Chapter GABRIEL #5
"The law?" Drax throws back bitterly. "The law!
" He raises his voice, rolling his eyes.
"Seriously? I did everything to stay within the law, Mr. Lowen. I demanded signed consent forms from those betas, I recorded my supervisor confirming to me that everything was voluntary, and then it turns out I wasn’t even formally employed!
And of course I discovered that every beta was effectively threatened with removal from the program unless they agreed to fuck with me.
So tell me, who cared about the law back then? "
Blue’s response is cold.
"The fact that others broke the law doesn’t automatically mean you should have done the same or that you have any leeway.
The facility’s warden has received his sentence.
He is currently in prison. If you hadn’t done what you did, if you hadn’t returned to that island, I could have given you a legitimate position at one of my facilities, where we conduct advanced research into fertility activation.
But as things stand, I cannot offer you anything like that.
What I do have approval from the judge to offer you is a position… as a research subject."
Drax blinks, as if he can’t believe what he just heard. Then he snorts in contempt. "Do you really think I want to be experimented on? And still be locked up, one way or another? I already agreed to a vasectomy for that damn warden!"
"The difference is that after spending a year as a research subject, you would be allowed to live in a location of your choosing, with only an ankle monitor. That would last five, at most seven years, and then you would be free. If you refuse my offer, you’re looking at fifteen to twenty years for four counts of attempted murder, including shooting two people.
Cutting that sentence to less than half is not a bad deal, don’t you think? "
Drax clenches his jaw, looking away, his hands curling into fists.
"What kind of experiments?" he asks, his tone edged with distrust.
Blue shrugs slightly. "I can’t promise they won’t be painful.
But none of them will result in permanent damage.
You can expect tissue extraction from glands, possibly bone marrow samples.
You will definitely receive various compounds to stimulate pheromone production and similar processes.
Some procedures may be unpleasant, and the medication may have side effects, but as I said, it’s only a year.
After that, you’ll be able to live wherever you choose. "
"And all of this is free? With an ankle monitor, I won’t be able to work anyway. And I’m not exactly the kind of person who can just get a job at a grocery store, not with this face, not with my Allure scent…" He gestures toward the red half of his face.
Blue narrows his eyes slightly. "Because you were, in a sense, harmed by the Beta Activation program, I can arrange a state pension for you. It won’t be giant, but it will allow you to live with dignity."
Drax visibly calms at that.
He turns away, staring at the wall for a moment, his eyes narrowed as if he’s thinking deeply.
Earlier I tried not to study him too closely, but now I take the opportunity to analyze his face.
Without that red, flame-like pattern, he wouldn’t even be unattractive.
His features are sharp, distinctly masculine, and he seems fairly young, maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven.
But with that appearance, there’s no way he could walk down the street without drawing frightened looks or laughter from people thinking it’s some kind of Halloween makeup.
And then…
"Deal," Drax says suddenly, extending his big hand toward Blue, but I cut in immediately.
"No touching."
Drax smirks. "Alright, alright, dog. You don’t need to be pissing all over your territory like that…"
"Заткни свой ебучий рот, ебанутый мутант."[15]
"Сам заткнись, слабак! Думаешь, можешь оскорблять меня по-русски? Я вырос на границе Финляндии и России!"[16]
Then he glances at Blue and adds, "By the way, it’s funny. Bringing this guy here? As if you thought I wouldn’t be able to break the shackles, the cuffs, and… overpower him."
"I think you wouldn’t be able to," Blue says calmly.
I freeze.
Drax tilts his head, studying me with visible skepticism, clearly pushing against Blue’s confidence.
"You have unusual abilities. You should realize that there are others like you in this world."
Understanding flashes suddenly in Drax’s eyes, and he looks at me differently now.
"Okay, that makes sense. Blue Lowen wouldn’t keep some random kid as a bodyguard. There has to be more to him, even if he looks like a runt."
I remain silent, but it costs me a lot. I’m not about to let him provoke me further.
Drax winks at me but says nothing more, turning his attention back to Blue.
"So it’s a deal. When do we start?"
"I need to initiate the procedures. It may take some time. But when I say something will happen, it happens," Blue says, standing up.
The mutant nods. Then he subtly inhales, and suddenly he says to me,
"Do you maybe have an omega brother?"
"And what’s it to you, idiot? "
Drax makes a low, rough sound. "Your family bloodline is highly compatible with mine. High percentage of alien blood. If your brother is single, send him my way," and he chortles.
"Ах ты мерзкий хам[17]!"
But Blue raises his brows. "And how can you tell?"
"I can scent a lot of things. But never mind." He looks at Blue meaningfully. "I will wait."
Blue nods, and we finally leave.
Drax stays behind, and the moment I walk past the threshold, he sends me a wink.
I respond with a low snort.
Only then, when we’re in the hallway, do I finally relax a little.
The guards show up to escort us outside.
Suddenly I notice that Blue is walking slightly slower, his posture just a bit forward-leaning.
Once we’ve put enough distance between us and the room, I take off the clip from my nose and draw in a deep breath with relief. That’s when I catch a faint scent coming from Blue. A barely there trace of… sweet slick.
"Oh, wow," I say before I can think it through. "So his pheromones did affect you?"
Blue shoots me a brief look, his jaw slightly clenched, his cheeks rosy. "Of course. They’re very intense."
"Are you hard?" I ask bluntly, watching the way he walks.
Another glance, and the eye roll.
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
"I can see how you’re walking. I know what it looks like when someone has an erection…"
"Then you already know the answer."
I can’t help it, I start chuckling. Blue rolls his eyes for the second time.
"Very funny…"
"Oh, come on. A little funny, you have to admit."
Blue exhales. "Fine. Maybe a little. It’ll pass."
"I could help with that, if you want…" I add, my voice dropping slightly.
We’re approaching the security gate, and I don’t get an answer.
We make our way back through the same tangle of corridors and turns.
Everything happens in silence. As we pass through each checkpoint, I make sure, once again, that no one gets too close to Blue.
I’m like a guard dog, letting out low, warning growls when, at the last gate, one of the alpha guards steps a little too close to him.
They can probably catch that faint trace of his slick too, so I stay alert.
Then we step out onto the parking lot, where the limousine with Gerard is waiting.
Blue doesn’t seem to be in a much less… erect state as he sits down inside, and only then do I realize how much effort it must have cost him to keep himself under control in front of those guards, because the second the door closes, completely disregarding the fact that Simon is here, Blue makes a sound… !
An AO sound at that.
It’s a call… for sex.
The sound is soft and quiet since Blue’s vocal cords aren’t as mature and developed as those of most omegas, but it’s still easy enough to understand.
"Blue," I mutter, my dick immediately hardening. "Don’t… don’t do that unless you mean it," I add, fighting the molten lava of desire now pouring through my veins.
"Fuck! I’m sorry," he hisses through clenched teeth. He rarely curses, so it had to infuriate him a great deal. "That was stronger than me, and believe me, I made an enormous effort not to do it in the room with Drax."
I swallow hard, struggling against my own racing pulse. Simon stares at us.
"Not that I’d mind, but I don’t think this is the best time for that… and the circumstances that started it definitely aren’t ideal," I mutter.
"Absolutely."
"What just happened?" a blissfully unaware Simon asks, since as a beta he can neither smell Blue’s slick nor understand the AO call.
"Nothing important," I cut in shortly. "Just a rather intense meeting with a purple alpha."
I catch Blue’s grateful look.
He obviously didn’t want Simon dragged into the topic.
◆◆◆
Finally, it's yacht time.
Blue says to Simon, "That’s it for today. Gerard will drop you off at home."
It’s still only 11 am, and he usually works until 1 pm. So Blue is wrapping up earlier than usual. A rush of excitement runs through me, and I immediately text Veyron with an approximate arrival time.
We ride together for a while, and I keep watching Blue as he looks out the window, my pulse running strangely fast.
After dropping Simon off, Blue and I head back to his skyscraper.
When we step into the penthouse, Blue says, "Do you need a smaller bag to pack?"
"No, thanks. One of my parents’ suitcases will fit everything."
"Alright. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes."
"Wait…"
Blue pauses mid-step.
His sapphire eyes lift to meet mine.
"Thank you," I say quietly.
"For what?"
"For… um. Everything. You."
Silence follows. Blue’s expression turns distant, thoughtful, like he’s weighing a response, but then, he simply turns away and heads to his room without saying anything.
Well. The day isn’t over yet.
I pack everything I need, including, thankfully, a new pair of swim trunks and sunscreen. I’m pale, and in the summer I even get a few freckles.