33. Luther

33

Luther

Luca is trouble, way more trouble than Blake ever was during a heat. It took me thirty minutes longer than usual to get out the door, Luca barring my exit when I tried to leave.

"Gray, I just need to run in and get a few things situated. It looks like Luca's heat is going to hit tonight and I need to make sure everyone has what they need before we stop responding." I snort at the Alpha who's flushed a deep red, his long hair plastered to the sweat on his face and shoulders. Luca is sprawled across his chest, Grayson's knot deep inside him. I think that's the third spike Luca has had in the last few hours.

Those wordless bouts have given way to short sentences and little growls, Luca trying to position us in his nest to work before he climbs onto our cock. I left Grayson to complete that task, needing to concentrate before I let my instincts ride me hard. Checking in on Blake, I smirk at the way his attention is focused on his phone. The little fucker is most definitely working when he's supposed to be resting.

He thinks we separated him from the chaos to sleep. I separated him because I know he'll be lulled into finishing a few things and he'll need the strength and lack of distractions to do it. Giving him the resources and space to continue being who he is, is my job. I want Blake to succeed but not at the cost of his own health.

Closing the door, I march back into the living room, confused when Luca is no longer in the nest. Grayson twists around to laugh at me before pointing to the front door. There in all his glory is my little Omega, his hands on his hips, that adorable pout back on his face. He's wearing a pair of boxers and nothing else, his chest flushed with arousal and sweat. However, this time, I'm pretty sure he's actually angry. "Sweetheart?"

"You don't smell like me anymore."

Many of the preheat rituals we shared with Blake haven't happened in over a year. I've forgotten some of the nuances that come with an Omega and their territory, Luca displaying them more fiercely than Blake ever did. It dawns on me that Luca is trying to protect his new family. He's trying to make sure that at the end of this, he's still ours. Luca's territorial instincts are riding him hard which explains why he keeps dragging us into his nest. He needs to see us, to know that we'll be here for his heat.

"Sweetheart, I need to go take care of a few things and then I'll be right back." As I suspected, Luca is definitely going to run this pack. Barring my exit because I took a shower is a new one and it's going to be difficult to persuade Luca that I'm not leaving for good. He'll say he'll understand but his instincts won't.

Grayson comes up beside me, reaching for Luca. "Hey, let's let our Alpha go to work, alright? He'll be back."

Luca steps out of reach, snarling at Grayson and then focusing back on me. I chuckle at his defiance which just makes him angrier. "Why don't you want to smell like me?" I have no answer for that. We'll need to buy an ocean-scented wash to get past Luca's detection system but it won't help me at this moment. I'm tempted to growl at him like I have the last few times but those were playful in nature. Any sound that comes from me right now will be irritated and slightly annoyed.

"Luca—"

A beautiful whine slips from his lips, tears glazing his eyes as they dart between us. He starts fiddling with his fingers, his shoulders slouching. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I never wanted Hudson's scent on me but you're leaving and you don't smell like me. Some part of me thinks you aren't coming back but that's stupid talk. Blake is here."

God, Hudson is still on my shit list but I hope I get to kill him and then bring him back to life and kill him again. When a cry falls from Luca, I realize I have to rectify this. The office can wait. I set my bag down on the floor and step up to Luca, the little Omega falling against me with relief. "Sweetheart, it's okay to want your Alphas close during your heat. It's been a little while since Blake's last one and I've forgotten a few things. And no, I'm not just coming back because Blake is here. You're here too, Luca." I wrap my arms tightly around his back, letting Luca rub his face into my suit.

He shudders and then whines again, the thick scent of his perfume filling the air.

"Alpha, I can take him."

"I got him this time, Gray. Rest. You'll be with him for the rest of the day." Gently, I pick Luca up and smile into those glazed eyes. "Hello, sweetheart. I'm going to take good care of you." He just nods, a mumbling mess all over again as I lean him against the front door and slowly drag his slick-soaked boxers down his legs.

I reach between us to undo my pants, knowing that I'll need a new suit after this. Not that it matters because the moment I slip into Luca, it's like everything is right with the world. Even the general hum through the bond coming from Blake tells me this is where I'm supposed to be. Luca curls into my chest as I fuck him, the little Omega mewling and scratching at my suit until he comes and I knot him. His entire body falls limp, his instincts satisfied.

The office isn't as busy as I thought it would be with the launch of the new plugin just a week away and Starlight Falls II advertising in the works. We've all been pulling long hours, maybe unnecessarily so but I do everything I can to bring Blake's dream to fruition. That's when I realize, I haven't seen him pick up a video game in months. He usually plays in one of the conference rooms to work out any kinks or gather new ideas. The console we brought home hasn't been touched and I don't even think it's been unboxed from where it's stuffed in the utility closet.

My heart falls, wondering if we haven't been doing everything we can to both support and cherish Blake in the way that he's needed. Has he fallen out of love with this world or has his interests changed? I stuff those thoughts into the back of my mind as I make sure the design team is set and then hand Bryant the keys to the kingdom. Once I set my status to away and let everyone know that we'll be unavailable for my Omega's heat as is custom, I pile myself back into the car and head for home.

No doubt that information will somehow get to Hudson, even after I hired a new security team. I still can't figure out how Hudson made it into the building, past several guards but I suspect that his ties to the mayor and other high officials give him the power to threaten my family.

From what I could pull together, Hudson is a piece of work and he's going to be a bitch to get rid of. He's more connected than I am and his reach boasts a strength I could only dream of. The problem is that he has absolutely no business having an Omega or a mate at all. According to Luca, they're not only mated but also married which will prove even harder to undo.

I pull into the private lot and head for the elevator, relaxing slightly when I catch Maceo's text that the order of protection is now active. For the next few days, Hudson won't be allowed anywhere near us, including in the lobby of our apartment building. The moment I walk inside our apartment, the sweet sounds of Blake and Luca fucking hit my ears. My cock thickens in my pants, almost painfully, as their scents wrap around me, the Omegas' moans muffled, which means they're in Blake's nest.

My attention turns to a shirtless Grayson who's faithfully preparing food for us as he used to before Blake's heat, his hands trembling as he tries to close a container. "Gray, are you alright?" He glances up, a delirious smile on his face and I chuckle at the sorry state of my mate. He's covered in hickies and sweat, the bond strong and happy between us. "Ah, they got you good, didn't they?"

"They're insatiable. Luca had another spike but since then he's been attached to Blake's side. I'm hoping that when his heat actually hits, he gives Blake a reprieve because I'm not sure how long he's going to hold out. Blake, not Luca." Grayson growls as he slams the top down on the container and still fails to get it latched. This is the part that no one discusses about having two Omegas in the house, the constant adrenaline of being on edge, at full mast, and the toll it takes on our bodies.

I move toward Gray and slip the container from him before closing it. "Talk to me, Gray. What's going on?"

"Just worried that we won't be able to give them everything they need, especially after the incident with Hudson."

I hum my response, pulling Gray into my arms and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Well, everything at the company should be okay. Maceo also mentioned that the order of protection went through. There's that, at least. I did want to ask. Does Blake seem different to you? I haven't caught him playing on the console at work or here. Have we forgotten something? Have I been doing something wrong?" It pains me not to know what has changed in our family dynamic. I'm supposed to protect them and yet I can't even take care of my Omega.

"Alpha, you remember when he pitched the idea for Starlight Falls, right?" Grayson leans back against the counter, my hands falling to the surface on either side of him. He curls his fingers into the lapels of my suit, smiling up at me. "It's a wonderful tale of discovery, adventure, and forbidden love. All about being with someone you can't have."

Dread fills my chest at the implication. Blake built an entire game around the fantasy of having Luca in his bed, in his home, and in his pack. "It was an obsession, wasn't it? Fuck. How did I not know that?"

"Because you're always so good at taking care of us, giving us what we need, that when I figured that out, I knew it would destroy you. Luca was already mated and Blake found a way to keep himself put together. I never told him I knew because it didn't matter. If our Omega was happy, I was happy. He was safe and well taken care of and owned an entire company."

I drop my head to his shoulder, hating that I hadn't done anything sooner. Not that there was anything to do. "And now?"

"We started going to the diner more. They started texting again. The fantasy was real for him. He didn't need the game, not like he used to." Grayson kisses the edge of my jaw, sucking the skin into his mouth. "Stop worrying. You are a perfect Alpha and you're going to be even more perfect when Luca is officially ours." His last words come out in a purr as he continues to kiss and suck until he's sucking on the bite he gave me a year ago, a growl rumbling through my chest. "Now, Alpha, I need you to fuck me because I've been hard for the last hour and a half listening to them."

"Why not just go in there?" I ask, my jaw pulling tight when Grayson reaches between us to undo my belt. "They would have been all over you."

"Because I need my Alpha, just like they do."

That's all the invitation I need as I rip his sweats down his thighs and flip him against the counter. I press up against his back, immediately dropping my head to my bite. His hips buck back against me, my cock swelling further until I need relief. He smells like both Omegas and himself, a mixture of scents that drives me crazy. I unzip my pants and pop open the button, unearthing my cock so that it can rest against the seam of Grayson's ass.

We haven't fucked in a while but just the thought of filling him has me rocking against him, Grayson grunting as he pushes back against me. "Please tell me there's lube in one of the drawers." I'm not above using spit but my mate deserves more care than that. This isn't a frenzied joining. This is reminding him that he's just as important as the two Omegas currently stashed away in the nest. Grayson pulls out the drawer beside us and I grin at the half-used bottle.

Liberally coating my cock, I then stuff two fingers between his ass cheeks and rim his hole. He flattens himself against the counter, pushing back as I begin to fuck him and open him up wide enough for me. "Jesus, Luther. Just fuck me already or I'm going to come before you're even inside of me." Grayson knows exactly what words like that do to me as I snarl at him for threatening my process. I sink into his ass, leaning over his back so that he can't move, my lips moving to the bite in his shoulder again. "Jesus Christ, I think I'm in heaven."

"Your sweet ass is a lot better than some pearly gates, Gray." I wrap my hand in his hair and pull back, loving the groan he gives me in response. His back arches as he pushes up on his hands to accommodate the position. His ass is trying to suck me in further and while I would fucking love to give him my knot, I'm not sure how Luca would react.

I slide out and then spear back in, watching the muscles in my mate's back and shoulders tense and flex. He's a gorgeous work of art with hair that anyone would be jealous of, the silk between my fingers in stark contrast to the roughness of my hand. Grunts and groans spill through his clenched jaw but I don't want him to temper his sounds.

Not for me.

Not for them.

"Let them hear you, Gray. I want them to know exactly what we're doing out here."

At first, Grayson doesn't comply so I fuck into him harder, snarling over my bite before I suck on it hard enough for him to fall limp. Then he cries out, bucking back against me, his ass desperately trying to take me all in again. I brace my free hand on his hip, using him to milk my cock as he jerks himself off, both of us lost to the haze of our Omegas' scent.

The aromas thicken and I glance up to see both of them, beautifully naked at the edge of the kitchen. Blake is covered in many of the same hickies that Grayson is, the red blotches and scratches from a very angry Omega close to his heat. Luca is standing beside him, wide-eyed, enraptured with the way I'm fucking into another Alpha. A whine slips out, drawing Grayson's attention. Luca swallows nervously, looking between the both of us, the scent of his slick reaching my nose.

"Look at our pretty Omegas, Gray." I push a little of my Alpha voice into my words, loving the way both Omegas shiver beneath the power. Luca scrunches up his nose, his hands fisted at his side and I think for a moment, he's going to demand a knot. When I spear into Grayson one last time, roaring through my release, I make sure to keep my gaze locked with Luca.

He's still standing there, confused and flushed.

And then he comes.

Just like that.

A faint blush hangs on his cheeks as he scurries back to Blake's nest, Blake laughing as he comes closer. I slip out of Grayson's ass, watching as my release dribbles down the back of his legs, my knot angry that it isn't currently plugging an Omega. "I would have wanted to watch," Blake whines as he comes up to my side, his head angled backward for a kiss. He may not be as wordless as Luca but he's riding his Omega instincts hard. I gladly grant him the kiss he's looking for, gently holding onto his left shoulder. He moves to the left just slightly so that my hand moves to the front of his neck.

"Blake—"

"I need to erase his touch, okay? Just hold me like you used to." Tears fill his eyes as he meets my gaze, silently pleading to be held and cherished. God, how could I have missed this? " Please. " He pleads differently than Luca but it's no less heart-wrenching.

My hand tightens around his neck as I drag him forward and kiss him again, Blake finally melting against me. Grayson comes up behind him, holding us together, giving our Omega the comfort he needs. I hope it'll be enough.