Page 56 of His Stolen Omega

Levi put him to bed.

And spent an hour debating whether or not the omega’s comments about his dick were meant to be an insult…or a thinly veiled compliment.

Chapter 13:

He had not spent the entire night cuddling with his captor.

No, because that would be certifiably insane, and Elm was…only somewhat crazy. All morning, he seemed to be the only one bothered by it, by this ridiculous, fake closeness. Levi had already been up and dressed by the time he’d woken, and he’d hurried him into the bathroom, then brought him downstairs.

For breakfast.

Like this was the morning after a friendly hookup.

The alpha even cooked himself.

Elm sat at the table and watched him crack eggs and fry bacon, then sat there in silence eating while Levi took the seat across from him and sipped coffee. There was only toast on the older man’s plate, unbuttered, bland, but Elm didn’t comment on it no matter how badly he wanted to.

There was something in the air, something more than awkwardness, like a tension he couldn’t quite place. It took him until he heard the sound of footsteps to realize he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He smelled the other alpha before seeing him, but his body didn’t react, which was at least one reprieve. Elm turned toward the door and watched as Baal Fae entered, bypassing the table they were at and going straight for the espresso machine across the room.

“You’re late,” Levi drawled, not bothering to glance up from whatever he’d been reading on his holopad. He sipped at his coffee and delicately set the cup back in its saucer.

Casual.

Far too casual.

Elm’s nerves spiked.

The underboss grunted and then turned, propping a hip against the counter. He tilted his head at Elm. “Want to take me down, Erskine?”

He frowned and glanced between Baal and Levi.

“Can you?” The Leviathan still didn’t pull his gaze off his device.

Elm was aware last night had been a manipulation tactic, that the guy had been niceish to him to calm him down so he didn’t go completely off the rails—again. But at least that he could make sense of. This…

“What are you two up to?” he asked, unable to keep himself from questioning their logic. He set his fork down and folded his hands in his lap, picking absently at the cuticles of his thumbs. “If this is a lead up to having the underboss beat me to a pulp, can we skip the dramatics? I’m too exhausted for mental gymnastics.”

Baal snorted and drank from his cup, staring Elm down over the rim before setting it aside. “He’s an interesting one.”

“He has this uncanny tendency to speak his mind, yes,” Levi replied.

“So he’s tactless.” The underboss crossed his arms. “How has Kian managed to protect you all these years?”

Elm bristled. “Excuse me?”

“That mouth has to have gotten you into trouble in the past.”

While Elm did have a tendency to say the wrong thing and piss people off when he’d been a kid, he’d outgrown that. After the fifth or so time of Kian having to come save him from middle school bullies, he’d wised up. But that was none of these alphas’ business, and Elm had been a preteen at the time.

“He’s not shitting himself, so there’s that,” Baal added when Elm didn’t respond. “Well? Let’s see it.”

“See what?” Elm was getting annoyed, but the anxiety was still there, urging him not to lose his cool and snap at the underboss of the White Frost.

His brother wasn’t here, and Elm was no longer a child.

“Baal is a mated dominant alpha,” Levi finally explained. “You don’t have to worry about turning him on. See if you can bring him down.”