He walked over and pulled Ryker in for a kiss, nudging his mate’s cock with the back of his hand and feeling it twitch with interest.
“You’ll be back in time to meet up with Steve?” Ryker asked, pushing his nose along the line of his cheek.
“I will,” August said. He nudged Ryker away, leading him back into the bedroom. “If you go back to sleep, I might even be back before you wake up.”
Ryker yawned, pulling him in for another sleepy kiss before crawling back under the covers and pulling Dylan into his arms. Dylan mumbled a half-awake protest at the sudden movement, but he quickly settled.
Watching them, August’s heart swelled with a fierce protectiveness and a determination to do whatever it took to make them happy. He walked out of the apartment, putting on his coat before taking the elevator down to the lobby and catching a cab. As he sat in the back of the taxi, he read through his message history with Dylan, scoffing at his own cluelessness when he saw how his references to conversations he’d had with the fake Dylan online had been met with complete bafflement.
He should have caught on sooner.
Arriving at work, August was surprised to see Cynthia sitting at the reception desk.
“I told you that you didn’t have to come in,” he said, taking off his jacket and draping it over his arm. “What are you doing here?”
Cynthia shrugged. “It’s only for a few hours. Is everything all right at home?”
August couldn’t hold back his sigh. “It’s complicated.”
“Will you be okay?”
She sounded genuinely worried. August hadn’t taken many days off since he started the clinic, and taking one without any notice was highly unlike him.
August nodded. “We’re notnotokay. Do you remember that guy I told you about, the werewolf, Steve?”
Cynthia nodded.
“Well, he’s formed a mystical werewolf bond with Dylan. It’s a mess, and untangling it is going to be a nightmare.”
Cynthia squinted, like she wasn’t sure she believed him. “A mystical werewolf bond?”
August nodded. “That’s pretty much what it is. We don’t know how it works, except that Dylan now can’t go more than a week without seeing him.”
“How can you not know how it works?”
August shrugged. He wasn’t lying – they really didn’t know how omegas’ addictions worked – though he was maybe overstating his ignorance.
“We just don’t, in the same way we don’t know how I can do this.” He held up his hand and popped his claws, making Cynthia jump back in surprise. She put her hand on her chest, breathing fast as she shook her head.
“I forgot about that. Jesus. Okay, so mystical werewolf bond. Got it. Do you have one with him, too?”
August nodded.
“So it’s like you and Ryker and this guy have been magically joined to one human.” Cynthia rubbed her forehead. “That’s intense.”
“It is,” August agreed.
“So what are-”
The phone rang and Cynthia interrupted herself to answer it.
“Mrs. Levitt is on her way up. Do you need any time to prepare?” Cynthia asked, all business now that they had a patient to deal with.
August headed toward the door, shaking his head. “No, I just need to boot up my computer. Everything else should be ready. Just send her in.”
* * *
Three hours later, August had seen the five patients that Cynthia had rescheduled for that morning and was almost ready to go home. He just had to finish writing a referral and an insurance report.
