Page 125 of Feral Alphas

I nod, vaguely remembering the chat comments were divided by her request. These days there’s a lot of chatter in my feed, and everything feels foggy right now.

Liam puts down the tweezers and leans forward. “Why’d you do it, Luka?”

I laugh and it turns into a cough as I choke on my own damn throat. “Come to think of it, this is partly your fault for stealing Colt’s credit and getting the promotion. We needed that money so bad, with three extra alphas and an omega in the house. Colt’s registration was due that day and he wouldn’t have been able to even work if I didn’t pay it, and we had strangers hanging around the house. I wanted to get cameras put up.” I trail off then shake my head. “It all felt so desperate and overwhelming. Clouded my mind.”

Liam clicks his tongue. “Why didn’t you ask Romdine for help?”

I snort and shake my head, switching the ice pack to my eye which seems to be swelling shut. “Kid’s dirt-broke. His father cut him off and is launching a lawsuit against him to try and force him into a honey pack. That’s—”

“I get the reference,” he says darkly.

“Instead he got the pack of flies,” I say with a laugh, my sanity fraying. “Catch more flies than honey.”

Maybe I got the words mixed up, but I’m so tired I don’t care. Tired of the ache in my body, tired of my soul which won’t stop crumbling. It should be disintegrated by now, but every time I draw breath it crumbles a little more, far more painful than the last.

Liam stands up and cleans away the bloodied glass. “I’m sorry you feel I stole his promotion, but there’s a bigger picture in play you’re not aware of. That’s all I can say for now.”

I snort. Who the fuck cares about a big picture when you’re drowning?

“You’re in shock and you need some sleep,” Liam says, snapping the medical box shut. My feet are neatly bandaged, as good as any hospital could do.

“Waste of supplies,” I say darkly. “I’ll be dead before dawn.”

He glares at me. “After all the work I put into keeping you alive? I think not. What do you need to survive, Luka Nesters?”

I scoff bitterly. “No one by that name exists, anymore.”

His brows shoot up. “Would you prefer I call you Graham?”

I shudder and shake my head as my throat closes up. I can’t go back to that name either.

He stands up. “Then Luka it is. Do you need someone to tell you what to do?”

I nod glumly.

“Then for tonight, I’ll be your sir. There’ll be no sex between us, no financial exchange, and no physical contact. I’ll address you as Luka and you will address me as Agent or Agent Liam. This contract expires tomorrow at midday when we can renegotiate. Do you agree?”

Boundaries close in around me, protecting me from the wild chaos of decision-making. “Yes, Agent Liam.”

“Then brush your teeth, piss, and go to sleep.” He helps me hobble down a hall and shows me a bedroom with a tiny, attached bathroom. “Under no circumstances are you to try to kill yourself. Or me. Am I understood?”

A hint of amusement rises inside but it’s smothered by the darkness of losing my pack. “Yes, Agent Liam.”

A few minutes later I fall into a single bed devoid of smell. I don’t have to guess at his ICU handle, because that authoritative tone is the same in person as it is in chat.

Agent Liam Andrews. ALA

Chapter forty-eight

Liam

I crack the door open an inch to check Luka’s still in bed. The lump beneath the covers doesn’t move, but I can hear his deep breathing in the dark. He must have cried himself out. The idea makes my heart beat a little faster. It still hasn’t sunk in that Colt’s ex-killer lover is sleeping in my spare bedroom.

And he’s alive.

My hand trembles as I pour myself a vodka in the kitchen and tip it down. The spirits burn my throat, driving away the chill that’s been bone-deep ever since Colt stormed out of the office. I’ve never seen a man so enraged, or so heartbroken.

I groan and lean my head on my arms. I should have fronted up and handed him the envelope myself but I’m a coward. Have been for over a decade. I was so scared he might have killed Luka with his bare hands after making the discovery, that I drove by his house.

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