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“Look, Ronan, I don’t want to be indelicate, but my theory is that part of the reason this poison is acting so unpredictably with Teal is because of his heat being overdue.

As you know, preparing for heat can take a toll on an omega’s body.

I imagine that’s what made him so susceptible to this, and I’d guess it’s what’s keeping him sick. ”

“Teal is struggling to improve because his heat is imminent?”

“Yes. And if it comes on in the next few days, it could further impact his recovery.” Dr. Kinzinger cleared his throat. “We can, um, give him a suppressant just to be on the safe side.”

“No.” Ronan exhaled heavily enough to cause Jax’s head to turn. “He was very clear that he wanted to try for a breeding this time—”

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Ronan. Even if he comes out of this, his body has been through a terrible ordeal. A productive breeding heat right now might be too much, especially since he’s over thirty.”

“Fuck.” Frustration laced Ronan’s voice. “It’s so unfair. He was excited.” Ronan ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you, doctor. I’ll need to discuss this with my part—… Um, I’ll need to think about this and I’ll let you know.”

The doctor darted his eyes at Sorcha and Jax but didn’t say anything. He nodded as he left the room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

After Dr. Kinzinger’s departure, Ronan called Niall and put him on video chat, asking the beta to find a private place to talk away from the boys. Ronan relayed the doctor’s thoughts to Niall, Sorcha, and Jax.

“My gut tells me to wait on the suppressant,” Sorcha said. “Teal wants to be bred, and that’s a powerful thing for an omega. After everything that’s happened, he should be involved in the decision.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Ronan replied. “Unless his pre-heat becomes life-threatening with everything else going on, I don’t want to take away that choice from him.”

“Makes sense,” Niall offered from behind the screen.

At Jax’s silence, Ronan asked the stoic beta, “What do you think?”

Jax shoved his hands in his pockets and looked intensely at Teal. “You know what’s best. This really isn’t my decision.”

Sorcha reached out and took Jax’s hand. “Jax—”

“No, little one. Let me.” Ronan moved to stand behind Jax, who continued staring down at Teal with a mix of love and fear in his eyes. Sorcha angled the phone so Niall could see and hear them.

Jax tensed when Ronan pushed his chest against Jax’s back, stiffening his spine as Ronan placed his hands on the beta’s hips.

Resting his chin on Jax’s shoulder, Ronan circled his arms around the man’s waist, sandwiching them together. Jax remained rigid and his face tightened, but he didn’t pull away.

“Jax…” Ronan intoned, “I know you’re as terrified for Teal as we all are. I’m asking for your opinion because I’d like to hear it. Because what happens to Teal is going to affect all of us.”

Jax squeezed his eyes shut, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before finally speaking. “I don’t think Teal would want the suppressant.”

“Thank you.” Ronan’s cheek lifted in the first hint of a smile he’d had since Teal collapsed. “I think you’re right.” He brushed his nose against Jax’s neck for a second, as though there was a scent gland there, before pulling away.

***

Later that afternoon , the lead detective on Teal’s case came to see Ronan. Teal had been opening his eyes more and had even looked at Ronan once as though he recognized him. But he hadn’t spoken yet.

Ronan met the detective in a private conference room. Detective McMillan got right to the point. “We have the men in custody who tried to murder Teal.”

Ronan startled. “Already?”

The detective snorted. “We aren’t exactly dealing with criminal masterminds here. You know that little café Teal went to on his way to court every morning?”

“Fontaine’s. It’s kind of a ritual of his.”

“Yeah, well, that ritual was known to the owners’ son, Percy. The owners are big fans of Teal’s, but apparently the son fell into some pro-alpha forums online and appears to have become radicalized.”

“He poisoned Teal’s bagels?”

“Or his coffee. Like I said, he’s basically a dum-dum who got caught up in shit, such an amateur that he didn’t even erase the online discussions where he connected with folks.

There’s evidence he mentioned Teal’s Fontaine’s habit in the forums and was then contacted directly by another member who had access to the poison because he works at a chemical plant.

At this point, it seems to be those two idiots acting alone.

No signs of a mass conspiracy yet, but we’ll keep digging. ”

“I can’t believe they just casually tried to hurt Teal.” Ronan fisted his hands. “He has three little boys, for stars’ sake!”

“At least Percy was somewhat inept at it. Part of the reason Teal’s symptoms weren’t consistent is that he wasn’t always able to slip the poison into Teal’s food.

Only on certain days when he helped prepare the order.

That’s also why Teal got better during the weekends.

He confessed to everything during questioning and even showed some remorse.

He’ll still be in jail for a long time, but at least there’s that.

The owners are absolutely mortified by what their son did, too. ”

Ronan shook his head. “Those online forums are really something. All those young alphas don’t stand a chance, with so many supposedly upstanding adults telling them that omegas are coming for their rights and that they need to assert themselves.”

“It’s a problem, but if it makes you feel any better, your words yesterday affected folks.

A lot of people out there are pro-alpha, but few are so far gone that they think Teal deserves to be murdered.

I think those of us on the right side of things will be doing a better job monitoring our alpha sons and questioning the pro-alpha bullshit when it’s said, instead of just brushing it off. ”

“I certainly hope so.”

Detective McMillan promised to stay in touch with Ronan during the ongoing investigation. Ronan thanked him and then sent a message to Schulman and Carson, asking if they could meet him at the hospital.

Teal’s bosses arrived within the hour. Ronan filled them in on the detective’s findings and requested that they take on informing the public.

“We’re happy to set our PR department to the task. How much information do you want us to divulge at this time?” Mr. Schulman asked.

“I guess the basics. Teal was poisoned, and the perpetrators have been apprehended. It’ll all come out eventually, but I know Teal is fond of a young barista who works at Fontaine’s. He wouldn’t want this information to put the place out of business.”

“Understood.”

“You can also say that Teal is waking up but we still don’t know the full extent of the damage. Maybe it’s bad, or maybe there will be no long-term effects. We just don’t know.”

“We’re on it,” Mr. Carson said. “A lot of folks out there will be relieved to know he’s out of immediate danger. There was online speculation that he’d died, and we simply weren’t saying, so thankfully this will put a stop to that.”

Ronan growled softly. “The omega rights groups want to make a martyr out of him.”

“That would be my guess,” Mr. Schulman agreed.

“I hate how he’s just a symbol to so many people. I wish they could see him like I do, as a husband and a father, someone with hopes and dreams and fears.”

Mr. Carson placed a hand on Ronan's shoulder. “But sometimes those symbols are powerful beacons of hope. I mean, our firm is culpable here as well. We put Teal front and center because the optics of having an omega in High Court helped our cause.”

“And Teal knew that. He accepted it,” Ronan said. “But maybe my husband has done enough for the cause. Maybe he doesn’t have to be a symbol anymore. He can just be a man.”

After thanking Schulman and Carson for their help, Ronan headed back to Teal's room, opening the door to the sight he’d been longing to see.

Sorcha and Jax sat on the far side of the bed, Sorcha clasping Teal’s hand to his chest. The young omega had tears in his eyes.

As Ronan walked into the room, Teal turned toward the door, stretching out his arm slowly.

“Hello, my love.”