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Bruiser gave a lopsided smile. “Picked it myself. My birth name was William, but back in those days, every other boy was a William, a John, or a David. I wanted to be different, so I switched between nicknames for a while. While that was going on, I learned that I was... inclined to fighting. Mostly in defense of the weaker kids, but the more fights I won, the more I decided that fighting was a part of me. So I picked Bruiser.”

“How did your parents feel about it?”

Bruiser’s expression flickered into something wistful.

Uriel backpedaled. “You don’t have to talk about it. You’ve never mentioned them.”

“It’s fine. You should know anyway. My parents died when I was young. They were both young themselves, barely your age, and reckless. You’d think they’d be more careful, since they had both lost their immediate families to hunters, but... They trusted someone they shouldn’t.” Bruiser’s mouth twisted. “They had just moved into a large town and gotten to know someone, except their new friend sold them out to dragon hunters.”

“No,” Uriel breathed, horrified.

“Yeah.” Bruiser sagged. “I was with my babysitter when they were captured and murdered. She didn’t know if the hunters would target my extended family as well, so she brought me to Ace and Raptor’s flight instead. That’s how I grew up, with another flight instead of my own. My birth flight would probably help me out financially, but when I had grown old enough to care about having a sizable hoard, I decided that I would build it with my own hands. It made me... a little obsessed with growing my wealth, and I had forgotten about omegas until recently.

“Not to mention my own trust issues with telling people what I am.” Bruiser sighed. “You skipped that part since Mav and Telos brought you into our friend group.”

“That really sucks, about your family,” Uriel said, his chest aching. “I’m sorry.”

Bruiser gave a half-smile. “That’s life, right? Sometimes we encounter difficult things that are just so terrible, I wonder why they have to happen. You suffered more than I did, though.”

Uriel stared at him, speechless. “Do you—” He had to clear his throat. “Do you want a hug?”

“Yes.” Bruiser opened his arms.

Uriel burrowed into his chest, wrapping his arms tight around Bruiser’s waist. Bruiser’s arms were strong, warm bands of iron around him. Unlike Uriel, Bruiser had a family that wanted him, except he hadn’t gotten to keep them.

“Did you track down the hunters?” Uriel asked, angry now that he was imagining Bruiser as a child, losing his parents.

“Yes. I took them out. Managed to find some pelts in their possession and... I donated them to some wildlife sanctuaries, in case the creatures there needed blankets.”

“Good.” Uriel clung tighter.

He listened to Bruiser’s heartbeat, losing track of time. Bruiser ran his hands up and down Uriel’s back, and through his hair.

“Want to see my bedroom?” Bruiser asked after a while.

“Is this an attempt at seduction? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?”

Bruiser grinned. “I did see your apartment and your bedroom. It’s not as big as mine.”

Uriel tried to elbow him from this awkward angle. “Just like an alpha to say that.”

Bruiser huffed, but he seemed reluctant to separate himself from Uriel. Not completely, though. He left an arm around Uriel’s back, walking with him out of the nursery.

At the double doors to Bruiser’s bedroom, the alpha paused.

“What?” Uriel asked.

“Hunner left a surprise in there, remember?”

“Oh gods.”

“It’ll be great,” Hunner yelled up the stairs. “Love juices for everyone!”

“Now I’m afraid to find out,” Uriel said.

“Well, we have to do it at some point, or we’re never going to sleep in there for the rest of our lives,” Bruiser said.

“The tragedy,” Uriel murmured.