Except the Dayson Bannon on his doorstep didn’t look like the one whose face had been plastered all over the news. This Dayson had a massive cut across one cheek, with a big purple bruise beginning to mottle his pale skin. His left eye was swollen to the point of being sealed shut, and his hair was a bloody mess. Blood coated his ginger curls and dripped down his jaw and neck. Ronan couldn’t see exactly where the blood came from, only that the wound was somewhere underneath a fast-food napkin Dayson held to the back of his head. When the omega pulled the napkin off as though to test how much fresh blood would gush out, his scalp was visible. A chunk of his hair had been ripped right out of it.
But one thing about this Dayson Bannon that appeared exactly the same as the man Ronan had seen on TV was his determined expression, visible even beneath his wounds.
The couple moved aside, inviting the injured omega in. That was when Ronan noticed Dayson’s left arm hanging limply at his side. And from the way he stepped cautiously into the livingroom, dripping blood along the way, the alpha guessed there were other injuries hidden under his clothing.
Teal put a fist to his mouth. “Oh my stars! Dayson!” He called into the kitchen, “Boys! Go upstairs and get the first aid kit and all the hand towels in the hall closet.”
Zayne and the twins jumped up immediately. Teal went into the kitchen and turned on the faucet.
Ronan carefully placed an arm around Dayson’s back, assisting him in hobbling to the couch. The red-haired omega seemed smaller than on TV, and up close, he looked younger than his twenty-seven years.
Dayson must have sensed Ronan’s unease. “Don’t worry,” he said, managing half a smile through swollen lips. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“I never doubted it.”
Teal pulled an armchair over, balancing the medical supplies in his hand with a pan of warm water in the crook of his elbow. Kino put the towels down on the coffee table before helpfully ushering his siblings into the family room.
“I also got a few good punches in myself,” Dayson asserted, wincing as Teal ran a damp towel across his scalp.
“What happened?” Teal asked.
“I got jumped coming out of the lab.”
Ronan recalled that Dayson’s day job was working in biomedical research at a local university. Like Teal, he had climbed higher in his field than most omegas did. He’d been assisting alpha researchers studying omega heats. That was the reason he felt especially qualified to operate a heat service, not just because of his own traumatic experience.
“I thought Schulman and Carson had security on you twenty-four hours a day,” Teal said.
“They do. But the guys usually hang back a little, to avoid calling attention to themselves. When I left the building, theyfell in step a few feet behind me while I walked to the parking lot across the university quad. But by the time I got to my car, I realized they weren’t there anymore. That’s when I got jumped. The cowards had their faces covered, but all alphas. Stinking of it. I think there were four, possibly five. I fought back until one of them yanked my hair and slammed my head into the ground. After that, everything went black.”
“Oh, Dayson,” Teal whispered, eyes teary.
“Thankfully, I came around quickly. Right next to my car where they left me. I know I wasn’t out for long because I still had my phone and could check the time. They didn’t rob me or take anything. Just beat the shit out of me.”
Dayson hissed as Teal wiped the last bit of dried blood off his scalp before smoothing a bandage over it. “I don’t think this needs stitches. Although the hair won’t grow back for a while.”
“Meh, it’s a look.” Dayson shrugged as Teal began cleaning off his face.
Ronan admired the ginger omega’s courage. “So, when you came to, what happened?”
“You can guess. I sort of did an inventory of my injuries. My arm was fucked but I figured I could still drive.”
“Did the guards ever show up?”
“Not that I saw. But I got my ass in my car and high-tailed it out of there.”
“And ended up here,” Teal concluded.
“Sorry about that.” Dayson’s expression turned sheepish. “Hope it’s okay. I couldn’t think of anything safer, and I didn’t want to take the chance there might be more alphas waiting in my apartment.”
“I’m glad you came here,” Teal assured him. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“It seems like somebody wanted to hurt you but not kill you,” Ronan said.
“Of course,” Teal sneered. “The pro-alpha movement can’t risk turning Dayson Bannon into a martyr.”
Teal finished cleaning the blood and gave Dayson ice packs for his eye and cheek. The first aid kit had an arm sling, which he also handed over. “You can see if this helps. Your arm looks super wonky. We can take you to the hospital if you want.”
Dayson sat up, already seeming better than when he’d come in. “No. I think it’ll be alright. The cuts and bruises aren’t catastrophic. My arm’s banged up, but I don’t think it’s broken. I can still move everything. It just hurts.”
