Chapter Eleven
Grayson
It wasn't until Lochlan walked out of his apartment, holding Pax's hand that Grayson allowed himself a relaxed breath. After what had happened to them in the elevator he wasn't sure that Lochlan would come. It wasn't like Henry's party would be unbearable, if nothing else there was usually decent beer, but Grayson had wanted Lochlan to go with him. He'd sweetened the pot, extending the invitation to Lucy, but Lochlan had explained that a group that big would still be too much for her.
Grayson had known that about the young omega, but from the moment he'd invited Lochlan, it became imperative that he accompany Grayson. And not merely so he would have someone to talk to. Grayson wasn't afraid of a party. But, despite everything, he wanted Lochlan in his life. He wanted more than just stolen, careful moments in an elevator. If Grayson was going to be robbed of a true mate, at least his alpha could have Lochlan, who made Grayson's body thump with dominance.
Grayson opened the rear door of his black BMW and strapped in Pax's car seat as Lochlan instructed him. When he finished, Lochlan buckled Pax in before sliding in the front seat and looked at Grayson with a disapproving side eye. "My neighbors are going to talk," he muttered.
Turning the key, the engine purred to life. Grayson pulled out onto the road without responding. Firstly, it wasn't a question, and secondly, Grayson didn't plan on letting Lochlan live in that neighborhood for very much longer, so he didn't care what the neighbors said about him. He'd also had his personal security team watching Lochlan's apartment day and night looking for any suspicious persons.
Henry lived in the suburbs south of downtown with his mate and husband, Will. Since giving birth to their daughter, Emily their little house had become more of a home than any of Grayson's properties or penthouse apartments. Before meeting Lochlan, Grayson wouldn't have dared tell Henry that. Now, he was thinking about asking for pointers.
When they pulled up to the curb in front of Will and Henry's picturesque home, Grayson couldn't help but stare at Lochlan, waiting for his reaction.
He wasn't disappointed. Lochlan literally sighed at the sight of the precisely trimmed lawn and pretty, white shutters. They walked up the path as a group, and when Henry answered the door with Will by his side, Henry and Will both did a double take that was almost comical.
"Grayson, how nice to meet you. This must be Lochlan," Will said, pushing past Henry to embrace them separately. "I thought for sure he was joking when he asked to invite a few friends. Who is this?" Will asked, peeking around Lochlan's leg.
Only the top of Pax's head was visible, the rest of him was shoved firmly against his dad's leg.
"This is Pax who is extremely shy," Lochlan said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it, no crazy aunt here to make him give a hug and a kiss. Our Emily is asleep, but I hope she'll wake up in time for you to meet her," he said softly to Pax who responded with a slight head nod.
Grayson didn't particularly like letting another man embrace Lochlan—or even Pax--but since it was Will and omega to boot, he allowed it.
Will stood straight, returning to Henry's side. "The party is in full swing. You are fashionably late as usual." He ushered them farther forward into their home.
Lochlan shot Grayson a dirty look. "I had no idea we'd be arriving late, I could have been ready earlier."
Grayson only shrugged. He was still the boss after all. Arriving late and leaving early was simply part of how he operated. He slipped his arm around Lochlan's waist as they stepped through the house and sunroom to the back patio. He roared inwardly at the fact that Lochlan didn't push his arm away.
Grayson noticed the work that had been done to the outside space, landscaped shrugs and outdoor heating stations that made it warm enough for them to visit comfortably. Henry's handiwork was all over. The man excelled in all things mechanical and electrical, which was why he worked for Grayson. He wasn't just good at getting people to work hard. He was good at recognizing talent as well.
"Let me introduce you to everyone so you will feel comfortable," Will said to Lochlan and Pax. Though Pax was still wrapped around Lochlan's leg and it didn't look as though he would be pried out of that spot anytime soon.
Will took them around the yard, introducing Henry's parents, Will's father and some of their friends. When they swung around to Henry's twin sister, Hazel, Lochlan stiffened. Sensing Lochlan's stress, Grayson hurried to be at his side. He thought he remembered Lochlan and Hazel as being acquaintances but judging from his reaction, Grayson thought maybe they had argued previously.
"You know Hazel," Will said, oblivious to the sudden tension.
"Hi, Hazel," Lochlan said quietly.
Grayson did not recognize the omega beside Hazel but did not appreciate the way he eyed Lochlan as if they were familiar. He stuck his hand out in greeting.
"Don't believe we've met at one of these things yet," Grayson said, working hard to keep his tone friendly.
The omega pulled his upper lip up into a sneer as he eyed Grayson's hand like it was a spider.
"I know who you are," he said finally.
His response and rude tone prompted Grayson to give him another once over. He was dressed in baggy clothes that may have been meant to disguise his actual size. His hair was shaved short, which was unusual for an omega, as was the tattoo on his neck of a bird in flight. As against the norms he looked, Grayson likely wouldn't have given him a second glance since the omega was there with Hazel and her friends were always a little unorthodox. But, they weren't normally rude, and they didn't typically stare at Lochlan like he was a disappointment.
Grayson reached around Lochlan and found his body was now stiff. So, Grayson wasn't the only person who had noticed this omega's weird behavior.
Alarms went off in Grayson's mind. Perhaps Lochlan recognized this omega from the protest a few days ago?
"Let's get some punch!" Hazel said brightly, tugging her friend in the opposite direction.
"How do you know that omega?" Grayson asked Lochlan once they were alone.
"Don't all omegas share a bond?"
"Don't give me that bullsh-" Grayson stopped himself, remembering Pax at the last minute. "He seemed mad at you. Why would he be angry?"
Lochlan didn't respond.
The pieces clicked, and Grayson remembered where he had seen that image of the bird in flight. The terrorist organization, Alliance for Omega Equality, often used images of birds flying as symbols of their movement. He'd seen it with his own eyes on the back of that card.
The bird was meant to represent omegas, small and fragile, taking flight, finding their independence. Grayson had no problem with omegas searching for their own autonomy. His problems occurred when that search was to the detriment and harm of others.
"I wonder if Henry knows his sister is hanging out with members of the AOE," Grayson said to Lochlan, and then he watched Lochlan's face pale as if all the blood had rushed out.
"Wh-why do you say that?"
Grayson narrowed his eyes, his mouth opened to begin asking a stream of questions when Will started to clap and announced the food was ready. They all gathered around the table, the food was set out buffet style, and Grayson could spot Willoughby's contribution immediately. It was the only charred and still smoking, dish on the table.
"It's a cheesecake," Henry said when he caught Grayson eyeing the dish.
"How do you burn a cheesecake?" Grayson wondered.
Across the table, Hazel snorted, her friend, however, continued to scowl.
"I think the systematic devaluation of an entire gender of people would be pretty damaging," her friend muttered. "Even to cakes."
"Dante, cool it," Hazel hissed.
"What? The alpha asked a question. I thought I was required to answer," Dante replied with mock innocence.
To Grayson's utter shock, Lochlan cleared his throat. "Perhaps all you are required to do is enjoy this delicious food that was so lovingly prepared," he said with a nod to Henry and Will.
More surprising than Lochlan's words was Dante's reaction. He didn't open his mouth and immediately fire back a response. Instead, he reacted like one of Grayson's employees might have reacted if they had been given a poor review at work.
Lochlan's words held weight with this man, and Grayson needed to know why.
He didn't get any answers as they ate. Except for the cheesecake, the food was delicious and after the meal came time for the cake. It was a multi-tiered monstrosity that seemed to have a section that represented what Will would have wanted on his cake as he grew. The bottom was full of superhero images and cartoon characters that would have been popular during Will's childhood. The taste and look of the cake matured as it reached the top. The highest tier was a reproduction of a painting that was in Will's style--a family portrait of him, his mate and their daughter.
As they sang happy birthday to Will as a group, Grayson felt a small tug on his hand. Pax had come out of hiding finally, lured out by songs and cake and had slipped his tiny hand into Grayson's.
The small gesture, as unimportant to everyone else at that table—except Lochlan—had the power to knock Grayson flat, emotionally.
When Grayson had received word that Coran was dead, he hadn't believed it at first. He couldn't believe them all the way up until he stood in front of a table in a cold room with Coran's battered, lifeless body in front of him. That moment had changed his life. More than that, Grayson had known while the moment was still happening, that it would change his life.
Having Pax grab his hand was another one of those moments. Only this time, instead of despair, Grayson felt guardianship. Not just of the omega by his side and his body, but of the child that already came from that omega. He didn't care that Pax was in no way his offspring, feeling that warm palm press into his, asking in the gentlest of ways for support, guidance, and acceptance, it was like a bond formed between them that Grayson would not see broken.
Lochlan gasped, and Grayson knew he had noticed what had happened. He wiped his face like he was wiping away a tear and then took a long drink of his punch.
After they ate, sang and watched Will open presents, Lochlan disappeared with Pax inside the house in search of a bathroom, which left Grayson to do some investigating finally.
"Great party, Henry," Grayson said.
"You aren't usually still here," Henry commented.
It was true. He usually left immediately after eating, with thanks and apologies of course, but Lochlan and Pax seemed to be having fun, and Grayson hadn't thought of leaving.
"I thought omegas were too messy?" Henry prompted, waggling his eyebrows as he elbowed Grayson gently.
"They are," Grayson responded. "Particularly ones that seem to hate me for no reason."
Henry sighed tiredly. "You are obviously talking about Dante. Hazel just brought him. He's...tiring."
"It isn't that I don't think he has a point, I just wish he would realize I'm not the enemy here."
"I've spoken with Hazel about her role in that protest. She enjoys breaking through stereotypes, but she isn't violent...not without someone being violent to her first anyway," he added. "Dante has been arrested multiple times and gets off by posing as the shy omega who must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"So why do you let her hang out with him?"
There was a snort from behind them, and Grayson whirled around to face an alpha that looked slightly familiar. "You don't let Hazel do anything," the alpha said.
"Lif, you made it," Henry greeted the alpha warmly.
Lif eyed Hazel from across the yard. She was hanging all over her omega friend, laughing at some joke but Grayson saw her eyes flit over to them, she knew Lif had just gotten there and was putting on a show. "I'm not sure why. I've lost my appetite."
"If she brought him here to make you jealous, that is Hazel talk for, I still like you," Henry replied, and Grayson assumed Lif and Hazel must have been an item.
With the topic of conversation firmly on Lif's undying love for Hazel and whether or not she had any feelings back, Grayson excused himself. He made a mental note of everything he knew about Dante so he could ask his investigators to look into him. The more he knew about him, the less Grayson liked that he knew Lochlan.
With his omega on his mind, Grayson went into the house to search for him. As he came down the hallway, he heard voices ahead.
"She told me everything. I don't necessarily believe in everything you do, but you have my support. I know you're different than the other chapters, just be careful," Will said and from the down the hallway, Grayson could hear the concern.
"Of course. It will be different. It is different," Lochlan replied which had Grayson stopping cold in his tracks.
"You've certainly seemed to make an impression on Grayson," Will said.
"We're just work friends," Lochlan mumbled. Grayson could imagine how red his face was at that moment. He was also unreasonably angry that Lochlan wouldn't claim him as more than a work friend.
"It didn't look like friends." Will began to laugh. "I'm not the best at staying just friends with an alpha so don't ask me for any advice."
Their footsteps came closer, so Grayson backed up to make it look like he had just walked inside and hadn't overheard their conversation.
The two omegas still stopped short in surprise. Will held Emily who had woken from her nap and Lochlan held Pax's hand, though when Pax spotted Grayson, he ran over. Grayson scooped him up naturally.
"Ready to go?" Grayson asked the child. He was certainly ready. The longer he seemed to stay at this party, the more questions he had.
Pax nodded, and when Lochlan reached them, he gave Grayson a smile. "I'm stuffed," he said before turning to Will. "I had an amazing time. Thank you. This is the first time Pax, and I have been out in...a long time."
"You are welcome anytime," Will said, giving him a half hug.
Grayson was jealous of their instant omega connection.
They said goodbye to the rest of the party, except Hazel and Dante who had already left, and climbed back into Grayson's BMW. He drove them back to Lochlan's apartment and parked it, getting out to help Lochlan pull the now sleeping Pax from the back seat.
"If you leave your car here, it will get stolen," Lochlan whispered when it became clear that Grayson was going to follow him inside.
"Then I will buy another," Grayson replied. Though, he doubted anyone would steal his car. At least, not right away. Besides, Grayson wasn't about to make Lochlan carry the sleeping five-year-old up four flights of stairs.
They got to the door, and Lochlan knocked, giving the same password, community, before Lucy let them inside. She explained that Zain had gone out before grabbing Pax and taking him back to his room to lay him down, leaving Lochlan and Grayson alone in the living room.
"That was a lot of fun, thank you," Lochlan said sitting down on the couch.
Grayson stayed on his feet, despite longing to go over to Lochlan to tuck him into his lap. "It was a good time. Henry and Will are very gracious hosts."
"Oh yes, they are so fun to be around. Will told me about how they met. It sounds like a fairy tale," Lochlan said wistfully.
"Is your story so boring?" Grayson asked. He'd thought there was something quite romantic about meeting five years ago, losing each other and then finding each other again.
"Oh no, I met Bryan in omega school, my teacher was his omega dad, there was nothing romantic or fairy tale about it," Lochlan replied.
Grayson stiffened, and as Lochlan realized what he had said, he got up and excused himself to the restroom.
Grayson wasn't so angry about Lochlan's slip. His ex-alpha would hold a place in his mind. It was Grayson's job to whittle away at that place until it was mostly him.
While he waited, he thought about how they had met and realized one critical thing. The only one who had lost the other, was him. Lochlan knew where he was the entire time and had neither stayed or sought him out.
As he gently fumed, waiting for Lochlan to return, telling himself it would be better if he left since a fight didn't feel too far away anymore, he heard a chiming noise coming from the cushions. Curiosity had him digging for the source of the noise. He found Lochlan's cell phone wedged in the cushions and figured it must have slipped out of his pocket when he sat down. There was a single message on the screen that he wouldn't have read, except the message popped up, almost in its entirety, on the screen.
When you said you would take him down from the inside out, I never thought you meant from inside of your body. We need to…
The message cut off the end, but Grayson had read enough. The reality of the situation slammed against him like a wrecking ball, breaking apart everything he thought he knew about Lochlan and the relationship they were building. He heard Lochlan washing his hands and tossed the phone back in the general area of where it had been. He tried to look natural, but couldn't stop his pacing, back and forth, in the small apartment.
"About what I said," Lochlan began, clearly attributing Grayson's behavior with what had happened before he left the room. "It is just a habit. The way we met is like a fairy tale. One I am still getting used to."
Lochlan stopped in Grayson's path, forcing him to cease his frantic steps. He looked up at him with his wide, innocent omega eyes and Grayson hated how even at that moment when Lochlan's deception was known, that he still wanted to hold the omega, protect and please him. "I'm going to go," Grayson replied, and Lochlan winced.
"Okay, sure."
Someone knocked, a different pattern than Lochlan used and Grayson stomped to the door, wrenching it open to find a startled Zain.
"Everything is okay, you can come in," Lochlan assured him, and Zain quickly skittered by. That only made Grayson angrier. Were they even hiding from horrible alphas who would abuse them? He'd seen Zain with his alpha, but now that he knew of Lochlan's true nature, he wondered how much of that had been an act.
Grayson lingered in the doorway. He still didn't truly want to leave.
What was so wrong with him that he longed to be near this man who only wanted to destroy him? Perhaps Coran had broken something inside of him, and Grayson had just been trying to shove the closest Coran shaped thing into that broken place?
"I'm going on a business trip," Grayson said without turning to look at Lochlan, he would lose his nerve if he did. "I won't be able to contact you. Wilson will take you to and from work." It all felt too much like goodbye so with a panicked mind he added, "Next weekend, there is a benefit dinner, you will join me." He stomped out of the apartment, ignoring Lochlan as the omega called out his name, asking him to stop.