PROLOGUE
That morning, nothing was going as planned. Luli, the older daughter, had a fever and needed to be taken to the hospital; the dog had vomited all night and had to be taken to the vet. He had an important meeting with all the heads of Division 1 and was already running late. Manun had already put the kids and the dog in the car and was about to drive off when he saw in the rearview mirror that his husband had lifted the car hood and was swearing furiously.
He got out of the car and called out loudly:
— Chief Inspector Ramanan, having trouble?!
The man by the hood turned his head toward the one who had called him and answered angrily:
— Damn it, of all days, it had to break down today!
Manun chuckled softly:
— Oh, come on, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll drive you, it’s on the way to the vet. Come on, get in for once, I’ll be your driver.
Ramanan slammed the hood shut, still cursing. Manun cleared his throat several times to warn him.
— Darling, the kids can hear you perfectly well.
Ramanan suddenly calmed down and smiled as he got into the passenger seat. He turned toward the two little girls and said playfully, his face lighting up:
— Who are Daddy’s little fairies?
Luli frowned, looking him straight in the eye:
— Daddy, you said bad words. My ears hurt. Fairy number one doesn’t know if she’ll recover.
Ramanan tried to stay serious, though he was bursting with laughter inside. He looked at the second little girl, who seemed no older than three.
— Fairy number two, you’re on Daddy’s side, right?
The little girl raised her hands and covered her ears.
— Hurts, ears hurt!
Ramanan sighed and placed his left hand on the round belly of his Omega husband.
— My love, I think I’ll have to wait for Prince Charming to be born before I’m saved from the dragons’ flames.
Manun laughed softly.
— You’ll have to wait four more months, dear. After that, we’ll see — he might be a dragon himself.
Saying this, he started the car and drove out of the yard toward the highway. The atmosphere was relaxed; Ramanan was singing a little song with Luli, and Manun joined in. The highway wasn’t too crowded. A car ahead wasn’t moving very fast. Manun said:
— I’ll overtake it, or you’ll be late.
He turned the wheel to the left, moving into the passing lane. He accelerated. The sun was blinding him a little, so he pulled down the visor , and then something felt wrong. A large truck was coming from the opposite direction, but it seemed to be swaying.
He pressed the gas harder to pass the car, which suddenly started to accelerate as well — as if it didn’t want to let him pass. Manun had a bad feeling. He turned his head toward Ramanan, who was reading messages on his phone.
— Darling, doesn’t that truck look strange to you?
Ramanan didn’t answer right away, only murmured:
— Hm?
The next second, the truck swerved out of its lane and sped straight toward their car in mid-overtake. Manun’s eyes widened in horror. He thought:
The children!
Then he screamed:
— Ramanan, the truck!!
Only then did Ramanan look up. His reflexes kicked in instantly — only one thought crossed his mind:
Manun…
The truck was coming right at them; on the right was the stubborn driver’s car — there was no escape. He lunged desperately across Manun’s body. He had to protect his Omega.
The head-on collision came the next second. An infernal crash, a black cloud swirling like a vortex, as if trying to swallow the four passengers whole. Then, suddenly, there was a deadly silence — followed by the shrill, endless sound of the shattered car’s horn, wailing like an omen of something terrible.
