Page 45 of Labor of Love

“A senator?” Corbyn looked between his brother and his dad. “But surely, if Shiloh comes from such a prominent family…”

“Senator Farden doesn’t believe omegas should have any rights and should live entirely under their alpha’s whim, whether that be the omega’s parents or their mate. He’s in the news periodically, espousing a whole stack of rubbish, claiming that any societal ill is all because omegas were given rights to live in communities as regular people.”

His dad’s fist clenched and unclenched. “Him and I have had a few run ins, in the past. He was forever trying to raise funds for some scheme or other, so anyone with family moneyhe considered friend potential. I entertained the idea for a while, until he insulted your mom during a dinner she was hosting for him. Let’s just say he’s never left a home so quickly in his life. I have refused all overtures from him since.”

“But surely the senator would’ve said something about Shiloh being missing.” Corbyn was struggling to understand. “Shiloh’s his own flesh and blood, for goodness sake.”

“Not according to the senator’s bio.” Jordan held up more papers. “According to the publicly available information about him, the senator and his wife have three alpha sons, of whom they are very proud. There is no mention of Shiloh’s existence anywhere. His birth wasn’t even recorded, or if it was, it’s since been erased. If it hadn’t been for the blood records held about his parents, because his father is in office, no one would’ve known who Shiloh was, or where he came from.”

“I have to get to him.” Corbyn stood up. “It’s bad enough Shiloh spent so many years in captivity being abused, but to be publicly ignored by his own family before that even happened – he has to know I would never do that to him. I need to be with him.”

“You can go up shortly,” his dad said as his phone dinged. Taking it out of his jacket pocket, he grinned. “You mom wants me to order in a doctor, and I understand formula is being prepared for young Nora. In the meantime, Shiloh is sleeping. Your mom has still got that magic touch.”

“I can at least go and feed Nora,” Corbyn headed across the room. “I’m one of the dads now, you know. I have responsibilities.”

He couldn’t understand why his dad and brother were laughing as he left the room.

7

Meanwhile…

“Ma’am, ma’am. Ma’am, please. Where are you taking me? Why can’t I be with Corbyn? Ma’am, please. I don’t understand what’s going on.” Shiloh was being escorted, gently but definitely firmly, through one corridor after another in the huge mansion. He had no idea where he was going or even if he’d be allowed to see Corbyn again.

“If you don’t agree with our mating, I understand,” Shiloh said, trying desperately to keep the panic out of his voice. “I know I’m not good enough for your son, after what I’ve been through. But please, I’m begging you. I can’t have Nora out on the street. If you could just let me use a tiny room. I’m used to small spaces. Just somewhere to keep Nora free from the elements. I promise I’ll do my best to keep her quiet. I’ll work for any food you could spare...”

“Goodness, Shiloh, please stop,” Corbyn’s mom said stopping outside of a large door at last. “I never intended to cause you any distress. I just wanted us to have some privacy. Otherwise we have nosy alphas sticking their noses into omegabusiness. For the record, I am in full support of your mating to my son. I’m so proud and pleased Corbyn brought you home. I know I probably should’ve led with that, but anyway, you’ll get used to my ways. Come in here.”

She opened the door with a smile, ushering Shiloh into what looked like a private sitting room. There was a desk and a couple of couches, but it was more femininely decorated than the original room Corbyn had taken him into. Shiloh assumed it was Corbyn’s mother’s personal space.

“Now, firstly, you can call me Mama Stone if you already have a mama present in your life, or just Mama if you don’t.”

Shiloh nodded, inhaling sharply as Mama put her hands on his shoulders, looking deep into his eyes. “You’re unwell. How long has it been since you first noticed symptoms?”

“I’m not sure.” Shiloh wouldn’t lie to anyone who treated him kindly. “There was a time, back just after my last…” he swallowed hard, trying to come up with a palatable word.

“My last conception. It wasn’t easy working out how many of the symptoms were because of that week, or because of the pregnancy. At one point, the pain was so bad I thought I would die from it, but then I got rescued, and it helped being able to eat a bit more.

“But within days my contractions started, and they were painful too… I’d only been rescued a week when that happened, and now…” Shiloh blinked rapidly to stop his tears from falling. “Everything’s so overwhelming, but I have to look after Nora. I can’t let her down.”

“Oh, my poor child.” Mama pulled him close, making sure not to dislodge Nora, her hug strong and warm. “I know, I know, you’re not a child, you’re carrying a child, and she is a sweet little cutie as well. But I’m a lot older than you. And because of that I can tell you that for you to be able to look after your baby, youneed to look after yourself first. You haven’t been doing that. I can tell that just by looking at you.”

“I don’t know what I’m meant to be doing,” Shiloh admitted. “She keeps crying, and I’ve been feeding her, and I thought Corbyn… this is not your son’s fault. I wanted so desperately to feed her from my own body, and I thought I could. But she’s been crying almost every hour on the hour, and I don’t think my body’s got enough, but I don’t know how to tell Corbyn I need her to go on a bottle after all. He’ll think I’m a defect. What kind of omega am I, if I can’t feed my own baby?”

“Come and sit down. Let’s check you both out.” Shiloh let himself be led to a couch where he was prompted to sit down. Mama took Nora out of his arms, checking her forehead and along the side of her neck, even looking at her fingernails and in her little mouth.

“She is adorable,” Mama said at last. “And perfectly healthy. When you’re not in survival mode like you are right now, your instincts will let you know if anything is wrong with your baby. Nora is hungry. Her crying is her way of signaling that to you. And as much as it’s a really difficult thing for you to accept, you’re right. She needs to go on formula.

“Shiloh, deciding to do that is you, as a parent, doing the right thing for your baby,” she added as Shiloh couldn’t stop his tears from flowing when her words hit home. “You’re so thin, your body has gone through hell, and every ounce of goodness you might’ve eaten in the past six months has likely gone into growing this little one. This is not a negative reflection on you, Shiloh. Your body is worn out, you are near breaking point.”

Mama quickly touched his forehead and the side of his neck. “You’re also running a temperature, whether it’s from the birth or something else, I don’t know. But you need to be seen by a doctor. That’s part of looking after yourself. When was the last time you had any sleep?”

Shiloh swallowed hard. Mama’s kindness was difficult to accept, especially seeing as he’d never experienced it before. “About three days, maybe four,” he admitted quietly. “It’s not easy to remember. After the rescue, we were all questioned for the longest time – people wanting to know who had taken us, how, where from, and what happened while we were in captivity.”

He shivered. “That wasn’t fun. I’d been there the longest, and the questions seemed to go on for hours. They were still questioning me when my contractions started. They left me alone then, but the contractions were really painful – more than they had been the previous times – and I didn’t know who to ask, or what to do...”

He trailed off as Nora started to cry, but Mama just stuck the tip of her finger in the baby’s mouth. “Keep talking. She’ll be all right for a few minutes more.”

“There isn’t much else to say. They checked on us in the morning - the people at the halfway house - and noticed I was in labor. They dropped me off at the facility, because apparently no one where I was staying was licensed to deliver male omega babies.” Shiloh sighed. “I am so tired of this. I’m so tired of not knowing where I’m meant to be or what I’m meant to do. I just want my baby to be well and… I’m so scared, and all I can do is cry.”

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