“You’re awfully sexy when you get parental.”Ford leaned in for another kiss that Chase gave reluctantly.
He did feel parental over Pip, always had.The sweet kid was as much his to love and care for as his own mates, and that might be terrifying, but it was how things had always been.He’d always felt that if Pip’s parents didn’t love him enough, Chase would make up for the deficit.
* * * *
“Ain’t you gonna be late for class?”Ford stretched and stepped from the car.
He’d driven them back to campus, where Pip had fallen asleep in the back seat.He’d even brought the car seat from Wynna’s car, and Neko had been at the west gate waiting to chaperone Lucky and Phoenix to their next shared class, which meant he didn’t need to worry.
“I don’t have class.”Chase smiled, glad he had a chance to linger, to get more time with Pip once he woke up.
“While I enjoyed our lunch, I should talk to Kain before I leave.”
Gossip had already told him what this would be about, and it wasn’t a nice task.Chase couldn’t blame Ford for hesitating.“I’ll walk with you.Kain is in my next class, meaning he’ll be in the quad, where he won’t need a chaperone.”Chase grabbed his bag from the car while Ford reached in and lifted Pip from his car seat.He tucked the sweet kid on his hip, head against his shoulder, and locked the truck behind them.
Chase led the way to campus, surprised when Ford caught up and draped an arm across his shoulders.
“Do you do notifications like this often?”
“If the bond is registered, they send a letter or a representative notifies them, but Lucky asked me to do this myself.I meant to tell him earlier.”
“I can tell him.”
Grant was just getting to the table after having lunch with Neko off campus, but Kain was already there and waved as they approached.
“I bumped into Lucky on my way.He said you’d come to campus.Missing your mate already?”
The rush of words was typical for a sugar-loaded Kain, but Ford didn’t take offence.“He’s good therapy.”
Kain popped a chocolate into his mouth.“I said that to Phoenix once.Whatever makes Lucky…well, Lucky…they need to bottle that shit and sell it, cause being around him makes everything better.”
Ford released Chase to perch on the bench opposite Kain, placing his hand on Pip’s back to keep him steady.Kain was a nice guy and one of Lucky’s closest friends, which must make giving him bad news much harder for someone as sympathetic as Ford.
“Am I covered in chocolate?”Kain asked, clearly concerned by Ford’s unwavering gaze.
“Lincoln Halloway has been given a fifteen-year sentence and added to the Containment listing.He won’t be a problem for you anymore.”
Shit, that was a seriously long sentence for someone Lincoln’s age.
Kain swallowed, eyes glued to the table.“Did they ever find out…you know…what sent him into heat?”
Chase was surprised he asked, but it only showed what a nice guy Kain was, to actually care about his mate, despite rejecting him.He sat opposite Kain, eyeing Ford carefully.
“Actually, they did.Seems one of Scout’s crew gave him a painkiller, after he got that mark from Lucky,” Ford said, gesturing to his cheek, as if any of them needed reminded of the miraculous injury Lucky had caused.“Only it turned out to be Mania.”
“Oh.”Kain frowned, clearly disappointed.“Then it wasn’t Omha punishing him.”
Ford barked a laugh and shook his head.“I wouldn’t be too sure.”He darted a glance at Chase that was all approval, with a touch of pride.“The same guy gave another two crew members a tablet from the same packet just three hours before he gave Lincoln one.Store bought, untampered, regular painkillers…for the first two guys.The one Lincoln got was, miraculously, the only one that turned out to be Mania.Scout even sent the packet in for testing, and not a single other tablet is anything but what it should be.”He shared a smile with Kain, who seemed fascinated.“If that’s not Omha taking a hand, I don’t know what is.”
Kain nodded, apparently relieved, though Chase wasn’t sure why.Then again, this whole thing confounded him and he would never again question if something was an act of the Gods or just a fluke.“Is he over the heat?”
“Yeah.Lasted six days, though.”Ford seemed inordinately pleased.“The medics put him into an induced coma to ride it out.”
“That’s a shame.More alphas should experience what it’s like for an omega to go into heat.Maybe then they wouldn’t be such dickheads about it, when it’s our turn,” Kain grumbled.
Ford didn’t seem shocked by the outburst, just smirked.“When it stopped, he had a burn on his face, right where he slapped Lucky.Guess you could call it a brand,” he corrected, with a smirk.“In the shape of the letter omega.”
Chase huffed, stunned that he was spouting this shit to Kain, who firmly believed in Omha just as Lucky did.Before he could argue that this wasn’t helping, Ford pulled his phone out to show them a photo of Lincoln, who really did have a burn high on his left cheek, suspiciously in the shape of the omega letter.
