happened, though, and he appreciated it more than he could say. Hyatt still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, other than what should have been the best discovery ever was tainted and awful.
At division, Jax led them straight to Karter’s private office, and they waited until Karter arrived. He gave Hyatt a bottle of water, then began brewing coffee for the rest of them. “Dorian and Rebel are waiting separately for me to speak to them about tonight’s incident,” Karter said. “Hyatt, why don’t you tell me what happened first?”
Hyatt’s stomach gurgled unhappily. “I met my bondmate.”
Jax let out a shocked, raspy noise and signaled, “You did? Who is he?”
“Dorian.”
“Holy shit,” Karson squawked. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why would I joke about something so awful? We both scented each other in the foyer, and later when I left the conservatory to pee, Dorian must have been looking for me. He grabbed my hand and took me into the library, and I was so confused and upset, because he’s Symon’s brother! His omegin tried to kill Symon! I just…I was alone with a strange alpha and I started to have flashbacks to Edgar. I made a noise, and I guess that’s how Rebel figured out where I was, because he came inside, and then Dorian was gone, but I was still panicking and didn’t see what happened between Rebel and Dorian.”
“According to Dorian,” Karter said, “Rebel yanked him away from you, and when Dorian tried to defend himself, Rebel punched him in the face. Dorian tripped and fell backward over a reading chair. Someone from the hall heard the ruckus and separated them. Rebel got aggressive, though, because you were still upset, and he tried to charge Dorian again. That’s why Monte’s security guard had Rebel cuffed by the time I got there.”
“Rebel was protecting me. He thought Dorian was hurting me. Rebel’s always protected me.”
“I know. Bringing you down here at all was mostly a show for Monte. The fight did cause damage to his home and disrupted his event, so he could press charges against Rebel if he chooses to.”
“I’ll pay for the damage. Rebel can’t go to jail for protecting me, please.”
“I doubt it will come to that. Right now, we’re sorting out a case of disorderly conduct and doing it by the book. No one has been arrested, we’re just questioning.”
“Okay.” Hyatt tried to open his water, because his mouth was sticky but his hands shook too hard to manage it, so Karson opened it for him. He was so grateful for his brother-in-law’s support, and for the fact that Jax and Karson had been allowed to stay in the room while Hyatt and Karter talked. He adored his quasi-adoptive family to bits for their generous souls and seemingly endless supply of love. “When can I see Rebel? I need him to know I’m okay and Dorian didn’t hurt me.”
“Hopefully soon. You guys can wait here for a while. I need to go speak with Rebel and Dorian. With any luck, we’ll get this sorted out and everyone can go home.”
“Yeah.” Hyatt sipped his water and sank deeper into his chair. The office only had two for visitors, and Jax occupied the other. After Karter left, Karson went around to sit in the rolling desk chair.
“Dorian Fowler is your bondmate,” Karson said. “Man, that’s…I don’t even know.”
“I don’t know what to think about all this. Dorian wasn’t trying to hurt me, I know that, he just wanted us to have a conversation. Tomorrow. When I’m sober. Although I think my adrenaline is taking care of the lingering champagne. I just hate that I freaked out. Dorian probably thinks I’m insane.”
Jax snapped his fingers to get Hyatt’s attention. “Why do you care what Dorian thinks of your honest reaction to his own actions? His family has only ever hurt yours.”
“Because he’s my bondmate. I guess deep down on an instinctual level, I want to please him. To be good enough for him, even though I don’t want it to be him. It makes no sense.”
“Actually, it does kind of make sense,” Karson said. “You can’t help your instincts when you meet your bondmate, and behavior is not the same as biology. Look at Gaven and Frey. Frey’s sire did some really horrible things when he was younger, but Frey is the kindest, sweetest person I think I’ve met in my entire life. Except maybe for Emory Cross. Maybe Dorian’s parents did some horrific things, but that doesn’t mean Dorian