Page 12 of In Their Arms

Grayson

“How the fuck would he know where we are?” I’m beyond pissed because for some shitty reason, Hudson has it out for us and wants to continue torturing my newest Omega. The worst part isn’t even his treatment of Luther, myself, or how hard Maceo has to work to get my Alpha out of jail. It’s the fact that he’s threatening Blake and Luca’s lives with seemingly no way for us to stop it.

Maceo shoves the phone back into his pocket as I wonder just how many connections Hudson has. "Doesn’t matter now," he mutters. “We just have to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on Luca, although the legal loopholes we’re currently jumping through are already slim. Grayson,” he clears his throat. “I need you to be prepared for the possibility—”

I cut him off. “Absolutely not.” I’m not going to prepare for shit, although I’m eating those words seconds later, harsh voices just down the hall grabbing my attention. My body tenses, my instincts on high alert as I step outside the room, Maceo at my back. “Fucking hell.”

Hudson hadn’t beenon his way.The fucker was already here, standing at the end of the hallway, broad shoulders squared. A nurse is in front of him, her voice steady, even as I catch the slight tremble beneath it. "Sir, you can’t be here. This is a private floor, and if you don’t leave, I will call security."

Hudson barely acknowledges her and when his eyes land on me, he sports a crooked grin before launching himself toward us. I barely register it before he’s on me, before his body crashes into mine, before my back slams against the wall hard enough to rattle through my ribs. The impact knocks the breath from my lungs, something metallic gathering at the back of my throat.

He tightens his grip around my throat, pressing just hard enough to make a point, but not hard enough to cut off my breathing. And when he leans in, his breath fanning my cheek, I want to gag at his wretched scent. "Where is my Omega?" Every word is laced with the full force of his Alpha, some part of me wanting to bend. His words don’t hold the same weight as Luther’s but he’s still a stronger Alpha than I am.

I grit my teeth, shoving at his chest, my muscles screaming under the strain, but he doesn’t budge. His fingers flex slightly, not quite choking, but the warning is there. "How the fuck did you get here?" I snarl.

Hudson laughs, a sound that makes my skin crawl, a cruel horrid sound that tells me saving Luca isn’t going to get any easier. "I have my connections," he muses. "People who tell me what’s going on. People who let me know when someone’s playing with what’s mine."

Shoving him again does nothing, panic starting to claw up in my chest. Maceo steps forward out of the corner of my eye but I shake my head, not wanting to involve yet another person in this mess. Adding to the current issues will only make Hudson angrier and the last thing I need is him rushing into Blake’s room right now.

"He was never yours, Hudson."

The amusement vanishes from his face. For a second, just a brief second, I see the mask slip. I see the anger sharpen, his fingers flexing like he wants to hurt me, like he wants to crush the fight out of me, like he wants to prove me wrong with brute force.

And then his nostrils flare as he takes a moment, catching Luca’s scent on my skin. It only takes those few seconds for him to understand what happened—or some part of it. To anyone who wasn’t aware, it very much looks like I fucked Luca. Which means that Luca smells like me, my scent buried deep in his skin, in his lungs, in his very bones.

Hudson’s expression twists, his eyes darkening with so much hatred I wonder if he’s ever truly been loved. He bares his teeth, snarling at me as he pulls me forward and then slams me back against the wall. “What the fuck did you just do? He’s mine," he growls, the words spilling from his mouth, dripping with venom, each syllable filled with possession and control. "You won’t keep him from me. A mere bite on his shoulder doesn’t negate my claim, Grayson and in a fight, you know I’d win.”

There’s a gasp that cuts through the moment, Hudson stepping back as I sag against the wall. “It gives him a choice, Hudson. Something he’s obviously never had with you. He’s not going home with you, regardless of your bite in his shoulder. You abused him. Tortured him. Took from him when he didn’t want to give. Giving him back," I growl. "Would be a death sentence."

Hudson’s fingers flex, curling tighter into fists. His entire body hums with the need for violence, for retaliation, for a way to turn the tables back in his favor. Seconds later, he smirks, folding his arms across his chest. “I would kill you right now if I didn’t know that we didn’t have any other choices. I called around, got a few people to sign off. They’re going to demand that you hand him over.”

We all knew that Hudson wasn’t going to play fair but for him to go these lengths just doesn’t make sense. He’s making such a public statement when it’s so obvious that he abused Luca until my Omega was just a shell of himself. In the week that he’s been with us, it’s amazing to see how much he’s flourished and I refuse to reverse that.

Still, there isn’t much I can do. Not legally. Hudson seems to have gotten what he wanted, the Alpha stepping back until he’s against the opposite wall, dropping into one of the chairs. The nurse from earlier is nowhere to be seen, the hallway strangely empty of any staff. I’m not sure if they disappeared when Hudson was threatening me or if they’re somehow on his payroll, not wanting to get involved.

My attention is redirected as Maceo steps up to me, roughly gripping my chin and angling it away from him as he inspects my neck. It’s such an Alpha thing to do, something Luther would have done without even asking, making sure that I was okay. The silent reassurance as Maceo’s fingers trail down the side of my throat just reinforces why this Beta fits with us so well.

I’m not ready for the way he leans in and presses a soft kiss to the irritated skin, the ghost of Hudson’s touch replaced with Maceo’s. My face heats as I fight the desire to lean into him when I need to be ready for whatever this Alpha throws at us.

“We don’t have any other options,” Maceo whispers against my neck, his thumb dragging along my collarbone. “Hopefully, the temporary bond will be enough.”

I have a feeling that it won’t be. Hudson is too smug and too sure of himself. After all, he took Luther from us. I have no idea what else he has up his sleeve and it feels like forever until someone else enters the hallway, an officer I don’t recognize. His expression is hard to read but the way Hudson frowns, his entire body going rigid, I’m sure this man isn’t on his payroll.

“Mr. Keller, Mr. Ellis,” He addresses Hudson and I. “I’m Officer Garcia. I received a call a few minutes ago and have been caught up with the current investigation regarding your families.” I stand up a little straighter, bracing myself for whatever is about to come out of the man’s mouth. Maceo steps a little closer, his reassurance more than needed. “While I’m not officially on the case, I have been given explicit instructions to remove the Omega from your custody until a determination can be made about his safety.”

My heart drops into my stomach because I already know what comes next. Battered Omegas are removed from their home situations from time to time and relinquished to the nearest Omega center. They spend the rest of their life there, yearning for a new pack and many not finding one. The few that do end up independent, move out and try to build a life that consists of loneliness and rented Alphas for their heat.

The idea that Luca would end up at one of those places pains me. “You can’t be serious.”

“Unfortunately, I am. Luca Ellis will be taken to Hearthstone until the investigation is complete or until it’s determined that the house he chooses is a safe place. I have also been informed that he hasn’t been questioned without an Alpha around and we want to make sure that he hasn’t been coerced into giving certain answers and that he can answer freely without fear or retaliation or outside influence.”

I’m in shock but the fact that Hudson is too makes this marginally easier to digest. He won’t be able to get his grimy hands on Luca. The Alpha rises to his feet, glaring at Officer Garcia. “What the fuck do you mean removed?”

The cop exhales slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose, his other hand settling on the gun in his holster. The movement gives Hudson immediate pause before Officer Garcia speaks again. “In domestic disputes,” he explains, his tone so calm it makes my skin crawl, “it’s not uncommon to give the Omega a safe space to stay until things settle down.” He reaches into the pocket on his vest, producing a piece of paper and steps forward. “This has been signed off by my chief and a judge.”

I swallow nervously, reaching for it, my eyes widening as I realize that this isn’t just a direct order but an official notice. In the fifteen or so minutes that someone must have been called, Officer Garcia was given paperwork to remove Luca. And that’s when I see that this isn’t the official copyandit was dated yesterday. This moment was inevitable. It just so happened we didn’t have to face it until now.

The worst part is that my bite—temporary as it is—is still too new, too fucking raw for me to let go of Luca. And Blake is going to fucking crash out over this.

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