Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The heart was a treacherous bitch, wasn’t it?

No, it wasn’t fair to women to assign it a female term. One could even argue it would be misogynistic.

Asshole. His heart was a treacherous asshole. There. That was a better way of putting it.

His heart was a treacherous asshole because no matter how many times Delton had told himself to forget about Adar, to get over the stupid notion that they were mates, to stop obsessing about him, thinking about him, dreaming about him, jerking off to him, for fuck’s sake, he never seemed to manage it.

Even a glimpse of the man would send Delton back into an endless tailspin of ruminating, trying to figure out what was going on, how he could’ve been so stupid to fall for him that hard, why the fuck he couldn’t get over Adar, and—the biggest question of all—how it was possible that the man he was so convinced was his mate was head over heels in love with someone else.

Oh, Adar had never told him he was in love with Oliver. Delton had barely exchanged more than a few words with Adar in the time Delton had lived here, despite him trying to connect with the alpha. But Delton had thought they had time, that fate would work things out.

Until Oliver had shown up.

Delton didn’t hate the dragon. How could he hate the sweet, angelic omega who was still suffering from the trauma inflicted upon him? Delton could never blame him for anything, least of all for getting the affections of a man Oliver barely knew. Adar had fallen as hard for Oliver at first sight as Delton had fallen for the alpha, and if that wasn’t the cruelest irony, Delton didn’t know what was.

Which was why he was so pissed off at himself for being practically giddy when Adar had requested a meeting with him. As a psychologist. Not as a friend. Adar had approached Delton professionally, which meant Delton should at least try to maintain an emotional distance. So far, he was failing spectacularly at that.

He’d given himself a stern talking-to, ordered his heart to stop racing, his palms to stop sweating, and to act like the professional he was. All in vain. He hadn’t even been able to concentrate on anything, so he’d given up, slumping in his chair as he waited for Adar to show up. Like he said, his heart was a treacherous asshole. How could he stay so loyal to a man who was in love with someone else? It was wrong on every level.

A knock sounded on his door, and he sat up straight. Enough with the self-pity. He pulled his face into a professional mask and called out, “Come on in.”

Adar hesitantly stepped into the room, his massive frame filling the door. “Door open or closed?”

“I don’t have a preference either way, but if you want whatever you tell me to stay between us, you may want to close it. My roommates aren’t home, but one of them could walk in, so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

“Right.” Adar closed the door, then stood in the middle of the room, jamming his hands into his pockets.

“You can sit down if you want.” Delton gestured at the chair opposite him.

Adar eyed it critically. “Are you sure it’ll hold me? It looks a tad dainty.”

“I can’t be sure since my guess is you’re the biggest alpha to sit in it, but if it doesn’t, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Okay.” He lowered himself carefully, and after a loud creak, the chair seemed to settle under his weight.

Delton waited, as always giving his client the opportunity to speak first. When Adar stayed silent, he took the initiative. “Can I get you something to drink? I have coffee, tea, water, various flavors of that disgusting seltzer…”

Adar snorted. “Disgusting is the right word. I don’t understand how people can drink that shit. It’s awful.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I can’t stand the stuff, but several of my clients love it, so I still feel obliged to offer it.”

“I’m not a client.” Adar frowned. “Am I?”

“I don’t know since you haven’t told me why you’re here, but for argument’s sake, let’s say you are. Regardless, the question stands.”

“Coffee. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like a cup of coffee.”

“No trouble at all. I just made a fresh pot.”

Delton didn’t mention that the only reason he’d done so was that he was well aware of Adar’s coffee addiction. The man was known for drinking his poison undiluted, as he described it himself, so Delton had made the strongest coffee ever. The stuff was pitch black and would probably burn a hole in anyone’s stomach. He poured Adar a big cup, made himself a smaller one, and added a generous splash of creamer. His stomach wouldn’t survive otherwise.

“Thank you.” Adar took the cup and set it on the little table next to his chair.

“How have things been for you?” Delton had better start with a general question since he had no clue why Adar wanted to talk to him.

“Good. Nothing much going on other than the usual threats.”

“I’m glad to hear that, though I asked more about you personally than about your job.”

Adar frowned. “Oh. I don’t have much of a personal life, I guess.”

“I’m sure there’s more to you than your job.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know about that. It’s my biggest responsibility, and I’m good with that.”

He still wasn’t giving Delton any clues as to what he wanted to talk about. For a man who was known to be sparse with words, he was certainly living up to that reputation. Would Delton have to pull every word out of him?

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked to talk to you,” Adar said after a long pause.

Okay, then. He was bringing it up himself. Good. “Whenever you’re ready. No rush. We can talk about other things as long as you want or need to.”

“I don’t want to waste your time.”

“I don’t consider talking to people a waste of my time, regardless of what we discuss. A big part of what I do is getting to know people and putting them at ease, which means we take things slow and at their pace.”

“Sure, but I’m not here as a patient.”

“So you keep telling me, but I can’t confirm that until I know a little more.”

Another long pause. “It’s about Oliver.”

Oh gods, for real? As if Delton’s suffering wasn’t enough yet. “Tell me about him.”

He could do this. He had to do this. He was a fucking professional.

“I’m sure you’ve seen him around. He’s the cute, angelic dragon omega who arrived here all beaten up and bruised.”

“I’ve met him, and I’ve heard about what happened to him.”

“I’ve been…guarding him, I guess you could say. Shadowing him to make sure he and the other dragons are safe.”

“I noticed.”

Adar snorted. “Pretty sure everyone’s noticed. It’s not like I’m subtle about it.”

“Not particularly, no.”

“He’s my mate.”

Delton’s heart quietly shattered into a million pieces. “Have you told him?”

“No. I didn’t think the timing was right, what with him still recovering and all. That is, if he hasn’t figured it out himself. I’m pretty sure everyone knows the truth.”

Delton’s lungs seized with the effort to draw in a breath, like shards of glass were stuck inside him, cutting him open. Bleeding on the inside, Delton fought to keep his professional mask on. “Under the circumstances, I think you made the right choice not to tell him. He’ll need a lot of time to heal.”

Was that why Adar was here? Did he want to talk to Delton about how he could help Oliver? Oliver himself hadn’t approached Delton despite Delton offering his services multiple times. Oliver wasn’t ready, Fallon had told Delton, which was probably true, considering he rarely used his voice. Still, Delton desperately wanted to help him, even knowing it would bring Oliver and Adar together.

“He does, and I promise you I have all the patience in the world to wait until he’s ready. The ball is in his court. It has been from the beginning. I haven’t even spoken to him, not until today.”

“What happened today?”

It was like Delton had split in half. Half of him was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, bawling, bruised, and bleeding. But the other half was still functioning, asking questions and analyzing Adar’s answers and nonverbal cues.

“His heat is coming.”

Delton had to close his eyes for a moment, afraid he wouldn’t be able to shield his emotions. Oliver’s heat was coming. It didn’t take a degree in psychology to figure out that he must’ve asked Adar to help him. Alphas thrived on being needed like that, and how could a beta like Delton compete? He couldn’t. He would never need Adar the way Oliver did, could never give him that same satisfaction of fulfilling that deep biological urge. The eternal curse of being a beta. They were always stuck in the middle.

When he opened his eyes again, Adar was staring at the floor. Had he noticed Delton’s moment of feeling sorry for himself? Probably not. Something to be grateful for. “He asked you to help him?”

“Yes. And I want to do it. Obviously. God, even the thought of someone else touching him… I can’t stomach it.”

That Delton could understand. “I can see that. If he’s your mate, that makes perfect sense. Most mates are fiercely protective and jealous. So, what are you concerned about? At least, I’m assuming you’re worried about something, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Adar slowly raised his head and met Delton’s eyes. “Oliver is still not talking to me. He communicated today through written notes. He can’t do that when he’s in heat. How will I know his boundaries? How can I be certain I will pick up on his signals?”

That was a valid concern, and it spoke volumes about Adar’s character that he had realized this. “That’s very insightful of you, Adar. I commend you for being so proactive about this. I take it you’re here to ask me what to look out for? Like, what signals Oliver could be sending?”

Adar shook his head. “Not exactly.”

And with sickening clarity, Delton realized what Adar was going to ask him. Oh gods, please, no. Please let him be wrong. Fate couldn’t be that cruel to him, not when he’d tried so hard to forget about Adar.

“Will you supervise us? Will you be there for him so you can tell me if you pick up on any unease? I would ask Fallon, but his heat is coming too, and I don’t know who else to approach. I don’t want to hurt my mate. I want him to have a good experience. So, please, will you do this for me? For us?”

Nothing was left of Delton’s heart. In the course of mere minutes, it had been obliterated, ceased to exist, leaving a big, gaping black hole in his chest. Somehow, he was still alive, even though he was dead on the inside, the tiny fragments of his broken heart still beating.

He had to say no. He rarely refused a patient help, especially when his presence could make such a difference, like it would in this case. Delton couldn’t deny that being there would be beneficial to Oliver. Adar was right that in the passion of Oliver’s heat, it would be easy for him to miss cues and signals, so asking Delton for help was an incredibly sweet and kind gesture that proved the depth of Adar’s affection for the dragon omega.

But Delton had to find a way to say no. Supervising Adar as he helped Oliver through his heat would be torture. Watching them have sex again and again and again would constitute emotional and psychological torture that would leave scars inside Delton that might never heal.

On the other hand, maybe he needed to see them together to let go of the notion that Adar was his mate. Maybe if he saw the blossoming love between them, he would finally get the message that enough was enough.

Oh, who was he kidding? Adar was asking him, and Delton would never be able to refuse him anything.

“It would be my honor.”

Lies. It wouldn’t be his honor. It would be his downfall, his heartbreak, his hours and hours of torture. But he would still do it.

His heart was a treacherous asshole.