“Luther Keller. Who is this?”
“Nicholas Cavallero. I’m calling about Wilson Ashford.”
The silence on the other end lasts two beats. I hear something shift, a chair scraping, a door closing. When Luther speaks again, the assessment has sharpened. “I know the name Cavallero. Your brother is Sebastian.”
My hand tightens on the phone. I hate that most people, depending on the business they’re in, know that I’m Sebastian’s brother rather than him being mine. It makes sense, though. Sebastian’s name came up a few times in the filings and I haven’t seen him since everything went up in flames.
I left Wilson sleeping at the club an hour ago, his face buried in the pillow I brought from my own bed, Lorenzo’s arm draped across his back. Oliver was building a fortress of blankets around them when I slipped out.
“Yes, Sebastian is my brother. However, I’m not calling about him. Wilson is the man Sebastian spent three years destroying. Right now, someone is using Wilson’s history with Hearthstone to smear his name in the local press.”
Luther’s breathing is measured on the other end. There’s another beat of silence before Luther starts asking several questions, all relating to the article we’ve all seen at this point. I didn’t expect anything less but I was hoping, selfishly, the Alpha who helped take down Hearthstone could put in a good word for a Beta who was just helping the Omegas.
I’m grasping at straws but even with the article being pulled and legal being involved, it’s not enough. I answer each question without embellishment. Luther Keller doesn’t strike me as a man who appreciates it.
“What are you asking for?” he says once I’ve laid it all out.
I huff out a breath, dragging a hand through my hair. “Truthfully? Anything you can give me that points to the fact that Wilson wasn’t helping Hearthstone. I did a little research about everything with the time I had and I’m sure you have more information about that institution than I grabbed off the internet. I just…”
A hearty laugh meets my ears. “He’s your Beta, isn’t he? I know desperation when I hear it. I’ve been in your shoes before.”
I frown, not completely understanding what he means. There’s not much information about Luther Keller’s pack, almost as if someone scrubbed it off the internet. I didn’t pry because it’s not important. Now, though, I’m wondering if it’s the one thing that appeals to an Alpha I desperately need help from.
“Right.” I clear my throat. “Do you have any information you could share? Filings? Anything that would help turn the public opinion about my Beta? Luther, I’m going to be honest with you. We don’t know each other but from what you just said, I’m hoping you can understand when I say he’s not doing well. He was only there to help those Omegas any way he could. He even—” I pause, unable to finish that sentence. Wilson telling another Omega about a black market procedure isn’t information I can hand out.
Luther fills in the space. “Nicholas, you’d be rather surprised how often Wilson’s name comes up in our house but that’s Luca’s story to tell. Not mine.” The phone goes quiet for a second and I almost think he’s going to hang up before I hear, “Here’s my Omega. I think you’ll realize you called exactly who you were meant to.”
I’m thoroughly confused until a sweet voice filters into my ears. It’s lighter than Luther’s, brimming with restless energy. “Hi, is this about Wilson?”
Luca Keller doesn’t wait for context. The name alone shifts his entire register, his voice leans forward through the phone, urgent enough to tell me Wilson’s significance in his household isn’t casual.
“My name is Nicholas Cavallero. I’m—”
“Sebastian’s brother. Luther just told me.” He cuts me off, obviously eager to get to the point. “What’s happening to Wilson?” The way he says the Beta’s name makes me think there’s a personal connection which doesn’t make any sense.
Unless…
My eyes widen as I grip the phone a little tighter. “Luca, you…”
“Yes. Wilson helped me get out of there and back to my pack. It’s a long difficult story and we still keep in touch sometimes. Like Christmas cards and well, I send him cards and hope he opens them. We met once or twice after everything but…” Hepauses and then sighs. There’s a cry in the background before I hear Luca yelling at someone and another voice, a little less sweet, not quite an Omega responding back. “Sorry, full house. Uhm, what can I do for Wilson? What does he need? Is he safe? Are you a good Alpha?”
I start laughing, cutting off his questions. “Yes, Luca. He’s safe with me but he’s not doing well after that article came out. I’m just looking for anything that might help shed some light on what he was doing so I can show that he wasn’t involved.”
Luca perks up. “I hate whoever wrote that thing,” Luca snarls, his voice dropping into something fierce that vibrates through the speaker. “Wilson is the reason I’m alive. You understand that, right? Without Wilson Ashford, I’d still be inside that building with my ex’s bite in my neck and no way out.”
“I’m beginning to understand,” I tell him.
“He fed me,” Luca continues, his voice catching. “When I couldn’t eat, when the food tasted like ashes and my body was shutting down, Wilson sat across from me in the cafeteria, pushed a sandwich toward me, and didn’t leave until I’d finished it. He showed me his scar.” He pauses, a young child in the back cooing. Jealousy hits me square in the chest. I want that. I want a full family and mates and everything that comes with it. “He pulled down his collar to show me what a bite removal looks like and told me it was possible. He slipped me a piece of paper with a phone number on it, told me to memorize it, then destroy it.”
My hand presses hard enough against the counter that the edge leaves a mark across my palm as I stand here listening to a stranger describe the man I love saving someone’s life while his own was falling apart under my brother’s hands.
“Wilson didn’t work at Hearthstone because he believed in what they were doing,” Luca says, his voice steadying. “He worked there because he saw what was happening to the Omegas inside and he couldn’t leave without trying to help. Itwas his last day when he helped me. He told me he was done watching Omegas get chewed up by a system that was supposed to protect them.”
“Would you be willing to say that publicly?” I ask, hoping and praying that not only Luca agrees but that Luther does. No Alpha would willingly put their Omega in harm’s way.
“Publicly, privately, on a billboard outside the goddamn courthouse,” Luca replies, the ferocity in his tone crackling through the speaker. “Wilson can’t speak for himself because of what he did for me. The bite removal I had was illegal. If he defends himself by explaining how he helped me, he exposes both of us. He probably doesn’t even realize that but he would figure that out the moment he tries to put out a statement.”
The realization settles in my chest with a weight that rearranges something fundamental. He didn’t just save Luca’s life. He handed over the only defense he would ever have and sacrificed his chance to clear his own name to keep Luca from being dragged into the aftermath.
