Chapter Fifty-One
Valentin
The night after Xan was attacked, Valentin called everyone to the Pashuks’ house to have a family meeting about Bergam.
Jordie was holding the baby when the Rosens arrived. Valentin greeted the teen, then ran a palm over Lachie’s head, leaning down to kiss his cheek. He looked up to see Calder watching him.
The other alpha winked, smiling.
The men set Ryde up in the den with a movie, deciding it was more information than a nine-year-old needed, but Jordie and Ked remained in the living room with Valentin, Wes, Assa, Calder, and Zinn.
Valentin explained that Bergam was out of prison and told them about Xan. He reminded them that Ang’s son wasn’t a big player in the criminal world, but he was a very pesky minor one who could inflict great harm if he got lucky. They needed to be vigilant.
“Can he be arrested for arranging the stabbing last night?” Zinn asked.
“Probably not. The police won’t prioritize it since Xan recovered quickly. We turned over the camera footage, and Xan told them that the guy used Bergam’s name, but who knows what they’ll do with it.”
“So far all the attacks have been at the club,” Assa said. “Do you think we’re in danger here?”
Valentin’s jaw ticked. “I’m not sure about anything. But when Bergam got locked up, I wasn’t living with you and Wes. No one knew about Ryde. It won’t be long before he finds out I have people I care about.”
“I can talk to Teal,” Calder said. “He has a lot of contacts. Maybe he can find out about Bergam’s parole or if he’s being monitored.”
“That’s helpful,” Valentin said. “Bergam’s a little weasel who doesn’t operate by any sort of code, so I wouldn’t put it past him to hurt family members.”
Decoy strolled into the room, per usual whenever Zinn was around, and jumped into the omega’s lap. Zinn scratched between his ears. “We should take precautions, make sure we’re never alone,” he said. “We already share our locations, so that’s good.”
“Are we okay at school? And the pizzeria?” Ked asked, waving a finger between himself and Jordie.
“I think Zinn’s right that you shouldn’t be alone, but it’s probably more urgent that we speak with Ryde’s school and make sure they keep an eye on him,” Valentin said.
Assa hiccupped.
Valentin knelt in front of him and clasped his hands. “I promise we’re gonna keep him safe.” He kissed the light smattering of dark-red hair on Assa’s knuckles. “That’s why we’re talking.”
“I’m worried about Ryde too,” Zinn said. “But at least the school is basically a fortress. They know me, but I still had to get buzzed in through two different doors and flash my ID when I picked Ryde up for a dentist appointment.”
“Fair point,” Wes said. “And we can use our family scheduling app to make sure there are always two of us at Ryde’s baseball practices.”
“Ked and I can help with that,” Jordie said, patting Lachie on the back as the baby slept on his shoulder.
“I think the person we really need to worry about is Valentin,” Zinn said, running his hand over the cat’s tail. “Since everything has happened at The Cracked Heart so far, we should assume that’s Bergam’s target.”
“Xan’s hiring extra security, and I’ll make sure never to be on my own.”
“What about walking from your car to the club?” Calder asked.
“I’ll text Xan when I get there. He’ll make sure I’m escorted.”
“Alright, so we’re doing what we can to keep ourselves safe, but what’s the long-term plan here?” Wes asked, pacing behind the couch. “This guy’s been out of jail two minutes and I’m already sick of him. I don’t want to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders.”
Valentin stood and gathered Wes in his arms. He kissed him tenderly on the forehead. “We just need to wait him out. Bergam’s an idiot. It’s only a matter of time before he gets locked up again, or pisses someone off enough that they take him out of commission.”
Wes leaned into his embrace. “Ugh. Why does that feel so unsatisfying? I want to do something.”
“We are doing something. Protecting ourselves, being cautious. I’m not willing to risk you—any of you—to go after Bergam.”
Wes sighed. “I know you’re right. It just sucks.”
“Definitely sucks,” Jordie said.
At that, Lachie let out a long, wet fart.
Ked hooted with laughter. “You tell ’em, baby bro.”
Soon, they were all chuckling, the tension effectively cut. Nothing like a four-month-old needing a diaper change to put things in perspective.
Calder eased the baby from Jordie’s arms. “I’ll talk to Teal,” he said. “With luck, Bergam’s got strict parole and won’t be out for long.”
***
The Rosens stayed for dinner. After their conversation about Bergam, it was reassuring to be together. As one big family.
Assa and Zinn took the baby upstairs for a bath after the diaper change Calder attempted ended up requiring something more thorough. Valentin followed to grab his phone from the bedroom so he could order dinner.
Outside the bathroom, he stopped short at Zinn’s high-pitched giggle, a sound he hadn’t heard in a decade.
These days, Zinn’s laugh was heartier, more careful.
But with Assa, he giggled like the person he’d been before.
Decoy hovered on the edge of the tub. Valentin guessed that the cat was the source of not only the laughter but also Lachie’s delighted squeals.
He smiled and backed away, not wanting to interrupt.
In the den, he found Wes watching a baseball game with Ked.
“Aw…c’mon, ump!” Ked scoffed at the TV. “No way was he safe!”
“Totally out,” Wes said flatly.
Ked was a three-season athlete besides being involved in drama. Of the five men, only Wes had played in high school, and he and Ked shared a love of team sports.
“Just letting you know the food will be here in twenty,” Valentin told them.
Wes and Ked gave identical thumbs-ups, keeping their eyes on the screen.
Valentin was surprised Jordie wasn’t in the den. Hopefully, the seventeen-year-old wouldn’t be too mad he’d ordered pizza. With his job, he was probably sick of it.
At the dining table, Ryde and Calder worked on a puzzle together. Calder had grouped the pieces into color-coded piles while Ryde tried to sell him on the merits of starting with the edges.
“You have to do the edges first, Papa C. It’s, like, a rule.”
“It’s really not,” Calder chuckled. “But we can do it your way.” He scooped the piles back into the box and began pulling out edge pieces.
Valentin watched Calder’s eyes as he spoke to Ryde.
He saw something in them he’d recognized in himself last night. Calder loved Ryde as much as Valentin loved Lachie. Because he was Zinn’s. Because he was theirs. Because they were a family.
The older alpha looked up. “Pizza on the way?”
“Twenty minutes,” Valentin said.
“Did you get plain cheese, Papa V?”
“Of course I did. And I’ll even help you fight your Papa C for it.” Valentin made a boxing motion.
“We’ll see about that,” Calder said, giving him a warm look.
Calder had been doing that a lot lately, or maybe Valentin had just noticed it more.
Either way, he could no longer deny the awareness it stirred in his belly.
He was increasingly attracted to Calder’s solid presence.
His calm steadiness. They were both alphas, and he felt very much like an equal, but they were opposite sides of the same coin.
Valentin also admired how well Calder took care of Zinn.
Not just as a father and partner, but as a lover.
He almost wished he hadn’t overheard Zinn a few months ago, confiding in Assa about the heat he’d spent with Calder.
Perhaps Valentin should have been jealous when Zinn detailed how sexy and surprisingly feral the other alpha had been in bed, but listening to him describe Calder’s embraces—and the knotting—Valentin felt only arousal, imagining Calder’s dominant side.
He needed some air.
It would be safe enough on the front porch, even with Bergam on the loose. He could wait for the pizza delivery there.
Valentin sat down on the porch swing. Minutes later, the front door opened. He expected to see one of his partners, but it wasn’t Assa or Wes.
It was Jordie.
“Hey, um, Valentin. Can I talk to you for a minute? Since we’re alone.”
Valentin had gotten to know the teen fairly well over the past year, but he couldn’t think of anything they needed to speak about privately. Or what might have caused the severe look on Jordie’s face.
“Sure, kiddo. What’s up?”
“I kind of want to ask about…personal stuff.” Jordie kept his eyes downcast as he sat on the swing.
“Alright. But this sounds like maybe it’s serious. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather talk to your papa? Or even Zinn?”
“No. I need to ask about alpha stuff.”
Valentin gave him a bemused look. “Your papa is an alpha.”
Jordie shook his head. “No. I need to ask you because Papa is—because he loves Zinn.”
Valentin stayed quiet, waiting for the teen to explain himself.
Squaring his shoulders, Jordie exhaled, then peered at Valentin. “What I mean is…you’re an alpha who loves your beta partners.”
“Yes.” Valentin pinched his forehead, not following.
“You know my boyfriend Kino is an alpha?”
“Right.” Valentin began connecting the dots. “Oh. I see. You’re worried because he’s going to bloom soon.”
Jordie nodded. “I get that the world is different now. And people can date whoever they want, and there are even families like yours or Kino’s, with more than two fathers, even if some people are still weird about that, just like some people are weird about it when it’s two alphas…
” He took a deep breath. “But even if people don’t care about who’s with who as much as before, in school they still teach us that alphas and omegas have this preference for each other. ”
“Yes, I learned that too.”
“And I see it in class, even though no one’s bloomed yet. Like Kino’s brother Garin, he’s a good guy, but his boyfriend is an omega and all he ever talks about is how great it’s going to be once they start scenting each other and stuff.”
“You think Kino will want that too?”
“I don’t know. He’s different from Garin. Quieter. He loves me, but is it enough to fight biology?”