(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 493: A family name is a gift, let me give you a damn gift
After Noah had calmed down, Thomas spoke up quietly from where he was sitting.
"Noah, there is nothing stating that you need to stay in the Abraham family line and watch it crumble from the outside in. You could join the Beckett family." Thomas said and watched as Noah looked shocked.
"Uh, you only have one son left and I don’t think I’m his type." Noah said carefully and watched as Thomas snorted and then smiled.
"I didn’t mean you had to marry Will, Noah. There are other ways to join the family." Thomas said but Andrew could tell that Noah was not okay with that. Andrew looked at the man, stared at him for a long moment as Noah fought to find a way to turn him down politely.
"You could become a Knox." Andrew said quietly and felt everything in Noah stiffen. "Both you and Nicole could. I’m sure Mom would be happy with that." Andrew told him. "She’d actually be more than happy with that. Hiding and protecting two more kids from the Abraham family? She’d be thrilled." Andrew told him and Thomas was a little surprised, but also pleased with Andrew’s words.
"That is a better idea. Nice thinking, Andy." Thomas said and Andrew smiled. It was nice to get a stamp of approval from Thomas. Noah was still in shock.
"What? Why are you both suggesting this?" Noah asked, shocked, and Andrew and Thomas shared a look. They knew why.
Andrew knew that the Abraham family was going to crumble. Everyone who was still attached to the name would be caught up in the huge fucking scandal that Thomas and Luis were determined, dedicated to making sure sunk the family. If they had people to pay to silence the papers, Luis and Thomas were going to pay them more to put it out into the world. Andrew wasn’t even going to question their involvement anymore.
They were doing this for Andrew, and for Maxwell. If they didn’t, Maxwell would do it himself. This was a parent’s love for their child, and Andrew would be a fool to try to get in the way of it.
Andrew and Thomas didn’t want Noah or Nicole to get wrapped up in any of this. Nicole wouldn’t, given she was such an obvious victim, but Noah? He’d only spoken out against them a few times. Thomas and Andrew did not want the public to dislike him when he had done nothing wrong. Nothing but try to survive in a hellhole and keep his head afloat.
He had asked for help when it had mattered, and that was important. Hell, he’d tried to get to know Andrew before Andrew knew he was his brother. The man just wanted a family, even if Noah wasn’t going to be honest with himself while sober with that fact.
"We want to protect you from the firestorm that is going to happen here soon, Noah. In the new year." Andrew told him carefully and Noah sniffed, before glancing up at the two of them. He seemed to realise what neither of them were saying out loud and his lips curled up slightly.
"You want to protect me? Why?" He asked and Noah wanted to smack the man. Because he cared about him? Wanted him safe? Andrew wouldn’t offer up his family name, a gift from his Mother, if he didn’t care about the man!
"Noah, this is more than just the fact that you’re my brother by blood, okay?" Andrew said firmly, hoping that the smart, but dumb man would get it. "I’m not doing this out of pity or because I think I need to rescue you or some saviour kind of mindset. Thomas and Luis and Max are going to sink the Abraham family to the depths of hell. They are going to drown them in gasoline and then set it on fire. I do not want you or Nicole caught up in the crossfire. Hell, if you think there are any other siblings that are redeemable, I wouldn’t want them caught up in it either. Why should the younger generation pay for the sins of the elders?" Andrew asked.
Noah wasn’t looking at Andrew again, staring at the empty plate on the table between them.
"This is for you, isn’t it?" Noah asked and Andrew swallowed. His chest was tight, his breath heavy as he felt something inside of him stir, ache, and then catch on that feeling. Noah had been a beta, like him. Like Nicole.
Then, suddenly, all three of them had manifested. Not that far off from each other in the grand scheme of things. Sure, Andrew was noted as potentially the only success, but those might not be accurate. He might not even be that number. He was just making assumptions.
They could be referring to Nicole or Noah.
"There are several, serious reasons why it is for me, but honestly, Noah? This is for several other people as well." Andrew wet his lips before he spoke. "Did you know about the lab in the basement?" Andrew asked and watched Noah freeze, before he sat up, staring at Andrew and Thomas in deep confusion.
"A lab? In the basement? What the hell are you talking about? There wasn’t a lab in the basement. There was a gym, and that was it." Andrew didn’t know about the gym because he didn’t go anywhere in that house that wasn’t made of nightmares. Thomas, however, did know a bit more about the house.
He stared at Noah, his expression grim, before he sighed.
"We’re fairly certain it was on the other side of the gym. It was hidden behind some simple paneling and two code protected doors." Thomas told him and Noah blinked, shocked, before he glanced at Andrew. Andrew gave him a small smile.
"The police have those documents. I barely looked at them but...my ex-girlfriend was an experimental scientist who was...all over those documents." Andrew told him carefully. Noah, bless him, might not know exactly what happened to Andrew but his eyes went wide.
"Oh my god. Did she experiment on you?" It was the only logical jump he could make given the tense air of the room. Andrew gave a laugh.
"Yeah, she did." Andrew told him and glanced at Thomas. He swallowed. "It’s looking like she might have done it on the Abraham’s family’s dime, too." Andrew told him and Noah looked horrified. He looked like he was going to be ill.
"Oh my god. Oh my god!" He was shocked, horrified, and Andrew couldn’t do anything or say anything to really comfort him.
"It’s fine for now, Noah. There’s a lot of things that the police need to go through. I need to give them my statement again. There’s still a lot of work left to do. Which is why Thomas and I think it would be a smart idea for you to distance yourself from the Abraham family now. Before all of this comes out." Andrew said.
"Why would you want me there if this is what you went through? I’m part of the family, hell, I didn’t even know!" Andrew frowned. He didn’t like this train of thought for Noah, but it was clear he was caught on the guilt of it all. It was annoying, since Andrew had already explained why at this point, but Andrew had patience. He did.
"Noah. I want you as part of my family. I want to keep you in this messy fucking divorce that is our family legacy and me throwing a fucking bomb into it. I want that, and my Mom gave me the perfect cover for that. If you don’t want to be a Beckett after all of this, become a Knox. I’m sure Nicole will love the idea." Andrew told him.
He was not going to bring up Noah potentially being an experiment if he didn’t have to. It wasn’t clear, he had no idea of the lab, and he didn’t want to give him any more stress.
The man clearly didn’t need it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
Noah was still willing to protest, Andrew could feel it and Thomas let out a heavy, annoyed sigh.
"Noah Abraham." Thomas said firmly and Noah jerked, hearing his name. "Stop it. It’s normal to feel guilty, I get it. I come from a family that fucking kills people, proudly, for a living. Luis was sent fingers in the mail to dissuade her from marrying me. If you want to talk about generational guilt, boy, get in fucking line." Thomas started and Andrew watched as Noah’s eyes went as wide as saucers. "However, Andrew is offering you a clear slate. A way to escape their grasp and still make up for all this shit you let pass. You have a way to make it up to the people that you feel like you’ve failed. Are you going to grab onto his hand, or are you going to let it float by and drown without being able to help anyone, including yourself?"
It was a good speech. Andrew almost wanted to clap, but knew that would only take away from the moment. Instead, he let Noah sit with those words, stew for a moment before he watched Noah crumple again. He rested his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees as he hunched over.
"Is it okay for me to be happy after all this?" Noah asked brokenly and Andrew wrapped his arm around his shoulder, giving him a squeeze.
"They wanted you to be miserable. It’s the biggest fuck you that you can give them, Noah. The fact that my Mom was happy without our Dad? I’m sure that made him more pissed than anything else she could do. The icing out of monetary wealth also was a good touch as well." Andrew said and Noah gave a wet laugh.
"They are going to come for us, aren’t they?" Noah asked and Andrew felt his emotions get heavy. Thomas let out a bark of laughter.
"They can fucking try. Now that I know their shitty tactics, nothing is getting by me. Trust me, Noah. As soon as you sign those papers making you part of Andy’s family, even before that, you’re under my protection. I defended myself against my father. The Abrahams have no fucking clue what they are messing with. I might have left the family, but it will never leave me." Thomas said, his eyes cold.
Andrew was, once again, happy that he was on the right side of the Beckett’s.
~
Noah was eventually calm enough that he could go out into the general public of the party. They even managed to take a photo with the two of them with the band in the background after Noah had less puffy eyes, and then took a trio photo with Maxwell in it as well and sent them off to Nicole.
She was thrilled to receive a photo of them, and sent one with her and Elijah in their festive dress. Andrew passed his phone around for everyone else to send her photos of themselves and he hoped that she was having a good time and enjoying the photos.
Andrew got his phone back from Luis, all smiles as she wrapped a well manicured hand around his forearm and tugged him down so that she could whisper to him.
"I can’t believe you stole Noah from us." She whispered while Noah was distracted with Maxwell. Her breath was a little strong with the gin martinis she had been drinking, but Andrew didn’t mind. He was actually shocked by her words.
When he met her gaze, he could tell she wasn’t serious. The little tug to her lips told him that as well. Andrew gave a soft laugh.
"Hey, he didn’t really seem interested." Andrew told her and she squeezed his arm smiling more.
"You little liar. I’ll have to warn Maxy that he should worry about strays on the street. You might just adopt them all. Are you sure that the current house you have is going to be big enough?" She teased, and Andrew laughed.
He had better hope so, or Maxwell would kill him if they had to move and customize a house again. That had been a damn ordeal for them as a couple.
