Chapter 9
Two days later, Thorn was still baffled by his reaction to the alpha.
He’d woken the next morning alone, no note this time. The flowers had greeted him at the entryway though, looking as pristine as they had at the cabin. If he’d stopped to spare a single second to smell them, no one was there to see it.
The keys to the car had been left on the table by the basket as well, the car still parked in the driveway.
He’d given it a thorough once over, checking the back and under the seats, before jumping into the driver's seat. Not that he thought there were any other traps laid by the alpha—yet—but still. It didn’t hurt to be vigilant.
Thorn had clearly underestimated Baal once already. He’d be wise not to do it again. At least he’d come out with some things this time around. There was no telling how far the alpha’s generosity would stretch. Next time, he may not be so lucky.
So he’d opted to take advantage of the benefits he had received, using the car shamelessly to get to where he needed to be.
That first visit to the hospital had actually removed most of the lingering doubt from his mind.
By the time he’d arrived, his brother’s surgery had already been underway.
Apparently, Baal had stopped in first thing, paid off all of the bills, signed the guardian forms, and left his card details on file for any future payments.
Then the guy had vanished.
It hadn’t occurred to Thorn that they’d never exchanged contact details until yesterday, after going twenty-four hours with no word from him. With no way to get in touch with him, he was forced to wait.
He used the time to his advantage, working extra hard at his jobs while he still could.
As soon as the alpha resurfaced, there was no doubt in Thorn’s mind he’d be made to quit for real.
Until then, he pocketed the money he had and opened a new bank account, where he deposited the bag full of cash as well as his meager savings.
After the surgery, he’d been told by the doctors that Aster needed to be kept in isolation for twenty-four hours, and that they’d call him once visiting was approved. The call had come in on his lunch break, and as soon as he’d finished his shift at the restaurant, he’d headed to the hospital.
If he kept busy, Thorn didn’t have time to let his mind wander to the alpha or the contract. He couldn’t dwell on the silence or pick apart how that made him feel.
Especially when he arrived on his brother’s floor and found the bed he’d been assigned empty.
The panic hit him first, freezing him in place as his brain tried to process the sight of the folded comforter over the single mattress.
There were a couple of other patients, but they didn’t seem to notice him locked in the doorway, which was fine, since he didn’t really process their presence either.
Twisting on his heels, Thorn’s gaze leapt around the hallway, momentarily caught up in the tight feeling in his chest and the way his vision seemed to swirl. He had to get himself together. An empty bed didn’t necessarily mean—
There.
He grabbed onto the first nurse that passed by, wild desperation causing her to tense, until he spoke and she figured out what was wrong. “My brother. Patient Winters.”
“He was moved.” She squeezed his hand and led him down toward the elevators, in a clear show that she’d handled panicked guardians before. “Weren’t you informed?”
No, he hadn’t been. Thorn had checked his multi-slate just before entering the hospital. There had been no missed calls or messages.
She eased him into the elevator and then hit the top button. “It’ll be the first room on your left. You can’t miss it. Try to breathe, honey. Before I transferred his files to his new team, I checked and everything looks good.”
“The surgery?” he asked just as she stepped out and the doors began to close.
“No complications afterward,” she reassured, giving him a thumbs up just as they shut.
Thorn reached back blindly and grabbed onto the metal railing as the elevator began to rise. There was always a chance something could go wrong after a major surgery, even if it was considered successful, and he’d been so afraid that…
Aster was fine. She’d said so herself.
Everything was fine.
He used this time to compose himself, not wanting to freak his brother out by rushing in and making a scene. That would only cause Aster unnecessary stress in a period where staying relaxed was paramount.
By the time the elevator reached the top floor and dinged, no one would be able to tell he’d had a meltdown moments ago. He stepped out and then paused, noting that the area was quieter and more spacious than the rest of the hospital.
A sign for VIP explained why.
Baal must have done this.
It would have been nice of him to inform Thorn.
The door was easy enough to find, and he walked right in, any lingering unease uncoiling in his chest the second his eyes landed on Aster, seated in a comfortable-looking bed across the room.
“Thorn!” Aster greeted him with a broad smile. “You’re here!”
“Sorry I’m late.” He went straight for him, scanning his body as he approached. “I came as soon as I got the call from the hospital. How are you feeling? Is there any pain? Discomfort?”
“I’m fine.” Aster had been eating fried dumplings, and he motioned with his chopsticks. “You’ve got to try one of these! They’re the best.”
“I thought you hated hospital food?” He frowned but dutifully opened his mouth when his brother offered one up. A burst of sweetness and saltiness hit his tongue, and he hummed in appreciation as he chewed. “Wow, these are good.”
“They’re from that five-star place across the city,” Aster said. “Brother-in-law brought them.”
Thorn choked, coughing as he spun until he found water on the end table.
“You all right?” Aster asked as Thorn took a deep gulp and forced the food down.
“Who—” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Who did you say bought them?”
“Your alpha.”
“My—”
“Thorn.” Baal entered the room like he owned the place, wearing a long black coat with a fur collar and lining. He smiled, softly, a mere lift at the corner of his full lips, but it was enough to have heat racing down Thorn’s spine.
Espen was with him, but the other man stopped at the door, turning and facing the hallway as though standing guard.
The alpha came right up to him, settled a hand on his hip, and then leaned down and planted a featherlight kiss to the rise of his cheek. Then he turned to Aster and asked in a kind voice, “How are the dumplings?”
“They’re as good as you promised,” Aster grinned. “And look! You were also right about Thorn.”
“Right how?” Thorn asked.
“He was asking for you,” Baal replied. “I told him you’d arrive soon.”
He frowned. “You were here earlier?”
“Brother-in-law has been here all day,” Aster said.
“I stepped out to take a call,” Baal explained.
As if that was what had Thorn’s brow pinched.
“The doctor will be here in a moment to check on you,” the alpha told Aster. “Hurry up and eat. If you need anything else, you know to ask Espen, correct?”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Wait.” Thorn put a hand on Baal’s stomach and tried to push him away, but the alpha held firm at his side. Glaring got him nowhere either. “What do you mean ask Espen?”
“Espen will stay behind and attend him,” Baal stated, like that was obvious and Thorn was the strange one for not getting that on his own.
“You’re not leaving a mafia member with my brother.”
“Thorn?” For the first time since his arrival, there was uncertainty in Aster’s tone. He glanced between the two of them, and then toward the man standing by the door. “They said you sent them….Didn’t you? Is he not your alpha?”
Shit.
He couldn’t make Aster worry.
Thorn forced a smile on his face and reached out to ruffle Aster’s blond hair. “It’s nothing like that. Finish up. You heard the alpha. The doctor is on his way.”
“Your alpha,” his brother reiterated stubbornly.
They had that pesky trait in common despite their age gap.
“Right?” His gaze darkened, and he set a threatening look Baal’s way—or at least, as threatening as a sixteen-year-old in a hospital gown, bent over a bowl of dumplings could appear, anyway.
“Hey, have you done something to him? If this is about what our father owes—”
“Stop.” Thorn cupped the back of Aster’s head, and this time Baal allowed him to step away. “It’s not like that. Okay? Trust me.”
He stared at him for a long while and then seemed to be satisfied. With a nod, he went back to eating.
“I need a word with my alpha,” Thorn said a moment later, taking Baal’s hand. “We’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” Aster nodded.
Thorn turned toward the exit, then glowered when he spotted Espen’s back. Switching gears, he ended up pulling Baal into the attached bathroom, not releasing him until the door was shut and they were relatively alone.
“Careful,” the underboss drawled, leaning back against the glass wall of the shower stall. “What’s little brother going to think we’re doing in here?”
Refusing to take the bait, he stabbed a finger at him. “Why is he calling you brother-in-law?”
“Would you have preferred I told him you were my kept omega?”
Thorn bristled, but couldn’t deny that would have been worse. Sure, there was nothing embarrassing about being someone’s kept omega. Breeding contracts were common, and Aster would never judge him for making that choice.
However.
His brother wasn’t an idiot.
He’d see through the rouse and get straight to the part of the problem Thorn would rather he never discover. That his older brother had been backed into a corner and signed the contract to pull them both out of debt, not out of any desire of his own to procreate.
“He can’t ever know,” he whispered.
“What?” Baal quirked a dark brow. “That you’re willing to do literally anything for him, including bed a member of the White Frost? I’m curious, given your reaction. Does he know you joined the Hunt?”
“Of course not.”
“Ah.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Don’t.”
“Relax, omega. What reason could I possibly have to out you to little brother?”
Don’t give him a reason. That was what Baal was really saying.
Thorn combed his fingers through his hair and inhaled, trying to bank down any lingering embers of irritation.
“There he is.” The alpha straightened. “There’s my good omega.”
He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, but the second Baal’s gaze dropped there, he forced them to open. “Where have you been?”
“Did you miss me, sweetheart?” He tipped his head before Thorn could reply. “Or were you too busy to be bothered?”
Thorn kept his mouth shut.
“You don’t seem surprised that I’m aware of what you’ve been up to in my absence.”
“No offense, but you didn’t come off like the type of alpha who wouldn’t keep tabs on other people.”
“No offense taken.” He took a lazy step forward. “But it isn’t other people. I’m keeping tabs on my omega, Thorn. It’s my right to do so.”
“Did I complain?”
“Not verbally.” He chuckled. “But your eyes speak volumes. You’re so good at masking your emotions with everyone else, but not me. Why do you think that is?”
Thorn shrugged. “Because I know I don’t stand a chance against you?”
“Perhaps.” Instead of coming closer, the alpha surprised him by returning to his spot against the shower stall. He slid his hands into the pockets of his fancy coat and then said, “I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.”
“Can I refuse?”
“What do you think?”
Thorn glanced away. “What time?”
“When are you free?”
“You tell me. Isn’t that how this works?”
“Look at me.”
Stubbornly, he refused.
“Omega.”
“What?” Thorn almost lost his cool when he turned his head back and caught the fire sparking behind Baal’s gaze.
“If we did things purely my way, I’d be fucking you against the counter right now, not having this conversation. The reason I’m refraining is because your little brother is outside, and I know you’d be mortified if he heard the man he idolizes moan as he took an alpha’s cock.”
He shivered at the imagery.
“I’ll ask you again. When are you free?”
“Nine.” Thorn hated how breathy he sounded. Hated that the alpha had this sort of effect on him at all.
“Because of the delivery job you were supposed to quit from?”
“I…” Damn it. He didn’t know what to say. There weren’t any believable excuses.
“You can have until this weekend,” Baal said, intense expression never wavering, even when Thorn gave him a shocked look. “I’ve enrolled you in classes, but they don’t start for another two weeks. Work until Friday, then rest. Am I being clear this time with my instructions?”
“Yes.”
Baal sighed. “If you need more pocket money, you just have to ask, sweetheart.”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t, or you don’t want it from me?”
He hesitated but ended up saying honestly, “Both.”
“I see.”
Was that…disappointment? No way. Thorn must be misinterpreting it.
Baal checked his multi-slate. “I was going to take you grocery shopping, but I’ll go alone. That’ll give you and Aster time to catch up. When you’re ready to leave, a car will be waiting for you out front. It will drop you off at work, and pick you up, and bring you to the restaurant.”
“I won’t be late.”
“I know.” The alpha moved up to him and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead. “You’ve already kept me waiting long enough, don’t you agree?”
Baal didn’t wait for a response, and Thorn was left scowling at his back.
What the hell did he mean? The alpha had been the one ignoring him the past couple of days, hadn’t he?