24. Blake

24

Blake

I cradle the phone against my ear as Grayson leaves the car running to grab my prescription from the pharmacy. "Seriously, Doc?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Blake." Quentin is the only doctor I know that speaks to me like a regular human being. It isn't about Alpha, Beta, Omega with him and he'll call me just as fast as he will my Alphas regarding anything about my health. "You have to take it easy or your heart could give out. I have absolutely no idea what it would take to get to that point but high-stress situations will only make it worse."

"That's bullshit, Doc, and you know it."

"I do know it. I know that life has dealt you an unfair hand by giving you such an intelligent brain and not giving you the strength to pursue everything you need in life. The silver lining is that your Alphas are respectable men who won't just lock you up at home."

I sag in my seat, hating that everything has changed in just a few days. I went from discussing the idea of having children with my Alphas to learning that too much stress could make my heart fail. Luca's arrival couldn't have come at a better time, the sunshine he brings to our pack needed at a time like this. "So, just… don't stress?"

Quentin bursts out laughing on the other end. "Blake, we both know you attract stress like the plague. You're hardwired to find the most difficult situations and stick yourself into them. I'm asking you to think about more than just yourself for a minute. You have two wonderful Alphas and an Omega that's going to need you. You might think you can handle whatever life throws at you but your body can't and watching you fall apart over and over again is going to hurt your mates. Just be careful, okay? The blockers should help reduce a lot of the foreign scents and make it easier to function in public settings."

"Yeah, okay."

I hang up after promising to dwell on my new reality as Grayson slides back into the driver's seat and hands me a small bottle of cream. I stare at it for several seconds before opening it and scooping a small amount to cover my scent gland. Instant relief pours through me as I can only smell the scents saturated into this car. My nose wrinkles at the loss of Luca's scent but I know where to get more.

It's the lack of all the foreign scents I'm amazed at. All the lingering smells from when friends would sit in this car or those that touched the door handles or the Alpha that shook Grayson's hand in the pharmacy. All gone. I didn't even notice how hard my body was working to dismiss those scents and now I can breathe.

"Better?" Grayson asks as I twist to look at him, no doubt with a stupid doped look on my face. He leans over to kiss me, lingering before he pulls back. "We'll get all this figured out. I'm going to run upstairs real quick and deal with whatever this mess is. It shouldn't take long and then we'll meet up with Luther and Grayson, okay?"

Absolute pleasure bleeds through the bond and my connection with Luca hits me all at once—scared, in pain, satiated. And then I feel an emotion that tells me all this is going to work out— in love. "I think Luther just fucked the ever-living daylights out of Luca," I say, grinning. I've been on the fence, just as my Alphas have as we try to circumvent this really tricky situation. However, it's good to know that they're both on board.

Grayson chuckles, the same stupid grin on his face. "Yeah, he did."

That Luca isn't just mine, but also theirs.

The drive to the company is silent but comfortable, Grayson doling out several more kisses before he heads inside. I'm a horny mess feeling Luther's arousal and Luca's but I can't really whip out my dick here in the parking lot. That and the fact that the moment I touch my dick, my ass will start leaking slick and we can't have that.

Not in this beautiful car.

I shift in my seat and spread my thighs, resisting the urge to cup my cock in my hand and give it a firm stroke. Needing something to distract myself, I open the glove compartment and start fiddling with old receipts. Each one brings up a distant memory that I've all but forgotten from ice cream to movie nights to weird restaurants that Luther wanted us to try.

For the first part of our relationship, we tried to be that traditional pack that everyone wrote about in the papers. After all, I started a damn company. I tried to play the submissive but brilliant Omega, Luther the protective and dominant Alpha, and Grayson, the sweet Alpha who ensured that our pack was taken care of. None of that worked, though. For one thing, I've never been submissive. Ever.

Even when Luca was a Beta and he fucked me to give me relief, I was directing the entire interaction. I should have known then that Luca was an Omega. Luther is protective and dominant but he's not fierce or rough. He'll raise his voice if he needs to but he prefers to observe, to let me lead and support me. Luther deals with all the unruly Alphas and Betas that don't believe I can hold my own but doesn't take over my process.

And Grayson, as sweet as he is, is just as eccentric as I am. He's strong and fierce but also submissive to our Alpha in a way that most of society would disapprove of. I've never faulted him for it and I love the way he gives in so easily when Luther is around. Watching them together is fucking beautiful and I make it a point to be around every time Grayson falls into Luther's arms.

It isn't often but it's a fantasy I yearn for over and over again.

Another receipt catches my eye that I don't recognize before I check the date. Two years ago. The receipt is for an ungodly amount of Italian food that I remember had been spread out in my nest, my Alphas taking turns feeding me until I was too stuffed to move.

It's what happened directly before the Italian food was ordered though. The receipt is dated a day after one of my last heats where I finally had the conversation with my Alphas that I didn't want to be an Omega anymore. Concerned, they wrapped me up in my blankets and held me close, waiting for me to further explain what I meant.

"I can't do this anymore."

My Alphas tense against me and I curse myself for how that came out. Grayson runs his nose along my cheek, pulling a sigh from me as I relax into his hold. Luther is sitting in front of us, my feet in his lap as he slowly massages the bridge. "You're going to have to explain that, Blake. There's a lot of things I'm thinking that you can't do and I'm hoping it's none of them."

My eyes widen as I furiously shake my head. "I'm not breaking up with you! I… I don't want to go into heat anymore. I've been researching pills and other remedies because I can't do it anymore. I hate this part of being an Omega." Tears cloud my vision as I gasp, Grayson doing his best to keep me calm.

"Whatever you need, babe. Can you tell us why, though? I know a heat is different for every Omega but is it us? Or was it the nest?"

God, I don't deserve these men. "It's not you. It's the feeling of losing myself. I can't control anything. There's just need and craving and I can see myself and I hate that version. I hate how I'm here but I'm not."

Luther scoots forward, putting his legs out so that they are on either side of Grayson. I'm between both of my Alphas, Luther smiling down at my strung-out form. "Then we won't have a heat, Blake. We'll speak with your doctor, find out what is the healthiest solution, and move on from there."

"You aren't mad?"

"Blake-"

"Because heats are an integral part of an Omega's being and I don't want them. I'm out of control. A mess and then for days afterward, I can't think of anything else other than that version of me. I hate it! I hate him."

Luther roughly wraps a hand around my neck and pulls me forward a little. "Don't. I love him. I love you. I love every last part of you, Blake. However, I will not force you to deal with that part of you. I will not watch you suffer every three months because of what society believes an Omega should do. Remember that I love all of you, Blake. All of you. Even the parts you hate."

I haven't had a heat since then, medically prescribed heat blockers keeping me from succumbing to that blubbering haze. Neither Luther nor Grayson have expressed any interest or need for me to come off of them. Not until I mentioned something about babies. The drugs in my system aren't conducive to carrying a child, not to mention I'm only fertile during my heats.

Not that it matters anymore.

The stress of being pregnant could kill me.

And yet, there's still a thought of a little me running around the house. One day.

I open the door and jump out, deciding to stroll around the lower lobby. I might even grab a sandwich and show Grayson that I can be a good Omega occasionally by remembering to eat. A few steps into the deli, I'm greeted by one of the designers.

"Aren't you supposed to be off today?"

"Yes, which is why you didn't see me. I just came for a sandwich. Scouts honor." I hold up three fingers on one hand, stare at it, and then switch hands.

"You were definitely not a scout, Mr. Keller."

My nose wrinkles at the respect and I shake my head. "Mr. Keller is my Alpha, either one of them. I'm just Blake." She giggles and I move past her, heading to the counter to order my favorite cucumber sandwich. The problem is that I have no idea how Grayson orders it. It just appears on my desk most days and I've never paid enough attention to the receipt or wrapper.

"Ah, Mr. Keller. I didn't think we'd see-"

"Blake, please ," I whine. I've never been Mr. Keller to anyone outside of work and I find it weird that the respect follows me outside my office and anywhere other than the 9 th and 10 th floors of this building. "I just came in for one of those cucumber sandwiches Grayson always gets but I don't know what he orders." I search the menu and frown when it's not on there.

The employee offers a soft laugh, the woman a few years older than me. She shakes her head, short curls bouncing on her head as I push my glasses up my nose. "Blake, Grayson has those specially made for you. An Omega special, he calls it. Cucumbers are excellent for you guys."

"How would he know that?"

"He didn't. I did." She grins and I finally catch her sweet scent. "My Alphas are health nuts and Grayson wanted to make sure you got something delicious but also filling. Hence the sandwiches. I can make you one right now if you like?"

I nod and lean against the counter, making a mental note to tell Grayson how much I fucking love him. The girl flits around the back, pulling together ingredients that I can't keep track of. All I know is that there's more than just cucumbers and bread. The girl starts humming, bouncing around as she wraps it up in the delicate plastic I always receive it in.

Her happiness drops in the next second, the temperature of the café lowering a few degrees as the scent of cigarettes and rotten oranges fills my nose. It blasts through the scent blockers and I slap a hand over my mouth and nose, terrified as the smell approaches. When it stops just behind me, fear explodes through me.

Lips hover near my ear, a chuckle following an Alpha's hot breath. "Fancy meeting you here. You smell an awful lot like my Omega but you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

My eyes widen as the girl backs away, frantically searching for the deli phone to alert for help. I dart forward as a hand wraps around the front of my throat and drags me into a hard chest. I squirm and kick back at the Alpha, crying out to be released but his strength far outweighs mine. Still, I pull at the hand around my neck as he cuts off my circulation. A low pitiful whine of distress slips through my lips. Hopefully, it's enough to send Grayson down here faster than the girl will be able to pick up the phone.

"Hudson?" I cough out his name, still trying to drag in enough air to breathe. As far as high-stress situations go, this is one of them.

"I was wondering if you even knew who I was." He grips the back of my neck so hard I know he'll leave marks. Luther is going to have a fit when he sees it. Hudson breathes along the exposed skin, his lips brushing along my bites. "It would be so easy to rip these out and replace them with mine. I should for what your Alphas are doing to my Omega."

"Do-don't."

My breathing is becoming labored as I continue to struggle but find no use. My limbs are heavy, my chest beating painfully as my vision tunnels. I was so fucking relaxed this morning and so ecstatic to spend time with my mates outside of work.

If I had stayed in the fucking car…

"You know I felt your Alpha fucking my Omega this morning? Felt my Omega's pleasure and need. I could almost hear his screams. He was probably screaming for me. And once he goes into heat, I'll have the evidence to arrest your Alpha for touching my Omega." His hand tightens around my neck as I scratch at his fingers.

"Let the Omega go, sir." A sound echoes through the deli, my hackles rising that there are guns pointed at us. I wonder how Hudson even got past security as I'm sure Luther would have advised them not to let this man in. Worse still, it took them so fucking long to come in here that they're going to be the first ones I fire when I'm not so rattled.

Hudson doesn't budge, a silent chuckle rumbling through his chest. I hate feeling him against me, hate feeling the way his cock thickens against the small of my back as if he's thinking about ways to fuck me even now. His tongue darts out to taste the scents on my skin and I shudder in his hold from disgust. I try to struggle again but find his grip on my neck even tighter than before. I have absolutely no leverage and the only thing I can see is the girl's panicked expression.

"Get the fuck off my Omega, Hudson!"

We're spun around, Grayson standing there, a vein popping out of his forehead. I've never seen him so fucking angry before, the Alpha seemingly larger than he usually is. The rage pouring off of him is fiercer than I've ever seen but I've also never been attacked before. Two guards on either side of Grayson have their guns raised, a threatening scene I would rather not be part of.

Hudson laughs as he wraps an arm around my chest to keep me from moving. "Guess your Omega signaled for help? Pesky little thing, those bonds. Give me mine back and we'll call it even."

"Never in a million years will I give Luca back to you, you abusive bastard. I could have you arrested for touching my Omega as well as trespassing on these grounds. You have no business here."

"Thought I could get a cucumber sandwich."

I snort, using the last bit of energy that I have. "They're not even on the menu." Hudson must have been watching me for a while if he knew about the sandwiches, which means he's known about my fascination with Luca far longer than just a few days ago.

"You'll regret taking Luca from me. His parents gave him to me and you had no right to take him away. I'll find something on you three. I'll promise you that. And if I don't, maybe I'll just take you in place of him." Hudson releases me and throws me toward Grayson, trying to use the distraction to escape. He falls right into the guards' arms, though, growling at them to release him because he hasn't done anything wrong. Sirens in the distance tell me he won't get far but I'm currently focusing on trying to breathe.

Which isn't working.

It takes several tries and Grayson coaxing me to stay with him before I draw in a large breath before hacking my lungs out. He holds onto me, allowing me to bury my head in his chest and stay there until I can catch my bearings. There's a multitude of other sounds but I don't focus on anything other than Grayson telling me how I'm the best Omega and how wonderful of a job I did.

My limbs are still heavy and I feel a little woozy but the terror from that situation is waning. I'm safe in Grayson's arms, familiar scents wrapping around me when I find myself being lowered into my backup nest. It's a small room on the 10 th floor at the back of my office and I have no idea how I didn't realize Grayson was carrying me away from the deli.

"The girl-"

"Is fine. I made sure to call one of her Alphas. How are you, though? Let me see your neck?" Grayson has to pry me off him before angling my head to the side to expose my neck. "Shit, babe. Does it hurt?" He runs his fingers across the bare skin but I don't respond. I'm not sure if it hurts or not. I don't want to answer any other questions. I just want to exist for a little bit. In peace. In the darkness. Maybe curl up into a ball and forget everything around me.

My fingers reach for a pillow as I allow my instincts to take over, the Omega part of me curling into the nest for comfort. Grayson sighs as he sheds his jacket and drapes it over me before I drag it over my head to complete the cocoon. He settles behind me, tucking me into his chest before dialing a number. I suspect it's Luther but I'm too tired to say anything, sleep dragging me under and into a dark void of nothingness.