Chapter Ten
Lochlan
The next morning Lochlan waited outside his apartment building at precisely 7:59 in the morning. He half expected no one to come. Grayson had been turned on the night before and likely would have said anything. That was just how alphas were. Except, the moment his watch ticked over into the next hour, there was a sleek black car pulling around the corner and parking at the curb in front of him. A man in plain clothes got out of the front seat and approached Lochlan. "Mr. Varner?"
Lochlan nodded.
"I'm your new driver," the man said with a pleasant smile. He was middle-aged, with a nice face and a slight tummy pooch. Not overbearing as an alpha bodyguard would be, and he didn't look so out of place in Lochlan's neighborhood that his neighbors would take notice. Just as long as he didn't open the back door for Lochlan to get in. Lochlan rushed forward to stop that from happening.
"Is it okay if I sit in the front with you?" he asked.
The man looked unsure. "Mr. Davenwood didn't say. He only expressed that I was to drive you to and from work."
Lochlan's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "For how long?"
The driver shrugged.
There was no way Lochlan was going to ride in the back seat for more than one day, so he slipped in the front. "I'll talk to Grayson if this is an issue," he assured the driver. "What's your name?"
"Wilson," he replied, putting the car in gear and driving them out onto the street.
The drive from old downtown to the Davenwood building wasn't nearly as long in the passenger seat of a car, though, if this did continue, Lochlan would need to make plans to visit Bobby at different times to check on him. Lochlan couldn't let himself get too attached to any of this though. He was still the president of AOE, still on a mission to take down Davenwood Research and still hellbent on protecting omegas everywhere, even from well-meaning alphas.
As they drove closer, Lochlan noticed the streets were a tad busier than usual. At first, he thought it was just because he was witnessing them from a different point of view, but when they pulled in front of the research building their way in was blocked entirely by a large group of people. They stood in a loose crowd, chanting and screaming at people as they walked through the doors of Davenwood Research. Some held signs with block letter statements like, 'Get out of My Body.' More troubling, many of them wore sling pouches over their shoulders that were stuffed full of rocks. One person had a pouch full of what looked like water balloons, though Lochlan doubted they contained something as innocent as water. He remembered back to an AOE meeting where one of his more excited members suggested throwing balloons full of bleach or vinegar.
The man with the balloons turned in Lochlan's direction, and he got his first good view of the man's face. Lochlan groaned.
"I know, these damn extremists, all they do is make hard-working folk's lives harder," Wilson said.
That wasn't why Lochlan groaned, but he wasn't going to explain that this group of damn extremists was his group of people. They'd likely held a meeting of their own the night before and without Lochlan to temper them, had decided to organize a protest. He got out of the car, despite it not being stopped completely and stepped into the fray.
Hazel found him first, the apology in her eyes was balanced by the sign in her hand. "What are you doing?" Lochlan hissed before anyone he knew from work walked by.
"I couldn't stop them," she said, never pausing her march in a circle in front of the entrance to the building. "You usually keep them calm," she accused.
"Bryan sent someone, I told Lucy to call you. We nearly bolted last night."
"Shit, I'm sorry. She did call but just to say you couldn't make it. I didn't know."
That made sense. The AOE was one thing, but Lochlan's life, who he was hiding from, that was another. Hazel knew about his past as he knew about Lucy's, but because she was more than just an AOE member, she was a friend.
"You should go, you're going to blow your cover."
Lochlan winced. He'd done something thinking on that as well. Seeing the protesting mob had only made his thoughts clearer. Perhaps they would get more done if they were honest with Grayson, told him about their fears instead of trying to sabotage his company from within.
It was as if thinking about him summoned the impressive alpha as Lochlan heard Grayson's roar over the crowd. When Lochlan spotted him, he didn't look angry as much as he looked worried. And he was heading in Lochlan's direction like a runaway train.
"Lochlan, come here," Grayson hollered, holding his hand out.
Suddenly, Lochlan became very aware of the other AOE members there, watching him without acknowledging him since they were, first and foremost, a secret organization. Which was what made a public protest that much dumber of an idea! If he'd been there the night before he could have explained that, but he hadn't been because he'd been with the alpha currently storming towards him. Lochlan's feet took him to Grayson before he'd told them to. He placed his hand in Grayson's and allowed himself to be lifted out of the mob of marching people and into the arms of the very CEO they were marching against. Lochlan wouldn't think too hard about how he had just made a choice. Grayson over the AOE.
It wasn't like that anyway. He needed Grayson to trust him if he was going to have any chance of completing his mission.
"What were you thinking?" Grayson said, carrying him to safety inside. "Why did Wilson let you into that mob?"
"I jumped out," Lochlan replied quickly. Getting Wilson in trouble was the last thing he wanted. "I thought I recognized someone."
Grayson narrowed his eyes. Lochlan knew he wasn't a great liar, but what he'd said had been truthful enough, he hoped it would have sounded true coming out.
"I saw her too," Grayson said finally. "I'm going to make sure Henry knows. They're calm now, but some of them are armed."
Grayson reached for his phone and despite being inside the safety of the building, did not set Lochlan down. Lochlan's cheeks burned as his fellow employees gawked at him.
"Henry, yeah, I saw them. No, I don't want you to do anything about it. Except, your sister is out there. Things look peaceful now, but that could change faster than we could get her to safety."
While being mortified, Lochlan could appreciate Grayson's use of we as if Hazel's safety was his responsibility as well as his brothers.
"Can you put me down?" Lochlan whispered, spotting Dr. Lowe and his other work colleagues coming back to the lobby from the research department, likely hearing there was a fuss outside and wanting to check it out themselves.
At first, Grayson only tightened his hold on Lochlan as if his body's first reaction was to keep him close but then he allowed Lochlan to get down to his feet steady himself before releasing him completely. "I did not like seeing you in the middle of that crowd," Grayson said, his eyebrows furrowed.
Lochlan was glad he was already red. In all honesty, there wasn't a circumstance where Lochlan would have been in a crowd like that. If he'd made it to the meeting the night before he would have talked them all out of it, or enough of them that the remaining members wouldn't have had an impact. But he was part of that crowd in the most technical of terms. "I'm here now," he said, hoping too much time hadn't passed since Grayson had spoken.
"Will you come with me to my office?" Grayson said. "Just until they are gone?"
"Are you worried that I'll hear the call of the wild? Like a mustang neighing out to domesticated horses?"
"Something like that."
"I've got to get to work," Lochlan said, watching Dr. Lowe and Dr. Park approach them.
"Do you think this will be cleared by the afternoon?" Dr. Lowe asked Grayson with his eyes on the windows and the crowd outside. "We have a group of omegas coming in for testing. At the least, this could disrupt their results."
Lochlan wondered if he had mentioned as much to any AOE members the day before. Was today more than just a protest? A calculated attack during the times the omega testing subjects were supposed to arrive, would be a sneakily effective. The omegas would drop out, one by one, until there wouldn't be enough participating. But what would disrupting this drug trial do for Lochlan's mission? He felt as the alphas did at that moment like he wouldn't be able to relax until the marchers were gone.
Henry walked by them then with a stride that was all business. Lochlan heard him grumble as he passed, something that sounded like, "Fucking Hazel, getting into trouble…"
Guilt bloomed up at that. If Lochlan had been there, he could have saved so many people from worrying this morning.
The moment Henry stepped outside, there was a scream and a slamming sound. Someone had thrown a rock at the windows of the building. They didn't break, and Lochlan doubted a rock would be able to penetrate the thick glass, but that didn't stop the environment outside from getting more dangerous.
Grayson sighed heavily. "You better get to the research floor. This is going to take more effort than I was hoping. But stay there, okay? I'll come by later."
When Grayson left, Lochlan turned to Dr. Lowe who looked at him with his head cocked to the side. Lochlan cleared his throat. "What a great boss we have," he said brightly, knowing that he wasn't fooling anyone.
***
A few hours later, Lochlan set down the file he'd been reading. Dr. Lowe had wanted his opinion on some of the interview question answers some of the omegas had given compared with results on their physicals. Dr. Lowe had been excited to see what he called an anomaly between body mass index and how independent an omega considered themselves.
The interview question was quite vague: How independent would you rate yourself? The question was to be answered by using a measurement scale of one to ten. One being not very independent and ten being extremely independent. Dr. Lowe had found that the omegas that rated themselves higher on that question also had a higher body mass index.
He waited, practically on his tiptoes as Lochlan read through the data.
"What do you think?" Dr. Lowe asked the moment the paper hit the desktop.
"I think it makes sense," Lochlan said, fighting a battle in himself. The answer was clear to him, of course, an omega that considered themselves to be more independent would have a higher BMI, they would be responsible for so much more. Lochlan shuddered to think what his BMI would be. On an omega-specific scale, he was likely edging toward the overweight classifications, but that was only because he had a body that had grown accustomed to working, holding a baby and walking up flights of stairs.
Dr. Lowe's face, however, was somewhere between crestfallen and confused. "Think of it this way. If you asked a room of alphas how many of them considered themselves good fighters and then compared that to their muscle mass, wouldn't you suppose that those who rated themselves higher would, on average, also have a higher muscle mass?"
"I guess when you put it that way…" Dr. Lowe said.
This sort of mystified reaction toward ordinary, common sense, omega issues wasn't unusual. This was what Lochlan wanted to focus the AOE's efforts on, convincing the world one person at a time. "It could be interesting for you to compare this data with the responses on the side effects they experience while on Maxocine. There may be some interesting data there."
Dr. Lowe's eyes lit up, and he patted Lochlan's back. "That is an amazing idea. Thank you, Lochlan. You are really one of a kind."
There was the sound of a throat clearing and when Lochlan spotted Grayson in the doorway watching the two of them. "Dr. Lowe, if I could snag Mr. Varner for a moment?" Grayson asked the words made it sound like it should have been a question, but the way Grayson spoke them made it clear it wasn't.
"Oh, yes, of course. He's given me some food for thought and right in time for lunch."
Lochlan smiled politely at Dr. Lowe before finding himself under the heavy arm of Grayson. Lochlan pushed it off, looking around the lab with wide eyes.
Grayson didn't even have the decency to be sheepish. "It's been a rough morning, I need this."
There was only one thing in the world that would have made Lochlan allow Grayson to drape his arm around his shoulders and that was what Grayson had just said to him. He liked the idea of providing the alpha comfort more than he should and took that moment to remind himself that this was all just so he could complete his mission more efficiently. He almost believed himself for half of a second. If that. "Let's go to your office at least."
"Don't you need lunch?" Grayson asked.
Lochlan had forgotten about eating the moment he spotted Grayson. "I guess."
"Then I'm taking you out," Grayson said, draping his arm over Lochlan's shoulders again. He'd somehow timed the movement so that he had Lochlan tucked against his side the moment Dr. Lowe stepped out of the employee locker room.
His eyes bugged out of his head, but he said nothing as the two of them passed. When they were alone in Grayson's private elevator, Lochlan shrugged out from under Grayson's arm. "What was that about?"
"What?"
"Oh no, don't what me. You know what. That little bit of chest pounding that just went on."
"I honestly have no idea what you are—okay you got me. I know Dr. Lowe is a good man. I only hire good men, I just didn't want him getting any ideas."
"He wasn't getting ideas about me, he was getting ideas about his research. And look how you repay him."
"I pay him well, in money."
Lochlan rolled his eyes which made Grayson make a rumbling noise of displeasure.
"I am a cultured alpha, but I still wouldn't roll my eyes at me if I were you."
"I don't even understand that as English," Lochlan replied flippantly. He heard the buzz of the elevator being manually stopped before Lochlan was pushed against the wall with a second wall of muscled, alpha male in his front.
"I'm fighting every instinct I have that is telling me to make you kneel," Grayson said with a fistful of Lochlan's hair. He pulled on it, just hard enough to bend Lochlan's face back so that he had no choice but to look into Grayson's face.
Lochlan licked his lips as desire flared inside of him. He thought about the suppressors in his pocket, but he didn't want them. He wanted to feel this--right now. "So, make me," he whispered.
Grayson's eyes darkened. He pulled Lochlan's face toward him, claiming his mouth in a bruising kiss before pushing Lochlan down. Keeping eye contact the entire way, he pressed until Lochlan's knees were on the ground and he had to strain his neck to look up at the alpha towering over him.
Lochlan didn't think about how subservient the position was or about how they were in a potentially public place. He could only think about the bulge in front of him and how much he wanted to touch and taste it. For as much as he spoke about omega rights when push came to shove, it looked as though Lochlan was as eager as any omega to please his alpha. Except, this was different. There was dominance in Grayson's steely eyes, but there was all respect. Lochlan could say no at any time, and his wishes would be respected. Good thing he didn't want to say no. With his eyes on Grayson's face, he reached for his pants and undid the belt buckle. Grayson nodded is approval, and when Lochlan reached inside his pants to grab his erection, Grayson moaned and thrust his cock forward into Lochlan's open and waiting mouth.
The first taste of Grayson's dick told Lochlan he was in trouble. His flavor exploded on Lochlan's tongue, and he took the alpha all the way down his throat as his omega instincts took over. He used to hate when he got like this with Bryan, all needy and full of hormones and chemicals that felt like they were brainwashing him. After, he would spend hours crying alone and tending to the wounds that Bryan had inflicted on him in the middle of his heat.
All of a sudden, Lochlan found his mouth was empty as Grayson pulled his dick out. He hunched over, grabbing Lochlan's face, making him look at him. "Don't ever think of him when you are with me like this," Grayson hissed. The tendons on his forearms strained against the skin.
"I wasn't…" The lie died on his lips. "I'm sorry." He bowed his head in shame.
Grayson lifted his face up with a finger under his chin. "Don't apologize. Just know, Lochlan, when you are with me like this, you are with only me. Only me. When it comes to you, I am a jealous man. I want to be the only thing in your head." Grayson guided his cock back between Lochlan's lips. "Just like I am the only thing in this sweet mouth." He pushed forward, sliding down Lochlan's throat. A burst of pre-come shot into his mouth and the effect was immediate. His body erupted in sensation. The more he got of this alpha, the more his body craved him. Lochlan's dick was so hard he wouldn't be surprised if it punched a hole through his pants.
As he sucked on his boss, Lochlan's thoughts went foggy, coming less easily. He licked his tongue against the length of Grayson's throbbing dick and was rewarded with a deep moan. "Baby, I'm going to come, I shouldn't before I show you my tests."
Tests? What the fuck were those? Lochlan didn't give a shit about tests, he only cared about this alpha and his glorious cock and getting this alpha's glorious cock shoved deep into his ass. He whined when Grayson pushed him all the way off and pulled him to his feet. Lochlan spun around pressing his cheek against the elevator wall as he tugged at Grayson's waist, bringing him up against his aching asshole.
"Fuck me, Grayson, please, it's been so long," he wailed. Grayson grabbed his hips, and despite the fact that Lochlan was still wearing his pants, he felt the alpha's iron hot grip straight to his core. Grayson pushed up against his backside until Lochlan could feel his harsh breath dance against his ear. "Please, I said, Grayson. I need you inside me. I need it inside me." The tiniest fraction of who he was remained and told him he would be embarrassed by this later, but Lochlan couldn't care for long. This was what his aggressive heats were like, all-consuming. If there was something to be thankful for, it was that this was happening with Grayson. With anyone else, Lochlan, in this state, was a dangerous thing.
"Fucking, shit, holy hell, Lochlan stop rubbing against me," Grayson ordered.
The obedient omega in him flinched away from his alpha's angry tone, but the horny omega in him rubbed harder. "Shove your cock inside me or point me to an alpha who will!"
There was a deep growl from behind him and then Lochlan felt a tug at his pants, but it was coming from the wrong part. He looked down as Grayson pulled something out of his pocket and seconds later, two pills were in his mouth, and he was forced to swallow them as Grayson kept his mouth shut. They went down rough, the moment they did, Lochlan spun around grinding against Grayson until the alpha was forced to hold him tightly with his arms at his side.
Five minutes passed like this until Lochlan felt the first moments of clarity. Logical thought pierced through the desire to be bred, and he was able to understand what he'd been asking Grayson, his boss, to do. He buried his face in Grayson's chest simply because he still wasn't able to move away from him. "I can't believe…I am so sorry…I—"
"No, that was my fault. I knew you were prone to aggressive heats and that tasting me carried the possibility of triggering one. Don't be embarrassed, Lochlan," Grayson said. "I'm interested about those pills though. I recognized one but not the other."
Lochlan felt as well as heard his words rumbling in Grayson's chest. The pills, a traditional suppressor as well as an herbal cocktail he'd created through trial and error--were fast acting for this very reason. Already, Lochlan felt almost no hint of desire—past normal desire that he always felt when he was around Grayson. "I'm still sorry. Thank you, for being so quick to act. As for the other pill, I'll sell you the recipe."
Grayson let go of him and smirked. "Stopping wasn't easy, don't let my iron-strong willpower fool you. You could gift it to me."
Lochlan nibbled at his lips, still unable to look Grayson in the eyes. Because he was looking down, he saw that Grayson was clearly still hard. Attempting to do anything about it was a poor choice, but he felt like he needed to finish what he started if only to prove to himself that he could.
Grayson caught his hands at the wrist this time. "I don't think that is smart. You're assuming perhaps that my willpower is too strong."
"No, I can do this. I want to, Grayson," Lochlan said, finally reaching Grayson's eyes. "I want to please you," he said on a breath.
Grayson nodded so Lochlan continued, pulling Grayson's cock free he kept the hard length in his hands as he worked the member from base to tip. He wished he had some lube and at that moment, Grayson pulled a tiny bottle of clear liquid. "Wow, you are prepared for everything," Lochlan said, smiling as he took the small bottle and deposited a few drops in each hand. Grayson opened his mouth to respond but Lochlan chose that moment to stroke his dick with two hands, ensuring it would feel wholly encased in smooth, slick heat. Grayson bucked into his hands and pitched forward, slapping his palms against the elevator wall above Lochlan's head to hold himself up.
Stroking from root to tip, Lochlan memorized the way Grayson's body vibrated. His balls grew visibly tight and just as Lochlan was trying to decide what he would do with the massive load—swallowing it was obviously out of the question—Grayson had a tissue and captured his fluid inside of it. He shuttered into the tissue and when he was done, wadded it up into a ball. Lochlan wasn't sure what Grayson would do with it, but he didn't expect him to push the balled-up tissue into Lochlan's pocket and pat at the lump it made.
"I'll rest easy knowing a part of me is with you," he explained without an ounce of embarrassment.
Lochlan knew such a claim on his person should make him livid. Instead, it just excited him as he sighed, resting all his weight on the elevator door.
"Lochlan, I spoke with Henry after the whole mob thing," Grayson said as he put himself back together.
Lochlan shot up, unable to rest back. What had Henry said? Had Hazel spilled the beans? Was he fired? Was this a pity fuck? They hadn't even fucked!
Grayson scowled. "I don't enjoy how alert you became at the mention of Henry's name. He is married."
Lochlan was half way through rolling in his eyes when he froze and peeked up at Grayson to see if he had noticed. The cheeky alpha smirked.
"What did he say?" Lochlan asked.
"He and Will are having a little get together. Apparently, Will is making up for all the parties he never got to have growing up. I believe this one is a birthday."
"He didn't get birthday parties?" Lochlan asked with disbelief. Even though everyone wanted to remind him, Lochlan knew that Henry had married Willoughby Baudlin just like the rest of the world knew since it was all over the papers when it happened along with the news of Marvin Shrel's incarceration.
"He did get parties, but they were all planned by other people, never the types he wanted I guess. I don't even think it is his birthday, but Henry would bend over backward a thousand times to make that mate of his happy."
Lochlan smiled at that and Grayson scowled.
"Anyway. I made the mistake of going to the first barbecue, so now I am on the guest list for every other event Will gets in his head. It would make it bearable if you were able to join me. There will be other children there. Their newborn, Emily for one. So you could bring Pax if you wanted. No one there would ask questions."
Lochlan felt something warm in his stomach, and it was growing, up his chest to his heart and beyond. He didn't want to name the warm feeling because he was too afraid of what it would be called. "Sure," he replied, proud that he was able to swallow the ball of emotion in his throat. He ignored that too. Coupled with happy warmth, it all felt too much like love.