Chapter Forty Valentin #2
When Asher returned for the next Beta Night, instead of sharing unbearable truths, they shared a drink, and the conversation came easier.
Valentin found himself hungry for stories about the years after Zeller gave birth.
Even though it was painful to hear about what had happened to the man he still considered his omega, someone he would never stop loving, he liked knowing that Zeller had stood up for himself and hadn’t given in to his parents’ demands.
A month after their fight-fueled reunion, Asher and Valentin were in a positive stasis. Valentin recognized his own loneliness in Asher, and they both appreciated having a connection to the past, even if that shared history was largely bleak.
Valentin put his highball glass on the desk and grinned down at his phone. It was an enticing picture of Wes and Assa. Rumpled in their sheets. Four more days until he finally saw the couple again. He couldn’t wait.
“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen you smile this past month,” Asher said, sipping his cocktail. “What’s going on?”
“Texting with—I, um, have a date on Saturday.”
Asher’s cheek twitched. “You don’t have to worry about telling me. I don’t expect you to stay loyal to my brother’s ghost.” He raised his glass. “I know you loved him.”
“I love him still,” Valentin was quick to clarify. “That won’t change. I’ve never been with an omega other than Zeller, and I never will be.”
“Your date is a beta?”
“Two betas, actually.” Valentin eyed the other man, watching for judgement.
He found none.
“Good on you, brother,” Asher said. “I hope they can give you a bit of happiness.”
The sentiment gave Valentin pause. He held his glass to his lips before asking, “I know we’ve been getting along, but you really seem to mean that. Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why would you care if I’m happy?”
Asher shrugged. “If you’re happy after everything my parents did, maybe that means Zeller is out there being happy too.”
Valentin hoped so. It was a strange push and pull he was getting better at living with. He was more intrigued by Wes and Assa every day, but Zeller was always in the back of his mind. He’d accepted that. Forgetting Zeller was not something he would ever do.
His phone buzzed and another pic came through. Wes and Assa in skimpy athletic shorts and T-shirts, out for a run. Valentin’s mouth watered at Assa’s alabaster skin and rosy cheeks. Wes’s tee was so threadbare his dark nipples were visible underneath.
“Dude, you look like you’re about to lick your screen.” Asher shifted in his seat.
Valentin guffawed. Asher wasn’t wrong. He definitely wanted to lick something. Saturday couldn’t come soon enough. “Alright. What else can we talk about?”
Asher snapped his fingers and pointed in an exaggerated aha! motion. “Hey, I know… How about you tell me why those alphas tried to beat you up behind the club?”
Valentin snorted. “We’ve been over this. When I inherited The Cracked Heart from the previous owner, someone wasn’t pleased with the transaction. That was his way of reminding me.”
“But why? Who?”
“Asher—” Valentin’s features tightened. “I’m not going to risk getting you involved. Obviously, these men are dangerous.” He pointed to the fading cut on his cheek. “I won’t jeopardize your safety.”
Asher nodded curtly, as he had the other times they’d had this conversation.
Valentin rolled his eyes. Asher was the middle son of a prominent old-money family, not some vigilante.
That was why Valentin kept the story to himself.
In prison, he met three men who had worked at The Cracked Heart, then called Ang’s Place, before they were locked up.
The men had been coerced into taking drugs into Warburton Province by the club owner’s son, Bergam, and had gotten caught.
According to them, Ang had been horrified to discover that his son was using the club as a front for multiple criminal enterprises not just drug trafficking, but also illegal gambling and moving stolen merchandise.
The men were released a year before Valentin, and they told him to look up the club when he got out.
Valentin never intended to take them up on the offer, but when he left prison to find nothing but Antoni, Decoy, and sorrow waiting for him, he’d made his way to Ang’s, stopping only briefly to have a bunch of zinnias tattooed on his shoulder.
By the time Valentin arrived, the owner had removed the illegal dealings from his club.
Bergam still hung around, his father hadn’t totally disinherited him, but it was Valentin who earned Ang’s trust and loyalty.
The old man had been happy to give Valentin a job and teach him the ropes of the nightclub industry.
A few months before he died, Ang discovered Bergam was involved in the drug trade again.
He removed him from his will and left the club to Valentin.
Initially, Valentin was unsure, but then he realized that this was his opportunity to establish himself in business.
Even if he never saw Zeller again, he still wanted to keep his promise to better himself.
“I guess I’ll head down to the floor,” Asher said. “The night is young, and I’m in the mood to pull.”
“I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for,” Valentin replied wryly, thinking of how often he’d caught Asher flirting with Xan lately.
“Text you later?”
“Yep.”
Opening his messages again, Valentin studied the two photos. The couple in bed. The couple out for a run.
Decoy jumped onto the desk. Absently, Valentin stroked his soft fur.
He looked at his phone. He petted the cat.
He could have a life, maybe. He could have a life even if he still had a past.