Second Assault — Bond And Treason — novel Chapter 32

Wednesday, April 17th. Fredek's room, 7:25 p.m.

XANDER

—Fredek Magnus, open the damn door this instant!

Magnus keeps banging on the door, and I'm sure if Fred takes a little longer, he won't have any trouble breaking it down. It was a complete disaster after he heard Lev and me talking in the hallway. He turned red with rage, ranting against Derek and Angelo without filtering or rest.

I had to use our bond to calm him down a bit, but when he finally did, and I thought I had a chance to convince him to address the issue another time, he turned and walked away so fast that Lev and I had to practically run to catch up. It wasn't even necessary to ask where he was going.

—Fuck! Now what do we do? — Lev exclaims in a muffled scream, though I doubt he needs to whisper. With Magnus' screams, there's no way he'll hear us.

—Honestly, I have no idea. You saw that I tried to soothe him, but it didn't work — I bite my thumbnail for the nerves.

—Poor Fred. When Alex gets in there, a war will break out.

—Lev, please don't say that — my hands are shaking slightly, I feel the fear in my body increasing —. I'm worried enough, you're making it worse.

—Well, what do you want me to say? — Hands up, exasperated —. That they're going to have a nice afternoon of tea and cookies? — I roll the eyes, showing him my middle finger —. Why don't you try to get closer? Maybe now he'll listen to you.

—You must be joking — surprise reflecting on my face —. If he didn't listen to me before, now that Derek and Angelo's scent is so intense, I doubt he will this time — and fuck, we can smell it from three doors back.

—Damn it! — Magnus roars, beating the door so hard I can hear it creak —. Fuck it, I'll smash it down — he takes a few steps back, removes his vest, leaving it carelessly discarded on the floor, gaining impulse to crash into the already battered piece of wood.

—No, Magnus! — I raise both hands in his direction to stop him —. Wait, don't do it.

—Xander, you'd better stay out of this — mumbles, though his countenance softens when he looks at me —. I'm pretty pissed off right now and I need to get some fucking answers.

—I know, honey — I slowly get closer to him, producing waves of my pheromones as a last resort to try and reassure him —. But listen to me, this is not the best way to do things.

—Xander — warns me.

—Magnus — I interrupt before he can continue, and I can read in his face that I'm making progress as I continue to approach —. Please, don't do anything you'll regret. At least allow him to explain everything — When I am finally in front of him, I place the hands in his arms and I can sense him shaking from the tension and the contained rage. I gently caress him, climbing up to his neck and hollowing the cheeks —. Listen to him, my love.

I whisper and stand on the tip of my toes so I can kiss his mouth. He closes the eyes tightly and, after a few long seconds, wraps his arms around my waist, squeezing me closer to his body.

—Magnus — I mutter on his lips to get his attention, he slowly opens the eyes and watches me —. You must remain calm, don't lose control. Please? — He looks at me for a long moment, until finally nods. His strong hands are squeezing my hips and I feel his breathing regulating —. I'll be by your side the whole time, honey. I'm just asking you to give him a chance to explain. Okay? — Nods again —. Good.

I kissed him again, briefly and subtly, before separating and reaching for his hand.

He intertwines our fingers and takes a deep breath. I walk towards the door and now, with softer touches, I ask permission to enter.

—Fred, you can open up now — I raise my voice to make sure he can hear me.

—No, I won't — I know he's afraid and it's understandable, I'd be terrified in his position. I feel a squeeze in my hand but I ignore it and continue to insist.

—We just want to talk, I promise.

—You know my brother, Xander — even though his voice is muffled by the door, I can hear the sarcasm in the sentence —. He's all about "hitting and then talking", I won't let him hurt any of my partners.

—He won't this time, I give you my word — the silence extends further and through the bond I continue to send serene vibes to Magnus, hoping that he will manage to maintain patience. Shortly afterward, his grip on my hand loosens and I sigh of relief when I notice that it worked.

—I don't know, Xander... — There's some whispering, but I can't figure out what it is they're saying —. All right, I'll open the door now — I signal to Lev to stand beside me, leaving Magnus behind us. He grimaces as if to say, "Are you crazy?!", but eventually gives up with a resigned sigh, after the murderous stare I give him back —. Xander, I hope you're right — Fred says before I hear the sound of the latch unlocking.

I cast a glance at Magnus, but I cannot see any discernible expression on his face, only a small wrinkle amidst the eyebrows, keeping the eyes on the ground. I know he's making great efforts to restrain himself and I'm ensuring that I use the bond as much as I can to help him do so. Finally, the doorknob is turned and the door slowly slides open, allowing the three of us to get the first peek inside. Fred is standing in front of us, wearing a simple blue tank top and ripped jeans.

Angelo is sitting on the edge of the bed fully clothed in a flawless grey suit, along with a white shirt and red tie. The caution in his eyes is evident. Derek, on the other hand, has the hip resting against the desk at the side of the room, in a suit, too but completely black and with the arms crossed over his chest. He does seem annoyed, but when our glances cross, drops his down, embarrassed.

The smell of Alpha is very heavy. Lev and I wrinkle our noses as soon as it invades our nostrils. After all, an Omega will only settle for the smell of his partner, so I imagine it's a paradise for Fred. Magnus squeezes my hand again and I can feel him tense up. I only pray that my efforts through the bond are not in vain.

—Can we come in? — I ask Fred quietly.

—I don't know, Xander — but he is watching everything except Magnus, I guess the poor guy must be scared to death —. I don't think that's a good idea.

—We'll just talk, Fredek — Magnus assures, his deep, low voice startles me, although I try to recover my posture immediately. That's when Fred looks up and the two brothers stare at each other for a long moment in silence.

—Okay — Fred surrenders, releases the door, and stands in the middle of Angelo and Derek, hugging his body as if he was cold.

Lev and I shared a cautious glance before entering the room. The sheets on the bed formed a huge lump, suggesting that there was quite a bit of activity going on, but for the sake of all present, I reserve the observation.

Fortunately, the light hanging from the ceiling is enough to illuminate everything, so I will not miss any of their reactions. Even if I'm happy that Fred was able to get his two partners together, I still want to check these two men's feelings for him. I imagine that's what Magnus wants too.

—Baby, the faster the better — Lev mumbles, smiling nervously. He takes a sideways glance at Magnus, who stands immobile behind us.

—They're my partners, Alexei — Fred confesses quietly and peeking under his eyelashes. Magnus emits a low growl and the grip on my hand becomes almost unbearable. I turn and stare at him as if I wanted to blow his head off. He takes the hint and, with a deep breath, forces himself to calm down again.

—How can you be sure? — he mumbles, and I focus on Fred's reaction.

—They've already claimed me, Alexei — Fredek reveals, indicating between Angelo and Derek —. You know the bond would never have been formed if they weren't my Alphas.

—Magnus — Angelo calls and we all observe him standing up —. Your brother never intended for this to happen, let alone Derek, and I thought we'd be paired up with the same Omega. But... It happened — he walks up to Fred and gently wraps one arm around his waist —. Mother Moon has sent us both to care for, protect and love him. And you have my word, that's exactly what we're going to do.