In love we rise

Chapter 4

There is something to be said about being in the police station, being stared down by burly, aggressive alphas releasing dominant pheromones, as they herded criminals through the halls and into holding cells. Perhaps it was the imminent nature of the space they were in, but Elio had been on edge, his skin feeling too tight, with an itch right under, ever since they had stepped foot into the precinct. It was only the quietly confident presence of Angelo beside him that held him back from bolting away.

By the time they had arrived at the station, it was already after eleven at night. For a moment Elio had hesitated on the steps of the building, not sure if he was ready to face his pursuer. There was this feeling of shame surrounding the events from that morning that fell like a shroud over his shoulder, making him feel wholly under-equipped to deal with the undoubtedly rigorous rounds of grilling waiting for him within the walls of the precinct.

A certain part of him, that he had always chose to ignore, was telling him that it was entirely his fault. That had he not instigated the alpha, he would not be in this mess. That he should have given in, submitted, like a good omega. That whatever was happening now would only make things worse. Because, who was he to stand up and tell an alpha what they should or should not do?

But, the bigger part of him knew that he was right. Was confident in his stand. And for the sake of himself and every other omega that the alpha may come into contact with in the future, he needed to take a stand now. Was he scared? Yes. Perhaps even a little bit ashamed. But, he was not a coward, and he was not going to start behaving like one now. Gritting his teeth, and squaring his jaw, Elio had stepped into the building.  

But, there is something to be said about being in a police station, under the intense scrutiny of people who were trained to sniff out bullshit from a mile away. Especially when the said person was also an entitled alpha that made it a habit of looking down on the ranks below his. Yes, something about that very much had chipped away at the previous spell of confidence in Elio, leaving him feeling raw and vulnerable. But Elio was not weak. And certainly not lesser than anyone. He was a hard-worker. A talented photographer. And he would be damned if he let an asshole make him feel any less about himself.

The alpha, Inspector Romanov, as his name tag proclaimed him to be, had been very cynical from the start and Elio had the distinct feeling, that he would have very much liked to brush the whole episode aside as not worthy of his time. But the presence of the two very dominant alphas flanking him, deterred him from any hasty course of action, much to Elio’s chagrin. It had also stopped him from letting his pursuer go with only a cursory warning. Elio couldn’t help but scoff. This was the man in charge of omega concerns at the station! As if! It was outrageous. Clearly the man was one of those entitled alphas who thought that the only time an omega should be heard was when they were agreeing to what their alphas said, full of false bravado and self-importance as long as they were around those they considered below them. Yet, literally would kowtow, possibly literally lick the boots of those they considered superior. And in the last hour that Elio had been here, it had been made abundantly clear to him where he stood regarding the man.

And, honestly, for a moment, that had made resentment bubble up within him. Towards the man. For being a douche-bag. Towards the world. For allowing this to happen systemically. Towards himself. For being an omega. And towards the two alphas beside him. For receiving something he had to fight for tooth and nail every day, so easily. So very easily. Respect.

But, Elio prided himself on being rational. And he knew that Angelo and Raphael were not at fault. They had been nothing, if not fair and generous. And no matter what he thought, in the heat of the moment, he knew he would never change the fact that he was an omega. It was who he was. His identity. And he loved it. It gave him the strength he needed to face the world that would rather see him down on his knees, every day.

A hand on his shoulder jerked him out of the quagmire of his thoughts. Elio looked up, blinking the haze away from his mind. Angelo was looking at him, a slight frown on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked, squeezing Elio’s shoulder in assurance.

Elio nodded. “I’m fine, thank you. I was just-“

But he was interrupted by the Inspector.

“There! He says he’s fine. Maybe, he’s just making a big deal out of nothing, huh? Anyway, now that that’s settled, we can all go home.”

And that was it. Elio felt the last of his sanity snap. From the corner of his vision, he could see Angelo and Raphael, both bristle with indignation. But, before either of them could say anything, Elio could feel himself get up. The chair toppling over behind him, and slamming his hands down onto the table in front of him.

“You know what I was thinking Inspector?” He said, his voice quiet. Like the quiet before a storm. He saw the Inspector look at him in surprise, and felt a vindictive glee rush his limbs, giving him strength. “I was thinking about how a pig, an absolute i***t, would be better suited to the job than you. For not only are you an absolute nincompoop, who doesn’t know how to do his f*****g job, but also one of those self-entitled alphas that make the lives of every omega out there difficult. And the fact that you do have this bloody job could only mean one of two things. One. The entire world is wrong and judgmental. Or two, that you must have literally sucked d**k and flattered your way into this. And since I would like to have a little more faith in the world, I am much more keen to believe the latter. Now, I would like it very f*****g much, if you would do us all a favor and file the bloody report and put that other asshole over there, in jail, so that we would all be spared the horror of looking at your face for another second longer.” Snarled Elio, his words rumbling out of him, with a tinge of suppressed aggression.

He picked up the sheaf of papers from the table and pointed them at the Inspector’s dumbstruck face. Elio was sure that no one had ever dared to speak to him like this. Shame, Elio thought. He should have had his ears boxed by his mum when he was a child. Maybe then he would have turned out to be half decent. He watched as the Inspector’s face turned an ugly shade of tomato, raising a brow at the gaping fish face that he was making. That seemed to do the trick, snapping the man out of his shocked stupor. But, before he could open his mouth to retort back, Elio felt the reassuring presence of Angelo, as he stood up to stand by his side.

“I suggest, Inspector that you do as he says.”

There must have been something in the way he looked, because, Inspector Romanov snapped his mouth shut, looked down and away, and started arranging the documents for the FIR.

The process took barely fifteen minutes, but by the end of it, Elio was completely drained. His hands shook and he felt slightly light headed. Not unnatural considering the day he had had. And as he shuffled into the car, melting back into the seats, he could barely keep his eyes open. Honestly! He had had enough excitement to last him a lifetime. Now he just wanted to sleep.

                                                                                                 ----

Angelo was having trouble keeping himself in control. Which was strange. He was always in control. Yet, for some reason, and he could very well guess what it was, he could not keep his emotions under control today. Had oscillated between the varying emotions so fast, that it left him dizzy and disoriented.

And god, this omega’s smell was not making it easier on him. It’s like the moment he had smelled the boy, he had been hooked. The overpowering smell of peaches and vanilla causing an unnamed emotion to bubble up in him, and establish itself as a fierce need to protect. He couldn’t say why this was, and refused to contemplate the consequences, and hence here he was, caught in a limbo, his only option- settle firmly in the present- warring with his need to run away and hide this, maybe even from himself. Yet, there was this undeniable attraction he felt towards Elio, that he couldn’t quite quantify, and it honestly scared him.

It had reared its head when he had had his arms around Elio in the foyer of the hotel, and he had looked towards the boy for a second. It was like, in that moment, Angelo had forgotten to breathe. How could someone be so stunning? With his beautiful green eyes, the high cheekbones, and that downright sinful mouth, complete with a freckle right on the left of the Cupid ’s bow. And Luna! The way Elio had looked, like he was entranced by Angelo, like he would follow Angelo to the end of the world, as he had gone pliant in his arms. Luna! That did something to Angelo. And if he were a lesser alpha, Angelo would have given in, and kissed him, first meeting and the inappropriateness of it all be damned.

But Angelo was, in fact, not a lesser man, and he had reeled his wolf in, and somehow found it in himself to escort the omega into the elevator. If you asked him why he had helped Elio, despite the strangeness of their first meeting, Angelo could not say. Except that he had just felt like he had to.

And now, here they were, sitting beside each other, with Raphael sitting shotgun, as they drove back from the police station, well after midnight. For a second, Angelo’s thoughts flashed back to the call he had overheard between Elio and his brother, and with a jolt he realized that Elio’s family must be worried sick about him. In his own greed to have the omega all to himself, for as long as he could, he had entirely forgotten about what should be done. Elio had to go home. Angelo most certainly did not want to investigate the reason why his heart clenched tightly at that thought. That was for later, he had responsible adult things to do now.

With that thought in mind, Angelo turned towards Elio, and was greeted with the sight of a peacefully sleeping omega, curled up slightly against the door of the car.

Angelo could feel a smile tugging at his lips, at the sight. And after a second too long of staring at the beautiful boy in front of him, he reached out carefully and tapped his shoulder.

“Elio. Wake up. You need to tell us where you stay. Elio?”

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Raphael turn back around in his seat, but, Elio was entirely unresponsive. Too deep in his sleep to even stir at the hand shaking his shoulders lightly.

And after five minutes of trying to wake the omega up, Angelo sighed and turned back around to Raphael, who was now looking at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“So, what are you gonna do now?” Raphael asked, a teasing glint in his eyes, making Angelo scowl. Damn him and his best friend intuition. He had clearly picked up on Angelo’s strange behavior today.

Angelo cleared his throat and looked away, out the window.

“Are we taking him back with us?” Raphael continued. “I mean, he is sound asleep. Must feel safe with us to do so. Don’t you think?”

And wasn’t that a thought! Angelo whipped his head back to his best friend, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Elio felt safe enough with Angelo beside him, to fall asleep. Especially after the day he had had. He found himself turning to look at Elio’s sleeping form, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Yeah, we’ll take him with us,” he breathed out, reaching forward to brush a strand of hair away from Elio’s forehead.

Distantly, he heard his friend scoff.

“Of course, as you say, Your Highness.”