Chapter 30
◆◆◆
When we land in the States, the first thing we’re hit with is news so unexpected it stops me cold.
Rocco Ferro… is dead.
The new capo of the Ferro family didn’t stay in power for long, only three months, ever since September, when he took over after Anzo.
Despite meeting him back when I was involved in underground fighting, we never really talked aside from that one conversation that ended with me throwing my last fight and getting the half million.
Rocco died under circumstances no one seems able to explain, at least not publicly.
Whether it was his final act, orchestrating the attack on Blue, or someone else’s, remains unclear.
I should feel relieved, because Rocco was one of Blue’s known enemies, one less threat, but something about it feels incomplete, like he wasn’t the last person I should be worried about when it comes to protecting Blue.
And that’s not the only thing making headlines.
Within minutes of landing, when I check my phone to send a few condolence messages to my uncles, I freeze at the sight of my own face staring back at me.
One article after another pops up, my face in a black mask, but still recognizable to anyone who knows me.
"Blue’s bodyguard delivers fiery defense of his employer," one headline reads.
Another: "Passionate speech by Blue Lowen’s guard draws attention to his lesser-known activities."
I blink, scrolling through it, tense.
There’s a fact-checking section.
"We verify the claims made by Blue Lowen’s bodyguard."
I go through it point by point whenever I can, discreetly scrolling while Blue moves between meetings.
And to my relief, the verification is solid.
Everything I said is listed there, along with sources confirming that it’s true.
The article in question is from East Time Magazine, owned by Victor Lowen, so the tone isn’t surprising, but it doesn’t stop there.
Other outlets, usually critical of Blue, are publishing more neutral pieces, admitting that the billionaire has been hiding a more altruistic side, even if they frame it with a bit of irony, suggesting he might not want his image softened, but none of them deny the facts.
Some still bring up the lawsuits against Malden over side effects related to pheromone receptor blockers and heat or rut suppression, but those are old points by now.
Out of curiosity, I read the comment section.
Usually it’s full of negativity, but now, to my surprise, something is shifting.
More people are saying that Blue is complicated, that not everything about him is what the public thinks, that it’s easier to hate than to reconsider.
It’s subtle, but it spreads, like ripples across water, more discussion, more people digging deeper, hundreds of comments, and the tone is no longer predominantly one-sided.
Then I notice one comment getting a lot of attention. The profile picture looks familiar, so I click, and it turns out to be the dad of that sick omega teenager, Tino, whose therapy Blue paid for.
He writes about how Blue covered millions in treatment for his son, how it worked, how his son is doing better now, and his post sets off a chain reaction, more people replying, dozens of them, sharing stories about help they received from Blue.
And there are a lot of testimonies, a lot!
I stare at it all, my vision blurring slightly, because even if many still hate him, at least some are starting to see that he’s not the monster they thought.
What stands out even more is that there are fewer mindless attacks. People are more careful, more measured, acknowledging that alongside the controversial parts of his work, like supporting Beta Activation, there’s another side that isn’t so easy to dismiss.
My hands shake a little as I read, and there’s constant moisture at the edge of my vision.
My Blue…
…at least a little fairness for my omega.
Even if what I did was just a small part of it, I’d rather be something positive in his life than another weight dragging him down.
Blue finishes his last meeting of the day, and as he leaves the room, I notice Director Flanegin walking up to him, muttering condolences about the airplane crash in an overly sobby tone, sighing and shaking his head.
Blue takes it in a rather reserved manner.
Then we go back to his penthouse and have dinner together.
At first we don’t bring up the articles, but I’d be wrong to assume Blue hasn’t seen them, he just always knows.
At one point he looks up from his plate and says with seriousness, "You made an impact, Gabriel. I appreciate it. Even if I’ve learned to live surrounded by hate, this shift is real, and even on a practical level, today’s sales reports are already about twenty percent higher than usual, not that it matters most, but it is measurable, and it’s because of you. "
He says it in that formal tone of his, almost detached, but I know him well enough to hear what’s underneath. And our Bond gives me subtle clues. He really is grateful, and… happy about what I did.
I hesitate, unsure whether to turn it into a discussion about his public image, but I don’t want to.
I’d rather make it awkward again!
So I slide off my chair and move on my knees toward him, and he looks at me, surprised.
It’s slowly becoming my habit—the falling on my knees thing, my cringy routine.
When I reach him, he turns slightly, setting his utensils aside.
I lower my head onto his knee, resting my forehead there, waiting for my reward, his touch.
And then his hand comes, soft, sweet, his fingers slipping into my hair, and the feeling hits instantly, a quiet sound leaving my throat as my body reacts, hard and hot.
I want him, I want to push into him, to hear those soft sounds from him again, to feel him open for me, to lose myself in him, but first…
"I want the world to see you the way I do… under that mask, because deep down, you’re… an innocent, beautiful soul."
I feel the effect of those words immediately. Blue stiffens slightly, his fingers stilling in my hair.
"Gabriel, I’m not perfect, please don’t idealize me."
"For me you are, you’re bigger than life… someone extraordinary I’ll never reach, Blue."
He slides his hand under my chin and lifts my head.
"You consider yourself so insignificant all the time, but your impact on me, on my life… is non-trivial. And only positive. I rarely beg, but I beg you this time. Never think of yourself as less. It ends today. Promise me that, Gabriel."
There’s a previously unseen intensity in his eyes as he says it.
Then he pulls my elbows up, making me stand up. He stands too.
"Don’t go on your knees, Gabe, be proud, you’re my partner, my equal."
We stand facing each other now, and Blue reaches for my hands, seriousness in his eyes.
"You make me… happy, Gabriel. Do you know that?" He hesitates, then adds, "My father said that’s the most important factor. And I’m inclined to believe he’s right."
I slowly raise my hand and gently touch the side of his cheek, stroking it lightly. I can still feel that faint shiver, that tiny spark of tension in him during the first instant of contact.
Blue truly isn’t used to this.
And still, Fate put us together, me hungry, dying for touch and him hesitant, reluctant toward it.
My fingers slowly trace along his cheekbone before lowering to his soft lips.
The words fly out before I can stop them.
"Are you mine…?"
Blue closes his eyes and lets out a slow breath.
"In all the ways that matter, yes, Gabriel. Undoubtedly yours."
I pull him to myself and just hold him like this, savoring the moment of his softer, more open energy. It’s so blissful to be so close to him, our bodies snuggled tightly, the air around us turning warm, pastel and dreamlike…
So I allow myself to simply enjoy this moment. Then a slim hand lands in my waistband and drifts even lower. Well, we obviously don’t stop at just holding each other…
◆◆◆
By the end of the next week, something rather unexpected happens.
One day, when Blue is heading out to visit Jacob to go over some arrangements related to Beta Activation, we run into two people in the lobby of the DevApp skyscraper who I would never have expected to see there.
It’s… my uncle Lake and Aiden, the parents of… Winter.
The whole encounter feels strange, because my very distressed uncle Lake explains that they’ve been waiting for days to get a chance to speak with Jacob, who keeps refusing to see them.
Then he turns to Blue and asks for help arranging a meeting, because he believes that Sariel and Winter are actually… alive!
Listening to that, I can barely process it, as he insists they survived the crash and are stranded on some uninhabited island somewhere in the Kuril Archipelago.
The claim is so shocking I honestly don’t know how to make sense of it, but to my surprise, Blue reacts immediately.
Not only does he arrange for them to meet with Jacob, he also promises to cover half the cost of a rescue operation, saying that if there’s even a small chance, it’s worth taking.
I stand there off to the side, listening, still stunned, and it hits me again that Blue doesn’t hesitate for a second to use his money to help people who might need it.
When my uncles leave and I finally get a moment alone with him in the elevator, I take his hand and press a kiss to it.
"Thank you… for giving them a chance. Even Sariel’s own father was skeptical, but you… you believed them."
Blue shrugs lightly. "Sariel was a good kid, and I want to do everything in my power to help. He’s always been my favorite nephew. Ever since he was little, he used to come to me with everything…"
I hesitate, but decide to say it. "There’s one more funny fact. I had a dream about the airplane crash. Like I was Winter, and a powerful gust of wind carried me and landed me on a volcanic island."
Blue observes me for a few seconds.