He wanted to cry, hearing those words.Jesi was the only one he could hear them from without raging.The only one with the right to say them.
“We’re here now and we can do the right thing.My suggestion?omega to omega?is that you keep being smart, keep communicating, and find what works best for you.Both those alphas out there belong to you and they both seem pretty attached.You might barely know them, but this is a good situation, under the circumstances.”
“They’re good men, good alphas, and neither will hurt me.”
Jesi swallowed and blinked rapidly, clearly as close to tears as Lucky.“Someone will check on you to find out how things are going, but you can take longer if you want.”
“I just have to be treated like an omega in heat?”
“Absolutely.Caring, talking, bonding.As long as both your mates are equally involved,” Jesi advised, covering all the questions that Lucky had been mulling over.
“What if they don’t want to?”He’d already sensed that Chase wasn’t comfortable knowing that Ford was part of their bond.He was the one most likely to refuse.
Jesi bobbed his head, considering the question.“Alphas aren’t exactly designed to desire another alpha, or there wouldn’t be an issue with the two alphas to one omega situation,” he admitted, which made Lucky smile, because he’d written that into an essay once, only for Professor Juniper to fail him for the ‘brazen audacity’.“If you bond with each alpha, it should be enough—traditional bonding techniques like kissing and cuddling should strengthen the part of the bond they’re not sharing with each other.”
Lucky wiped his cheeks of tears, having never imagined he’d need to have this conversation, but at least it was with Jesi.There were just some conversations he was more comfortable having with another omega.
“I’ll drop a hint before I leave.”
“I don’t plan to refuse, but what would the alternative be, if I didn’t take the Fugue?”
Jesi clutched the vial of Fugue between his hands.“The alternative would be a full-blown heat, with you lost to your omega instincts, and four days of intense fucking.If your alphas weren’t together, with youandeach other, I’m not sure the four days would be enough.”
“Will you tell them that, before you go?”
“Sure.”Jesi stood and gently laid the vial on the bedside table.“I like you, Lucky.Take care.”He stepped back and returned the chair to the corner.Jesi paused by the bed and mimicked taking a drink.“Down in one go.”
Lucky was grateful he’d clarified because he hadn’t thought to ask.He figured that, in this, he shouldn’t expect anything to be obvious.
* * * *
Ford
By the time Jesi appeared, Chase was pacing like a criminal during an interrogation.At the sound of the door closing, he stopped and folded his arms over his chest, waiting impatiently to hear what had happened in his absence.
Ford understood.Not being present while Jesi gave omegas advice after a traumatic experience was normal, but this felt different, like he should have been with Lucky even if only for moral support.
Jesi crossed to sink into a chair in the waiting room.Rafe had already left, looking more harried and tearful than Ford had expected.
“Sit down.”Jesi reached for one of the bottles of water on the table in the middle of the seating area, and sipped as Ford and Chase sat on the two chairs facing him.
Jesi pursed his lips and talked them through everything he and Lucky had spoken about—the Fugue, its effects and the choices he had to make.Ford had gone through the crash course three months ago, when the drug had passed the third trial, but Chase looked overwhelmed.“Make this easy on Lucky, if you can.Omha blessed him by revealing this three-way bond between you and it’s the only reason we’re not making different plans tonight.”
Chase glanced at Ford, though he wasn’t sure what Chase expected.
Ford cleared his throat and took charge.“Thanks.I?we?appreciate you doing this for Lucky,” he admitted, because there was no one he trusted more to give Lucky the right information and advice.
“He’ll sleep for roughly twenty-four hours.That gives you two time to decide what you’ll do.”Jesi huffed and sat back, looking exhausted.“I need you two to sign the consent forms, then I’ll get Lucky’s signature.Once he’s taken the Fugue, the medical team will monitor him for the first three hours.If they clear him, we’ll transfer Lucky to the Lodge.They have a suite available that the Boss has booked for the next week.We need the ward room and there’s nothing more, medically, we can do for Lucky here.”Jesi rose from his seat into a stretch and grabbed his bottle of water.
Ford stood to walk him out of the clinic.“I’ll call you once it’s over with an update.”
Jesi left with a promise to clean up his desk after he’d collected their signatures and processed the consent forms.Ford hadn’t even thought about the paperwork on his desk or the work he’d been doing before Lucky’s kidnapping had taken precedence.Someone needed to talk to Rafe and get the specifics of why they’d taken Gigi, and what had made them take Lucky.Ford presumed it was all due to Lincoln, but they weren’t in the business of trusting hunches in the ORT.
Ford returned to the waiting room to find Chase with his head in his hands.“You okay?”
Chase sat back, hands dropping into his lap.“No.”
He ruffled Chase’s hair on the way past.“I’d know you were lying if you said you were fine, and we’re past the point of lying to each other.”He grabbed one of the unopened bottles of flavoured water from the table and chugged a third.
