Chapter 25
Layla
Thoroughly marked by both Sutton and Zayd, I walk through the corridors to The Courtyard alone with confidence.
At least, that’s how my journey begins. My confidence fades with the stares of every male I pass, growing more and more disdainful. By the time I enter The Courtyard, my heart is racing, and my brow is covered in sweat.
“Layla.” Angie runs over. “What’s wro—” She stops dead in her tracks. Even takes a step back. “Oh my god. What have you done?”
“Wha—What do you mean?”
“Your scent. You—” Angie covers her nose and mouth. “It’s wrong. Did something happen? Are you sick?”
I inhale deeply. Zayd’s and Sutton’s combined scent fills my nose, makes my pussy clench. “It’s not anything new. Both Sutton’s and Zayd’s scents have been on me before.”
“Not like this. Did you…” Angie lowers her voice to whisper. “Did you have sex with both of them?”
A lump grows in my throat, begging me not to answer.
“I think maybe you should go back to your room,” Angie says when a group of omegas walks by, groaning and shooting me dirty looks.
“I don’t understand. It doesn’t bother me. Actually, this is the first time I’ve felt complete. Like everything is how it should be.”
“We should find Willow.” I believe Angie wants to help me, but the constant grimace on her face and the distance she keeps between us make me wonder for how long. “I’ll walk with you back to your room. We can call Willow from there.”
I agree and leave with Angie.
“Faster,” she says, forcing a faster pace when she sees the way the alphas we pass look at me.
“Is it against the law or something for an omega to be with more than one male?” Zayd wouldn’t break the law. He can’t break a promise. He’s proven that time and time again. If he had believed any punishment would come my way for what we did, he wouldn’t have let it happen.
“I don’t think so,” Angie says, following me into my room. “But I doubt they planned for it. It’s not the way they do things. Damn, it’s potent in here.”
“I’ll call Willow,” I say and press the button on the comm next to the door.
“Tell her to hurry,” Angie says, pulling the front of her shirt up over her nose.
#
“I got here as fast as I could. What’s—Holy shit. What is that?” Willow asks as she steps into the room.
“Oh, good. You all are here.” Strykr marches in. Sutton, Zayd, and Razyr follow.
“What is going on?” I ask, joining Sutton and Zayd, who share a concerned look.
“Everything will be fine, omega.” Zayd places a comforting hand on my cheek. “I will not abandon you.” He shifts his gaze to Sutton. “Either of you.”
“Will someone please explain this?” Willow asks, holding her finger under her nose.
“And can we have this conversation somewhere else?” Angie adds before burying her face in Razyr’s chest.
“We need to contain it,” Strykr says with a commanding tone that brings an eerie quiet to the room. “I need a moment to think.”
“What happened to you two?” I ask my males while Strykr paces, and the others whisper amongst themselves.
“The scent of you on both of us was too much for the other unmated alphas to ignore this time. It sent them into a frenzy,” Zayd explains.
“Kydax held them off while we escaped to the med comb,” Sutton adds. “Razyr called Strykr and…”
By the looks on Angie’s and Willow’s faces, they’ve been brought up to speed. Though none of this explains why the other omegas and unmated alphas are having such a negative reaction.
“Razyr offered to do more tests, but Strykr isn’t convinced that answers are what we need,” Sutton says, solemnly.
“What does he think?” I ask.
“I believe we need to avoid setting a bad example,” Strykr says, answering my question, though I don’t think that was his intention.
“I understand that the three of us being together is unorthodox, but how is it wrong? Layla is an omega. She’s with an alpha.
And, I know we haven’t discussed it,” Sutton says, turning to Zayd and me.
“But I would be happy for Zayd to claim you. I believe our bond,” Sutton takes my hands and holds them to his chest, “will only grow stronger as a result.”
“Zayd cannot claim an omega who is already bound to someone else. It defies the Accord,” Strykr demands.
“But I have no objection. Doesn’t that count for anything?” Sutton argues.
“The precedent this union sets could cause chaos. It already has.” Strykr’s tone grows impatient.
Zayd steps forward. “Perhaps it is only because we have not experienced this type of union before. Maybe, in time—”
“No.” Strykr barks, cutting Zayd off. “We have worked too hard to achieve even the smallest amount of order on this planet. I will not sacrifice the frail peace we have for an unnatural union.”
“I agree. Two alphas with one omega is not right,” Razyr interjects.
“Sutton is not an alpha,” Strykr insists, sounding offended by Razyr’s suggestion.
Razyr steps forward to address Strykr directly. “He may not be Throkyn, but he is most certainly an alpha. How else do you explain his ability to match us physically? No other designation can.”
“But his venom heals.” Strykr is struggling to accept Razyr’s assertion.
“He is human. This is merely another of a number of differences between us,” Razyr explains.
“If they are both alphas, why haven’t they fought each other to the death to claim Layla?” Willow chimes in.
“Again, Sutton is human. That must be a trait reserved for Throkyn kind,” Razyr answers.
“Which brings us back to the Accord and the relations between Alphas and humans,” Strykr cuts in.
“If we allow the union between the three of you to continue, we risk other alphas deciding that they should be able to claim an omega that has a human mate or worse, one bonded with another alpha.
Just look at the alphas you detained. They killed their own kind to kidnap those omegas.
Sutton may be human, but if he is an alpha, that is all they will see.
“ Strykr pauses, considering us for a moment.
The more they have talked about us, the more I’ve realized that whatever comes next, the three of us are going to have very little say in it. This meeting isn’t just to figure out what’s going on with us; it’s to decide what should be done with us. For the sake of the pack.
Strykr stands taller, making his presence as pack leader known. “I have no other choice. I will not allow that kind of thinking to infect the pack. I cannot condone this union.”
I make to charge at Strykr. “You can’t split us up. You can’t—” Zayd and Sutton hold me, sandwiched between them. Not just to stop me from doing something stupid, but, I think, to stop anyone from taking me away from them.
“Out of respect for your position, lieutenant, I will leave you to make the choice. Either Sutton and Layla return to their home in the colony, and you remain here to take an omega of your own, or for the three of you…” Strykr’s face betrays his willingness to deliver the alternative.
Finally, with a set jaw, Strykr says, “Exile.”
Everyone in the room gasps.
Then, Strykr adds, “If the three of you are determined to pursue this relationship, you will not do it here.”
“I have no objection to that,” Sutton says confidently and tells Zayd, “Layla and I would be happy to welcome you into our home.”
“No,” Strykr breaks in. “You do not understand. Exile not from The Center or the colony. You will be exiled from Earth.”
“But where will we go? How will we survive without the pack?” I cry, trying to break away, wanting so badly to take out my anger on Strykr.
“Please, Layla,” Zayd says, handing me to Sutton, who wraps his arms around me. Zayd turns to Strykr. “May we have a moment to discuss our decision?”
“Of course. We will wait outside. Do not take too long. We must settle the unrest amongst the pack as soon as possible.”
“I understand,” Zayd says before the door closes, leaving the three of us alone.
“This isn’t fair. I have friends here. Your pack is your family,” I say, like Zayd doesn’t already know it. “Maybe we should just go home,” I say to Sutton.
“You two are all I have,” Sutton says, and my heart sinks. “I’ve lived without you, Layla, and it almost killed me. The connection we have with him now, I think it would kill both of us to leave Zayd.”
“Well, yeah, but what if what Zayd wants is to claim his own omega. One he doesn’t have to share. Asking him to leave with us would deny him that.”
“Regardless,” Zayd says, taking my hands, “I already made my choice. Last night. If they designate Sutton as an alpha, I will have lost the respect of the pack for not killing Sutton and claiming you for myself. I knew this, and yet I could not deny myself the pleasure of being with you. With both of you. Even if my only choice now was to let the two of you leave, I could not. I would not.”
Sutton stretches out his arm and invites Zayd into our embrace.
It feels right. I’m convinced the three of us are meant to be together, but I’m still scared. “Where will we go?”
“The planet we found the missing ship and kidnapped omegas on was not without its problems. In addition to being a pleasure planet, a lot of shady characters come and go to do business in less-than-legal trades on Tilopria, but it is a beautiful planet, and our relationship would be accepted,” Zayd says.
My heart is racing. “This is insane. Having to make a decision like this already. We don’t know what’s going on here, and they’re asking us to give up everything.”
“Do you doubt that the three of us are meant to be together?” Zayd asks, stepping back.
“I don’t,” Sutton answers before I can. “I know you’re scared, Layla, but if any of your fears or doubts are about how I feel and whether or not I’m here to stay, I swear to you, I’m not going anywhere.”
I don’t have to think before I tell him, “The fear of you leaving is long gone. I’m just afraid of what we don’t know.
I am afraid of finding out that Zayd can’t claim me because you already have, and so he never gets to claim an omega because he can never come back.
I want this to work, the three of us, but I’m afraid that it won’t, for some reason that is out of our control, and there will be no going back for any of us. ”
“I cannot tell you how, but I know, in my heart, that this will work. We only need to find the way.” Zayd joins us again, placing an arm around me and a hand on Sutton’s shoulder.
“And we don’t need to be at the Center or on Earth to do it,” Sutton adds, pulling Zayd into our embrace, bringing their foreheads together above my head.
“Then it is settled,” Zayd says after placing a kiss atop my head.
Sutton does the same, then says with conviction, “Call them in.”