Page 31 of In Their Arms

Hudson lets out a bitter laugh, wrapping a hand around my wrist as he tries to loosen my grip. “Keep your Omega in check, Luther. He’s going to get himself killed one day, looking at an Alpha like that.”

“If you were an Alpha worth looking at, I’d let him know. I only called you in here to ask where Luca was, where you took him but it seems that even with all your connections, he slipped through your fingers.” I lean in a little closer, throwing a snarl at him that rivals anything he’s ever shown. Every instinct in my body is telling me to dig my fingers in, fully cut off his air supply and give him a taste of his own medicine.

No, a taste of his own medicine would include digging my teeth into his shoulder and ripping out his flesh until he couldn’t stand from the pain and blood loss. I won’t do that, though, because then I will be in jail and there won’t be a damn thing anyone can do to save me.

Hudson’s face slowly morphs back into that arrogant asshole expression. “I like how you keep saying he’s yours but a bite during a heat means shit especially when his last name is still Ellis.” And then the fucker spits in my face. I’m not sure what he hoped to gain but it wasn’t respect and it wasn’t me releasing him.

The growl that rips from my throat is nothing short of animalistic as I drag him forward and then slam him against the wall again, my face inches from his. “If you think for a fucking second that I care about his last name, you’re wrong. He’s never going home to you, Hudson. You don’t deserve that sweet Omega. He’smine.My Omega. My bond mark is on him, and I dare you to try and prove otherwise. I’m sure you’ll find that I’m a lot more resilient than I look. But keep trying, I might enjoy it. Now, get the fuck out of my office.”

I thrust him toward the door, still seething as the security officer opens the door to guide him back downstairs.

“Make sure he actually leaves the building, Derek.”

The man nods, Hudson rubbing his neck as he leaves. I hope I’ve made my point as I head back to my desk, eyes trained on the parking lot through my window. Silence filters into my office as I wait, Hudson appearing moments later. His shoulders are tense as he heads for his car, and I have to wonder if he was lying to me or if he truly has no clue where Luca is.

Because the fact that he had access to Hearthstone when he shouldn’t have? That’s a problem. I let out a sharp exhale, turning back toward the table where Maceo and Grayson are waiting. They’ve shifted to sit around the small conference table and I join them at the head, frowning when I feel something at my foot. My brows furrow as I look down to see, laughing at my beautiful Omega curled up at our feet, tucking himself into the space beneath the conference table like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

He shifts closer, resting his head on my foot, other parts of him reaching out to touch Grayson and Maceo. I stare, completely bewildered. Grayson snickers, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed as he takes in my expression. “Told you,” he says, amusement flickering in his voice. “He’s been leaning more into his instincts lately. He can’t help it.”

Blake lets out a soft hum, nuzzling against my calf, his body relaxing further. I glance back at Grayson, still trying to process this version of Blake. “I don’t remember him being this… needy? That’s not the right word. I thought he was going to attack Hudson a few moments ago and now…”

Maceo cuts into my confusion. “With the suppressants flushed from his system, his biology is slowly taking over. The closer he gets to his heat, the more he’ll search for comfort or one of us to soothe a spike.”

Grayson leans forward, propping his chin up on his hands. “And we both know, Luther, how wild that one heat was. Get used to it.”

I nod, bracing myself for how things are changing before coming back to the issue at hand. “I wouldn’t put it past Hudson to lie about this but he wouldn’t have come all the way here if he had. So, if Luca really left Hearthstone, then someone helped him. But who? And why? And where the fuck did he go?”

Grayson lets out a heavy sigh. “Hudson said he went to check on him and was told he was gone. If that’s true, someone at Hearthstone knows more than they’re saying.”

“And Hudson shouldn’t have even had access to begin with,” Maceo adds.

That part bothers me the most, because it means someone let him in. Or that Hudson has some connection to Hearthstone that precedes Luca. I lean back in my seat, folding my hands behind my head, working through our options. I have no idea where to start aside from calling Ward and giving him what we know. Even then, I’m not sure how much he’d be able to do.

Grayson opens his mouth to say something before a slow grin spreads across his face. I have no idea what just changed until Blake’s need slams through the bond, a whine splitting into the air. There’s not even time to prepare as I feel Blake’s fingers sliding up my thighs, his lips closing around my cock through my pants. “Jesus Christ, love,sweetheart.” A groan tears from my throat as I reach down to pry Blake off, Maceo’s laughter catching me off guard.

“Alpha,” he purrs, “Seems like someone’s caught you in their net.”

I want to throw some retort back at him but one of Blake’s hands crawls up my stomach, fingers curling into my shirt as the other starts working my pants. I should stop this. I should grab Blake up in my arms and take him home. But there’s some part of me that loves this, that loves Blake as needy as he is, unashamed to take what he wants in front of us. It’s probably his Omega telling him to stake his claim after Hudson was in here and the longer Blake sucks on me through my pants, the less control I have.

Reaching down, I thread my fingers through Blake’s before dragging him up to straddle my lap. His brown eyes are glazed over, his lips parted, his scent in full bloom. And then there’s another one of those needy moans as the scent of his slick hits the air. Even if I wanted to cart him home, we wouldn’t make it before he needed a knot.

He’s already scratching at my pants, yanking them down to get what he so desperately wants and I let him, those little frustrated growls drawing my purr from my chest. It isn’t until he’s shucked his pants and planted himself back on my lap, sliding down my knot that he finds relief. Maceo and Grayson are both locked on Blake as he swivels his hips, alternating between snarls and whimpers. God, he’s gorgeous.

I tuck him into my chest, my knot thrumming with the need to lock my Omega. “You’re going to be amazing, love. Your heat is going to be everything. I’ve got you, baby. Take what you need,” I murmur in his ear.

He reaches a hand out toward Grayson, the Alpha moving closer as Blake whines for a kiss and then he does the same to Maceo, needing the three of us to pull him out of this haze. And then he’s falling apart as I thrust up, filling him with my knot, spilling inside of him. He sags against my chest and we all laugh as he mumbles, “This is bullshit.”

19

Luca

I wake up to pain. It’s the first thing I register, a deep, searing fire licking through my shoulder, spreading like poison through my veins. My body feels wrong, too heavy and not completely mine. Moving though, is a big mistake. Agony rips through me, tearing up my spine, locking up my muscles so hard I scream.

The noise feels foreign, like it isn’t even coming from me. My throat burns, my voice hoarse as if I haven’t used it in a while. A rapid, shrill beeping erupts around me, all of my senses on overdrive, making it nearly impossible to process anything other than the pain thrumming through me.

Something shifts beside me, the rustle of movement, the click of a machine and then cool fingers press against my wrist. “Oh, I’m so happy that you’re awake.”

I force my eyes open, wincing at the brightness. The world tilts, my stomach lurching, and it takes me a few seconds before I can focus on the person standing next to me. A doctor is checking one of the monitors, glancing over my vitals, adjusting something near my IV. He’s acting like all of this is routine, like it’s just another normal day but none of this feels normal.

---