Chapter 25 - Andrew
The focus that I usually associated with playing in a major tournament had descended. Everything felt slowed down as I homed in on the Alpha that had dared to speak to my Omega with disrespect. And in my home.
I wanted to rip his arms off, or maybe pull out his tongue, but I was also still dimly aware that my Omega liked this asshole. I couldn’t kill him. But I could teach him a fucking lesson.
His lip was curled in a snarl. He hadn’t backed down, even as I advanced on him. “You think you have some kind of claim?” he asked.
I almost laughed. Of course I didn’t; that was the problem. If I had claimed Bridget properly, I wouldn’t have to worry about this fucking guy. “I know her better than you think.”
Nathan’s head tilted. “Meaning what?”
“None of your fucking business,” I replied with a slow smile.
“If you laid your filthy hands—” he broke off with an incoherent snarl. “She trusted you.”
Blind rage. I closed the distance between us, shoved him hard in the chest. As if I would ever touch Bridget without her permission. The thought made me ill. Nathan still didn’t back down.
“She is under my protection. I would rather die than hurt her.”
“As would I,” he replied. I was close enough to see the white around his flared nostrils, the cords of his neck. We were both pumping out pheromones, fighting instinctively for dominance without the need to throw a punch.
The moment balanced on the edge of a blade. I waited for him to make his move, ready to pounce at the first sign. But it never happened.
He stepped back. My Alpha roared in triumph.
“Good choice,” I said, my voice still laced with a growl.
Nathan shook his head. “This isn’t productive. If we both truly care about Bridget, that should be our focus right now.”
Somehow the asshole had turned it around on me. “And how much do you really ‘care about’ her?”
“Enough to almost be murdered, apparently,” he said. A glint of dark humor in his eye, there and gone. “Your partner said you’re in love with her.”
I reared back. Gabriel and I needed to have a conversation, apparently. “Does she know how you feel about her?” I asked.
If she didn’t, it would surprise me. His pheromones went into overdrive every time she passed close to him, or looked at him, or spoke to him. It was exhausting.
“No. It was never appropriate to… I was her superior in the lab.”
His face had fallen back into its usual stern expression. “So, what, she just thinks you’re risking your life out of the goodness of your heart? Are you some kind of saint?”
“Obviously not,” he said, exasperated. “I think she suspects how I feel, but she’s just too kind to break my heart.”
“Yeah, that sounds like her,” I said, cruelly. I hoped he was right, even if my instincts said otherwise. I’d seen the way she reacted to him, too, even though I didn't want to. “I still think you should tell her. An Alpha secretly lusting after her seems like something that she’d want to know.”
Nathan huffed. “Don’t make it sound so… sordid.”
“So your interest is totally innocent? Purely intellectual? You’re just in love with her big, beautiful brain?”
He took another small step back. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
I raised my hands in mocking surrender. “Your choice.”
“I wasn’t being disrespectful earlier. At least not intentionally. I think Bridget knew that, too,” he said after a moment. “It’s an inside joke, I guess.”
“Wow. Sounds hilarious,” I said while jealousy burned in my stomach. Now I wanted an inside joke with Bridget almost as much as I wanted to kiss her. “But I probably shouldn’t have been so intense.”
We studied each other for a moment.
“Truce?” he asked.
“For now.” I stuck out my hand for him to shake.
The tension faded slowly. He looked absolutely shattered, and I reminded myself someone had tried to kill him in the last twenty-four hours. “Come on, man,” I said. “Sit down. I’ll make you a coffee.”
I checked in with Gabriel down the bond. He was amused, probably at how we’d acted, and sent reassurance back to me. Bridget was okay.
“Where are you from?” I asked when he had a coffee cup in front of him.
Nathan sat quietly for a moment, turning the coffee cup slowly in his hands. “The Philippines — Manila — originally. But my father was American, so we moved here when I was ten.”
“To Fairview?”
“No, I came here for college. My mother is still back in Virginia,” he said dully. “I should call her. She probably thinks I’m dead. But I don’t know what I’d say.”
What would I say to my mom if I were being hunted by persons unknown? It wasn’t a question I’d ever considered. “The truth won’t work?”
“No. She’ll be furious I involved myself in any of this. This will be just another disappointment among many,” he said. “Sorry. I don’t usually complain this much.”
“Nah, you’re entitled to it. She’s always been hard on you, though?” Parental pressure was something with which I was intimately familiar.
“Yes. Even more so since my father died, though, in my senior year of undergrad. She’s been trying to get me to move back home and get an adjunct teaching job at the university there for years.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, genuinely curious. If I had a chance for a better relationship with my mom, I would jump at it.
Nathan met my eyes with a wry expression. “Bridget, of course. When I met her in my postdoc lab… I am aware it’s insane to make career decisions based on a woman,” he said defensively.
We lapsed into silence. I couldn’t judge. I was also making insane decisions based on my feelings for Bridget.
“What about you?” Nathan asked, like he wanted to be polite. “Are you from Fairview?”
“Born and raised,” I said proudly. “I grew up in a townhouse uptown. My folks still live there; my sisters too.”
A genuine spark of interest from Nathan. “Did you grow up in a pack?”
“Yeah. You didn’t?”
“No. My parents were both Betas,” he answered.
Against my will, I felt even more sympathy for him.
Being the first Alpha in his family was probably rough.
“I don’t think it’s that different, to be honest. Just more…
expectations. To start a pack of your own, on top of all the other normal family bullshit.
To be exceptional based on your designation.
Or, in my sister’s case, to be exceptionally obedient. ”
“She’s an Omega?”
“One is,” I said. The sun was fully up and bathed the living room in the crisp light of a winter morning.
The sky outside was perfectly clear and perfectly blue.
“I wish I could help her. But I’m not welcome in the pack house anymore.
Not since Gabriel, or the injury. Bonded to a Beta, and not even able to make up for it with tournament victories?
I’ve disappointed them beyond their worst nightmares. ”
“I’m sorry,” Nathan said, and he sounded sincere.
“Thanks, man. I’m sorry, too.”
There was a tug on the bond. Gabriel and Bridget were on their way back.
“Listen. I don’t want to fight. I can’t promise my Alpha won’t get all riled up again and do some stupid shit, but I’ll do my best,” I said.
“Right.” The winter sunlight emphasized how pale and drawn he looked. “Same here.”
We were on our best behavior for the rest of the day. Gabriel told me Bridget had been hesitant to return to the apartment, so Nathan and I were extra polite to one another.
While I was making dinner, Gabriel found me in the kitchen.
“It smells wonderful, mi amore,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. He breathed in my scent from the crook of my shoulder. “I see you and Nathan have buried the axe of war?”
“A temporary truce,” I acknowledged with a kiss on Gabriel’s temple.
His own scent was so interlaced with Bridget’s that my gut tightened instinctively.
“This place is too small. Couldn’t we all move out to the estate?
You know, the one with like ten bedrooms and private tennis courts and someone to cook all our food? ”
Gabriel was quiet for a moment. “I have considered it, but I am concerned about Dr. Davis. If he suspects Bridget to be involved with you… It is too dangerous.”
I stirred the diced onions and garlic that were softening in the pan on the stove. Chicken thighs were searing in another skillet. I was reaching the end of my culinary skills and missed Maria shamefully. Gabriel had already given her an extended vacation with full pay.
“Hey,” I said, suddenly remembering something from my conversation with Nathan. I lowered my voice and turned until I could meet Gabriel’s eyes. “You told Nathan that I love Bridget?”
His face broke into that slow, sly smile that had stopped my heart all those years ago, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. “Is that not true?”
My face burned. “I’ve only known her for a couple of months.”
“Yes, and you are an Alpha, and she is an Omega. I have seen how quickly these things can happen,” he said sagely.
“Even if that were true, what about you?” I asked, my eyes flicking between his.
“I have cared about Bridget from the moment I met her. You know this,” he said and looked away for a moment. “It is impossible to know Bridget and not love her.”
“Fair enough,” I said, even though he was being cagey. “But let’s not go around saying that to anyone else. Please?”
Gabriel smiled again. “Si, amore. I will behave.”
I growled slightly at his teasing tone. “Get out of here before I make you.”
Dinner was quiet. Watching Bridget eat the food I made for her was a daily exercise in restraint.
Was she enjoying it? Was it too spicy? I had a million questions, but I figured putting too much focus on her eating would make her uncomfortable.
My Alpha wanted to feed her directly from my fork, but I kept that impulse to myself, too.
Bridget cleared her throat. “I know we’re supposed to be waiting to hear from Maggie, but I want to call my mom. She must know something.”
“No,” Nathan and I said at the same time. I shot him an approving glance.
“It’s too dangerous,” I continued.
“I can’t hide here forever.” Bridget had folded herself up small on the couch again, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
Why not? I wanted to ask. But logically, I knew she was right, even if my heart disagreed. If she were going to stay with us, it needed to be her choice. Not out of fear or necessity.
“No,” Nathan repeated, more emphatically this time. “Someone tried to kill me. No.”
Bridget shook her head, annoyed. “This isn’t your decision.”
Nathan opened his mouth, clearly incensed, then closed it again with a glance in my direction. I nodded. We were on the same page here. There was no way in hell Bridget was going to put herself in danger.
“Carrissima, they are correct. You should not put yourself in danger. But we do not need to rely on the police. I have friends who can help us.”
I looked at him sharply. “Friends?”
“Si. And they will not care about legal, illegal,” he said.
“No one else is getting hurt because of me,” Bridget said fiercely.
I leaned forward, my hands clasped between my knees. “I won’t let you get hurt,” I said. “Fuck everyone else.”
Spots of color rose on Bridget’s cheeks.
“Basta. Enough for tonight,” Gabriel said, his voice firm. “We can fight tomorrow, but I am too tired. Mercy, please, fiore mio,” he said with a smile in Bridget’s direction.
“I won’t change my mind.” She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt that hung to mid-thigh, along with a pair of shorts.
She’d crossed her legs beneath her, tied herself up like a pretzel, radiating tension, and I desperately wanted to help her unwind.
Nathan was watching her with a pained expression, too.
“Vieni qui, leonessa,” Gabriel said, gently uncrossing her arms. “Come here, my lioness.”
Bridget uncurled stiffly and let him pull her close to his side, grumbling under her breath. I could tell he felt my pulse of jealousy in our bond by his half-apologetic, half-amused look. I had to take a handful of plates to the kitchen before I completely lost my mind.
To my surprise, Nathan was close behind me, holding empty water glasses. He helped me load the dishwasher in silence.
“We’re agreed?” I asked after I had loaded the last dish.
He didn’t hesitate. “She’s not putting herself in danger.”
“Good,” I said, and my inner Alpha re-categorized him from threat to ally.