Billy adjusted his glasses, a gesture Cord recognized as his mate organizing his thoughts. “Money for me to go toward our house. Hazard pay for Cord, retroactive to when the mission started, and applicable to all team members, except for Rapid. Cord wasn’t the only one with his phone blocked unnecessarily, or his time wasted on a false mission. There should also be a formal company policy about not interfering with mating bonds to align with national laws. And...” he paused, color rising in his cheeks again. “And, in exchange for letting this matter drop, the company can pay a substantial donation to our wedding costs as a way of showing their support for mated team members.”
Cord’s heart skipped. Wedding? They’d mentioned it when they’d gone house hunting, but hadn’t made any specific plans yet. But the idea of Billy in a tux, exchanging vows in front of their friends...
“I think that’s more than fair,” Cord said, standing to wrap an arm around Billy’s waist. “Considering the alternative is Billy explaining to a judge in an open court about how your organization enabled harassment and emotional torture of an omega.”
Brandon held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll take it to the board. Honestly? They’ll probably agree just to make this go away.” He stood, extending his hand to Cord. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. This never should have happened.”
Cord shook his hand briefly. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
As they turned to leave, Brandon called out, “Cord? Take the rest of the month off. Paid. You’ve both been through enough.”
Outside the office, Billy maintained his composure until they reached the parking lot. Then he sagged against Cord’s truck, hands shaking.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “Did I really just do that?”
“You were magnificent.” Cord crowded close, caging Billy against the truck. “My fierce little omega, demanding justice.”
Billy’s laugh was shaky. “I don’t know where that came from. It’s like… I just saw him, and I kept thinking about you alone on that mission, not knowing Rapid was messing with us. It made me so angry.”
“I love you,” Cord said simply. “And not just because you went toe-to-toe with Brandon. But because you’re strong and brave and - did you really want a big wedding?”
Pink bloomed across Billy’s cheeks. “I mean, we don’t have to if you were joking about it before. I know we’re already mated, but I thought... maybe something small? With our friends?”
Cord kissed him, right there in the parking lot where anyone could see. “Yes,” he murmured against Billy’s lips. “Whatever you want. Big wedding, small wedding, Elvis chapel in Vegas - I don’t care as long as I get to call you my husband.”
Billy melted against him. “Take me home?”
“Always.” Cord opened the truck door for his mate. “Though technically, we have the rest of the month off. We could go look at that house again, start making a list of what needs fixing before we move in…”
“Or,” Billy said, sliding across the bench seat to press against Cord’s side, “we could go home, and I could show you exactly how proud I am of my big, strong alpha for not ripping anyone’s throat out today. I could feel how much you wanted to from the moment you walked into that place.”
Cord groaned, starting the truck with perhaps more haste than necessary. “Have I mentioned I love how your mind works?”
Billy’s hand settled high on Cord’s thigh. “You can show me when we get home.”
As they drove away from headquarters, Cord marveled at how much his life had changed in just a few weeks. He’d walked into that Omega Hearts event expecting nothing and found everything - a mate who was kind, clever, brave, and absolutely perfect for him.
“What are you smiling about?” Billy asked.
“You,” Cord answered honestly. “Just... you.”
Billy ducked his head, but Cord caught his pleased smile. “Sap.”
“Your sap,” Cord corrected, tangling their fingers together on the seat between them.
“Yeah,” Billy agreed softly. “Mine.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was a week later when Billy pushed open the door to the Wonky Pig, the familiar scent of their secret sauce making his stomach rumble. His wrists jangled softly as his bracelets caught against each other - a new set Cord had surprised him with just that morning, each one engraved with a tiny wolf silhouette.
“I still can’t believe we actually bought a house,” Billy said, sliding into their usual booth. His fingers traced patterns on the worn wooden table as Cord settled across from him. “Like, an actual house. With rooms we need to fill with actual furniture.”
The morning had been a whirlwind of furniture stores, fabric samples, and debates over whether they really needed a sectional that big. Billy’s head was spinning with color swatches and delivery dates, but underneath all of it was a warm glow of contentment that hadn’t left him since Cord had come home.
“You okay there, sweetheart?” Cord asked, his dark eyes crinkling with amusement. “You’ve got that look like when you’re trying to wrestle a particularly stubborn piece of code.”
Billy huffed out a laugh. “At least with code, there’s a right answer. How am I supposed to know if we need a loveseatanda couch? Or what the difference is between eggshell and ivory?”
