“We will do the same as before,” I said firmly. “Let me call Jason.”
After I made the arrangements, I circled the couch and grabbed her hands. “Per favore, carissima, sit down. I will be back before you know it with your friend.”
It would complicate things even more. Another Alpha in the house, with an unbonded Omega, would certainly cause issues. But we would handle it.
She nodded, but still looked lost. I tugged on the bond. Andrew walked up cautiously, then opened his arms with a small smile. “It’s going to be okay. We promise.”
Bridget hesitated for a second, then embraced him. He sank into the armchair with her in his lap, purring loudly.
“I will be back soon,” I murmured. Andrew met my eyes with a grim look. He was already calculating the trouble to come. But until then, Bridget was in excellent hands with my Alpha.
Nathan Manalo was exactly as I remembered him. Stoic. Severe. Handsome, but stern. As we drove back to the apartment, he said little, and his citrusy, woodsy scent was strong but not unbearable.
“Is she alright?” was his first and only question.
“Si. And she is very anxious to see you.” I started the long, confusing route I’d planned. It took us through a tunnel, into two separate parking garages, and then back through the tunnel.
“Thank you,” he said when we parked in the garage attached to our building. “I know this is an imposition.”
I turned off the ignition. Silence fell. “Do you love her?”
Nathan looked sharply at me. He didn’t respond.
“You do. I am Italian. We are experts in love,” I said with a rueful smile. “It is only fair to tell you, we love her too. Maybe not the way you do, but it is growing every moment we spend together.”
“Why are you telling me this?” His voice was clipped. “It’s none of my business.”
“Because I will not have you fighting over her. Andrew will control himself. Will you?” I didn’t mean to sound aggressive, but I needed him to understand.
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Bene. Then we go up.”
I knocked on the door to let them know we’d arrived. The flood of emotions in the bond was nearly overwhelming, and I didn’t want to walk in on anything that might bring the inevitable tension to a head so soon.
The lock scraped, and the door swung inward. Bridget’s eyes found Nathan and welled with tears. “You’re okay. I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this—”
“No apologies.” Nathan interrupted her gently. “It was my choice.”
“Let us go inside,” I reminded them. Bridget’s eyes flicked to me, and she stepped back to let us in. I crossed quickly to where Andrew was watching the scene unfold and placed a hand on his arm. “Calm, mi amore,” I murmured. He nodded, distracted.
Nathan stood awkwardly in the kitchen, his hands in the pockets of an ill-fitting black wool coat. I pitied him walking into another Alpha’s home.
“Can I hug you?” Bridget asked, her voice breaking slightly.
Nathan’s look of surprise was there and gone in a flash. “Yes,” he said, after the barest hesitation.
Bridget wasted no time embracing him. He responded with careful movements, and when his left arm wrapped around her back, he gave a hiss of pain.
“You’re hurt,” Bridget said, and pulled out of his arms. “What happened?”
“I was shot,” Nathan said in his deadpan tone.
“With agun?” Bridget’s voice went up a full octave.
Nathan gestured with his forearm. “Yes. But it’s fine.”
I rolled my eyes. Alpha pride. “This is what all the Alphas say until they are nearly dying from an infection. Let me see it.”
