Cerberus - (Now Vengeful Bonds) The Nobodies #1 - ch. 4 (Patreon)

THIS IS A/B/O

THIS IS A/B/O

THIS IS A/B/OTHIS IS A/B/O

Unbeta'd/Unedited. More updated Rogue coming tomorrow. 

Fen

Fen was exhausted by the time Binnie pulled into the parking lot of Fen’s shared apartment. While they had talked when they’d first left Loch’s house, they had soon fallen into a comfortable silence, only the radio playing quietly filling the space.

Once Loch had agreed to help and they’d come up with a tentative plan, it had been growing late. And there wasn’t much left to discuss until they had a team assembled. The two alphas had decided they would divide and conquer, with Loch going to find Saint—apparently not his real name—and Binnie going to find Ollie.

Leaving had felt…wrong. Well, not wrong exactly but strange, like trying to walk away from a person attached to him with a bungee cord. Fen kept waiting to spring back to Loch. He rolled his eyes at his own stupid analogy. He’d pointedly tried not to think of Loch the entire car ride home, but he’d done just that.

Fen had his hand on the car handle, prepared to hop out, when Binnie reached out and tapped his arm gently. “Hey, let me walk you to the door.”

Fen jerked around to look at him, confused, but Binnie was peering out the windshield, eyes narrowed like he could see something Fen couldn’t. His stillness sent a shiver down Fen’s spine. He frowned, then gave a nervous laugh. “What? Why? It’s fine. It’s a safe neighborhood.”

Binnie finally looked at him, grinning. “Yeah, I'm sure. I just feel like it's the gentlemanly thing to do.”

He was lying and they both knew it. But Fen also knew it was pointless to argue. He could see on Binnie’s face, he wasn’t taking no for an answer. And after the way he’d peered into the darkness, Fen wasn’t sure he wanted to refuse anyway. He gave a stilted nod and waited for Binnie to find a parking space before he hopped out and met the man in front of the large SUV so they could walk in together.

Once they were at his apartment, Fen pulled his keycard from his pocket, swiping it across the lock.

He had his hand on the knob when Binnie cleared his throat. “Can I—Can I come in for a minute?”

Fen frowned at the concern in his tone, but nodded, opening the door and letting Binnie walk in ahead of him. He probably should have warned his roommates that there was a stranger in the house, an alpha no less, but he really didn’t have much of an opportunity.

San was in the kitchen, doing what he always did when he came home from a late shift, cooking. He had his blonde hair pulled up into a half-pony and was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless black t-shirt he’d slit down the sides, revealing his sleek but toned physique. He looked their way the moment Fen entered. When his gaze fell on Binnie, the whole atmosphere shifted, the tension palpable.

San stiffened, sniffing the air, body rigid while he glowered at Binnie. If San had hackles, they would have been raised. Fen sent San a pleading look, begging him to not freak the fuck out. He needed Binnie’s help. And, as far as Fen could tell, he was a good guy.

So far, anyway.

San ignored Fen’s look, clearly angry at the intrusion into their home. Binnie, on the other hand, looked thunderstruck. He stared, open-mouthed at San. Fen watched as the slightly shorter, stockier alpha swallowed audibly, blinking rapidly like he couldn’t process the creature before him.

Fen couldn’t stop the smirk that crept across his face. Many alphas had this reaction to San. At least until they smelled that he was also an alpha. But there was no way Binnie didn’t know San’s secondary gender at this distance, not even the smell of food could hide that. Still, he continued to stare until San gave him a look Fen could only describe as…catty.

“Can I help you?” San snapped, putting one hand on his hip and pointing a wooden spoon with the other.

Binnie seemed to snap out of whatever spell he’d fallen under, shaking his head. “I-Um, yeah, uh, sorry. I’m Corbin, uh-Binnie. Binnie. Nice to meet you.”

San gave him a thorough once over, then dismissed him as if he wasn’t worth his time, returning to his food. Jesus. This was not how he’d seen this going. Of course, that’s because he saw their interaction ending far before he made it back to the apartment.

Fen gave Binnie a smile that felt more like a grimace. “That’s Lysander—his friends call him San.”

San flicked his gaze to him. “You can call me Lysander. Or, better yet, just don’t call me at all.”

Fen rolled his eyes, shaking his head, giving San a look that screamed rein it in. San shrugged, then dismissed them once more.

Fen sighed. “Ignore him, he’s a dick if he hasn’t eaten.” After a second, he added, “And if he has, to be honest. Also…he’s not a fan of alphas.”

Binnie opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, looking back and forth between them, his confusion evident. “But…he’s an alpha? No?”

San pretended not to hear their conversation, though everyone knew he heard every word.

Fen wasn’t prepared for this conversation. Normally, he would have given each alpha a brief background on the other before introducing them. Maybe had them meet somewhere other than San’s home. Sort of like introducing two really territorial dogs to each other on neutral ground. Not that Fen had ever had to introduce San to another alpha before.

Ever.

Fen scrunched up his face. “Technically, yes, but he’s not exactly happy about it.”

“Oh. Uh, right,” Binnie said as if that made perfect sense. To San, he said, “If it helps at all, I’m not really like most alphas.”

San scoffed, then leaned forward to taste whatever was in the large pot on the stove, taking his time to really savor it before saying, “Yeah, sure.”

Fen rolled his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since entering the apartment. At this rate, he was going to sprain an eyeball. He grabbed Binnie’s wrist, dragging him deeper into the apartment, past the kitchen, into the small living room. Upon their arrival, Seth jerked into a sitting position, grabbing the blanket from the back of the sofa and covering up like they’d caught him naked and not just lying on the couch in shorts and a hoodie.

“What the fuck?” Seth said eloquently.

Fen closed his eyes and prayed for patience, before saying, “Seth, this is Binnie. Binnie, Seth.”

Binnie gave a little wave. “Hi.”

Seth frowned like he was confused but returned the gesture easily enough. He looked at Fen. “Why is there a strange alpha in our apartment two days after my heat?”

Fuck. Fen hadn’t even thought about that. He studied Binnie’s placid expression looking for any signs of irritability around his roommate. In most cases bringing an alpha into an apartment with an omega so close to the beginning or end of a heat would have that alpha agitated and posturing, but Binnie was…fine. Perfectly comfortable.

“Don’t be rude,” Fen told Seth.

“No,” Binnie said, smiling at Seth. “It’s fine. I get it. I wouldn’t want an alpha I didn’t know in my space either. I just needed to talk to Fen for a few minutes. But honestly, this affects you as well.”

Seth looked at Fen who was equally perplexed by Binnie’s statement.

“What does that mean?” Fen asked.

“I’m not trying to freak you out—” Binnie started, only for Seth to cut him off.

“Well, too late. Your acting kinda sketch,” he told him, sitting up a little straighter.

Fen gave Seth another wide-eyed look. What the hell was wrong with his roommates tonight? They knew he needed Binnie’s help, even if they didn’t know much more than that.

Binnie sighed. “I think you’re being watched.”

Fen’s breath left him in a rush. “What?”

Binnie nodded. “Well, more to the point, I think we’re being watched.”

“Uh, what?” Seth asked again.

Binnie nodded. “Out front of your apartment. There’s a cable truck. I’m pretty sure its a surveillance vehicle.”

“That’s kind of a big leap, no?” Fen asked.

San scoffed from his place in the doorway of the kitchen. “No, that’s a huge leap.” To Binnie, he said, “You could be an Olympic hurdler with all the conclusions you’re jumping to.”

“That van was there when I picked you up earlier,” Binnie said.

Seth shot a nervous look at Fen, then said to Binnie, “Maybe they’re just doing work here?”

Binnie shook his head. “I saw that same cable truck outside my office two days in a row. It could be a coincidence, but up until then, I’d never even seen a cable truck from that particular company. To see one four days in a row? That doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

“Maybe they’re a new company?” San said, tone bored, even though Fen could feel the worry creeping in.

Binnie shrugged. “Maybe. But let me ask you a question, Fenny. How deeply have you dug into Cerberus? You haven’t tried to hack them or anything, have you? Haven’t maybe started asking questions of the wrong people?”

Fen crossed his arms over his chest. “I work in intelligence. Do you think I don’t know how to cover my tracks?”

Binnie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I’m sure you’re great. Your brother seemed to think you had talent. More talent than even him. But Cerberus is next level. If they’re onto you, it isn’t safe for you to stay here.” He looked at Seth and San. “It’s not safe for any of you.”

“Wouldn’t they have followed us to Loch’s house if we were being followed?” Fen asked, ignoring the part where Binnie thought they were unsafe.

“I’m not driving my own vehicle. This one’s from the company’s carpool. They could have a tracker on my personal vehicle, I suppose, but today they’d never know I’d even left the office.”

“But if I’m also being watched, wouldn’t they have followed me to Loch’s? Just by literally tailing us?” Fen asked, head spinning.

“I always take countermeasures when driving. You didn’t notice how many times I circled back before we hit the highway. We weren’t being followed then. Maybe they thought it was smarter to keep watch on the apartment.”

“Or maybe you’re just paranoid,” San said.

“Yeah. This all just sounds like speculation,” Seth said, hugging a throw pillow to his chest.

Binnie nodded. “Maybe, but if I’m right, it's unsafe here.”

“What exactly do you suggest we do? It’s not like we can just move?” San said, still sounding unreasonably hostile towards the other alpha.

“Come stay with me,” Binnie blurted, then his eyes went wide. “Not-Not with me, like with all of us. Loch, Saint and Ollie are all going to need some place to stay since they’re coming from a distance. I’m offering up my house outside the city. There’s plenty of room. Enough for ten people or more. There’s safety in numbers, as they say.”

San scoffed, sneer back. “You want us to drop our whole lives and move into your house because you saw—what?—a cable truck?”

Binnie shook his head, his frustration becoming evident. “I trust my instincts. Something is telling me you’re not safe here. Maybe you tripped some kind of internal security while you were snooping around online and maybe they started watching me after you came to my office. I don’t know, but I’m telling you, something isn’t right.”

“I’m not moving into some stranger’s house,” San said, looking at Fen. “Especially not with some unknown alpha.”

“Two unknown alphas, actually,” Fen said.

“Three,” Binnie said quietly. “Saint’s also an alpha. But Ollie is a beta,” he added as if that somehow softened the blow of having four alphas under one roof with two unmated omegas.

“You want us—” Seth gestured between him and Fen— “to live in your house…with three alphas. Do you know how insane that sounds?”

“You’d be perfectly safe,” Binnie assured them. Besides, it’s not—” Binnie cut himself off like he was trying to gather his thoughts. “It’s not my house. Well, I own it but it's not my…main…dwelling? It was my grandmother’s house before she died. Now I use it as a rental property. Like, an Airbnb kind of deal. We have cameras all over the property and a ten foot concrete fence all around.”

“Main dwelling?” Seth repeated, sounding a little awed. “How many houses do you own?”

Binnie dropped his gaze to stare at his shoes, now covered in a fine layer of dust from Loch’s place. “Uh, well, me personally? I only own like three.”

“Three?!” Seth cried.

Binnie nodded emphatically. “Yeah, just the three. But there’s property left in a trust that will be mine when I turn forty.” He looked at San. “That’s when I get my full inheritance.”

Was…was Binnie trying to impress San?

Seth stared at the alpha, wide-eyed. “As opposed to now where you just have…”

“Part of my inheritance?” Binnie said meekly, like he wasn’t sure he should tell the truth.

“How much is that?” Seth asked, leaning forward.

“Seth!” Fen snapped. “You can’t just ask people that.”

Seth looked at Fen like he was the one being rude. “He just said he has three houses…why get shy now?”

Binnie waved a hand at Fen. “It’s fine. When my mother died, she left me an eight figure inheritance that is currently accruing interest in some investment accounts. When my grandmother died, she also left me an extremely large inheritance, I just don’t have access until I’m forty.”

“Aww, so you’re stuck living off your mom’s meager millions?” San quipped. “Poor you.”

Binnie actually blushed. “I-I don’t actually use any of that money. Some of it goes to charity, but most of it is just sitting there collecting interest. I don’t really need my family’s money. I do just fine as a political consultant.”

San scoffed. “Of course, you’re a politician.”

“I’m really not,” Binnie assured him. “I never asked for any of that money. I just want to help people. I want to be the opposite of my father.”

San narrowed his eyes at him, tilting his head like a German shepherd. “Your father?”

Fuck. Fen may have forgotten—on purpose—to tell his roommates exactly who his brother had asked him to contact all those months ago once he’d cracked the encryption.

Binnie’s mouth formed a tight line, before he said, “Corbin Raider.”

Seth gasped like Binnie had said he was sired by Voldemort himself. “Your father is Corbin Raider?”

“Unfortunately,” Binnie muttered.

“Do you have any idea the damage Corbin Raider has done to this town? To this country?” San spit at him, once more gesturing with the spoon.

“Of course, I do,” Binnie snapped back, his alpha finally front and center. “Why do you think I work so hard for the other side?”

“That man is the devil,” Seth gasped, horrified.

“Try living with him,” Binnie muttered.

Fen stepped between Binnie and San, sensing that was the situation with the potential to get more…volatile. “Okay, I think we’ve gotten way off track.” To Binnie, he said, “I—We—appreciate the offer, but we’re fine. I think maybe you’re just paranoid after all the talking we did at the cabin.”

Binnie sighed, seemingly still leery of leaving them there. “Fine, but promise me if you feel unsafe—at all—you’ll call. And if you need a place to stay, you’ll take me up on my offer.”

“We’ll be fine,” Fen said again, leading Binnie back to the front door. San gave Binnie one last pissy look for the road, then went back to cooking.

Just before he left, Binnie fixed him with another pleading look, Fen sighed. “If something happens, we’ll go stay at your grandma’s house. Okay?”

Binnie hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Okay,” Fen said again, like it was final.

Binnie’s gaze flicked to something over Fen’s shoulder, searching and then locking on whatever it was he was looking for. Fen glanced behind him, following the alpha’s line of sight right to San who was now studiously ignoring both of them.

The alpha stared longingly for one more beat before he seemed to catch himself, giving Fen a tight smile. “I’m serious. Call me if you need me. Day or night. Make-Uh, make sure your roommates have my number too. You know, just in case.”

Fen bit back a smile. Right, just in case. “Sure.”

He locked all three locks behind him, then leaned against the door, grateful nobody had resorted to violence.

Seth came around the corner looking between Fen and San. “What the fuck was that all about.”

“Just some alpha trying to assert his dominance,” San muttered.

Seth chuckled, then walked to San and wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his head between his shoulder blades. “San, you’re my best friend and I love you, but you are—in fact—an alpha.”

San sounded sulky as he said,“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“I know, baby. But it’s true,” Seth teased.

Fen shook his head. Seth released San to grab Fen, tugging him back to the sofa and shoving him back on the couch, before draping himself over Fen like a blanket. Before he could stop him, Seth buried his nose against Fen’s throat, inhaling deeply.

Fen made it to the count of five before Seth sat up gasping. “Oh, my God.”

“What?” Fen said, purposely avoiding the other omega’s look.

“Why do you smell like rain?” Seth asked, voice accusatory.

Fen shrugged. “I-I don’t know.”

Fen didn’t know why he didn’t want to tell Seth what had happened. He’d never been the shy type. If anything, growing up around his shithead father had made him more outspoken. But this felt more…intimate.

“You dirty, dirty liar. That is an alpha’s scent and not that alpha,” Seth said, pointing vaguely in the direction of the door. “Is that—is that Lochlan’s scent? The man Josh wanted you to find? He’s an alpha?”

“What else would he be?” Fen asked, suddenly grumpy.

Now that he was far from the situation…far from Loch, the whole scenario seemed surreal. There was no world where Fen had ever imagined just melting into a stranger like he had. But when he’d dragged Fen to him—when he’d buried his nose against his neck, practically purring—Fen had lost all grip on reality.

His higher thought processes had completely shut down and he was left with only the most—what had Binnie called it?—Oh, right, primitive thoughts. He’d wanted to submit. He’d wanted to be fucked and bred. It was the first time Fen had ever felt like that without the excuse of a heat to hide behind.

Seth side-eyed him. “Um, a beta? Both alpha’s and betas can serve in combat, you know.”

Fen knew. But he didn’t want to talk about it. Didn’t want to talk about Lochlan Cafferty at all. It was all just so…confusing. “Just let it go. Please?”

Loch’s scent had left Fen feeling drugged, sated even. It had taken him a full five minutes to pull himself together and remember why he’d come to him in the first place. But Loch had agreed to help. Might have even agreed to help had Fen not taken the low road and appealed to his inner alpha.

Seth cackled, tackling him back onto the couch and securing his wrists above his head. “Now, I’m definitely not letting it go.” He studied Fen’s face. “What did you do, you little slut?”

Fen gasped at him, struggling beneath him halfheartedly. “Shut up.”

Seth buried his face in Loch’s scent again and Fen had to fight the urge not to growl at him. He had no idea why he felt so…possessive of the stranger’s scent. But he did.

“I will not shut up. How did you disappear with one alpha but come home smelling like a whole other alpha?” Seth asked.

“It’s-” Fen cut himself off. It’s what? “Complicated.”

“I don’t see how. You’re dripping in his scent. You couldn’t smell more like him if you’d let him breed you.” Seth suddenly met his gaze, a dirty smile spreading across his face. “You didn’t, did you?”

Fen gaped at him. “You think I would meet some random alpha and just…what? Present myself to him? Like, with Binnie right there?”

“I don’t know, maybe? But you didn’t, right?” Seth asked hesitantly.

“You and I both know if I had let him fuck me I’d smell like more than just rain,” Fen muttered. “He just…I don’t know. When we met…it was…”

“It was…” Seth prompted.

“He just sort of grabbed me and dragged me to him and buried his face in my neck just like you do and sort of rumbling and he was so warm and he smelled so…so good.”

Seth sucked in a breath. “You like him.”

“What? No I don’t.”

Seth gave that same maniacal laugh. “Oh, you really like him.”

“I don’t even know him.”

“Your omega knows him. He was ready to get down on all fours for a total stranger,” Seth taunted.

Fen rolled his eyes. “You’re just making shit up in your own head now,” he lied.

“What’s he look like?”

Instantly a picture of the alpha filled his mind. “Are you going to keep holding me hostage or can I sit up before I tell you?”

“Tell us over dinner,” San said, shoving bowls of what looked like beef stew into their direction.

When they were all sitting around the coffee table, eating, San said, “So, what did he look like? Must have been hot to have you submitting so quickly.”

“Why are you both so sure I submitted?” Fen muttered. They both fixed him with identical flat stares. “Okay, fine. I may have…scented him back. Just a little. But you don’t understand. You had to be there…it was just…the right thing to do.”

They grinned at him.

“Well,” San prompted. “Out with it. What does this alpha look like?”

Fen sighed. “He’s tall. Well, taller than me—”

“Everyone’s taller than you. You could fit in my pocket,” San interjected.

Fen gave him the finger. “Shut up. Do you want to hear this or not.”

San gave a long-suffering sigh. “I suppose.”

“He’s like six foot maybe? I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach his neck. He’s blonde, but not pale like mine, sort of golden blonde, like sun bleached. He has pretty eyes and a nice jawline. His nose is kind of broad, but totally fits his face. And his mouth…”

Fen closed his eyes, picturing those lips. “His mouth is criminal. Nobody should have lips like that and still look that hot. If I had his lips I’d look like a sucker fish, but on him they were perfection.” When no further questions followed, he glanced at his roommates who were just staring at him slack-jawed. “What?”

“You’re really into him,” San said, his shock evident. “You hate alphas.”

He didn’t hate alphas. He just didn’t trust them. Or, more to the point, he didn’t trust that their feelings were genuine and not just biology. It was why he preferred betas. They weren’t predisposed to finding one secondary gender more attractive than another.

They were neutral.

It was just easier to feel like the feelings— should any arise—were real and not just hard-wired. Maybe it was stupid, but Fen hated the thought that he would fall for someone only to find out they didn’t love him, just his secondary gender.

“I don’t hate you,” Fen countered. “And now I don’t hate Binnie either. Not every alpha is a monster.”

This wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. Especially with the political climate. Fen didn’t feel that there was biologically any reason for a hierarchy of secondary genders. But society did. No matter how far they’d come over the years, they seemed to be backsliding into the stone age.

Fen agreed that the common characteristics of the secondary genders were vastly different, but that didn’t mean one was more or less important than another. Yes, alphas had the benefit of being bigger, broader, more assertive. They had an intimidating presence and the ability to heal faster. But did that somehow make them more important or qualified to lead than the other genders?

Omegas were smaller in stature, sure, but they had a much better sense of smell. They had the ability to calm others. They were far more emotionally intelligent, reading someone’s intentions often just by being close enough to smell them. They were creative problem solvers and had better endurance long term than any alpha. Not to mention they could literally create other people. But society saw their strengths as weaknesses, therefore they were the weaker gender, meant to be subjugated.

“I’ve never heard you defend alphas before,” Seth said.

“I’m not defending them. I’m just saying, if we write off all alphas as the same —except San, obviously—how are we any different than all those people who say omegas shouldn’t have rights because we’re all the same?”

“It’s alphas that are trying to declare supremacy over omegas. They think they’re at the top of the pyramid and people are backing them up. Even betas,” Seth reminded him, shuddering.

This was about power. That’s all. Alphas had been in power so long that any rights given to betas or omegas sent them into a tizzy. They were terrified they would lose the stranglehold they’d had on the world for centuries. If history had proven anything, it was that having alphas in charge only led to war and bloodshed, but they tended to overlook that in their rally speeches.

As far as Fen was concerned, if anyone should have been considered top tier, it was betas. They got all the benefits of alphas and omegas without the shitty parts. No heats. No ruts. Just the heightened senses and a heightened predisposition to diplomacy.

There was only one downside to being a beta that Fen could see, and that was reproduction. The likelihood of a beta reproducing with an alpha or omega was low. Not impossible, but unlikely. The only way most betas could reproduce was by mating with other betas. But if someone wasn’t interested in kids, being a beta was definitely the way to go.

If only people got to choose.

Seth shook his head. “It’s wild. You won’t even spend your heats with alphas.”

“I don’t spend my heats with anyone,” Fen said, pointing his spoon at the other omega. “You don’t spend your heats with anyone either.”

“I haven’t spent my anything with anyone,” Seth shot back.

Fen froze. “Wait, what?”

Seth suddenly became very interested in his stew. “Nothing.”

Fen looked to San who pointedly looked away. “Seth, are you saying you’re…a virgin?”

Seth’s cheeks turned pink. “So?”

“So…nothing. Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Fen asked.

“Cause its not exactly something I’m proud of. It’s not like I want to stay a virgin forever or anything.” Seth managed. “You know me. I have…trust issues.”

Fen’s heart squeezed. Seth hadn’t exactly had an easy childhood either. “I know, baby. I’m sorry. I wasn’t judging.”

Life wasn’t easy for anyone who refused to play into the gender roles assigned to them. If anything bonded the three of them, it would be that. None of them behaved as society expected.

“Can we not talk about my virginity?” Seth asked.

“Sure, what should we talk about?” San asked.

Fen grinned, staring pointedly at San. “Let’s talk about how Binnie practically tripped over his own tongue when he saw you.”

“He did not,” San muttered, stabbing at his empty bowl.

“What?” Seth asked. “Wait, really?”

Fen nodded. “Really really. He was a smitten kitten the second he saw our pretty alpha.”

“Alphas like him would never let another alpha top them. And I don’t bottom. Look at him. He’s the living embodiment of the stereotypical alpha. Military guy. Fancy job. Money. Super buff. Hot.”

“You think he’s hot?” Seth cooed.

San glowered at him. “I have eyes, Seth. Anyone can see he’s hot. That doesn’t change the fact that we’re both alphas.”

“But in the presence of two unmated omegas, one of whom just came off his heat, Binnie still didn’t look at us twice. Even when he was talking to me, he was still…aware of you,” Fen told San. “Seems to me he likes you.”

For the first time ever, San looked flustered. “As if I care.”

Seth sighed, clasping his hands together. “Both my babies have potential suitors. Swoon,” he said dreamily.

“Shut the fuck up,” they both shot back at the same time.

They all stared at each other in silence, then burst out laughing.

Seth jumped to his feet. “Who wants to have a sleepover in the nest? I haven’t disassembled it yet? We can Netflix and chill.”

“You know that means hook up, right?” San asked, amused.

“Duh. What you don’t want to make out with me? Am I not pretty enough for you, alpha?”

Fen got to his feet. “Don’t worry, I’ll make out with you and San can just watch,” he said, smacking a kiss on Seth’s plush, pink lips.

“See, Fenny loves me,” Seth taunted.

“Good luck finding an alpha who’s okay with you two making out with each other,” San retorted. “You know, since alphas are apparently something you two do now.”

Fen wrapped his arms around Seth from behind, hooking his chin over his shoulder to look at San. “Neither of us are ‘doing’ any alphas. And if we were, they would just have to deal with the fact that sometimes my best friend is so pretty I have to kiss him…just a little.”

San rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“So does that mean you’re not coming?” Seth asked, hooking a brow upward.

San gave another of his long-suffering sighs. “I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t start without me.”

Seth clapped his hands, delighted. “No promises.”

Fen let Seth pull him to his bedroom, then curled up in bed with him, his head on the other omega’s chest. He only then realized he was still wearing Loch’s flannel. He grabbed the collar and pulled it to his nose, inhaling deeply, biting back the moan that instantly bubbled up from within.

Fuck.

How was he going to work with this man when he went weak in the knees at just the hint of his scent?

“Death Note?” Seth asked, remote in hand.

“Mm,” Fen finally answered.

He needed to pull it together. Loch was just another alpha. He wasn’t anything special. It was all just a biological response. Fen could fight that.

He had to fight that. For everyone’s sake.