Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,53

die for.”

“Let’s go, then.”

They splashed some water on their faces and washed their hands, then hurried over to the farm. Just when Lucan and Maz walked into the kitchen, Rhene said, “You want me to what?”

“Right, s-sorry I should’ve asked politely, obviously,” Sando said, and Lucan frowned. What was this about? Sando had his back turned toward him, and Lucan couldn’t see his face. “I’d appreciate it if you could kiss me, please.”

“What?” Lucan’s outcry mingled with a gasp from Maz, who was still standing behind him.

Sando swiveled around in his chair. “Oh. Hi!” His cheeks colored bright red. “That probably didn’t sound good, did it?”

“Not particularly, no,” Maz answered when Lucan didn’t respond.

He wanted to, but he was still trying to wrap his mind around what he’d heard. Why would Sando ask Rhene to kiss him? He had to have a reason. Lucan clung to that thought with all his willpower, even when his heart wanted to explode in fury over this betrayal. He wouldn’t have. Sando wouldn’t have cheated on them. He was too honorable, too sweet.

And then Lucan did what his beta told him to. He walked over to Sando, crouched down so he could meet his eyes, and asked, “Why? Why did you ask that? Because I know you have a reason.”

“I didn’t mean for you to hear that.” Sando’s mouth quivered. “No, wait. That sounds wrong as well. I’m sorry…”

He looked close to tears, and Lucan’s heart ached, as it always did when Sando was in pain. “It’s okay, kitten. Just tell me what your plan was.”

“I talked to Enar about what had happened with my grandfather and how hard it was now for me to trust anyone. And he said I should treat it like a scientific problem and set a hypothesis and test it.”

“Okay…” Lucan said slowly. “So what hypothesis were you trying to test?”

Sando bit his lip. “I don’t want to say because then you could influence the outcome.”

Everything in Lucan screamed to ask for more explanation, but he held back. Accepting Sando the way he was meant embracing the way his mind worked as well. He’d made that mistake before, focusing too much on his own needs and his own pain and not understanding that Sando reacted the way he did because he didn’t know better. Loving Sando meant loving all his quirks, his analytical mind, the fact that he needed proof.

“Okay,” Lucan said again, but with warmth this time. He rose to his feet. “I trust you, kitten.”

Relief flooded Sando’s face. “Thank you. That…thank you.”

“I’m not entirely sure what the plan is here, but it sounds like you’re using me for some kind of experiment?” Rhene asked, sounding more shocked than mad.

“Yes,” Sando said. “All you have to do is kiss me.”

“All I have to do I… Dude, your two boyfriends are standing right there. What the hell makes you think I’d want to kiss you?”

Sando looked genuinely baffled. “But you’ve kissed pretty much every single guy on the ranch.”

The whole kitchen exploded in laughter. Even Rhene joined in after a bit. How could he not when Sando had delivered that line with perfect precision, looking as innocent as a child?

“I see my reputation has preceded me,” Rhene said dryly when the laughter had died down.

“I’m sorry. Was it supposed to be a secret?” Sando asked, and Lucan clamped a hand on his mouth to keep himself from bursting out in laughter all over again.

Rhene looked a little sheepish. “Not really, but it’s a new experience for me to have it thrown into my face like this.”

Sando’s shoulders dropped. “I can ask someone else if you prefer, but I’d chosen you specifically.”

“Why? I still don’t understand. What are you even testing?”

“I can’t tell you. You can’t tell a test subject what you’ll be testing because then they’ll react differently. But I chose you because you’re…” He swallowed. Lucan knew the next few words were gonna be good. “You’re attractive, as evidenced by how many people have been willing to kiss you.”

Oh. My. God. Sando was killing them here, and Lucan was starting to feel bad for Rhene. The poor guy had no idea what he’d gotten himself into. Lucan couldn’t blame him for being reluctant to kiss an unclaimed omega in front of his supposed mates, especially a fellow alpha like Maz. But it was clear that Sando wouldn’t give up on his idea.

“You have our permission.” It seemed Maz had come to the same conclusion. He stepped in behind