Page 34 of In Their Arms

Grayson

The afternoon has been tense as hell, stretching into the evening with no relief in sight. The place feels too empty, despite the heat radiating from Blake’s exhausted body and the weight of Luther pressed against my side. The air is thick with honey and pear—Blake’s distress, the underlying warmth of his heat, and the grounding mix of Luther and Maceo filling the space. But there’s still something missing, something off.

The absence of Luca is a wound we can’t close, an ache that lingers beneath everything else, beneath the exhaustion, beneath the fraying patience, beneath the desperate attempts to keep Blake comfortable.

Blake has been miserable, needy, shifting between half-conscious whimpers and demanding a knot. We’ve all taken turns giving him what he needs, soothing him, before tucking him back into the nest as he drifts off again. But even with all of us here, it’s not enough.

I can see it in the way his body fights against the comfort we try to give him. Luther’s temper has been a constant, simmering presence, his rage directed at Hearthstone, at Hudson, at anyone who dared to keep Luca from us. We’ve checked in with everyone we can think of, every contact, every lawyer, every back channel Maceo has. But it all leads back to the same fucking wall.

Luca is missing.

And Hearthstone let Hudson in.

The fight that followed was a goddamn disaster. Luther tore into Hearthstone’s front desk over the phone, seething, a barely contained snarl at the edge of his words as he demanded to know why. And their response?Hudson is one of our sponsors.That didn’t go over well.

Luther was ready to drive there himself, ready to tear the place apart, to burn it to the fucking ground, to rip Hudson apart with his bare hands. The only thing that kept him from breaking everything in his path was another one of Blake’s heat spikes, the sudden desperate cry from the nest pulling Luther away before he could get himself arrested.

Now, hours later, the anger still lingers, thrumming just beneath the surface.

I curl tighter against Luther’s side, watching as Maceo wraps himself around a flushed, sweat-dampened Blake, his fingers carding through his messy curls, his lips pressing gentle kisses against his temple. Blake is finally still but it’s only a matter of time before he wakes up whimpering for something none of us can truly give him.

Maceo is slowly rocking himself against Blake, no doubt working his knot inside of our tired Omega as he lets out a sigh of relief, his body sagging further into the nest. His scent evens out and that’s when I catch something different through the bond. A pulse of something faint but real, Luca’s presence creeping back into my chest, filling the hollow space where his bond had been silent. It’s weak, distant, like a radio signal barely breaking through static, but it’s there. He’s there.

Luther jerks upright beside me, his body vibrating with the same. His hand presses against his chest, his purr rumbling through his chest. “Fuck, I can feel him.”

I’m already on my feet, not even sure where we’re headed but I’m getting myself ready. Luther is right beside me, both of us a little frantic when my phone rings, dragging me back to reality.Ward.

I answer before the second ring, pressing the phone to my ear, my voice coming out sharper than I mean for it to. “What’s going on?”

There’s a beat of silence and then Ward speaks. “We have an issue.”

“Is Luca there?” Luther demands, leaning over my shoulder.

Ward hesitates for a second too long, and I swear to god if he tries to bullshit us— “He’s here. He’s safe.”

Luther lets out a heavy, guttural breath, something between relief and rage, his body vibrating with barely contained energy. I can feel the anger rolling off of him, because although Luca is safe, he’s at the station. If nothing was wrong, Ward would have brought him here or dropped him back at Hearthstone.

“If he’s safe, why the fuck are we not already there?” I snap, rushing toward the door for my shoes.

Ward sighs, a rough, frustrated sound. “Because, Keller,” he says, “this is about to be the shit show of a fucking lifetime. And I’m not even sure you can fix what’s been done.”

Luther growls low in his throat, already reaching for his keys, Ward’s next words telling me that whatever has happened is a lot more serious than Luca just running away. “If you show up, I need you to be on your best fucking behavior.”

I rush back toward the nest to see Blake fighting sleep, his body exhausted but his mind focused on the words he’s overheard. Maceo’s still knotted inside of him, his body pressed flush against Blake’s back, teeth dragging slowly along his shoulder to keep him calm. Blake shudders, a soft, pleased noise escaping his lips, but his fingers still reach out for me.

I lean down, brushing my lips over his forehead. “We’re going to get Luca, baby.” My fingers trail down his arm, squeezing gently. “When we get back, it’ll finally be the five of us.”

Blake whines, trying to drag me down into the heat of it, his fingers clutching at my shirt, desperate for more.

“We have to go pick up our other Omega,” I murmur, even as my chest aches with the need to stay. “We’ll be right back.” I’m going to move heaven and earth to bring Luca back here. I don’t trust the police and definitely not Hearthstone to keep him safe.

“Bring him home, Alpha,” Blake murmurs before he completely relaxes, a small smile on his face. I know the moment Luca steps into this apartment, Blake’s full heat will hit. We might have minutes or an hour before it delves into madness and the longer it takes, the more Blake will suffer.

I rush toward the door, my brows pulling together as I search Luther’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Luther doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he reaches for me, cupping my jaw as he pulls me into a slow, lingering kiss. It’s not rushed, not frantic. It feels like something final, something meant to hold me together before I even realize I might fall apart. When he pulls back, his thumbs stroke along my cheekbones, his breath fanning over my lips. “I need you not to get your hopes up.”

My stomach drops.

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