For a good ten minutes after he hung up with Lidon, Palani sat there, trying to process everything the cop had told him. If the alpha’s suspicions about the bribes were true, Palani would have the scoop of the century. This was way better than local cops being bribed. This was a story that would catapult Palani onto a national level. Hell, this was Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, all wrapped up into one.

He wasn’t jumping into this just like that, though. Not after what Lidon had also shared, about the cop he suspected was dirty. For Lidon to share that with Palani, the situation had to be pretty damn serious. And Palani did take the stern warning Lidon had given him seriously, even if the alpha had sounded hot as fuck with his bossy, protective demeanor. To protect himself and others, he needed a little more leeway than he usually had, which meant a conversation with his boss.

He scored a fresh donut from the graphics department where Cindy was celebrating her thirtieth birthday and brought it to Franken on a paper plate. The man loved his sugar.

“Mr. Franken,” he said as soon as his boss was off the phone. “Can I disturb you for a few minutes? I brought you a donut…”

Franken’s usually stern mouth curved into a smile. “You have one hell of a favor to ask, huh? Hand it over, Hightower. Then sit your ass down and spill.”

Palani waited until his boss had stuffed the first half of the donut in his mouth, figuring he had the floor for at least ten seconds. “I received an anonymous tip this morning about a possible bribery case on a national level. I would like your permission to pursue this offline.”

Offline meant that he would report only when he had enough information to confidently make his case. That way, Franken had plausible deniability toward his superiors, and if it didn’t go anywhere, Palani wouldn’t lose face.

Franken furiously chewed, then swallowed. “You got more cops in your target? Or another government branch?”

Palani shook his head. “No. Medical industry, but I can’t say more than that at this point.”

Franken stared at him for a second, then wiped his mouth with a white napkin. “How reliable is your source?”

“Very. He has inside information on this, sir. Plus, he’s a friend.”

“What financial scope are we talking about?”

“Millions, if not more.”

He waited with bated breath as Franken devoured the rest of the donut, frown lines indicating he was considering Palani’s request. “How many hours would you need?”

“Twenty before I can report back to you, sir.”

“Hmm. The timing is far from perfect with the elections coming up in a few weeks. I had planned for you to do a few political profiles.”

Palani managed to hide his surprise. He was not expecting that, as someone as junior as him usually didn't get to cover politics. “Were you hoping I’d uncover dirt, sir?”

Franken smiled. “We both know that if it’s there, you’ll find it. I want you to dig into the CWP and especially their candidate, George York.”

“The Conservative Wolf Party? Why them?”

“They’re coming out of nowhere, and they’re gaining ground fast. That makes me suspicious. You’re good at digging, Hightower. Hell, you’re like a dog who lost its bone and won’t give up until you dig it back up. I need you to look into them and see what’s going on.”

Palani’s heart raced. This was an incredible assignment. No way was he missing out on that one. “I can do both, sir. If you take me off the regular beat for now, I can focus on both these cases. And thank you, sir. I’m honored that you’d consider me for this.”

Franken folded his hands and leaned over his desk. “Twenty hours for your case. After that, I want to assess the scope and credibility. Choose a project name so you can write your hours.”

Palani didn’t have to consider that question long. “Project X, sir.”

“Alright. And start working on getting access to York and the CWP.”

“Yes, sir.”

Palani walked back to his desk, elated. He couldn’t believe he’d not only gotten permission to investigate Lidon’s tip but had been given a political case as well. Before he realized it, his phone was in his hand and he’d dialed Vieno’s number. It rang for a long time before Vieno picked up.

“Hey,” he said, his voice sleepy.

Palani checked the time. It was right after lunch. “Hi. Did I wake you?”

“Yeah, I was…tired. Took a little nap.”

His voice was flat and Palani’s stomach rolled. “Are you okay, baby? Do I need to call Lidon, ask him to come over?”

“No…don’t. It’s…I don’t want to disturb him at work. He’s working.”

“I’m sure he’ll want to come right over if you’re not okay,” Palani said.

“I’ll be fine. You said it yourself, right? It’s an adjustment.”

Palani hesitated. Was it really that? Or was Vieno slipping into a far more serious depression than he’d had before? He couldn’t take the risk, not after the stories he’d hear from the McCain family. “Can I call Enar for you? Ask him to come see you, evaluate you?”

A small sob made his heart all but stop. “I don’t want Lidon to know…”

“Why not, baby? He’s your husband, your mate? He’ll want to take care of you.”

“I don’t want to disappoint him, not after everything he’s done for me. He deserves better.”

Palani inhaled to steady himself. This was not good. Not good at all. “Listen, Enar has the code to Lidon’s house, okay? I can call him and ask him to stop by and not tell Lidon…for now. I think you should tell him, but I understand it’s hard for you. Why don’t you let Enar evaluate you and wait for his assessment, hmm?”

He crossed his fingers that Vieno would agree. If not, he was in an impossible position. He couldn’t go himself because he’d promised Lidon he would stay away from Vieno until Lidon felt it safe for them to see each other. He couldn’t tell Lidon without Vieno’s permission, and the same held true for Enar. Something had to give.

“What could Enar do?” Vieno asked in a thin voice.

“He’s a doctor, so I’m sure he knows a hell of a lot more than you and me combined. Please, baby, let me call him.”

“O-okay,” Vieno said after thinking about it. “I guess it can’t hurt if he promises not to tell Lidon.”

“I’ll tell him, okay? And please, take good care of yourself.” He hesitated, then spoke the words he’d so rarely spoken because they hurt too fucking much to acknowledge. “I love you, Vieno. You know that, right? I love you so much. Don’t give up. Promise me.”

Vieno’s sob broke his heart all over again. “I promise. I’m trying…it hurts so much, but I’m trying. And I love you too.”

* * *

Something was off with Vieno. When Palani had called him, Enar had promised him he’d check on Vieno before Lidon came home. He had no qualms about going behind his friend’s back, knowing his first loyalty was always with his patients. As a cop, Lidon would understand that. Plus, if he’d checked with his friend, Lidon would have told him to take care of Vieno anyway.

When he’d walked in, he'd found Vieno mopping the master bathroom floor with Adele singing in the background. At first, he’d considered it a good sign that the omega had at least been doing something, but then he’d observed his pale cheeks and the hollow eyes, the life completely missing from him. What was going on? Both Palani and Lidon had noticed it, and now his own medical observations confirmed it. Something was wrong. Vieno should be flourishing in the care of his mate, especially with all the alpha hormones and proteins Lidon shared with him.

He’d asked Vieno to lay down on the bed so he could examine him. He removed his stethoscope out of his ears and slung it around his neck, then probed Vieno’s neck. The omega had no fever, no other symptoms than a lack of energy, that slow heart rate, and a low blood pressure. The latter two were unusual. What could this be?

“How do you like the house?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going despite Vieno’s monosyllabic answers so far.

“It’s beautiful. Huge and way too big for us, but amazing.”

“Room to grow a family, huh?” Enar said.

“I hope so.”

He answered Enar's questions and said the right things, but without any spark, any enthusiasm. As if repeated lines someone else had taught him.

“How’s Lidon been treating you?”

“He’s…perfect,” Vieno said. “I’m so lucky he wanted to marry me.”

“He’s lucky to have you as well,” Enar said.

Vieno shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Vieno, you’ll be so good for him. He may not realize it yet, but he’s got a treasure in you. Look at what you’ve done, even in the few days you’ve been here… I could smell the difference walking in. The kitchen looks amazing, and this is the first time in ages I’ve seen this bedroom clean and with the bed made.”

He was barely able to hold back a gasp as his own words registered with him. Would Vieno pick up on the fact that Enar shouldn’t know what Lidon’s bedroom looked like? Or would he chalk it up to them being friends and hanging out?

Vieno sighed. “I’m good at cleaning,” he said. “I like it. It calms and distracts me.”

Enar exhaled. Either Vieno hadn’t picked up on it or he decided to let it go. Either way, Enar dodged a bullet. “What’s bothering you that you need to distract yourself from?” he asked.

Vieno’s eyes sparkled with something for the first time. “You a shrink now?”

Enar put his hand on the omega’s shoulder. “No…but I am worried about you. Did Lidon do something?”

Vieno shook his head, averting his eyes again. “No. He’s been...amazing.”

“Have you had sex with him again?” He hated to ask, but he had to.

“Yeah. It was good.”

That was about the least enthusiastic review of sex Enar had encountered, and he knew from personal experience sex with Lidon was a hell of a lot better than that. “What’s going on, Vieno?” he asked, his voice warm. “Talk to me, please. Something’s wrong and I can’t help you if I don’t know what it is…”

He could see the struggle on Vieno’s face. “Do you promise you won’t tell Lidon?” he whispered.

“I promise. Unless you’re a danger to yourself or others, everything you tell me is between us.”

It took another minute, but then Vieno gave in. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at Enar. “I miss Palani… I miss him so much it hurts. Even saying his name or thinking about him, it makes it hard to breathe. And my heart stabs all the time when I think of him, and I can’t sleep because all I dream about is him and I wake up sobbing and feeling guilty… Lidon chose me and he married me, and I promised I would make him happy, but all I can do is mourn what I lost. Tell me how to fix this, Enar. Tell me how to make it stop hurting and help me honor my promises to my mate…”

Oh, good god. Enar held him as Vieno burst into tears, his slender body shaking with the force of his grief, because that’s what it felt like. Grief. Vieno looked like someone who’s suffered a deep loss, someone who was trying to cope with the death of a loved one. He’d severely underestimated what the break up with Palani would do to Vieno. How had they all missed how hard this would hit the omega?

“Sshh,” he said. “It’s okay.”

“How can you say that? It’s not okay. I’m not okay and it’s not okay that I’m feeling this way! Every time I think of Palani, every tear I cry because of him, I’m betraying Lidon. I’m betraying my mate. How the fuck do I make this stop?”

Enar’s first reaction was that Vieno was incredibly sexy when he was angry. His second thought was that he would go to hell for looking that way at his best friend’s mate and especially under these circumstances. This was one fucked up situation the four of them were in. Lidon, Vieno, Palani, and him, they were all connected in some way—and none of it was simple.

“I don’t know,” he answered Vieno’s question. “But Vieno, pretending it’s not happening doesn’t help, that I am sure of. And neither does keeping this from Lidon.”

“It would kill him,” Vieno whispered, his earlier anger gone.

“No, it won’t. He’s much, much stronger than you realize, and he has a big heart underneath that bossy exterior. If he sees your pain the way you showed me, he won’t be upset with you. All he’ll want to do is try to make your sadness go away, because that’s all I want right now…and I’m not your mate. This is not your fault, Vieno. None of it is.”

“Can you fix this? Can you give me something so I can stop thinking about him? Please, there has to be something…”

He tenderly cupped his cheek. “How about I give you something so you can sleep for a bit now, hmm? You’re exhausted, little one.”

He held his hand till he fell asleep, his face pale against the white sheets. And as he studied him, Enar worried. What if it took way longer than they had expected for Vieno to get over Palani? What if he never got there? He’d never even considered that possibility, especially since his suspicion about Lidon and Vieno being fated mates. Had he fucked up, been completely off?

Thank fuck Lidon had decided to claim and marry him way before Enar ever opened his mouth. That, at least, was not on him. But he had brought them together, these two, and as he looked at the sleeping omega, Enar wondered if he’d made a horrible mistake.