Page 50 of Designation Prey

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They meet at an executive airport where Daniel’s family has sent their private jet. The Burrows are incredibly wealthy, all the money coming from the military industrial complex. The family would have vast resources to vet Dominants who wanted Daniel. The idea makes bile rise in Liam’s throat, but he’s determined to do what’s best for Daniel. Even if it means leaving him alone. Or worse, helping him find a Dominant worthy of him.

Daniel and his brother Logan are not identical twins, but they look enough alike that seeing Logan steals his breath. Liam can’t stop looking at him, reminding himself of what his boy looks like. They speak in a similar way but their voices sound different.

It’s overwhelming and he’s welling up with emotion from the moment they meet.

Robert is every inch the protective Dominant, holding on to Logan’s hand, standing a few inches in front of his submissive like he’s a bodyguard ready to give his life for Logan if that’s what’s needed.

Would Robert have run away with Logan to keep him safe? Probably.

The comparison stings.

Daniel is an incredibly wealthy young man and it’s just another obstacle between them. Liam’s never even flown business class and now he’s on a private plane.

As soon as they finish saying hello, Logan has questions. “Did you bond with my brother?”

“I did. We were only together for five days. It was when your father had his first stroke. Daniel’s doctor, Dr. Chang, took the opportunity to get Daniel what he needed—not drugs or surgeries but a Dominant. Your brother was not doing well when we met. The things your father did to him were cruel and futile. He was near death.”

A flush crawls up Logan’s neck. His gaze drops. “I know a little about that. I didn’t have it as bad as my brother, but it was still awful. Pretending to be nothing, trying to convince myself I was…. Anyway, my father is dead now, and that’s the past. The funeral, which we willnotbe attending, is tomorrow. And now we get to save my brother. We have a room for him. He’ll need time to settle in before making any decisions,” Logan says, and Liam understands it as a warning.

“What are your intentions?” Robert asks.

I want him. I’ll run away with him and keep him safe in a fucking shack if that’s what it takes, he thinks. He manages not to say it. But if he’s given another chance with Daniel then he won’t fuck it up.

“Daniel is very high needs. He is prey. There are not a lot of prey submissives, but I’ve learned from the ones I’ve spoken to, and met, that they always bond to the first Dominant that they’re intimate with. Bonding markers show up quite quickly in their blood. If the military attempts to pair them with other Dominants after they’re bonded, they often resort to self-harm and suicide. Prey are meant to belong to one very demanding Dominant and that is all.”

“And that’s you? Are you a high-level Dominant?” Logan asks.

The question is jarring. Everyone with a designation knows he is. They can feel it. That’s just how it is.

But Logan is serious in his question. The reality is that Liam doesn’t interact with submissives anymore. And his medications, that keep him from being so depressed that he can’t even function, do a lot to mask his designation.

Liam knows he isn’t the same, but he hadn’t realized a submissive might meet him and not know his designation.

“I am. I bonded to your brother. It wasn’t a full-fledged bond because we only had a few days together, but it would have been. It could be again,” he says, but wishes he’d said it with more conviction. “I’ve not been the same since. I’m heavily suppressed at the moment. I have been for years. Obviously, that will stop when we’re reunited, and if that’s… if he decides….” Liam can’t finish the sentence.

Logan’s gaze narrows. “You didn’t answer Robert’s question. What are your intentions towards my brother?”

“That’s up to him,” Liam says. “I want it to be his choice. He deserves that.”

Logan scowls, his distaste for that answer clear on his face.

“I want to do right by him,” Liam insists. “I never should have let him go the first time. I failed him. I can’t—it’s his decision.”

Logan crosses his arms. “He should come home with us. We have a big house with plenty of room. We need time to get to know each other again. I want him to know Robert, and even Aaron. We don’t know our older brother well, but he is family and Daniel deserves a chance to have that. I think that might be more important than a romantic connection you seem to barely remember.”

“Logan,” Robert murmurs, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

Liam looks away, can’t stand seeing the easy affection between the two of them. It makes him want to scream at his own loss. Logan’s dislike of him is obvious. It even makes sense. If he’d been a good Dominant, he wouldn’t have let Daniel leave. He’d have fled in the night with Daniel and treated him like the perfect boy he was.

Why should Logan like him when he hates himself?

Logan jerks to his feet and walks towards the back of the plane. Robert follows him. The argument is quiet but Liam’s hearing is excellent and he can hear every word.

“I won’t turn my brother over to some stranger! He needs to come home and be with us. You can take care of him?—”

“I very much doubt that I can. If he’s bonded to Liam then there isn’t anything I can do and neither can you. And if one of us tries then it won’t go well. I know he doesn’t feel like a Dominant, but he is. And Daniel isn’t going to be the brother you remember. We may have very little say in the decision.”

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