Damon received a card in the mail.

To: Damon

From: Peter and Hailey

Hello Damon! It's that time of the year, so we're hosting our pre-Season gala this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Bring a date or some friends! We hope to see you there! (Only pre-heat alphas are admitted, of course).

p.s. Malachi said to say that he hopes to see you there, and if you do decide to go, he said to meet him by the fountain.

Lots of love, the Reynes <3

Damon didn't know what was worse, that Malachi had to use his parents to do his communicating for him, or that so much emphasis had been placed on 'some friends' as his guest option. He'd always thought the whole gala was kind of pointless as well. It was deliberately held in the two weeks before the Season – which basically excluded any alphas who'd gone into heat early from attending. Some would assume that it's a kind of celebration meant mostly for omegas and betas, then, but no. It was very alpha focused, because of course, the Season was kind of their moment. It was a time of breathless anticipation for some, and deep dread for others, and the gala was all about celebrating the alphas' last moments of freedom before they were basically locked up for a month and a half. It also served as kind of a last-minute hook up for alphas who hadn't booked a heat-partner and really wanted one.

Damon considered tossing the card and pretending he'd never received it – and therefore, oops, couldn't go. Especially if he had to face the prospect of seeing Malachi again. He was okay on his own talking to Malachi, but knowing that he would be in public – and therefore have to adhere to some sense of decorum – and would probably be watched by Malachi's parents, significantly increased the difficulty. He would have to behave, which is probably exactly why Malachi chose to call him out for a meeting at the fountain – which, by the way, was in the center of the ballroom.

Thinking about it now, that was probably also why Malachi had made his parents write that little side note, other than laziness, of course. If his parents knew Malachi was expecting to meet with Damon, then they would probably do everything in their power to make sure Damon actually went to the fountain and talked to Malachi. He would be herded, prodded, probably guilt-tripped – but one way or another they would get him to that fountain.

Even more reason not to go. And yet – it was still a hard decision to make. Why?

Well...because Damon's parents, despite still being on vacation, expected Damon to pick up the slack and socialize in their place. They had been very clear about that before they left and in every phone call they'd shared since. If they found out Damon hadn't gone to the gala, an event that he had gone to basically every other year since he turned 15, they would wonder why. And Damon was sure that Peter and Hailey would tell them about his absence.

In addition, though they clearly emphasized that Damon would be more welcome to bring friends than to bring a date, because the Reynes wanted Damon to bond with their atrocious offspring and not Jun, Damon knew that he couldn't go to the gala and not invite Jun.

If Jun found out he'd gone to the gala without him...Damon could just imagine the look he would get. Puppy eyes on steroids. Worse than just being sad, Jun would never tell Damon that he was hurt by something Damon had done, so Damon would just end up feeling like dirt.

So basically, he was fucked.

Thankfully, Mark was headed to Damon's house to chaperone for his and Jun's run. He would know what to do. Damon had never been so glad to be best friends with a beta and not other omegas until this courtship. The fact that his and Jun's courting period fell within the Season was extremely inconvenient for that. Other omegas might get turned on by Jun's preheat pheromones – which, as demonstrated with Maria, would not end well – and an alpha chaperone would be struggling with their own preheat. If Damon didn't know Mark, a beta chaperone would have to be assigned to them, so this was exponentially less awkward. At least Mark knew to get out of dodge and give them privacy when they needed it.

Betas could be affected by alpha pheromones, but they could easily ignore them as well. It really depended on the beta's sexual preference. If they tended to go for other betas, no problem. If they went for omegas, also no problem. If they had a thing for alphas, however, it could be a problem. But Damon knew Mark. Mark exclusively dated female omegas. The chances of him being attracted to him or Jun were practically zero. Thus, he was the perfect chaperone.

Damon had once asked Mark why he only dated female omegas. What about male omegas?

Mark, who had been stuffing his face charmingly with chips at the time, shrugged and said "Don't know. Male omegas aren't as squishy, I guess." Then, Mark being Mark, he'd made an obscene squeezing gesture in the air and that was the end of the conversation.

Damon wasn't sure how they'd managed to become friends, but Mark was a solid guy. He was good at reducing things that seemed complicated to Damon down to their basic parts so that he could look more objectively at the situation. That's what he needed right now.

However, when Mark showed up at Damon's house with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder for his clothes when they shifted, he was uncharacteristically somber. Damon let him in and waited for him to speak and say what was on his mind, because Mark wasn't the type to hold things inside. Mental distress was not his thing, which Damon could respect, so he usually got whatever he needed to off his chest as fast as possible.

But Mark didn't say anything other than a quick greeting before taking a seat in the living room. They still had a bit before they were supposed to meet up with Jun.

Damon knew something was definitely wrong though. Mark hadn't gone straight to the fridge when he came in. This was serious. Damon came up next to him and slammed his palm on Mark's forehead to feel for a fever. Damon had never seen Mark not eating, even during the darkest hours of his worst breakup. Sickness was the only explanation.

Mark stared at him in confusion until Damon pulled his hand away and muttered, "No fever. What's wrong?"

Mark pursed his lips – and Damon could immediately narrow down the issue. Whatever Mark was gloomy about had nothing to do with himself and everything to do with Damon. He only got like this when he knew something that was going to upset Damon and wanted to tell him, but didn't know how Damon would react.

And of course, that only made Damon more curious to know what was up. He sank onto the couch next to Mark and poked him with his elbow. "What is it? Tell me."

When Mark still hesitated, Damon sighed.

"If it's that bad, I'm going to find out anyway, so you might as well just tell me."

This seemed to appeal to Mark's straightforward sense of logic, because he let out a tense breath that he'd clearly been holding onto for a while and scrubbed his hands roughly over his face.

"It's about Jun," he began, no beating around the bush, which Damon usually appreciated, but for some reason the atmosphere was making him nervous. Even worse if whatever had Mark like this had to do with Jun as well.

"There's something...well, there's something I found out about him that..." he sighed. "Well, you're not going to like it."