“What’s taking them so fucking long?” Palani asked for the fifth time, in between chewing his fingernails off.

“Do I need to explain to you again that this is a good sign?” Enar asked with thinly veiled annoyance.

Palani couldn’t blame him. The man was stuck here as much as he was, but he had to endure Palani’s nervousness and impatience as well. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I’m a pain in the ass.”

Enar looked as if he debated denying it, but then sighed with a small grin. “Yeah, you are. And not of the pleasurable kind. Can’t you think of something to do?”

Huh. That was a risky joke for an alpha. Most of them wouldn’t even want to joke about being on the receiving end rather than doing the fucking.

A soft moan drifted through the walls and Palani clenched his teeth. At least it was obvious what they were doing now. “You want me to work, listening to that?”

“Let’s go into your bedroom,” Enar suggested.

Palani raised his eyebrows. “To do what, Doc?” he asked, knowing damn well Enar’s request hadn’t been sexual.

“Oh, fuck off,” Enar said as he rose to his feet and stretched.

“So you do admit that you…”

“You may want to shut that mouth before I find a different way to occupy it.”

Enar’s grin suggested he wasn’t mad but was only teasing. Palani led the way into his bedroom, which smelled of fresh linens after Vieno had changed all the sheets after their lovemaking this morning. Thank fuck, because otherwise Enar would have detected the scent of sex as soon as he’d walked in.

Palani plopped down on his bed, surprised when Enar lowered himself next to him instead of sitting on the small chair on the corner. Granted, the chair was as uncomfortable as it looked and Palani used it more to dump his clothes on than anything else, but he hadn’t expected Enar to be so casual around him.

With the door closed, Palani couldn’t hear a peep from Vieno’s bedroom and he relaxed a little. Next to him, Enar stretched out on the bed, folding his hands under his head. He didn’t seem to care it caused his shirt to ride up, exposing his jeans, where the outline of his hard cock was visible.

Wow. The guy was packing quite the tool. Maybe all alphas did? Palani wouldn’t know. He’d only ever been with Vieno and with a few other betas before Vieno had moved in.

“How’s work?” Enar asked. “Are you following something interesting at the moment?”

It took a second for Palani to distract himself from the view, but then he remembered his investigation. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? Enar was the perfect man to fill in some of the medical questions he had.

“I’m researching a series of suspect deaths,” he said. “All young omegas, all twenty-five and younger.”

Enar frowned. “That’s awfully young to die. Did they have anything in common, aside from their age and them being an omega?”

“Two things. They all committed suicide.” At that, Enar’s eyes flew open and his head turned to face Palani, who was sitting with his back against the headboard. “And they’re all from the same family.”

“You’re shitting me,” Enar said, then sat up when he caught Palani’s serious expression.

“Off the record, okay? How many cases of the Melloni gene have you come across in the last couple of years?”

“The gene? Why?” Realization dawned and a look of horror passed over Enar’s face. “You mean to tell me they all had the gene?”

“You can’t tell anyone this, okay?”

Enar nodded, as he pulled up his legs and shifted sideways so he was facing Palani. “I promise. How many are we talking about? What family?”

“The McCains. Ever heard of them? They have a ridiculous omega percentage, way out of the ordinary.”

“Name doesn’t ring a bell, but I’d have to check patient records…insofar as I keep them.” He flushed when he realized what he said. “I hope that off-the-record thing goes both ways?” he asked.

“Absolutely. Besides, you saved Vieno’s life. I would never betray your confidence. But not keeping records, that’s a felony, right?”

“Yes. But so is performing certain surgeries or distributing certain meds. To me, it’s the lesser of two evils. This way, if they ever catch me, they won’t find any evidence against those I helped illegally.”

Palani had to admire his ethics in this.

“But you’re saying all of them had the gene?” Enar brought the subject back to the previous topic.

“I suspect so. I haven’t officially confirmed, because I wanted to investigate further, but all matched the symptoms I recognized from Vieno.”

Enar rubbed his temples. “It’s strange, because till a few years ago I had never even come across this gene. And I’m a doctor. Now it seems like more and more omegas have it.”

“It’s purely an omega thing, right? You’ve never seen alphas or betas with similar issues?”

Enar shook his head. “No. But there’s little we know about this gene.”

“Is it hereditary?”

“That's unconfirmed. It seems to affect omega siblings within a family, but we don’t have enough data for the generation after them yet. Testing is costly, so most omegas choose not to, even when they have the gene themselves. Insurance doesn’t cover it.”

No, it wouldn’t, as Palani knew all too well. He and Vieno had experienced a few tight months after paying for the testing themselves. Enar seemed to realize it at the same time. “Sorry, you would know better than anyone,” he said.

Palani shrugged. “What you’re saying is that researchers haven't determined yet what’s causing this genetic mutation?”

“Correct. They identified the mutation that led to these complaints—that would be geneticist Ricardo Melloni, who gave the gene its name—but they haven’t figured out what’s causing it.”

“The first confirmed case was only ten years ago,” Palani said.

Enar rolled his neck, apparently bothered by some tension there. “You did your homework.”

“I always do. Facts matter.”

“They do. What happened to these omegas, can you tell me more about that?”

Palani shared what he had discovered about Lance McCain, who’d worked in the flower shop, and his cousin Adam, who’d been assaulted in the nursing home. “Adam’s oldest brother, Colton, is the latest victim. He hung himself days after his twenty-second birthday.”

“Oh, god. Did he leave a note? Any clues as to the why?”

“I got his parents to talk to me after I assured them I wouldn’t paint their son in a negative light. Colton worked as a stripper in a club.”

“An omega? That’s unusual.”

Most strippers and men in any jobs that were sex-related were betas, because alphas usually couldn’t keep their hands off omegas and because of the high risk of pregnancy for omegas.

“His parents suspected he had multiple abortions without telling them.”

Enar froze. “Wait. Was his stripper name Cotton Candy?”

“Yes. Do you know him?”

Enar’s face turned white. “Dammit.”

Palani waited, but Enar just sat there, his face tight and pale. “Do you want to tell me about it?” Palani asked.

“I can’t. Patient privacy.”

“Enar, I’m not just investigating this because it’s a story. This concerns Vieno. I’m discovering shit about this gene I never knew…shit that could save his life. You can trust me.”

“You’re a reporter, for fuck’s sake, which makes you the last person I should talk to.”

“I’m a human being, first and foremost…and maybe I’m also your friend before I’m my job?”

Enar hesitated for a little, then capitulated. “I performed three abortions on him, the latest one not four months ago. He was highly sexually active and very open about it to me. I did his monthly testing as well. After the last abortion, I warned him another abortion would endanger his chances of becoming pregnant again.”

Enar clenched his fists, then slammed one into the headboard. “Dammit!”

Palani waited till he had composed himself again. “He left a long note to his parents. They said it was too personal to share, but they read a few lines from it. He said he couldn’t handle his constant need for sex during his heats anymore. And that he’d been wrestling with depression for years.”

Enar nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that to me. He said he took anti-depressants. I needed to ask for interactions with any medications I gave him.”

Palani bit his lip, then decided to be completely honest. “Enar, Vieno suffers from depression as well. And it’s getting worse.”

Enar’s face softened. “Can you tell me about it?”

“He’s…down, especially about midway between his heats. Blames himself for being a burden to me.” Realization struck as to whom he was talking to and under what circumstances. “Oh god, you won’t tell Lidon about this, will you? Please, don’t let him say no because of this…”

Enar’s hand on his thigh stopped the words he wanted to say. “Sssh. Don’t. I’d like to think I’m a human first, too, as well as your friend. Don’t forget, I’ve been trying to help Vieno, too.”

Enar had such a kind, warm voice when he wanted to. It had a soothing timbre that made Palani want to… “Wait, are you using your alpha compulsion on me?”

“Sorry, force of habit with patients…but just a little.”

“It worked,” Palani said. “Damn, that’s good.”

“I hate doing it,” Enar confessed. “I use it sparingly, but it’s an instinct when I see someone being emotionally upset.”

“Are all alphas the same in that skill?”

“No. Lidon is more dominant, for instance. He can make you obey him—to a certain degree. It’s more like strong persuasion. I’m more empathic, I guess? Tapped into people’s emotions. The stronger someone’s will is, the more resistance they have to the alpha powers.”

Enar removed his big hand from Palani’s thigh and it left a cold, empty spot. Was that a power as well, Palani wondered? Or was he imagining things now?

“How do scientists explain these differences in powers or whatever you wanna call them?”

“They’re not sure, but the main theory is that it’s linked to our former wolf powers, back when we could still shift. Some families stopped having the ability to shift earlier than others, and those seem to be the ones with fewer powers. For an alpha, my powers are damn weak, but that makes sense according to that theory because the last documented shift in my family was four generations ago.”

Palani knew their wolf-shifter DNA was still present, but this was new to him. In school, he’d been taught that the whole alpha-beta-omega structure they still had was derived from the wolf-shifters they had been before. While it frustrated him since you were born as whatever you were and there was nothing you could do about it, he’d more or less accepted it as the truth. He’d never realized the alpha powers that were rarely discussed were based on this.

“Does that mean that Lidon’s family is strong?”

Enar looked at him, his blue eyes assessing. “If this ever ends up in one of your articles…”

“It won’t. Friends before a job, remember?”

Enar seemed satisfied with that answer, because he said, “Lidon’s family is the most powerful in this region. His grandfather was the last person with a documented shift.”

Palani’s eyes about popped out of his head. “Seriously? How the fuck is that even possible? We were taught no one had shifted in over fifty years.”

“That’s the official line, yes. The truth is that his grandfather shifted for the last time thirty-four years ago.”

Palani cocked his head, his mind racing with the implications. “Wait, how old is Lidon?”

“Thirty-four,” Enar said. “His grandfather shifted on the day he was born. Hours later, he slipped into a coma and passed away the next day.”

“How…” Palani shook his head, trying to organize the wild jumble of thoughts in his head. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“This is not common knowledge, so don’t tell anyone. We grew up together, so he told me at some point, but it’s something he doesn’t want to become public knowledge.”

“Exactly how strong are his powers?”

Enar met his eyes head on. “Strong. His alpha compulsion affects even alphas, at least, it does affect me. And his instincts are superior and so is his hearing, his sense of smell, and his physical abilities. I can’t explain it, but somehow he’s closer to that wolf we all once were than anyone else.”

“Does that mean he can make Vieno do something he doesn’t want to?”

Enar hesitated. “Up to a certain degree. But Lidon would never do that. He’s an honorable man, Palani, I promise. Under all that macho alpha exterior, he’s a softie at heart.”

“This will sound horrible and I don’t mean it like that, but if he’s so special, why would he want to marry Vieno? I would think he’d have his choice of men. Or women.”

“Remember what you learned in school about how our wolf-shifter ancestors chose their partners?”

Palani tried to recall all the stuff he’d once crammed into his head for exams. “Fated mates, right? Like, they would recognize whoever they were supposed to be with or something?”

“Scientists still haven’t figured out exactly how it worked, but they seemed to have an instinct as to who would be the perfect mate for them and once that bond was sealed with an alpha-claim, it was unbreakable.”

“Alpha-claim suggests there was always an alpha in a relationship…what about the betas?”

Enar smiled. “This is where it gets interesting. The primary goal of any species is survival, right? That means that ensuring offspring was a dominant biological force. However, betas can’t sire children with male omegas, only with females, which is why their position…or your position, as you’re one of them…is complicated in our society. But research is clear that a few generations ago, betas could produce offspring with male omegas.”

Palani almost choked on his breath. “They…what?”

“Betas were fertile back then, so a beta-omega union would result in kids. Most likely, beta or omega kids, but still.”

“And an alpha-beta union, was that something that ever happened back then? Because that doesn't result in children.”

Enar’s smile broadened. “If an alpha became mated with a beta, at some point, they’d add an omega to their union. Threesome. That was how they ensured survival, through threesomes.”

Palani couldn’t believe his ears. “God, I have so many questions I don’t have a clue of where to start. Why aren’t we taught any of this? Let’s start with that.”

He realized the answer, even before Enar had a chance to speak, so he answered his own question. “Because knowledge is power. They want us to believe the current system is the only option. But what changed? What happened to us as a species that we stopped shifting? And to us as betas that we became infertile?”

Enar’s smile dissipated. “That’s the big question, and even the most respected scientists do not have an answer. As a doctor, I’m privy to more information than the public, including some classified projects that are illegal, but I’ve not come across a scientifically proven theory.”

“This is…mind-blowing,” Palani said. “Does this have any bearing on Lidon’s decision whether to marry Vieno?”

Enar spoke carefully. “Lidon is experiencing an attraction to Vieno I have never witnessed in him before, something at a very primal level. I think he’s recognizing him as his fated mate, though this is pure speculation since I’ve never even talked to him about this.”

After everything he’d just heard, it was still possible for Palani to be shell-shocked, he discovered. “Fated mate?” he whispered.

“He probably doesn’t even think of it as such, not consciously anyway, but I’ve known him for a long time and I’ve never seen him like this. The tenderness he has toward him, the protectiveness, it’s…different. He had a fiancé before and was very much in love with Matteo, but this is on a whole different level. I didn’t connect the dots until his behavior tonight. He should not have objected that strongly to your scent on Vieno. He’s known you were partners all along. The fact that he did, tells me his alpha recognizes something else in Vieno, something deeper… He wants to claim him as mate.”

Fated mates? How was that even possible? He’d learned about the concept in school, but it had seemed like a foreign concept to him, almost a fairytale. And now Enar was telling him it was not only real, but happening with Lidon and Vieno?

“It’s good news, Palani. The best you can think of. He’ll not only marry him, but take such good care of him. He’ll treasure Vieno, I promise.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it, Doc,” Palani muttered.

If it was true, it was good news for Vieno. The best. At the same time, Palani’s heart contracted painfully at the thought. Deep down, he’d always known he and Vieno had no chance together, but this connection Vieno had with Lidon was like a slap to Palani’s face. How could he compete with that?

“You can’t see it because you’re jealous.”

“Wouldn’t you be? If only I’d been an alpha, none of this would be necessary, and Vieno and I would’ve been happy with just the two of us. Instead, I’m forced to watch another man marry and pleasure my…” He sighed, feeling deflated. “And now you’re telling me they’re fated mates? That’s like…almost insulting to me and everything I’ve shared with Vieno.”

“Yeah,” Enar said.

“I fucking hate feeling like this. Useless. Not good enough. And fucking horny.”

He wasn’t sure why he added the last words, except that Enar had been hard ever since they’d retreated the bedroom, so the man had to be sharing his discomfort in that aspect.

Enar’s eyes met his, showing quiet determination as he spoke. “If you want to, I’ll fuck you.”