GABRIEL #8
Wow. Is this the reason why Blue was questioning my cousin so closely? He wanted to establish a partnership with someone who already has a positive attitude toward him and his company. Smart. Surely it’s much easier to work with people who are friendly than with people like those at the college.
"So, training? Now that business is settled?" I mutter.
"Of course." Veyron drops his bag on the ground and starts stretching, his smile never fading. I join him, and we begin warming up together.
Meanwhile, Blue remains in his rattan chair with his tablet resting on his knee.
About ten minutes into the warm-up, another person arrives, led in by Simon.
A silent alpha who seems slightly displeased by the presence of unexpected outsiders. Blue introduces him as his nephew Axel, who is currently pursuing a doctorate at one of the colleges downtown.
The man is tall and lean, not overly muscular for an alpha. He looks kinda serious, his short hair has an unusual color, almost black with streaks of dark violet that look natural. I know that in the Lowen family, unusual hair colors are not uncommon.
He gives us only a brief, restrained handshake without saying a word, but when I give my name, instinctively using my previous surname, Nolan, he reacts strangely, almost scowling.
"Any relation to Dallas Nolan?"
I blink and nod. "Well, my half-brother is Dallas. From my father’s first marriage. Do you know him?"
"Something like that." His face sours, but he doesn’t explain further. Oh well. I’m not really convinced that digging into this topic would be wise. If they have some kind of beef with each other, it’s better to just ignore it.
Soon he and Blue start their chess game.
I am curious how Blue performs against someone competing at the state level, but Veyron quickly captures my attention completely.
We start with a light warm-up, jogging a few laps around the pool, swinging our arms, and doing some shadowboxing.
Veyron is better than me at jiu-jitsu, but when it comes to striking techniques, I have the edge, so we train each other and help cover the areas where we’re weaker.
Then we roll around on the mat together, and he's not an easy opponent, incredibly flexible and well-conditioned.
Still, I have these moments when my gaze drifts toward Blue, and every now and then I catch him stealing a glance at me too, only for him to quickly look away as if he doesn't want me to notice.
It is interesting, and it pushes me to try even harder, even though I am not using my five-second ability since it would make no sense during sparring. Instead, I focus on fighting in a way that shows the full extent of what I can do.
A few times I even manage to submit Veyron, despite his greater experience in jiu-jitsu, though it’s obvious he’s not going all out and is treating this more like casual training, while I am pushing myself hard. Honestly… I am showing off a little for Blue.
At one point, as we roll across the mat, Veyron mutters, "Why are you so intense today? You’re going to make me think you’re trying to impress someone…"
"Shut up," I mumble. "Maybe go a little easy on me today, what do you say?"
Veyron smirks knowingly.
"Sure, I could even let you win every few seconds, but I think it would be better if he saw that you actually earned it."
He grunts as we keep grappling, then adds, "I can’t say I don’t get it though. I’ve always been into older omegas, especially the ones higher up in the social ladder and in life. I had a crush on pretty much all my professors, seriously, all the omegas and even a few betas."
I grimace slightly. "I think I just like driven people with strong personalities, and Blue definitely has that," I admit, breathing hard, realizing how awkward it sounds.
"Oh, definitely." Veyron twists my arm a bit, and I let out a grunt. "He has enough charisma for five people."
"And he’s insanely smart!"
"Oh?" Veyron smiles mockingly and tightens an armbar, making me groan again.
"Remember how everyone used to be amazed that I could multiply and exponentiate big numbers? Well, he’s on a wholly different level. I’m shocked a mind like that even exists."
Veyron releases the hold, having secured it perfectly, and we sit for a moment on the mat. I glance toward Blue again and catch his gaze once more, a quick, assessing look, almost like he's checking whether I am still within his reach.
Today he’s wearing light sapphire linen pants and a short-sleeved shirt, thin silk patterned with white and pale blue swirls. His dark navy hair falls loosely over his pale neck, and I feel this silly and deadly urge to step closer and breathe in his scent.
And then, just like that, I say it.
"I want him."
Fuck.
Who even says things like that out loud? My cheeks burn hot.
Veyron’s eyes widen at first, then he grows serious and asks quietly, "And what… he doesn’t feel the same?"
"Unfortunately not. Our marriage contract is only… on paper, and he doesn't want more."
Veyron is silent for a moment, then says, "If you want him, don’t give up, Gabriel. Stay by his side, show him you can be a good partner, no matter what, just keep being there for him. Consistency wins people over."
I stare at him, not expecting advice like that, actually… a useful one. I thought he would try to discourage me, but Veyron and his enthusiastic personality are exactly what I need right now, because he gives me something I had lost before: he restores my hope.
"They say some people are hard to win over, but I think anyone can be, you just need patience."
"Do you really believe that?" I whisper. "That sooner or later anyone can be won over? What if it’s just… a lack of interest, you know, sexually?"
"Judging by how the more we sweat, the more he seems to glance your way, I’d say there’s some kind of interest there, even if he’s not fully aware of it himself," Veyron says with a wide, amused grin, and I blush.
"But he was always very open about his low interest in those kinds of things…"
Veyron makes a strange face. "Are you talking about what Blue says about himself in interviews?"
"I didn’t know you had read about him."
"I think most people have heard something about this, he’s ridiculously famous. If that’s true and he’s asexual, your task might be harder. You need to think carefully about your approach." He bites his lip slightly and tilts his head.
I glance at Blue again, who seems to have noticed that we stopped sparring and are chatting quietly, his eyes flicking toward us even more often. Does he suspect we are talking about him?
"Sometimes I wonder if he says that because it’s… like a wall he built between himself and any kind of romantic life, for safety," I admit, my voice tight. "And he started to believe it after repeating it over and over."
Fuck, should I continue? These are my unverified theories and suspicions, dragging Veyron into this is unnecessary. But at the same time I desperately want someone’s perspective, to know if my chances are not zero.
"You know, I think everyone needs closeness, unless they went through something that shut them down completely, like trauma," Veyron says quietly.
"Well! Losing his entire reproductive system could be exactly that kind of trauma," I murmur sourly. "I thought about it a lot. As an alpha, imagine not being able to knot, to go into a rut, to sniff Allure scent, to impregnate…"
Veyron winces. "You’re right. That would be crushing."
"On top of it… there’s shame about how the other person might react, fear of being different, of not being a ‘complete’ omega. That could paralyze him."
Veyron nods slowly.
I glance at Blue one more time and feel horribly bad for gossiping about him like this.
He’s leaning over a chessboard, moving pieces around.
He must have just taken Axel’s bishop. It is incredible that even with a person at that level, someone like a state runner-up, he still goes head-to-head with him.
He really is… remarkable. I keep staring at him, probably with a dazed look, because Veyron smirks.
"Maybe we should drop this topic," I mutter quietly, "he would most likely not be happy if he knew how much we were dissecting his personal life."
Veyron waves it off. "It’s fine, Gabriel.
You’re here basically alone in that huge skyscraper, surrounded by strangers, you have no one to talk to.
" He hesitates, "Have you thought about inviting Marlow over once in a while? I exchanged a few messages with him recently, and he seemed pretty down. It’s his final year of veterinary school, but he says he has no idea what he wants to do afterward and has started questioning his choices. He could probably use a conversation with his brother. I don’t think he’d be comfortable opening up to me. "
A sharp pang of worry hits me.
Marlow has never liked sharing his doubts, always keeping everything bottled up, and I’ve only managed to get through to him occasionally. Now, because of what I did and this contract, I left him to deal with everything on his own.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I’ll reach out to him soon. I hope he’s doing okay after that last breakup; he looked miserable."
"Seriously, he should consider omegas. Going after alphas is a waste of time, very few of them will ever take him seriously."
I sigh. "You can’t really control who you’re drawn to," I say quietly, glancing at Blue again.
I catch him turning away from me quickly. Was he watching me the whole time?
"Alright, let’s spar a bit more, I feel like I need some endorphins to drown this out."
"Sure!"
We go at it again, grappling across the mat, but my mind refuses to let go of that part of our conversation that was about Blue.
Does he really carry that kind of deep fear of relationships? Or is there more to it than that?
◆◆◆
Half an hour later, Veyron and I have had enough. We are dripping with sweat, and Axel looks at us with disgust, but Blue doesn’t.