Chapter 3

Tay watched the drama unfold from the kitchen. His detective friend Reaux Grant and his partner Tiffany Lane asked Damian all the hard questions. To his credit, the other man answered them all without crying. His mother held his hand so he figured that was part of it.

David and Antonia listened without interrupting. They knew their son needed to tell his sisde even if it hurt him. Their wheels were turning on how they could help him through it, but they weren't sure how he'd react.

A rape kit needed to be done, but the look on Damian's face said it's be too detrimental on his mental state. His face turned white and his breathing deepened.

Tay stepped in. He handed his jacket over to them along with cotton swabs and tissues covered in blood and other fluids. He forwarded the photos he took to Reaux without letting anyone see them. He'd already saved them on his hard drive and was preparing to look into the bastard who did this.

By the end of the whole thing, Damian was light headed and nauseated. He excused himself and retreated to Tay's room. His parents and the homeowner watched silently, none of them stopping him. He was overwhelmed and needed some time to himself.

"What are we going to do?" Antonia sobbed. Her make up was running as she couldn't contain her tears. "My poor baby."

"How did you not know he was gone?" David asked.

Tay had asked himself that same question. By the time he'd realized Damian was gone, the club was about to close. He'd tried to call him, but his phone had gone straight to voicemail. He'd assumed Damian had gone home.

He hadn't realized whathad been going on until Damian had crashed into him, naked and battered. His eyes had been wide with terror when he'd stared up at him begging for help. When he'd seen the man chasing him, Tay had known instantly what had happened.

Before he'd beaten the bastard senseless, he'd had to get Damian home first. Then he had to take the pictures and collect the evidence before he saw himself. He would have had a complete mental break if he had.

So far his friend had taken things well, but it was stil earlier. They didn't know who the guy was, if he'd given Damian an STD or anything, or if he'd been the only one. Damian wasn't going to go to the hospital so all they had to go on was Tay's evidence.

"He's not going to come home," Antonia mused. She was sniffling and dabbing at her eyes.

"He's traumatized, dear," her husband reminded. "He'll be wary of people for a little while."

"But what of our trip? I can't cancel it. I have work to do while we're there, and Damian can't be alone right now."

"He can stay with me," Tay offered. "I don't have summer courses this year, and my only plan is to go home for a week. He can go with me, or I'll just tell my mom I can't make it. Either way, it'll be good for him."

They weren't convinced, but Antonia had to be at the meeting and David had already taken his vacation time at work. They needed to go despite the situation at hand.

Tay wasn't going to tell them, but he wasn't going to let Damian bond with any other Alpha. There was a reason he hadn't had a lasting relationship since they'd become adults. Tay had chased them all away.

He hadn't told Damian yet, but he'd planned a long time ago to claim him. They'd been friends since middle school, and Tay had been there when he'd learned he was an Omega. There was no one else for Tay, but he hadn't wanted to chase Damian off.

So he'd waited. After tonight, he was done waiting. He wouldn't force himself on Damian, but he would let him know how he felt once they started dealing with this shit show of a night.

Antonia and David agreed to let Dmaian stay with Tay and said they'd drop off some clothes before they left.

Once they were gone, Tay texted Reaux about what he thought was their best course of action. His friend said they had enough evidence for now. They'd gotten some DNA off the jacket and the swabs were being sent off as well. They'd call if they needed more.

Tay made some soup and took it to Damian. The latter was stomach first in the bed and sound asleep. Tay was glad he was comfortable in his house and that he could sleep without being scared.

He tapped his friend genty on the back and waited until he rolled over. His eyes were goopy and gritty, and he had to rub them to clear them. His face was slightly swollen from crying earlier. He looked the worst Tay had ever seen him, and the Alpha had seen him in several heats.

"You should eat something," Tay said. He set the tray on Damian's lap then sat at the end of the bed so as to not box the man in. "Your parents are gone."

Damian held the bowl by its handle and sipped slowly. Soup always seemed to be the best comfort food. "What did they say?" he asked.

"They're going to find out who did this."

"I wish they wouldn't." Tay frowned at him. "They'll make things worse. Everything will be even more highly publicized than I already know it will be, and I won't get any reprieve to deal with it on my own."

"We're going to find him. Reaux said he's got enough to find DNA other than yours. You don't need to go to the hospital unless you want this."

Damian drained the bowl then stared at his friend. "How did you manage to get all of that?"

"I know you well enough to know you won't let anyone you don't know do anything so invasive to you. If it was me who did it, you wouldn't be as scared or angry about it."

Damian nodded absentmindedly. "You're right. I'm glad you did it. All I wanted was a shower, but the thought of someone doing an exam was all I could think about. I'm relieved I don't have to go through that."

Tay smiled tightly as he reached for the bowl. "Go back to sleep. You can stay here as long as you need."

He took the bowl and tray so Damian could once again lay down. He had work to do so it wouldn't bother him.

It was barely six in the morning, and he'd had an eventful night. Jak had gotten home safely, and Tay had given him the news. The other man had made a fuss but there was nothing he could do. Damian was safe so there was no need to make him feel worse.

He did the dishes then sat down at his computer to write some. He had a deadline to meet, but with everything going on he thought about asking to extend it. Then again things would still be the same. Damian would still be hurt, and Tay would still have to write.

Tay needed to figure out how to tell Damian his feelings. The only person who knew was Jak, and he was too busy worrying about his own needs to care about anyone else's.

As his fingers told about his character's great love affair, he was struggling to produce his own. In his novel, Alpha and Omega didn't exist. Everyone was normal humans and they had to claw their way to the top. One the way some found love. Others found jealousy, but that was how life worked since some people were never satisfied with what they already had.

Tay had been born with everything so all he needed to do was marry well. But he didn't want any of the girls his mom had introduced him to. They only wanted his name and money. They didn't care what he wanted. His brother could continue the family name. Let the girl marry him and have the kids.

He wanted Damian and had since they'd been in high school. He had done everything in his power to make sure he stayed around. Even when he'd been dating someone, Tay had made sure those people had known he wasn't going anywhere.

They'd all drawn their own conclusions, and in the end, they'd left Damian. Tay felt bad every time, but at the time he didn't have the courage to say anything to him.

After tonight, he had no issues saying anything. He just didn't want to scare Dmaian. That would ruin everything he'd worked hard for.

His phone rang as he was working. His manager's face flashed up at him.

"Hey, Em," he said.

"Have you seen the news?" Em asked. He sounded like he was out of breath or something.

"No, but I can guess what it's about." He rubbed his tired eyes. "What are they saying?"

"There's no speculation yet, but everyone already knows who's been attacked. A passerby released the video online, and someone the press picked it up. They're waiting on police reports before they say anything officially, but your face is all over the news as well. The press will be all over your house because of it."

Tay scowled at the phone. "You'll have to handle it. If I do…"

"If you do, you'll end up in jail. You need to keep an eye on him. I don't want any more issues with his father."

"Then you shouldn't have spewed nonsense at the last corporate meeting."

Em was notorious for running his mouth at the wrong times. At the last meeting with all the shareholders, he had criticized David Marquette's raising of his Omega son. David had heard it and had slapped the publishing house with a hefty fine. Em had worked four and a half months without commission to make up for it.

But that failed in comparison to what Tay had done. Em was happily married, but Tay had forced him to go into a strip club as "inspiration" for the novel he was currently working on. Then he'd taken pictures and threatened to show his wife if he didn't keep his mouth shut.

Em didn't know about Damian, and Tay wasn't inclined to tell him. He didn't want to hurt him for running his mouth about the other man.

"If this causes issues with my wife, I'm going to kill you." They'd been trying to have a baby for several months, but it hadn't happened yet.

"I'll donate my sperm if this causes you to become impotent."

His manager cursed him a few times before ending the call. It didn't come soon enough though.

Tay turned on the television and let it rumble lightly as background noise. He caught the news story Em had told him. There wasn't anything too revealing, mostly questions wondering why anyone would do this. And they blurred out Damian's nudity until Tay wrapped him in his jacket.

After the initial story, it was back to the popstars and other celebrities. He hoped it stayed that way. No one needed to go digging into Damian's past or his recent attack.

"Tay?" He looked up to see Damian standing in the bedroom doorway rubbing his eyes. "Why are you still up?"

"I only have one useful room, and I didn't want to disturb you," he answered. He turned off the television and shut down his computer. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "I got a little bit of work done too."

"Come get some sleep. You won't be worth shit tomorrow."

Tay couldn't argue with him; he never could. He turned off the light and walked over to the bedroom door. Damian stepped back and went inside, detouring to the bathroom as Tay went to the bed.

He couldn't help but watch the sleepy man walk away from him. He knew underneath that grey t-shirt lay all the remnants of this awful night. He didn't want to make it worse.

He was just settling down when Damian scampered back to bed. He burrowed under the blankets, pulling them up to his chin.

Tay rolled on to his side to face Damian, shocked at the blue eyes that stared back at him. Damian didn't say anything, just stared at him without blinking for a long time. Tay's body began to react, but he couldn't act on those feelings. He would scare his already terrified friend.

Relief swept through him when Damian put his back to him. He wouldn't have to embarrass himself or hurt his friend worse. But that didn'tmean he'd get any sleep.