog. "Don't know why you are so obsessed with this cat. He never cared about cats before."

Inside the cage, the cat hissed at Boss, but was happy to receive pets from Alice.

"Is that a special cat breed or something?" Elijah asked. Alice could feel suspicion pouring from him.

"No, just a stray I saved from a trash can."

"He's still a kitten, poor thing. Is the big dog scaring you?" Alice scratched the cat between his ears, one hand still on Boss's head. Boss snorted the air around the carrier with the force of a vacuum cleaner, wagging his tail with each sniff.

"How is everything going? It's been a while since I saw you at work," Alice asked Vicente, who was now happily petting Boss. The dog relaxed and offered him his belly.

"I was away for a few days, had to take care of some family things."

"Nothing serious, I hope?"

He gave her a brilliant smile. "No, nothing serious. We got a new girl in the family."

"Oh, congratulations."

Boss put a big paw over the cat carrier, his eyes glued to the cat inside.

"Why this cat, you silly dog?" she asked. He gave one long, low whine in reply, making them both laugh.

Elijah, however, was stiff as a board, observing them both like a hawk. Alice didn't understand his suspicion. Vicente was a longtime friend—he'd even been a good friend of Bruno's before their falling out. And she was sure Matts's people had checked him a ton of times already back at work. Even Matts had checked him when he was last here. Right?

A loud sound came from the other side of the store, followed by annoyed voices.

"Stay here," Elijah told her as he went to investigate.

"New bodyguard?" Vicente asked, his eyes trailing Elijah.

"Yes," she admitted with a flush. Her former boss didn't know about her being an omega, as she'd left his company before her conversion.

As soon as Elijah was out of earshot, Vicente caught her gaze. Like a jolt of electricity, a feeling of recognition appeared and evaporated—too quick for her to grab it. His hand brushed hers over Boss's fur. Was he trying to touch her?

"Is he treating you well? Our First Chair, I mean?" he asked in a low voice, his eyes dropping to her rabbit necklace.

Alice smiled at the genuine concern coming from him.

"Of course," she told him with what betas interpreted as a reassuring voice. But Vicente didn't feel reassured. He felt nervous.

"A bag of dog food split open at the bottom. Half the floor is covered in kibble," Elijah interrupted them.

They laughed as Boss quickly got up and rushed to the other side of the store, probably to help clean up.