6. Grayson

6

Grayson

I can hardly concentrate with Blake's sour mood soiling our bond. The worst part is that he's not the only one that feels like this. Luther wasn't there when I met Blake and Luca. They were two peas in a pod, doing everything together. When Luca was a Beta, I had hopes that they would both be mine. After all, they were inseparable. All of that changed when Luca presented and he left school. Blake's demeanor changed and while he was still the cheeky piece of shit he always is, the light in his gorgeous doe eyes dimmed a little.

They brighten every time we sit at the diner but it's the heartbreak every time we leave that I can't handle. The heartbreak that I not only feel from Blake but my own. Luca has always intrigued me and at first, I was going to take him on because he was obviously Blake's. But when he presented? I swear the goddess herself was fucking with me. I salivated for his scent the way I did Blake. If the world wasn't so cruel, I would have mated them both but my honor won out—Luca was promised to an Alpha I had only met in passing.

It didn't matter that I was a few years older than both Omegas or that my social status was higher than Luca's promised Alpha. More than Blake's happiness was lost that day.

I huff out a sigh as a deep sadness trickles through the bond and hits me square in the chest. We have several deadlines to meet for this new update but Blake isn't focusing. Luther is trying but this dark cloud from last night has been growing. Blake wouldn't eat breakfast and he's been silent since we arrived at the office an hour ago. Most of the employees have avoided Blake, not that I would blame them. A heartbroken Omega isn't a very inviting sight.

"Dude, Blake is really killing the morale. What happened?"

I look up to see my counterpart, a genius when it comes to designing exactly the chaos that comes out of Blake's mouth. Leaning back in my chair, I gesture for the Beta to close the door behind him, waiting until Riley plops his ass on one of the seats across from my desk. My office is down the hall from Luther and Blake's, mostly because the design department didn't want to be anywhere near the business aspect.

Blake also gets distracted easily and every time we pulled something up on the screen, he'd focus on us rather than his own work. Downside of being an Omega, I guess.

"Okay, so…" Riley starts and I shake my head, letting him know he's not in trouble.

"We're dealing with a mate situation, I guess?" I start. Riley and I spent a few years in college together before I met Blake and Luca. We're as close as friends and colleagues can get without truly knowing about each other's lives. Riley is mated to an Alpha/Omega duo, his Omega a second chance Omega that found her home with them after a horrible situation. "Similar to Juliana, I think."

Riley raises an eyebrow and leans forward. "No shit? Goddamn. I'm guessing Blake is the link, right?"

I nod, stringing a hand through my hair before pulling it back to rest behind my shoulders. A sigh falls from my lips, a strange sound mixed with a tamed Alpha growl at the discomfort in my chest. My Omega is hurting. I'm hurting and neither one of us can fix this. That battered look on Luca's face guts me every time I close my eyes or dwell on his situation a little too long.

"What are you going to do? What's Luther saying?"

"That's the hard part. Luther is a fucking saint but it's not fair to him. It's also not fair to hold out hope for something that may never happen. Or that can't happen." I lace my fingers and place them on the desk before my head rests on them. "Riley, he's a fucking Omega."

Silence meets my declaration, a sudden weight lifted off my shoulders. I've never admitted to anyone, not even Blake that I'm attracted to two Omegas. It's rare and it's even rarer that it works out. There are always favorites and Omegas are territorial as fuck. There's no way that a situation including Blake and Luca could work out. Sure, they could say they would share but there would be an issue later on down the line.

"Please tell me this isn't Blake's best friend. The cute one with the sea-glass eyes? What was his name? Luke?

"Luca."

"Fuck, Grayson. He's mated. That's wholly different than Juliana and you know that. You can't just pine after someone's Omega. That's not how it works! You-"

A growl rips through my throat as my head whips up and I glare at Riley before softening my expression. "Sorry. It's not like that, Riley. Truly. Luca is… he's hurting and we can't help him. Blake tortures himself by taking us to the diner Luca works at but yesterday… Riley, it's bad . I didn't tell Blake but Luca's bite is infected." I sigh, running my hands through my hair, tugging the strands all the way down. Frustration and helplessness bleed through me because I know that Luca's Alpha is torturing him. I know for a fact that the kiss we saw wasn't one of love. It was possession. That Alpha was showing whoever was watching including Luca who the Omega belonged to.

Riley's eyes widen at my predicament, his attention darting to the door of my office as if he can see Blake from here. "Wait, seriously? Like two Omegas? That's like rare rare."

"I just need some advice before I do something fucking stupid, Riley." Beneath the confusing part of the issue, I'm fucking pissed. If I was just a little bigger, I would charge into that apartment and rip Luca from that Alpha's hands myself. Unfortunately, my size puts me on the defensive and I can't drag Luther into this. Not until he's onboard. If he ever is.

"There's no good advice in this situation. Luca has to be the one to say something and most battered Omegas never will. You could report it but if his Alpha says everything is fine, they won't push. That'll just make it worse for Luca. The only thing you could do is highly illegal and it still might not work." Riley leans forward. "You could steal him but again, unless Luca makes a report naming his Alpha by name, you're fucking screwed. Omega Rights in this country suck ass, Gray. They exist, sure but they don't work. Omegas have to invoke them but they've been living in a society for so long that regards them as property that there's only a slim chance an Omega will speak up."

"I figured as much. Thanks." I rub at my chest, realizing that Blake needs the day off. I can hide my emotions and my pain a lot better than he does. Regardless of how much Blake protests that he's just as capable as everyone else, there are times he needs a break.

This is one of those times.

I pat Riley's shoulder on the way out of my office and make a beeline for Blake's. I'm not surprised to see the ashen face of my Omega as he mindlessly twirls in his seat, his eyes unfocused. There's a stack of portfolios to his right and papers haphazardly spread across his desk that have been ignored. He's mumbling something as he spins in his chair, Blake a shell of himself.

It isn't until I get closer that I realize he's been crying.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"You can't feel that? He's dying. It feels like he's dying. I don't even know why! He was okay yesterday. Not okay but–" I round the desk and crush him against my chest, effectively stopping the spinning chair. He wraps his arms around my back, fingers digging into my spine. "Where is Luther?" I glance across the way to see an empty office before remembering there's a meeting downtown. We decided to keep Blake here. "Right. Let's get you home. Maybe a bath? Or a quick fuck?"

Blake doesn't even crack a smile. That's how I know how truly broken he is.

A buzzing tears my attention away from my Omega and I glare at the cell phone on the desk, the hospital's number running across the screen. For a moment, I think that it might be Blake's test results, telling us if our Omega is fertile. We've talked about kids a few times but it's always been a future us problem.

Resituating so that I'm sitting in Blake's seat and he's curled into my chest, I take the call.

"Hello. Is Alpha Blake available?"

I blink several times, wondering if I heard that right before I snort. "Alpha—fuck, yeah. Hold on a second." There has to be a reason for the mix-up but I'll play. I nudge Blake as I set the phone on the table so the nurse can't hear me. "Want to tell me why the hospital would be calling for an Alpha Blake?"

My Omega shoots up, eyes wide, panic searing through the bond as he fumbles for the phone. "Yes? Yes. This is Alpha Blake. Where is he? Yes, I'll be right there. Fuck, yes. Ten—fifteen minutes." Blake hangs up and scrambles off my lap, nearly making it to the door of his office before Luther grabs him. I'm not even sure how Luther is always one step ahead, making sure that we don't find ourselves in trouble but I love that about him.

"The bond has been all over the fucking place today so I cut the meeting short. Blake," Luther kneels so that he's looking up at our Omega. It's something Luther only does for him, one of the most submissive positions for an Alpha. "I'm not letting you go anywhere until you fucking talk to me." He reaches up to brush off Blake's tears, our Omega frantically looking around the room. "Blake Keller, look at me. There you go, love. Deep breaths. 1, 2. Good boy. Now , tell me what the fuck is going on? Who do I have to kill?"

That earns Luther a smile and I relax slightly as I move toward Blake, running a gentle hand across the nape of his neck. "Come on baby, talk to us. Was it about Luca?"

"Yes. He's at the hospital."

I frown. "Why didn't they contact his Alpha?"

"It was stupid. We put each other as Alpha contacts so that we wouldn't ever get caught up in all the bullshit." Blake gasps for air as he rambles. "I changed mine to you guys when we… but Luca, he never changed his. We didn't want to get picked up by an Omega Center. I just… we have to go. Please. "

Blake is fucking pleading, breaking my heart all over again and I can't deny him this. Not when I want it just as much. Luther stands and tugs Blake closer before gesturing for him to grab his coat at the end of the hall. Then my Alpha turns to me, leaning in so that Blake can't hear us. "I know that expression, Gray." He settles an arm around my waist as he presses a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. "And I'm not angry at either of you. Luca belongs with us but I've seen what happens when an Alpha tries to fight the law regarding a bonded Omega. I want this for Blake. For you. For us."

"But not for you?" I ask. I'm out of line but I have to know that Luther isn't just placating us.

He kisses me again before twisting me around so that I'm staring into his eyes. "I don't know Luca the way you two do. I wasn't there when he presented. Biology tells me that we belong together but I won't break up a family to build mine. However, if I find out that those bruises and that infection were from his Alpha, I will do whatever it takes to save him. I'll promise you that."

It's not enough though and I know I'm digging a grave. I also know that we have seconds before Blake returns to usher us along. "Alpha-"

"Do you want to hear that I'm not in love with Luca? Is that what you want, Gray? Because I'm not. I won't lie to you and say that I am. I don't know him. He's sweet and he'll fit perfectly in the pack we've created. If that's how the cards fall." Luther grips my chin with his free hand, his thumb running along my jawline. "Luca will be easy to fall in love with if that's what he wants. Right now, I'm worried about his safety. Romance can come later."

That's all I needed to hear.

That Luther is willing to try.

That whatever this thing building between us four is something that has a chance.