ELIANO #4
A beat of silence passes. He turns his head toward me and looks at me like I just said something insane, like he never really believed this was fixable. "You’re serious?" he whispers. "You’ll tell me?"
I nod and sigh. "I had that first plan, the one with Mauro’s proposition," I mutter. "But I’m thinking about something else now. And it might be even better."
Salt studies me like he is trying to read my thoughts. "Just tell me, c’mon!"
For a few seconds I think about it, before I say, "I owe it to one of the haters under my post about Beta Activation. He tried to prove the program isn’t as evil as everyone says and mentioned they’re running this side project.
Construction wrapped up a month ago, and they’re not really loud about it yet.
It’s run with Second Chance, they’re co-financing it.
And BA wants to keep researching around it. "
"Hold on. What kind of project?"
"Outside the city, BA got government land that was supposed to be for some military purpose. But now they’re building a closed community there, basically a small town.
Houses, shops, preschool, school. Fifty families already live there.
All betas with alphas who made it through the BA fertility induction program and are tied to Second Chance. "
Salt just stares. "You’re not messing with me? That’s real?"
"It’s real, and brand new. They’re offering pregnant betas and betas with kids a place built for them. No omegas tempting alphas. Doctors who actually know what hormonally awakened betas need. They’ll be monitored so they can study beta pregnancies more closely."
"That’s… damn. I thought once couples leave, that’s it. Box checked. Goodbye!"
"Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But Blue Lowen kept pushing for more.
He insisted they needed follow-up research on betas whose hormones had already become active.
A lot of people from Second Chance ended up basically locked in their alpha partners’ houses.
Cut off, wearing ankle monitors. They couldn’t even walk their kids to school.
No playgrounds. Nothing. Blue kept pushing, so the BA people and Second Chance teamed up.
He ran it through some committee. Government money helped. "
Salt stays quiet. His brows knit together. He looks confused, but there’s something else there too. A flicker of hope.
"Wow," he murmurs. "Your uncle almost blew Blue up, and now you’re telling me the guy might actually be decent."
I snort and lift Salt’s hand a little. "But I’m different, I don’t hate the Lowens. If not for Blue, we wouldn’t even be here."
"So you think they’d let us in?"
"Maybe. The catch is the money. The housing part is commercial. Most alphas sold their old houses to buy into that compound. The state covers medical care and security, but the rest? You need cash. A lot of it, just to be allowed in."
Salt’s gaze flicks to me, probably thinking about my frozen accounts. I shake my head slightly.
"But listen… that’s not all. Something else dawned on me yesterday.
Think about it. We were attacked twice here and almost killed on their island by their employee.
They majorly failed at security. We may have grounds to push for compensation.
To make a deal and negotiate a discount on a house in the compound.
It sounds far-fetched, yeah, but I think we might still have a chance. " I pull a crooked face.
Salt just stares at me. Long. Then he exhales shakily.
"Eliano… I’m shocked that you’re actually thinking like this, finding unexpected angles.
That’s kinda awesome." He closes his eyes briefly.
"That bastard almost killed us. On their fucking island.
For real. They owe us." Then he adds in a quieter voice, "And if this doesn’t work… Mauro’s rental house is still there. "
"In theory. Yeah. But the house is in North Carolina, miles away. I don’t want you that far from Senu. That’s why I want to try the second plan first."
Something shifts in his expression, like he has just realized that I know his unspoken fears.
He blinks and smiles, almost shy. "Really? You actually thought about this? Why are you so amazing, Eliano? How do you manage to get me like this?" He hesitates, then confesses, "You’re my alpha. You know that?"
This time I don’t smile. The words land heavy. His face… open, submissive, trusting, such a new, adorable Salt. And it’s not our TM magic talking.
It’s him. He's willingly giving himself to me.
"I trust you," he breathes against my mouth.
"Fuck, Salt… that means everything."
"Take me," he growls, hips already pressing into me.
So I do.
I just push him flat and put my weight on him, his leg immediately lifting to give me access to his pretty hole.
For a minute, the whole world shrinks to sweaty skin and locked bodies, that filthy-sweet pink haze where nothing else exists.
I never thought I’d be in a hospital bed just one day after catching a bullet, fucking and actually feel… happy.
But the bubble pops fast. The door swings open and a nurse walks in with a breakfast tray. He freezes, his face going tomato red at the sight of us mid-thrust, our naked asses rocking hard, the bed creaking like it’s about to give up.
Yeah, well.
That’s on them. Fucking is priority number one on this damn island anyway.
◆◆◆
An hour later we have a medical checkup.
Dr. Cooper is visibly shocked when he sees that all the scars we still had yesterday are completely gone. He gives us a long, loaded look. Of course, he already knows exactly what this means.
But he insists that, for our own good, we should stay in the hospital for one extra day, and admits that for now, he has not reported our TM status to the commission yet, so he doesn’t trigger the review in our case too fast, which we are genuinely grateful for.
So we drag ourselves through one more day of lying around in the hospital, but mentally we are already one hundred percent set on leaving. No doctor is going to stop us.
The next morning, though, when we are already getting ready to leave the tiny hospital, I hear loud, heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway. I lean out of our room and spot some kind of commotion.
Harvey Bram’s people, the ones I already recognize, are standing in the corridor in full official uniforms, clearly guarding it so no one passes through.
When one of them notices me, he snaps, "Pack up and get out. You’ve got ten minutes."
"I don’t understand. You’re kicking us out of a hospital room? This has to be a joke."
"As far as I know, you’re being discharged anyway, so grab your stuff and move," the beta growls, squaring his stance with his hands on his hips.
I snort, because that little show of authority does absolutely nothing to me.
"Or maybe you could tell me what this is about first. What’s the problem?"
"That’s none of your business. You’re leaving, now," he snarls.
He glances nervously at his watch, then lifts a finger to his ear, where he clearly has an earpiece. But if he thinks whatever is being said won’t reach an alpha’s ears, he’s wrong.
I hear a voice through the headset. "Mr. L. is pulling up to the building. Is the entrance to G2 secured?"
"Who’s Mr. L.?" I ask, tilting my head with a mocking smile.
The beta lets out an angry huff. "Not your business, alpha. Get moving."
"That wasn’t a polite request."
"I don’t care. Get out."
"And how exactly are you planning to throw me out, beta?" I shoot back just as rudely, folding my arms over my chest. "I’ll leave if you tell me who that is."
He practically starts foaming at the mouth.
"This doesn’t concern you! Get out right now or I’ll tase you," he snaps, putting a hand on his hip.
I laugh. "Funny threats. You know perfectly well that even two tasers wouldn’t do much to me. You’ve already seen that."
The beta looks like he’s about to boil over, but he must realize he can’t handle me, because he glances around nervously. Another voice comes through his earpiece.
"Is corridor H27 clear?"
The beta raises his hand, switches off his headset, then looks at me with obvious reluctance.
"Mr. Blue Lowen has arrived on the island for an inspection."
"Umm… what? Inspection?"
"The recent events here, which you’re obviously aware of since you ended up in the hospital because of them, have…
concerned him." The beta clears his throat.
"He wants to assess the situation with his own eyes.
Participants are filing requests en masse to withdraw from the program, which you probably already know. "
I stand there for a moment, staring at him wide-eyed.
In my head, a version of my plan suddenly pops up that’s even crazier than before, but at the same time it also feels so much more real.
Maybe I could use Blue Lowen’s visit to our advantage?
"Okay, we’re leaving," I say, putting on an exaggeratedly humble expression as I quickly retreat back into our room.
"Salt," I say quietly, "come here."
Salt is sitting on the bed, pulling on his socks. He stands up and walks over, looking like he’s expecting something dramatic.
"Listen to this. You won’t believe it, Blue Lowen is coming here in person! He’s about to do ‘an inspection’." I make air quotes. "They’re clearing the area right now, and I’m guessing he’ll be walking straight through this corridor. A full facility check is ongoing."
Salt raises his eyebrows. "Oh, wow! That’s unusual! The main architect of the program himself? Crazy. Though, honestly, with everything that’s happened on this island, I’m not surprised he wants to see what the hell is going on. But what does that have to do with us?"
"It has everything to do with us! I want to talk to him. I believe he might help us, at least hear us out and take a closer look at our situation."
Salt stares at me for a second.
"You kidding me! You want to go straight to the guy? The big CEO?!"
"Why not, if he’s already here?" I grin. "Dream big!"
Salt smirks, then slips on his shoes and stands up.