On day four of testimony, Ronin woke before the sun had risen, an uneasy feeling in his gut, and he quickly realized what was wrong. Next to him bed, Kell was sweating, trembling, and clutching at his abdomen, in some kind of pain even while asleep. Ronin sat up and switched on the table lamp, his concern swelling when he saw how incredibly pale Kell was.

“Kell? Little one, wake up.” He gently rubbed Kell’s damp shoulder, shocked by his heated skin.

Kell moaned, then squeezed his eyes shut. “It hurts.”

“What hurts?”

“My lower area. Like cramps, but sharper. More intense. Oh Ronin.”

Ronin scrambled out of bed, scooped his phone off the bedside table, and dashed into the kitchen. He found Dr. Troi’s card in their junk drawer, which was mostly empty, and dialed quickly.

The man answered on the third ring. “This is Dr. Troi.”

“It’s Ronin Cross. Something’s wrong with Kell.” He described the symptoms as succinctly as possible.

“It sounds like a reaction to the heat block. You need to take him directly to the emergency room.”

“But—”

“No buts. From what you’ve told me, it sounds as if his womb is descending, but there’s no passage to connect to. This could cause the womb to rupture and Kell to suffer internal bleeding.”

Goddess, no.

“Okay, I’ll take him.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

Ronin hung up, refusing to allow panic to set in. He shoved his legs into a pair of proper pants, and then went to collect Kell. Carried him right out of their apartment to the elevator, not caring if they were seen. Kell shivered and shook in his arms, his lovely face distorted by pain. Ronin whispered reassurances the entire elevator ride, and then again during the drive across town to the hospital.

Dr. Troi was already waiting outside of the emergency room with two nurses and a gurney, and in a flurry of movements, Kell was lost to him. Ronin threw his keys at a patrolman who told him to move his car and followed his mate into the hospital. But two orderlies restrained him from entering the exam room, and Ronin growled harshly and loudly. The two betas didn’t back down.

“He needs to receive treatment,” one of them said. “You have to wait out here and let the doctor work.”

“He’s my mate,” Ronin snarled.

“I understand that, but please, don’t make us call security.”

Ronin froze then. Security. Kell was vulnerable here in the hospital without guards. He moved to a quieter corner of the waiting room, keeping a direct view of the room in which Kell had been taken, and called Constable Jenks. He answered quickly, if sleepily, and Ronin explained the situation. Jenks promised to be there personally within twenty minutes, and he’d send three extra patrolmen to watch the ER.

After thanking him, Ronin contemplated calling Tarek. Braun should know his brother was sick, but Ronin didn’t want the young omega to freak out, especially not when Ronin wasn’t sure what was happening. He had no idea the danger of a descending womb, or how Dr. Troi would reverse it. All he knew was that his omega was in pain, and Ronin was helpless to save Kell from it.

Jenks and three patrolmen showed up before Ronin made that decision, and the patrolmen took up immediate positions near the exam room. “Any news?” Jenks asked.

“No, Dr. Troi hasn’t come out,” Ronin replied. Every alpha instinct in his body told him to go to that door, go to his omega, but his brain warned him against it. He needed to let the doctor work.

“Have you called his brother yet?”

The question surprised Ronin. “No, I wanted to have more to tell Braun than Kell is sick. I’ll let him sleep a while longer.”

“Have you called the courthouse?”

“Shit, no.” There was no doubt that the trial would be delayed, especially if Kell was admitted.

“It’s okay, it’s barely five-thirty. You have plenty of time.” Jenks nodded his head toward the exam room. “So you and Kell, huh?”

Am I being that obvious?

“Yes. We knew each other as teenagers and bonded back then without realizing it. I’ve been waiting for him for ten years, and I won’t let him go without a big damned fight.”

Jenks nodded. “I don’t blame you. I haven’t met my mate yet, but I know a lot of alphas who have. And if we’re being frank, Kell didn’t deserve what Krause did to him. None of it.”

Ronin met Jenks’s pale gaze and saw truth in them. “You’re right, he didn’t. And he doesn’t deserve this new pain now.” All because of a prescription medication meant to keep him safe and healthy by delaying his heat.

Almost an hour passed before Dr. Troi left the exam room and strode over to them, his face pinched. “We’re in a tricky situation right now,” he said with barely a glance at Jenks. “Mr. Kell’s womb is not reversing its discension, which is continuing to case him pain and put him at risk of internal bleeding. We can wait and hope his body responds to our drugs, or we can provide stimulants that will induce heat, thereby forcing his anal passage to expand and connect to the womb.”

“You gave him the heat block because he wasn’t physically capable of heat,” Ronin snapped.

“That was three weeks ago, Mr. Cross. I did a physical exam, and while there is still an alarming amount of scar tissue, he’s reasonably healthy enough to endure a full heat, as long as you control yourself to no more than four knots for the duration.”

Ronin blinked. “Control myself?”

“You’re his alpha, aren’t you? Who else is going to do it?”

No one else, not ever.

Dr. Troi didn’t even blink. “As his alpha, I need your decision on his care. Do you want to wait, or induce the heat?”

Ronin’s body screamed for Dr. Troi to induce the heat if it kept Kell from being in so much pain, but what then? Take Kell home and hope Ronin could resist his pheromones? Call a beta nurse to help Kell?

Braun’s friend Serge. He’s a nurse, maybe he can help. Keep Kell comfortable in between heat surges.

Kell might resent him for this decision, but Ronin didn’t want his omega to suffer. “Induce the heat,” Ronin said. “I’ll make arrangements.”

“All right.”

Dr. Troi strode back to the exam room, while Ronin pulled out his cell phone. He had quite a few calls to make.

* * *

Kell drifted in and out of what he guessed was a haze of narcotics, because his lower region barely throbbed now, and his head was all muzzy. Colors muted, voices distant. Various scents he didn’t recognize, and one he did, but not the alpha scent he wanted most. He wanted Ronin, and he didn’t understand what was happening.

Lights. Beeps. Scuffling.

More muffled voices.

Instead of fighting it, Kell drifted a while, enjoying the peace and quiet and distance from the pain that had woken him in the pitch dark. Pain he didn’t understand.

At some point, he was moving. Or the bed was moving.

“…can’t induce in a busy ER…”

Induce what?

Ronin’s scent washed over him. Kell tried to reach out, to say his name, but everything was numb. He couldn’t even open his eyes to see where his alpha was. The motion stopped after a while, and so did a lot of the noise. In that new peace, he slept.

* * *

Ronin paced the corridor outside Kell’s private room. The door was flanked by two beta patrolmen who had strict orders to only allow pre-approved doctors and nurses inside the room. Jenks had recognized the danger Kell was in, especially once Ronin informed him of their concerns with Senior Iverson, and the constabulary was taking no chances. Ronin had also spoken with Judge Mendes directly and informed him of what was happening. Since they were three days from the weekend, anyway, Judge Mendes recessed until the start of next week.

It gave them time to get Kell through his heat.

He also needed to speak with Kell before the first surge hit, which Dr. Troi said could happen anytime in the next four hours, but he didn’t want to go in alone.

“Ronin!”

He froze mid-pace and turned. Braun, Tarek, and Serge were running down the corridor toward him. Ronin opened the door and let Braun go directly inside to his brother.

“Thank you for coming,” he said to Tarek and Serge.

“Of course,” Tarek replied.

“Tarek told me what happened,” Serge said. “It’s an incredibly rare reaction to those drugs, but Kell’s had more medical issues than most omegas I’ve known.”

“He was in so much pain.” Ronin met Tarek’s eyes, because he knew the other alpha would understand his agony over Kell’s situation.

“But you got him here,” Tarek said. “And the doctors are helping him.”

“I hate that this is happening. The heat is sooner than we’d planned, and we haven’t really talked…”

Tarek nodded. “I get it. Are they keeping him here for the heat?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s not ideal, but at this stage, it’s too dangerous to take him back across town to the apartment. And considering it’s being induced, he’s safer here at the hospital.” Ronin glanced at the shut door. “It’s a comfortable room, the kind they use for long-term care patients, and he’ll be under guard twenty-four-seven by beta patrolmen. My only concern is food.”

Serge tilted his head in question; he didn’t know about the threats.

“Kell’s life could be in danger because of this trial,” Ronin explained. “I don’t want him eating food from the cafeteria that could be tampered with, either there or en route to his room.”

“We’ll take care of his meals,” Tarek said.

“Thank you. Serge, I hate to impose—”

“But can I help Kell with his heat?” Serge supplied. “Of course. I’ve done it before, and Braun would never forgive me if I said no.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” He glanced at the door again. “I should go in and see if he’s coherent.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll stay out here,” Tarek said. Despite being nearly mated himself, Kell’s pheromones would still affect him, and Ronin imagined the other alpha didn’t want to walk around the hospital with an erection. Especially not one triggered by his bondmate’s brother.

Ronin opened the door, and the strong scent of Kell’s pheromones hit him right in the balls. Despite taking the alpha suppressor, his dick started to thicken. The room was less plain and sterile than a regular room, with a larger bed, and a small seating area with two chairs and a side table. The private bathroom was right next to the door, and there were calming watercolor paintings on the walls.

Braun was on the bed with Kell, holding his brother in his arms while Kell rocked against him. “He’s awake,” Braun whispered without looking in their direction.

“Ronin?” Kell’s small cry sent Ronin straight to the other side of the bed so he could take one of Kell’s hands.

“I’m here, my omega,” Ronin said.

“It hurts.”

“I know, but it won’t hurt forever.” He looked at Braun. “Does he know?”

Braun shook his head no.

“Do I know what?” Kell lifted his head to look at Ronin, his green eyes bright with unshed tears. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong, little one.” Ronin brushed a lock of damp hair from his forehead, then kissed the feverish skin. “You had a bad reaction to the heat block, so Dr. Troi had to induce the heat early.”

Kell’s eyes went wide. “What? It’s too soon.”

“I know, but it was the only way to keep you safe. Not inducing could have led to internal bleeding, and I won’t lose you again.”

“Am I…healthy enough for heat?” For sex seemed to cling to the end of the question.

Ronin’s face warmed, considering they had an audience. “Dr. Troi said you’re capable of enduring the heat, and, ah, you shouldn’t, um, take more than four knots. If you want that, of course. Or if you’d rather not do that, Braun’s friend Serge has agreed to stay and help.”

Kell stared back at him, his expression an odd mix of worried and aroused, and Ronin wished they’d had this discussion sooner. Sure, it had sort of come up, but Kell hadn’t made a decision, and Ronin didn’t want him to say yes to Ronin’s knot during a heat-induced moment, and then regret it later.

“I’d use condoms, of course,” Ronin said, babbling in his effort to reassure his omega. “I promise, this isn’t me pressuring you to mate, but I can’t stand the idea of seeing you in more pain, when I can help relieve it.”

Braun leaned closer and whispered something in Kell’s ear. Whatever his younger brother said, it eased some of the worry creasing Kell’s lovely face. Kell once again met Ronin’s eyes. “Promise me you’ll use condoms all four times, and no matter what I might scream or demand during the heat, even if I demand you mate with me—”

“I won’t. I will use the condoms, I promise on my life.” Ronin leaned down to press his forehead against Kell’s, scenting his omega’s strengthening pheromones. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“Okay. Then I consent.”

Joy flashed through Ronin’s body so fast and hard he was dizzy with it. He’d had sex a handful of times over the years with willing betas, but Ronin had never slept with an omega. Never knotted an omega. He was equal parts excited and nervous.

“One of the biggest challenges during heat,” Serge said, “is keeping both of you hydrated and fed. Your bodies burn a lot of calories from exertion. Also, sleep as much as possible in between surges, which can occur as infrequently as twice, or as frequently as every few hours.”

Kell groaned. “Mine typically hit every four to five hours.”

“Then you’ll likely have to get through a few without Ronin’s knot, and that won’t be easy. For either of you.”

“I can have the doctor prescribe me extra doses of the alpha suppressant,” Ronin said. “It’ll keep me more clear-headed and less of a walking erection.”

Serge glanced at Ronin’s crotch and smirked.

“What about being safe?” Kell asked. “From, um, you know?”

Braun frowned. “Safe from what?”

“Who,” Ronin replied. “Because of the things coming to light, as well as Kell’s future testimony, we’re worried that someone may try to harm him, in order to keep him from testifying.”

“I’m scared Senior Iverson is going to have me killed,” Kell said, bluntly and without emotion.

“What?!” Braun sat up straight, mouth falling open. “Are you serious?”

“Perfectly serious,” Ronin replied. “He threatened Kell while he was still in jail. It’s why we kept our location a secret from everyone, including you and Tarek. There are very few people I trust right now, but Tarek, Serge, and Constable Jenks are some of them.”

“What about Dex?” Serge asked.

“I trust Dex because you trust him,” Ronin said to Braun. “Same reason I trust Serge. But this circle of trust is small, and it’s going to remain small until the trial is over. And even after that, for a while.”

“I understand,” Braun said. “I want Kell safe, too.”

“And Tarek knows to keep an extra eye on you both. It’s possible Senior Iverson could try to get to Kell through you, so be cautious.”

“I will.”

Kell made a pained sound, and one hand flew to cover his belly. “Oh, it’s getting close.”

“Should we buy him a dildo?” Braun asked Serge. “It helped me.”

Serge shook his head. “No, lack of knot aside, it sounds as if Dr. Troi is limiting penetration for Kell’s physical health. Using one might be detrimental and/or damaging.”

Ronin growled at the idea of a rubber dildo damaging his mate. “I’ll take care of him, Braun, I promise.”

“What about the trial?” Kell asked.

“Recessed until next week. We’ve got time. We’ll get through this.”

“Okay.”

Ronin would have preferred their physical affection had improved from kissing and the occasional hand job before heat set in, but this was the hand they’d been dealt. Braun stayed a few minutes longer, until Serge hustled him out of the room with a promise to check in with Dr. Troi and switch around his hospital schedule. Knowing Serge would be around helped.

A little.

“I’m scared,” Kell said.

Ronin sat beside him and tucked Kell against his chest. “I know. To be honest? I’m a little scared, too. I’ve never done this before.”

“Really?” Kell looked up with uncertain eyes.

“I’ve had sex, but never with an omega, and never during heat. You’ll be my first, little one.”

“Oh.” Tenderness crept in around the uncertainty. “I’m glad.”

“So am I. I’ve been waiting for you, Kell. Waiting to claim my bondmate.”

“I want that, too, but I’m so scared.”

“I know you are, which is why we’ll always use condoms. I already made that promise.”

“It isn’t just that. At first, my heats were fine, because Krause was enthusiastic. He wanted children so badly, and he treated me well the first few times. But when I didn’t get pregnant, he changed during heats. He became crueler, more physically abusive. And then he started letting other alphas…during heats…” Kell pressed his face into Ronin’s chest.

“I’ve got you, little one.” Ronin rubbed circles on Kell’s back with both hands, wishing he could take those awful memories away from his omega. To extinguish the past and all the pain heaped upon him by his dead mate. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Kell trembled once.

Ronin held him a while, and the room slowly filled with the scents of their joint pheromones, as well as Ronin’s undisguised arousal. He finally scented Kell’s, as well, and the sweet scent of his natural slick. Serge ducked inside the room once to deliver a bag full of supplies, and he mouthed the word “condoms” on his way back out. Ronin only left Kell’s side long enough to lock the door from their side.

“Oh!” Kell pulled at the collar of his gown. “I’m so hot.”

“You can take it off,” Ronin said.

Kell shook his head, his flushed face getting redder, his green eyes sad. “You’ll hate my body. It’ll make you angry.”

“Why would…?”

Krause.

Ronin stood at the foot of the bed, trying to shrink and seem unthreatening. “If I get angry, it’s not directed at you. I will never touch you in anger, Kell, you know that.” Again, why he’d wanted to progress to a more physical relationship, before the intensity of heat. He’d never even seen Kell with his shirt off, much less completely naked.

With a cry of anguish that hurt Ronin’s heart to hear, Kell yanked the gown off and threw it on the floor. His lower body was still covered with a sheet, tented by Kell’s erection, but his pale torso was on display. Still too thin but not quite skeletal, Kell’s chest and abdomen had scattered scars of various shapes that sent Ronin’s temper roaring. He didn’t know what had caused the marks, but he knew who.

“My back’s the worst,” Kell whispered. “Krause liked to use his belt.”

Ronin growled, unable to prevent the sound, and Kell leapt from the bed. He raced to the corner of the room and cowered there, hands over his head, curling into the tightest ball he could. Ronin wanted to weep for his omega’s fear, weep for all the damage visible on his shaking body.

“Oh, my omega,” Ronin said in his gentlest voice. He dropped to his knees facing Kell. “Please don’t be scared of me. I love you.”

I love you so much, Kell. So fucking much.

Kell started shaking harder.