Jackson resisted the urge to speak or even move as Luca appeared suddenly at his side.

Luca didn't even appear to realize what he was doing. Not that Jackson was going to correct him or scare him off. He wasn't sure why he liked Luca being so close. Maybe it was that delicious earthy scent that wafted off him?

He tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about the fact that he bought the omega for his scent. That he wanted Luca to stay here. In his home. In his room. With his clothes on.

Gods, that had been embarrassing. He'd actually growled at the sight of Luca wearing Jacob's clothing. It made him angry to think that another alpha was wrapping their scent around him, even his own brother.

He didn't want to care. Didn't want to think about it, or that Luca smelled good, and looked good, and his husky voice gave him chills. Fuck, he so did not have time for this guy, and yet his brain was already trying to come up with ways to keep Luca near.

Still, he savored having Luca at his side, sniffing at the food.

It worried him that Luca lived solely on nutritional drinks. Those things weren't meant to be lived on. They weren't meant to be someone's sole source of sustenance. Luca needed fats and proteins. He wanted to sit Luca down and feed him until his belly was full and he couldn't eat anymore. He wanted to take care of him, and damn his alpha side for wanting to tend to an omega in need.

Because that's all it was, he told himself sternly. Yup. Just the biological need of an alpha to tend to an omega. Nothing more, nothing less. He was a doctor, and Luca was his patient. Yup. Completely professional.

As mom would say-- liar, liar, your calvin klein jeans are on fire. He almost laughed at something his mother always thought was a real hoot. The first time she'd said it to him, he'd been a teenager and he'd reacted in absolute disgust. How cheesy. Did she think she was being cool? No, she'd just wanted to wring a smile out of him because his teenage angst had been tough to deal with for both of them.

As an adult, he valued that silly saying.

Sobering a little at the thought of his mother, he finished cooking the meal, watching Luca drift around the kitchen, clearly just so he could follow the wafts of smell off the food. Finally, the meal was done and Jackson hated that intense swell of pride he felt as he approached Luca at the counter, who was sitting all eager, waiting for food.

He set the plate in front of the omega and goddamn did he want to reach down, cut his meat, and feed it to him. He wanted to give Luca only the best pieces, the juiciest. He wanted to make sure that each potato was cooked to perfection before Luca took a bite. Shit, he wanted to feed him.

But he stepped back instead, watching Luca not even bother to pick up the silverware. The omega tore into the meat with his hands, his teeth ripping right through the tender flesh, revealing its perfectly medium-rare cook on the inside. Luca didn't appear to be in the mood to savor the culinary genius it took to make the meal, because he was practically inhaling every bite.

It made sense, Jackson thought grimly. The guy clearly hadn't eaten in a while. And before that? Just drinks? Yeah, no. The guy needed a steady healthy diet. And probably a fucking therapist, but trying to bring that up with someone like Luca was just not possible. Luca was clearly set in his ways.

It annoyed Jackson. Didn't the guy want to better himself? Didn't he see a brighter future for himself? It was almost like the guy was so depressed, he didn't care what happened in life as long as he was still breathing. That was all that mattered.

And there was a difference, a huge difference, between surviving and living. And Luca clearly wasn't living.

"So, where do you live then?" Jackson asked. Luca cut him a glare over his glass of water before he stuffed a warm buttery roll in his mouth.

"Other side of town. You can just drop me off at the nearest bus stop."

"I'm not dropping you off at a bus stop this late."

"Well, I'm not fuckin' staying. I have a life to get back to," Luca answered dryly, then returned to eating. Jackson sighed. This was the most stubborn omega he'd ever met. He'd give Ezra a run for his money. In fact, Luca was everything Jackson hated in Ezra, only worse. Except somehow he wanted Luca to stay.

He grimaced. That was incredibly confusing.

Jackson only ate a little, watching Luca inhale more food. He wanted to tell the guy to slow down, but something told him that no amount of warning would make Luca stop. So he let the guy eat himself into a food coma. And that was basically what happened; one second, Luca was chewing on a roll and in the next second, he'd laid his head down to rest on the table.

"Luca?" Jackson asked. The only response was a light snoring.

Jackson felt a tingle up the back of his spine. He swallowed thickly and stood up, putting away the dishes and food to occupy himself before he returned and sure enough, Luca was fast asleep with his head on the table, a bit of drool forming in the corner of his mouth.

"Luca," Jackson said softly, touching the table to try and draw his attention, "You should move to a bed if you want to sleep." All he got in response was a mumbled drowsy answer of something along the lines of fuck you, sleepy. Jackson swallowed again, mostly to fight the heat that was spreading through his system.

He stared down at Luca's face and for a moment, he actually thought he could fall for the guy. He was downright beautiful. His thick snow white hair was so perfect and pure, settling around his smooth face, his long lashes fanning out against his cheekbones. And gods above, that scent. Every time Jackson inhaled, he felt like he was going to faint from how incredible it was.

He was both already in love with that scent and fucking terrified of it.

He'd truly honestly hoped that someone else would pick up on Luca's scent. Aaron hadn't been able to tell it apart from the others. And so far, no one else had reacted to Luca's scent the way he had. To everyone else, the scent was just another omega scent, but to Jackson, it was like some kind of heavenly aura. And if that were the case, Luca was so much more than just an omega.

Luca was... his omega.

Luca was what his mother would call his fated pair. His soulmate, essentially. The love of his life. The future bearer of his children. His other half.

Except something told him Luca would burst out laughing in his face if he said that. Or suckerpunch him in the throat. Both were appropriate actions for the omega.

Jackson didn't want to think too hard about it. He didn't have time to anyway. Luca wasn't his omega, scents be damned. He didn't have time to woo the omega either. He had more important matters to attend to.

With that thought in mind, Jackson carefully maneuvered Luca into his arms. He expected the omega to wake up and deck him, but the creature was fucking exhausted. He didn't protest or move as Jackson carried him up the stairs to his bedroom. He moved as silently as he could, tucking Luca into his bed once more and pulling the blankets up over him. Luca only sighed and snuggled down under the covers. Jackson pretended that wasn't the most adorable fucking thing he'd ever seen in his life.

He glanced at the clock, decided sleeping wasn't going to be an option tonight, not that he'd been able to sleep well anyway, and left his room. He closed the door quietly behind him.

"I thought I smelled an omega." Jackson stiffened, then whipped around to see Jacob standing near him. Jacob wasn't a typical alpha, being tall, strong, and handsome. Jacob was attractive, certainly, but in a strangely boyish charming kind of way. He wasn't as tall as Jackson, but he was muscular and big boned. His thick dark hair was trimmed short and always stylish, despite basically living as a hermit. He had a few days growth of beard on his jaw and his hazel eyes were dragged down by dark circles. He was also wearing the same outfit Jackson had seen him in yesterday, meaning the alpha hadn't bathed lately.

"I didn't think you'd be awake," Jackson responded casually. Jacob stared at him.

"Why is there in omega in the house." Jacob wasn't asking. He was demanding. He was stating a fact. An omega in a house full of alphas was not good. Jackson understood that. He met his brother's eyes squarely.

"He needed help. I've helped him. He's just going to stay the night. In the morning, I'm taking him home," he responded. Jacob's eyes darkened.

"He's going into heat."

"I know."

"He could be in heat tomorrow morning and you'll wake up with your cock inside him," he answered, making Jackson grimace.

"You don't have to be crude, and no. That won't be the case. There's still enough time for me to get him home before anything happens," he assured, making Jacob snort. The older alpha shook his head, reaching up to rake a hand through his greasy dark hair before wiping his hand on his pants. Jackson scowled.

"And before worrying about me, or the omega, maybe you should worry about yourself. When was the last time you bathed?"

"None of your goddamn business," Jacob deadpanned, making Jackson sigh, "I don't have time anyway. I've been up all night trying to figure out who the hell Anita Banks is." Jackson frowned as Jacob turned to head downstairs. He followed him.

"Still no luck?" He asked. Jacob shook his head, leading the way back downstairs to the kitchen. He started opening up cupboards in search of snacks while Jackson leaned on the island counter near Luca's empty plate.

"None at all. No Anita Banks anywhere. I even tried making stupid stabs in the dark, like Andrea Bonnett, and trying to play with those, but none of them make sense. Fuck, I even looked at possibly Aqua Blake," he admitted, making Jackson stiffen.

Aqua Blake was one of the most ruthless mobsters in Sterling City. She started out as an omega living in the slums before catching the eye of a local mobster. She married into the family, then turned around and killed her husband, then the father of the mob before taking over as head of the elite Sterling Pack. She dealt in all kinds of crimes, but the authorities had never been able to pin anything on her. Rumor had it she basically paid most of the cops on the force.

But the idea that his mother had anything to do with Aqua Blake and the Sterling Pack was absolutely absurd. They were complete opposites in every way. If anything, Aurora had often put money into funding things that put a stop to the Sterling Pack's activities. Not in overly fantastical ways, but little ways, like offering college scholarships to the poorer areas of Sterling so they were less likely to join the Pack.

"So, we're at a dead end, then," Jackson muttered as he sat at the counter. Jacob shrugged as he came over with a bag of tortilla chips and a container of Mary-Beth's homemade salsa and guac.

"I think we should go back to the scene," he said, taking a couple chips and dredging them in the dips, and Jackson frowned at him.

"Last time we went there, that officer DeVries or whatever basically banned us until the investigation was over," he replied. Jacob gave him a droll look.

"Investigation's over, isn't it?" He asked. Jackson averted his eyes.

"Do you think we'll find anything there?"

"Doubt it," Jacob admitted, making Jackson sigh, "But it's worth a shot. It's not like we're gonna lose anything by checking it out." Jackson frowned, watching Jacob gather up his junk food.

"Where are you going now?" He asked. Jacob paused to cock his head, glancing up at the ceiling before looking at his brother.

"There's an omega probably hours away from heat. I'm going to my room to eat junk food, maybe shower, and jack off. Oh, and do the world a favor? Get your ass back to work," he tacked on, then walked out of the room. Jackson watched him go, frowning.

He didn't like the idea of going back to work.

He especially didn't like the idea of going back to work without any sleep, but did he honestly think things were going to change? He was going to be just as sleepless months from now as he was tomorrow. He might as well be productive, instead of sulking around the house. Besides, he had a feeling Mary-Beth was getting tired of him. While she was grieving as well, she didn't enjoy taking care of him and his brothers. She already had Jacob to deal with. The last thing she needed was Jackson hanging around, drinking and leaving bottles everywhere.

Besides, he couldn't help anyone by laying around the house all day.

Sighing, he retreated to the study. There was no point in trying to sleep in his room and he wasn't going to sleep in his mother's room. While there were three other rooms in the house, he wasn't a fan of their guest room and he sure as hell wasn't sleeping in the rooms that belonged to his brothers, whether they had slept there recently or not.

So he settled for the plush sofa in the study. He gave the throw pillow a punch to loosen up the bundled fibers before he settled down, laying on his side and staring at the neatly woven velvet fibers.

And he wondered... What would it be like to have a soulmate?