Beta Bully (M/M) - Epilogue (Early Access) (Patreon)

Epilogue

The office was silent when Oli invited himself inside. Nico was sat at his desk with his eyes glued to his computer, loose hair framing his flawless face. Darcy’s mini desk beside him was empty, and the speaker that balanced on the corner was off. The perfect moment for a private conversation.

“Hey, we need to finish last night’s talk,” he announced, kicking the door shut behind him.

Nico grumbled to himself, but sat back a little from the glowing screen. It wasn’t that he was skilled in the art of avoidance, but stubborn as a mule. Lying together in bed last night, he had simply rolled over when he didn’t want to agree with Oli.

In the last few weeks, however, Oli had noticed how much more receptive Nico was to his dominant displays of behaviour than his normal tone and actions. He had been testing his theory more and more. Now, he was going to try and power play his own soul-mate into admitting to being his soul-mate.

“No more hiding.” He balanced his butt on the corner of the desk next to him, letting his hand slide along the wood to where Nico’s were resting beneath the keyboard. “We’re not teenagers screwing around behind our parents’ backs.” Anymore, he added in his head.

Nico shrugged non-committally.

“Nico.”

Oli took the side of his neck in his palm and squeezed it once in warning, feeling his pulse push back against him. Nico stiffened.

“I want your agreement.”

Nico tried to nod, but Oli’s grip on his throat kept his head still.

“Answer me,” Oli ordered.

“Yes.” Breathless. Eyes misty. His lips remained agape after he said the word and Oli knew exactly what that expression meant. They did not have time to sate that need right now.

Alpha Marshall would be arriving in an hour, and they still had so much to do to prepare.

The alpha of Charred Crescent was everyone’s friend, but rarely in writing. The Pearl Claw had a chance to pursue a formal alliance with Alpha Marshall and his pack thanks to a good word from their good omega. It was not an opportunity to be fucked up. They needed a clear-headed alpha of their own to lead the negotiations.

It would never have been Nico’s choice to take over the pack at the age he had. Freshly twenty-three when his dad had died without a single health condition. A stroke out of nowhere. And now he had a few hundred wolves relying on his leadership. He had just about hated every moment since.

If he could just get an alliance on paper, Oli could manage the relationship from there. Piece-by-piece, he would unload his soul-mate’s plate of debilitating responsibility.

“We need to be a united force from now on. Facing things together.”

Nico nodded in his hand. It felt like a nuzzle. Oli dropped his face in close and kissed both his cheeks.

“Brutal honesty, remember?” he reminded him.

“I only want to be that honest with the titled members,” Nico grumbled.

The four of them spent more and more time together since their honesty talk, and it meant everything to Oli to see his soul-mate opening himself up to Luca and Darcy. With Riley having been banned from the main pack house, he was acutely aware that Nico didn’t have other friends to spend time with. As introverted as Nico was, Oli still wasn’t comfortable to see him alone without him. He and Riley had taken Nico’s friendship by force as kids. Now that he was the alpha of the pack, no one had the balls to approach him to be best buds. And, as had happened with Darcy initially, once he feels he has ruined a relationship, Nico’s back is up and his frown down.

“This is something we need to be honest about with everyone. There’s no good reason to hide.”

Nico’s signature frown slipped back onto his face. “You mean except all the scrutiny it’s going to bring, all the people that will think we’re faking it as a power play-”

Oli silenced him with a messy kiss. Nico drew up from his chair, following the pull of his lips. Their bodies squashed together against the desk. Writhing muscles reminded Oli of their teenage years, wrestling out in the forest. Pretending it was only wrestling. He snatched Nico’s neck in his hand again, pulling him up the extra inch he had in height, drawing him up onto his toes and tying their tongues together.

The office door creaked open, and they ripped apart just in time to catch a red-faced Darcy backing out of the frame, hair clip bouncing atop his head with his hurried steps. He had matching cups of coffee in his hands but managed not to spill a drop in his retreat.

“Darce!” Oli called after him, laughing. “Before you escape, answer me one question!”

Darcy paused at the end of the corridor. “I prefer riddles,” he replied.

“Did that look like the kiss of a couple faking their relationship for power?”

Nico glared at him with his frown pulled all the way down. It was one of Oli’s favourite things in the world. That, and the laughter he let loose when they were alone. Two sides of a perfect coin.

“No, it looked like you were checking Nico’s teeth for gold,” Darcy answered with mild disgust.

Somehow, Nico’s glare became more intense. How dare Oli embarrass him in front of his friend? It only made Oli’s grin wider. Nico’s soft spot for Darcy had been deepening with every passing week.

Their wolf forms had been the game changer, though. The first time they ran together as wolves, Oli felt something bond the four of them together. More than title. Nico hadn’t been able to switch off his puppy vision since. Now Oli was more worried about cuteness aggression than anything else.

“Sorry, Darcy,” Oli said without a hint of remorse. “I was only coming by to grab Nico before our big meeting.”

Darcy returned to the office, although he gave the pair a wide berth when walking to his own desk. He placed the mugs down carefully and hopped onto his wheelie chair. His wavy hair bounced with him.

“Don’t make Nico nervous, it’s not a big meeting,” Darcy scolded lightly. He pushed Nico’s mug towards him and they sipped their coffees in sync. Darcy two-handed around the large mug, Nico using only his thumb and forefinger. “Alpha Marshall is a genuinely nice guy and really easy to get along with. You’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure it isn’t appropriate for you to join us?” Nico groaned.

Darcy shrugged apologetically. “It might seem like we’re ganging up on him in the negotiations to have three of us. He’s only got one beta so far, and they had to stay home to watch the pack.”

“You’re right, but I wish you weren’t,” Nico said with a sigh. After a few more sips of his drink, he announced, “Oli and I are going to tell the pack that we’re soul-mates.”

Darcy’s surprised jolt mirrored exactly how Oli felt inside. His plan had worked.

“That’s great!” Darcy’s face exploded in a bright grin. Sunshine in omega form. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you guys.”

Nico hid his face in his mug, taking a snail-slow sip, and shrugged. Oli thanked Darcy for the kind wishes on both their behalf.

Darcy giggled into his own mug, tucking his feet up under him. “Now we can go on double dates out on the pack lands!”

Oli laughed. “That sounds like exactly what we’ll need after this meeting. A chill evening with our friends.”

Nico smiled nervously. He polished off the last mouthful of his drink and stood suddenly. Oli couldn’t tell if he was feigning determination for Darcy’s sake, but he wasn’t fooled.

They said goodbye to Darcy, and made their way downstairs to meet Alpha Marshall at the bottom of the drive.

Before they passed through the front door, Oli caught Nico’s fingers, squeezed them for a moment, and stepped out ahead of him.