Chapter 13
He had not spent the entire night cuddling with his captor.
No, because that would be certifiably insane, and Elm was…
only somewhat crazy. All morning, he seemed to be the only one bothered by it, by this ridiculous, fake closeness.
Levi had already been up and dressed by the time he’d woken, and he’d hurried him into the bathroom, then brought him downstairs.
For breakfast.
Like this was the morning after a friendly hookup.
The alpha even cooked himself.
Elm sat at the table and watched him crack eggs and fry bacon, then sat there in silence eating while Levi took the seat across from him and sipped coffee. There was only toast on the older man’s plate, unbuttered, bland, but Elm didn’t comment on it no matter how badly he wanted to.
There was something in the air, something more than awkwardness, like a tension he couldn’t quite place. It took him until he heard the sound of footsteps to realize he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
He smelled the other alpha before seeing him, but his body didn’t react, which was at least one reprieve. Elm turned toward the door and watched as Baal Fae entered, bypassing the table they were at and going straight for the espresso machine across the room.
“You’re late,” Levi drawled, not bothering to glance up from whatever he’d been reading on his holopad. He sipped at his coffee and delicately set the cup back in its saucer.
Casual.
Far too casual.
Elm’s nerves spiked.
The underboss grunted and then turned, propping a hip against the counter. He tilted his head at Elm. “Want to take me down, Erskine?”
He frowned and glanced between Baal and Levi.
“Can you?” The Leviathan still didn’t pull his gaze off his device.
Elm was aware last night had been a manipulation tactic, that the guy had been niceish to him to calm him down so he didn’t go completely off the rails—again. But at least that he could make sense of. This…
“What are you two up to?” he asked, unable to keep himself from questioning their logic.
He set his fork down and folded his hands in his lap, picking absently at the cuticles of his thumbs.
“If this is a lead up to having the underboss beat me to a pulp, can we skip the dramatics? I’m too exhausted for mental gymnastics. ”
Baal snorted and drank from his cup, staring Elm down over the rim before setting it aside. “He’s an interesting one.”
“He has this uncanny tendency to speak his mind, yes,” Levi replied.
“So he’s tactless.” The underboss crossed his arms. “How has Kian managed to protect you all these years?”
Elm bristled. “Excuse me?”
“That mouth has to have gotten you into trouble in the past.”
While Elm did have a tendency to say the wrong thing and piss people off when he’d been a kid, he’d outgrown that.
After the fifth or so time of Kian having to come save him from middle school bullies, he’d wised up.
But that was none of these alphas’ business, and Elm had been a preteen at the time.
“He’s not shitting himself, so there’s that,” Baal added when Elm didn’t respond. “Well? Let’s see it.”
“See what?” Elm was getting annoyed, but the anxiety was still there, urging him not to lose his cool and snap at the underboss of the White Frost.
His brother wasn’t here, and Elm was no longer a child.
“Baal is a mated dominant alpha,” Levi finally explained. “You don’t have to worry about turning him on. See if you can bring him down.”
“You want me to attack him?”
“With your pheromones.”
Elm shook his head slowly. “No.”
“Because?” He finally set his device down and peered over the table at him.
“It’s an obvious trap?” Elm wanted to break free, but that didn’t mean he’d willingly give them another reason to hurt him. “I’m not giving you an excuse to lock me up and punish me. That’s crazy.”
“Already trained him a little I see,” Baal said, chuckling when Elm glared his way.
“Oh. But he’s specific about who his master is, that it?
” He curled his fingers at him and straightened.
“Come on. No tricks. No punishment after. I just want to experience what you put our people through yesterday.”
“Why?”
“So I can understand it better.”
Levi had used his pheromones on Elm almost in that exact same spot yesterday to help him understand it, but that was because Elm was new to all of this. What possible reason could the underboss have for needing the same lesson?
He didn’t buy for a second that this wasn’t a trick in some way, but…Maybe he was still childish. Elm didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get back at one of the people who’d trapped him here.
The pheromones came easy. He focused his attention on Baal, pictured him wincing in pain, and sent targeted waves at him.
The underboss withstood them for about twenty seconds, but then he noticeably winced, sweat prickling at his brow. Another five seconds later and he was swaying on his feet.
Elm pushed harder.
Baal caught himself on the edge of the counter and bared his teeth in warning, the casual curiosity completely gone.
“Enough,” Levi’s voice cut through the room, and without thinking, Elm obeyed.
He sealed off his pheromones and slumped in his chair, rubbing at his left temple where a headache was starting to form.
“How do you feel?” the alpha asked, and it took Elm a moment to realize the question wasn’t directed at Baal, but at him.
“Fine. Head hurts a little, but that’s it.”
“Still of sound mind?”
“Yeah.” Elm didn’t feel cloudy or like he was about to lose himself.
“I can see why several men and women are currently bedridden at the hospital,” Baal drawled, exhaling as he gathered himself. “The omega is too strong. He’s a liability.”
Elm’s eyes narrowed.
There.
That was the trick.
“You brought him here so he could tell you whether or not to kill me?” Elm shouldn’t be surprised, definitely shouldn’t feel betrayed in any sense of the word, and yet… “Last night you promised you wouldn’t.”
“Disposing of him is the smartest course of action,” Baal said. “He’s too dangerous. If he turns on us—”
Levi held up a hand, and the underboss stopped abruptly. “He’ll cooperate.”
“Are you forgetting he tried to escape just yesterday?”
“Yesterday he wasn’t aware of what we have. Today he will be.”
Elm did not like the sound of that.
“Not to mention,” Levi continued, staring Elm down all the while, “he’s realized he can’t survive on his own. If he makes it out into the world, all he’ll do is harm innocent people with his chaotic energy. He needs to learn control before he has a hope of reintegrating back into society.”
“Surely he believes Kian can do that,” Baal argued, talking as though Elm wasn’t even there. “You’ve kept the man locked in a cage and ran experiments on him for months now.”
“I took vitals and helped him through his heats, that can’t be all that bad.”
“Yeah,” Elm interrupted, “actually it is. How would you feel if a stranger shoved something up your ass? If they witnessed you at your most vulnerable?”
“He hates you,” Baal noted.
“Totally do.”
The underboss sighed. “And he really doesn’t have a filter. It’s like his survival instincts are broken.”
“Don’t let him fool you.” Levi smiled. “He’s impressively attuned to danger. He’s being bold right now because he can sense I don’t intend on harming him. The second I pose a real threat he turns into a fluffy bunny. Prey knows it’s prey.”
“Asshole.” Elm stood, sneering when Baal sent a wave of threatening pheromones at him.
“Does it not hurt?” the underboss asked when Elm remained on his feet.
“Like I’m standing too close to boiling water,” he replied, not seeing a reason not to. “Uncomfortable, but that’s about it.”
“Baal is one of the strongest dominant alphas I have,” Levi said.
“What was that the other day?” Elm turned to him.
“You told me not to tip my hand. That exposing my weaknesses to the enemy was the surest way to lose.” He paused and considered.
“What is it you’ve got? It’s got to be something good for you to be so comfortable telling me I can withstand even your strongest soldier. ”
“You may be able to withstand their pheromones,” Levi replied cooly.
“But you’re no match for mine.” His targeted pheromones slapped against Elm’s chest, causing him to drop back into his seat.
“I asked Baal here because I want you to understand how dangerous you truly are to the people out there. If you harm regular citizens, you’ll be arrested, and even Kian’s connection to the Imperial family won’t be enough to have you released. ”
“So?”
“We’ll work together,” he announced. “You need my pheromones to help stabilize you, and I need information about your transformation. I’ll continue to collect data, and you’ll cooperate.”
“How is that any different from what you’ve supposedly been doing?”
“Did you miss the together part?” Levi drawled.
“Since you can’t be trusted in anyone else’s hands, I’ll care for you myself.
Or, I can do as Baal suggests. Call this project a wash.
He can put a bullet in your skull, burn your body, and ensure Kian never finds you. But that would be a waste of talent.”
“If you’re going to keep threatening to kill me, you may as well do it already. This whole nice guy act? No one here is buying it. You’re forgetting I swore I would never join the White Frost. That hasn’t changed just because we’ve cuddled, alpha.”
Baal set his cup down on the counter with a little more force than necessary, but they both ignored him.
“You’ve spent weeks in a cell, surely you’re willing to set aside pride in exchange for more liberties?” Levi quipped. “I should have realized I was handling you incorrectly sooner. My apologies. You’re a dominant omega. You should be treated as such.”
“You’re freaking me out, Leviathan.” Elm glanced to Baal as though asking him for help, even though he didn’t know what he expected the underboss to do.
He didn’t do anything though. Baal was too busy staring at Levi with worry painted across his brow, like he was seeing something Elm wasn’t.