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After Teal put on a dry shirt , Ronan gave him the rundown on the conversation he’d had with Dale.

The couple agreed that the only thing they could feasibly do at this point was monitor the situation.

Teal was certain the other omega wouldn’t take more suppressants.

They just needed to make sure his uncles did the right thing when Sorcha’s heat arrived.

The boys talked about their summer camp adventures over a simple dinner of soup and sandwiches.

“Garin, are you sure you want a second grilled cheese?” Teal asked dubiously.

“Yes, Daddy. You know I’ve been hungrier lately. Alphas need to eat a lot.”

Teal chuckled as he put another sandwich in the pan. “Garin, not everything is about being an alpha or omega. I’m sure it has much more to do with being a growing boy. I bet when Zayne is six and going through a growth spurt, he’ll want an extra sandwich too.”

“Really?” Zayne asked, evidently delighted at the prospect.

“Maybe two.” Ronan winked.

“It would be good if Zayne ate a lot,” Kino interjected seriously. “It would be easier for him if he turns out to be a big omega like you are, Daddy.”

Ronan and Teal shared a loaded glance. They knew Kino wanted the best for his little brother, and the boy certainly wasn’t wrong that life was safer for larger omegas like Teal.

But in other ways, things were easier for delicate omegas like Sorcha, who were considered more natural .

But how to explain that to a precocious six-year-old?

“For now, how about everyone just eats the amount they’re hungry for and we won’t worry about the re—”

Frantic knocking on the front door interrupted Teal.

Ronan stood. “Stay here,” he ordered the boys.

“Yes, Papa,” they replied.

Ronan answered with Teal behind him. He swung the door open to find Dayson Bannon on his porch.

Although Teal often worked with Dayson at his firm’s offices, Ronan had never actually met the man. But he knew him from pictures.

Except the Dayson Bannon on his doorstep didn’t look like the one whose face had been plastered all over the news.

This Dayson had a massive cut across one cheek, with a big purple bruise beginning to mottle his pale skin.

His left eye was swollen to the point of being sealed shut, and his hair was a bloody mess.

Blood coated his ginger curls and dripped down his jaw and neck.

Ronan couldn’t see exactly where the blood came from, only that the wound was somewhere underneath a fast-food napkin Dayson held to the back of his head.

When the omega pulled the napkin off as though to test how much fresh blood would gush out, his scalp was visible.

A chunk of his hair had been ripped right out of it.

But one thing about this Dayson Bannon that appeared exactly the same as the man Ronan had seen on TV was his determined expression, visible even beneath his wounds.

The couple moved aside, inviting the injured omega in. That was when Ronan noticed Dayson’s left arm hanging limply at his side. And from the way he stepped cautiously into the living room, dripping blood along the way, the alpha guessed there were other injuries hidden under his clothing.

Teal put a fist to his mouth. “Oh my stars! Dayson!” He called into the kitchen, “Boys! Go upstairs and get the first aid kit and all the hand towels in the hall closet.”

Zayne and the twins jumped up immediately. Teal went into the kitchen and turned on the faucet.

Ronan carefully placed an arm around Dayson’s back, assisting him in hobbling to the couch. The red-haired omega seemed smaller than on TV, and up close, he looked younger than his twenty-seven years.

Dayson must have sensed Ronan’s unease. “Don’t worry,” he said, managing half a smile through swollen lips. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“I never doubted it.”

Teal pulled an armchair over, balancing the medical supplies in his hand with a pan of warm water in the crook of his elbow. Kino put the towels down on the coffee table before helpfully ushering his siblings into the family room.

“I also got a few good punches in myself,” Dayson asserted, wincing as Teal ran a damp towel across his scalp.

“What happened?” Teal asked.

“I got jumped coming out of the lab.”

Ronan recalled that Dayson’s day job was working in biomedical research at a local university.

Like Teal, he had climbed higher in his field than most omegas did.

He’d been assisting alpha researchers studying omega heats.

That was the reason he felt especially qualified to operate a heat service, not just because of his own traumatic experience.

“I thought Schulman and Carson had security on you twenty-four hours a day,” Teal said.

“They do. But the guys usually hang back a little, to avoid calling attention to themselves. When I left the building, they fell in step a few feet behind me while I walked to the parking lot across the university quad. But by the time I got to my car, I realized they weren’t there anymore.

That’s when I got jumped. The cowards had their faces covered, but all alphas.

Stinking of it. I think there were four, possibly five.

I fought back until one of them yanked my hair and slammed my head into the ground. After that, everything went black.”

“Oh, Dayson,” Teal whispered, eyes teary.

“Thankfully, I came around quickly. Right next to my car where they left me. I know I wasn’t out for long because I still had my phone and could check the time. They didn’t rob me or take anything. Just beat the shit out of me.”

Dayson hissed as Teal wiped the last bit of dried blood off his scalp before smoothing a bandage over it. “I don’t think this needs stitches. Although the hair won’t grow back for a while.”

“Meh, it’s a look.” Dayson shrugged as Teal began cleaning off his face.

Ronan admired the ginger omega’s courage. “So, when you came to, what happened?”

“You can guess. I sort of did an inventory of my injuries. My arm was fucked but I figured I could still drive.”

“Did the guards ever show up?”

“Not that I saw. But I got my ass in my car and high-tailed it out of there.”

“And ended up here,” Teal concluded.

“Sorry about that.” Dayson’s expression turned sheepish. “Hope it’s okay. I couldn’t think of anything safer, and I didn’t want to take the chance there might be more alphas waiting in my apartment.”

“I’m glad you came here,” Teal assured him. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“It seems like somebody wanted to hurt you but not kill you,” Ronan said.

“Of course,” Teal sneered. “The pro-alpha movement can’t risk turning Dayson Bannon into a martyr.”

Teal finished cleaning the blood and gave Dayson ice packs for his eye and cheek. The first aid kit had an arm sling, which he also handed over. “You can see if this helps. Your arm looks super wonky. We can take you to the hospital if you want.”

Dayson sat up, already seeming better than when he’d come in. “No. I think it’ll be alright. The cuts and bruises aren’t catastrophic. My arm’s banged up, but I don’t think it’s broken. I can still move everything. It just hurts.”

“Still, we should go to the police in the morning to document this incident, have them take photos. Assuming you’re comfortable with that?”

“Absolutely. I was planning on it. I just didn’t want to go there without some back-up.”

“We’ll help.” Teal squeezed Dayson’s hand.

Ronan watched the two omegas exchange a soft look, one he had seen Teal and Zayne share several times. The omega bond. Thank stars they had it on days like today.

Teal brought a pair of his sweats and a hoodie downstairs for Dayson, taking the other omega into the bathroom to help him change. While they were there, Teal’s phone buzzed. Ronan heard what sounded like ten texts come through in a row.

When the omegas reappeared, Teal picked up his phone and scanned the messages. Abruptly, he excused himself. “I need to make a call.”

“I wonder what that was about,” Dayson said.

“No idea,” Ronan replied.

Once he’d assisted Dayson in getting into a reasonably comfortable position on the couch, Ronan checked on the boys, sending them upstairs to brush their teeth and get changed for bed. He started to clean up the blood from the entryway and living room when Teal came back, looking dazed.

“That was Mr. Carson,” his husband said. “He was calling to let me know that Dayson Bannon’s security detail had been knocked out and that Dayson and his car were both missing.”

“Knocked out?” Dayson spoke up from the couch.

“Apparently.” Teal sat back down next to the other omega.

“Your attack must have been coordinated, since they made a plan to neutralize your protection. Carson said the two guards were drugged. They woke up half an hour ago after campus security found them on the ground. They told the police they’d been following you to your car when they got attacked from behind and stabbed with needles. Someone injected them with a sedative.”

“I suppose it’s good they weren’t involved,” Dayson said. “I like my guards a lot.”

“We can’t fully rule out their involvement, but my guess is an alpha rights group,” Ronan said. “Like the one that Al guy on my crew was recruiting for.”

“Did you tell Mr. Carson that I came to you?” Dayson asked Teal.

“No. I figured that was your call to make.”

“You can let him know. That I’m here and I’m safe. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the police station and tell them what I remember. After that, I’m going back to my apartment, once the security team clears it.”

“Are you sure?” Teal asked. “You’re welcome to stay. And since no one knows you’re here, it might make sense to hide out.”

Dayson exhaled hotly. “Until when? … The tribunal? … After? … Forever? … No thanks. I’m very grateful for your help tonight, but I don’t want to hide. I’ll be more careful, of course, maybe stick closer to the guards, but I won’t be pushed around.”

The admiration in Ronan’s eyes was mirrored in his husband’s.

“Thank you for everything you’re doing,” Teal said.

“I could say the same to you.”

“Ronan and I will take you to make a statement in the morning. You can get a good night’s sleep here in the meantime.”

Since he wasn’t feeling up to climbing the stairs, Ronan and Teal got Dayson settled on the couch for the night before heading to bed.

They pulled back the covers and barely took the time to undress before falling onto the mattress in a heap.

They lay facing each other, rubbing their noses into one another’s scent glands.

It wasn’t lost on Ronan that what happened to Dayson easily could have happened to his husband.

Back and forth, Ronan breathed into Teal’s neck, kissing and licking, savoring his honey lavender smell, gaining the unique comfort only it could bring.

The rattle of their phones startled them.

Both men received the same message.

UNKNOWN: Next time, we’re coming for Teal

UNKNOWN: And it won’t be a few cuts and bruises