"Lucas! I have tried to reach you all night. I called your dad, and he had no idea where you were. He didn't even know you were coming. What's going on? Where are you?"
"Luv, I'm so sorry. I promise to tell you everything when I get home."
"No. I want to know now. I'm so worried I don't know what to do."
"Alright, but please stay calm. I'm at the hospital."
"...."
"Darling?"
"Are you hurt?"
"Yes, but it's better now. So don't worry."
"How can I not worry, Lucas. I'm so anxious I can barely stand it. Please, tell me what's going on."
"I really didn't want to tell you like this. I was waiting for the right time. A few days ago, I found out that my ex-boyfriend, Isaac, had been pregnant when our relationship ended. Kenji, I have a daughter."
"A daughter?"
"Yes. And all this time, I knew nothing about her. I don't know what to do. Please Kenji. Don't leave me. I won't make it if you leave me."
"..."
"Luv, please say something."
"I'm taking a taxi to you now. What hospital are you in?"
"There's no need. I'll be leaving soon anyway. Dorian is on his way here."
"I want to see you."
"I'm coming home as soon as I can. I love you so much."
"I love you too."
When the call ended, Lucas stared at the phone for a long time. He had tears in his eyes, and his heart was heavy. His right hand was in plaster, and his left was wrapped in gauze. It didn't hurt soo much anymore, and the painkillers took away most of the pain. However, he wished they could take away the pain he felt after hearing the shock in Kenji's trembling voice. He wasn't crying, but Lucas could hear that it was close.
Lucas wanted to go home. He wanted to hug his beloved and think of something other than the moment when Tyler bit Isaac in the neck. Never before had Lucas felt so terribly helpless. And never before had he wanted to hurt someone so badly.
After Isaac had been taken away by the ambulance, the police had walked out of the store with Tyler. The alpha was still under the influence of the sedative, but there were still three policemen holding him in a firm grip. Lucas didn't think, he just acted, and when his fist hit Tyler right in the face, he took everyone by surprise. Lucas screamed in agonizing pain from his already broken hand. Tyler had fallen like a log over two police officers, and two other officers ran up to Lucas and grabbed hold of him. Lucas didn't fight back, so the men released their grip on him almost immediately. One of the policemen asked how Lucas knew Isaac, and Lucas had answered that the omega was the father of his child. The police had then looked at each other and said one by one that they hadn't seen anything at all. And they dragged the unconscious Tyler into the police car.
Another ambulance arrived shortly after that, and Lucas was taken to the same hospital as Isaac. Lucas was told that as long as Isaac was affected by the pheromones, he was admitted to the special ward for omegas, so Lucas couldn't see him. After arriving at the hospital, Lucas got the medical attention he needed, and then two police officers came and questioned him. Lucas had told the whole story, and with his testimony and the store's surveillance camera, there was no doubt that Tyler would be convicted. And the officers talked about a new law that had been approved, which guaranteed that non-consensual bonds would be broken in case of a conviction. Tyler would be forced to undergo surgery as part of his sentence to remove the bond between him and Isaac. Words couldn't describe how relieved Lucas had been when he heard that.
Shortly after the heavy conversation with Kenji, there was a knock on the door. Lucas looked up, thinking it was the nurse and his eyes widened when Natsinet and Lucy entered.
"I couldn't find anyone who could take her," Natsinet quickly said, explaining why the four-year-old was at the hospital in the middle of the night.
"Lucy, this is your dad's friend Lucas. You meet him before, a few days ago, remember?"
"Hi," said the little girl with the sweetest little voice Lucas had ever heard.
"Hi there."
Natsinet smiled, but her eyes showed how tired and sad she really was.
Together, hand in hand, they approached Lucas, who was sitting on the bed, and Natsinet hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Lucas. You saved my boy."
Natsinet wasn't the one who cried easily, but now tears rolled down her cheeks. Lucas held her tight.
"I wish I could have done more."
"You did enough. The police told me what could have happened if you weren't there. It makes me so furious, just thinking about it."
Natsinet took a step back and caressed Lucas' cheek.
"You're a great man, Lucas. I've always wished that Isaac acted differently back then."
Lucas didn't reply, but he was grateful for her words. He didn't feel like a great man at the moment. Not at all.
The woman's phone rang, and she answered. After she hung up, she looked at Lucas with uncertainty.
"It was Isaac. He wants me to come. But Lucy ..."
"She can stay here with me."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Is that alright, Lucy?"
The girl's gaze passed between her grandmother and the stranger with a kind smile.
"Okay."
Natsinet leaned down, lifted the little girl and placed her on the bed next to Lucas.
"Lucas is one of the kindest people in the world, and your dad likes him very much. Grandma will leave, but I'll come back as soon as I can. Alright?"
Lucy just nodded and watched as her grandmother left the room. It became dead quiet. Lucas glanced at Lucy, who glanced back at him.
The only kids that Lucas had met were Eamon and Caoimhe, but it wasn't the same. Lucas was the funny uncle who had been with them since they were born. Lucy didn't know him, so of course, she was wary. And Lucas had absolutely no idea what to say or do. He was completely at a loss.
"You have blue eyes too."
Lucas jerked at the bright voice and looked down at the girl looking at him with an intense gaze.
"Yes, but yours darker than mine."
Lucy looked around, spotted a mirror on the wall, jumped down from the bed and ran to it. She tried to see herself in it by jumping up and down, but she was far too short.
Lucas got up, stood behind the girl, and lifted her with his left arm, Lucy glanced at him, but her gaze quickly went to the mirror. There they stood, father and daughter, looking at themselves and each other. Lucas could see it. Besides the blue eyes, he saw several similarities to what he had looked like when he was little. There was no doubt that Lucy was his daughter.
Lucy frowned.
"My hair is darker than yours."
Lucas nodded.
"But it's not like Dad's either."
"Your dad's hair is black, isn't it?"
"Really black," Lucy said and tried to turn around in Lucas' arms to face him. Lucas helped her move around, and they looked at each other.
"Our names are almost the same."
"Yep."
Lucy frowned again and was about to say something when the door opened. Both Lucas and Lucy turned their heads towards Dorian. At the sight of his brother holding a little girl in his arms, Dorian came to a stop, and he stared at them. Completely still, like he was frozen.
"Lucas?" He said after a while.
Lucas didn't say anything. What the hell would he say? But Lucy helped him.
"Who's that?"
"My brother Dorian."
"He has blue eyes too."
"That he has."
Lucas grinned. He liked Lucy. She was a bright kid.
"Lucas, can you please explain?"
Lucas heard the confusion in his brother's voice. He took a deep breath and met the gaze of the larger alpha.
"Dorian, this is Lucy, Isaac's daughter."
Lucas saw the exact moment when Dorian realized what Lucas meant by that.
"Isaacs?"
"Yes. Lucy here is four years old. Ain't that right, Sweetheart."
"I'll be five years old in January."
Dorian's gaze went from Lucas to Lucy then back to Lucas again.
"We talk about it later, right," Lucas just said, and Dorian nodded.
He looked at Lucas' hands.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. Do you have time to wait? Natsinet is with Isaac now. We have to wait until she comes back."
"Of course, but I want you to sit down."
Lucas didn't hold Lucy's with his injured hand, but Dorian was still worried. Lucas' was pale, and he looked like a wreck. Lucas went back to bed, and when he tried to put Lucy down on the bed, she shook her head and held on to Lucas in a tight grip. That startled Lucas, and stiff he sat down on the bed with the girl in his lap.
"Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it," Lucas said without taking his eyes from Lucy.
"Of course. You can always call me."
The little girl in Lucas' lap yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Are you tired?" Dorian asked.
Lucy nodded and pressed her head against Lucas' chest. Everything the girl did took Lucas by surprise, and he didn't really know how to handle it.
It didn't take long before Lucy was asleep in his arms. Lucas looked at her, at her beautiful features and the warm brown skin. She was gorgeous.
"She's yours?" Dorian asked, and Lucas nodded. His big hand carefully touched the little girl's brown hair.
"I just found out a few days ago."
"So Isaac kept it a secret all these years?"
"I really had no idea. Dorian, I'm terrified. I don't know how to be a father of a four-year-old girl. With the child I'm going to have with Kenji, it will be completely different. Then I will be involved from the beginning. But this is something completely different."
When he had finished speaking, he realized that Dorian was staring at him again with wide eyes.
"Yours and Kenji's child?"
Fuck! Lucas closed his eyes tightly. What the bloody hell was with this day? Lucas took a deep breath.
"Yeah, Kenji's pregnant."
"Seriously?" Dorian couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Yes, but he's only a few weeks pregnant."
"What's the bloody odds of that? Shiro's pregnant as well! With triplets!"
"What?" Lucas shouted. The little girl moved in his arms, making Dorian hush at him.
"Triplets? Are you kidding me?" Lucas whispered.
"No, but I almost wish I did. At first, I was really happy, but now that it all starts to really sink in, I'm honestly scared as hell. Seven kids, Lucas! I'm gonna be the father of seven kids!"
For the second time in his life, Lucas wasn't jealous of Dorian. The first was when Dorian met Shiro, but that went well in the end. And now this. Lucas had only two children to worry about.
"We were going to tell everyone on Dad's birthday next week. Dad and Father don't know yet."
"Can I tell Kenji? I mean, he's a fan of Shiro, and I think he's going to be overjoyed that Shiro's pregnant as well-"
"Absolutely, but tell him not to say anything to our parents."
Lucas agreed to that. They started talking about Caoimhe and Eamon, about the girls first heat and Dorian told Lucas everything he knew about Eamons relationship with Tem. They talked until Natsinet got back, and with a smile, she looked at her granddaughter sleeping soundly in Lucas' arms.
"How's Isaac?" Lucas asked immediately.
"He's feeling better. Still a bit out of it, but he's not in heat anymore. He's sleeping now."
"When can he go home?"
"Probably tomorrow, but the doctor will decide after the morning round."
Lucas let out a sigh of relief.
Natsinet turned to Dorian and smiled.
"Hi, Dorian. It's good to see you again."
Dorian walked over to the woman, who hugged him.
"You are as beautiful as ever."
"And you're just as sweet as I remembered," she said and then looked at Lucy.
"It looks like it's gone well?"
"She's a great kid," Lucas said with a tender smile.
Natsinet walked up to Lucy and put out her arms. Carefully Lucas placed his daughter in Natsinets arms. Lucy woke up, and when she saw her grandmother, she hugged her.
"Is Dad okay?"
"Your daddy's fine, and he's sleeping now, so we're going home. Have you enjoyed being with Lucas?"
"Yeah, he's really nice."
"That's great. Now it's time to say goodbye to Lucas and Dorian."
Lucy looked shyly at Dorian and waved back when the big man waved at her. Then she looked at Lucas and motioned with her little hand for him to come.
Lucas did what she asked, and when he got to her, she put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Can we met some other day?"
"I would really like that."
"Good," Lucy said and let go of Lucas to embrace her grandmother again.
When Lucas met the woman's gaze, she had tears in her eyes. The unhappy, tired face was now filled with relief. Natsinet was happy.
"I'll call tomorrow," he said and kissed her cheek.
After they left, Lucas and Dorian also went out into the long hospital corridor. Lucas talked with a nurse before they left and got to the car. As Dorian drove through the dark streets of London, Lucas told him everything that had happened, how he had met Isaac on the street, how he had learned about Lucy and everything that had happened earlier in the evening. While he was talking about Tyler, Dorian was cursing, and his grip on the steering wheel was so strong that his knuckles were white.
When they arrived at the tall building where Lucas lived, Dorian pulled his little brother into his arms and hugged him hard.
"I'm proud of you, little brother."
Lucas didn't know what to say. He couldn't find words. Dorian, his hero, was proud of him. Those words meant the world to the younger alpha, and he began to cry. If that surprised Dorian, he didn't show it. He just kept on hugging him.
"Promise to call me if anything happens. We are brothers, and we got to be there for each other."
Lucas nodded eagerly, his face against Dorian's shoulder and tears still running down his face.
"I promise. Thank you."
Before Lucas left, the two brothers said they loved each other, and when the car drove away, Lucas followed it with his gaze. The night air was cold, and he was shivering. Lucas had far too thin clothes to be out in the middle of the night. But it wasn't like he had expected to come home after midnight.
It was with mixed feelings that Lucas opened the door to the apartment. Longing after his beloved, but also worry about what Kenji would say. What he hadn't expected was that when the door closed behind him, he could hear rapid footsteps from the living room and Kenji that came running towards him. He threw himself on Lucas, wrapped his arms around him and cried.
"I've been so worried."
Lucas took Kenji in his arms and held him tightly. He repeatedly kissed the side of Kenji's head.
"Please forgive me. I should have said something earlier. I'm so sorry."
"No matter what you tell me, I want you to know that I will never leave you. I love you, and you are mine."
Lucas was so relieved that he cried even more. Kenji gently stroked Lucas back as they walked out of the hall. Lucas was so busy crying from all the emotions after the chaotic day that he didn't notice how Kenji flinched as he walked past the large mirror in the hallway. Kenji stared into the mirror, and when he looked forward again, his eyes were filled with panic.
Lucas saw none of this. Tears blurred his vision. Lucas hadn't cried so much since Isaac had left him, but the difference was that he had Kenji now, and that was all he needed.