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Zack shook his head. “You were twelve. It’s not the same thing.”

Victor reached over and cupped Zack’s cheek. “It’s my fault you got taken.”

Zack’s eyes widened. “Of course it wasn’t,” but he could see the glittering moisture in his alpha’s eyes, and that made him pause. “Why do you say that?”

Victor swallowed heavily. “Because I didn’t want you to stay here just to protect Mo. I made you stay because I couldn’t put either of you at risk, and I failed spectacularly. I thought the wolves from the pack would be enough to keep you safe because I trained them. I knew every one of them.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips over Zack’s. “That’s my failure, and I don’t know how I’m going to live with that.”

“Baby,” Zack murmured, reaching out and drawing Victor into his arms. “What a pair we make.”

Victor pressed his forehead against Zack's, their breaths mingling in the quiet of the room. "I love you," he said, the words he'd been holding back now flowing freely. "All of you—the bear, the omega, the man. Every part of you is precious to me."

The door opened, and Mo appeared with a tray of his own, stopping short when he saw the emotional scene before him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Zack said, extending his hand toward Mo. "I think I am. We were just talking about...well, about me being an omega."

Mo set his tray down and climbed onto the bed, completing their circle. "And how do you feel about that?" he asked gently.

Zack glanced between his two mates, drawing strength from their presence. "Confused. Scared. But...maybe a little relieved too."

"Relieved?" Victor questioned.

"Yeah," Zack admitted. "It explains things I never understood about myself. The way I've always felt around you both. How right it felt to accept the mating bite when everything I thought I knew said alphas didn't do that."

Mo snuggled into Zack’s arms and looked at Victor. “I was just coming to tell you Raschid’s here.” He reached out and caught Victor’s hand. “You know anything you decide is okay with us both, don’t you?”

Victor nodded and smiled, but he knew he wasn’t fooling either of them. He pressed a kiss to both their lips, then left. He was going to have to resign. There was no way he could be Raschid’s beta commander and give both his mates the attention they deserved, and he couldn’t take either of them away from here, even if the pack was close. He wanted to be a good mate, and he wanted to be a good father to Mattie and their unborn child. Something had to give.

But guilt clawed at him. Raschid had just about saved his life. Given him purpose. And this was how he was repaying him?

"Victor?"

He glanced over at Riley, who was just coming out of their office. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, before you get the urge to rip me apart," Riley grinned, his smile wide. "I just wanted to let you know that I examined Zack again earlier, and the baby's development hasn't slowed down."

Victor's pulse picked up. "What does that mean?"

"He's fine, they both are, but more importantly, the baby could survive now on his own, should Zack go into labor." Victor breathed a huge sigh of relief. Miscarriage had still been a huge concern after what Zack had gone through, which was why Riley wasn't so much as leaving the house to go into the woods to shift. He'd told Victor privately about his concerns and agreed not to share it with Mo or Zack. Victor thanked Riley and carried on to see Raschid.

Raschid was in the kitchen with Alex. They were on their own, which surprised him. He bared his neck for his alpha briefly as a sign of respect, then wondered what to say. How to start.

“Victor, how’s Zack?”

That brought a smile to his face. “Better. But Riley says no shifting. The baby has developed at such an alarming rate, Riley’s worried a shift might hurt him.”

“Him?”

“No idea, and I really don’t care,” Victor replied, then helped himself to a coffee and at Raschid’s nod, sat down.

“I was coming to confirm that Pearson’s lab and all the associated experiments have been destroyed. Asher and Riley have been able to go through the computers and do the same. Both doctors have lost their licenses, and have agree to no jail time in exchange for a gag order. I have no idea how Riley and Daniel managed that, but they won’t be able to practice anymore.”

Victor blew out a relieved breath. He didn’t want it to ever happen again. His alpha glanced at Alex and then back at Victor. “We have an interesting development.”

Victor guessed it was about Alex, but not what. They hadn’t had much time to talk about Alex’s developing alpha abilities.

“I have a new command for you.”

Victor gazed at Raschid. A new command? He glanced at Alex, who met his gaze unflinchingly, then back to Raschid. “My alpha?” Victor prompted.