“But I—”
“Go, Ersa.” Jun turned him around and shoved him gently down the hallway. “I’ll wait for you outside. And don’t make me come back in here and drag you out.”
Ersa grumbled all the way to his room, dragging his feet like a condemned man. As he neared the door, Mason’s voice drifted from the nursery—soft, lilting, filled with warmth as he spoke to Mika.
A pang of longing tightened Ersa’s chest. He wished he could turn around, slip back in there, and steal a few more moments with them. He could already picture Mika’s toothless grin stretching wide the moment he walked in, those bright eyes lighting up just for him.
But he couldn’t. Jun was relentless.
“That persistent little omega,” Ersa sighed, stomping to the clothing cubicle and yanking out the first set of clothes his eyes landed on. “Who cares if I look decent?” he huffed, marching toward the washroom. Why was it such a crime to want to stay home and take care of his family? Nothing made him happier than ensuring Mason and Mika had everything they needed.
As the bathing bot whirred to life, Ersa caught his reflection in the mirror—and gasped. His skin was dull and parched, while his hair stuck out in wild tufts.
And—was thatvomit?
His eyes zeroed in on the stain on his right shoulder. Pinching the fabric, he took a cautious sniff. The sour tang hit instantly, making him recoil with a groan. Great. Just great. Jun had seen him in his dirty clothes.
No wonder the omega threatened to drag him out of the house. He’d been so busy taking care of Mika and Mason he’d completely neglected himself.
Shaking his head, Ersa stripped and stepped into the bathing bot, then set the machine to scrub away every trace of exhaustion and neglect, determined to feel like himself again. Once done, he returned to his room, the clothes he’d taken out of the clothing cubicle without a care draped over his arm. Returning each item of clothing to its place, Ersa carefully scanned his clothes. His gaze landed on the outfit from his first date with Mason. A smile tugged at his lips as memories surfaced.
“Still looks good,” he murmured, holding the top against his chest with a faint smile. He laid it neatly on the bed, then turned to the clothing cubicle and retrieved his underclothes. Slipping on his underwear, he reached for the FormMod Wrap—a stretchy band of adaptive fabric designed to contour and compress. Of all the changes his body had gone through during pregnancy, the fullness in his chest still felt like the most unfamiliar. He didn’t hate it—this was his body, after all—but damn, he wished they were smaller.
He wrapped the FormMod snugly around his chest, exhaling slowly as the material activated. True to its name—Form Modifier—the wrap began to shift and tighten, its smart fibers adjusting to his shape. Ersa watched in awe as his chest was gradually flattened and smoothed into a silhouette he felt more like himself in.
His outfit followed next.
The emerald-green shirt and pants hugged his lean frame perfectly, the color making his pale skin glow and his blue eyes seem deeper, more mysterious. He completed the look with white slip-on sandals, then ran his fingers through his short hair.
Heading to check on Mason and Mika, he found the nursery empty. Mason was likely in the cooking station, grabbing something to eat.
“I’ll see them later,” he decided, striding toward the front door.
“There he is!” Jun shouted, his voice echoing across the quiet neighborhood like a siren. “Come on! We’re already late!”
Ersa winced, catching the flutter of a curtain from the neighboring unit. Master Pentridge’s bond mate was peeking through the window—of course they’d heard Jun. Who hadn’t?
“I’m coming, I’m coming, relax,” Ersa muttered, picking up his pace as he headed down the driveway toward the waiting hover pod. The beta at the operator’s console offered him a sheepish smile, as if silently apologizing for Jun’s antics.
The pod hummed softly, its sleek frame hovering just inches off the ground. Of course, Jun drifted around in the latest elite model, an Arhula LX69— impossibly smooth and designed for silent drifting. Shaped like an elongated oval, the hover pod floated effortlessly on advanced magnetic drift tech. A far cry from the older coal-powered beasts still chugging around some parts of the city. And naturally, Jun had chosen the most obnoxious shade of iridescent yellow imaginable.
The moment Ersa climbed into the pod, Jun seized his arm and tugged him into the back seat with little patience. The pod’s door sealed shut with a quiet hum.
“Let’s go, Niel,” Jun snapped at the beta operator without even looking at him.
“Hey, don’t talk to him like that,” Ersa muttered, casting an apologetic glance at the beta seated up front.
“He’s been following me around ever since that stupid law went into effect. He’s my jailer, Ersa. I’ll talk to him however I damn well please.”
“He’s just doing his job.”
“And it’smyjob to make every non-omega person’s life a waking nightmare.” Jun grinned, stretching out comfortably. “Feels good to get out, doesn’t it?”
Ersa sighed, resting his cheek against the cool windowpane as the city streaked past in a kaleidoscope of motion. Towering buildings shimmered under the sun, their surfaces alive with pulsing advertisements in half a dozen languages. Storefronts blurred into a riot of color as their hover pod zipped through the tubes of the super airways. Around them, other pods whizzed by, guided by invisible magnetic streams. The pedestrian walkways were alive with movement, people going about their day. It was vibrant. Overwhelming. Alive.
“No, I already miss Mika and Mason.”
Jun giggled. “Let’s see if you’ll miss them after what I have in store for you.”