Page 23 of Our Haunted Omegas
“Good. You can shush up and listen,” he said. “It’s easier to shut up when you’re tired and if you do, I won’t waste much of my time or yours. Odell went through hell when his parents died. I don’t care what you did before you met him. I don’t care if you dicked your way around the globe. I don’t care. It’s not my business. I’ve paid attention to your reputation and that of your other brother. You’re not a creep. No one’s ever said you assaulted them. Had I heard that we’d be having a very different conversation right now. But you like to have fun and I know Odell has his struggles. Struggles that aren’t fun. Learn to use your hand, Mr. Moonscale, because if you break his heart because you can’t keep it in your pants—”
“DAD!” Ambry groaned from the corridor. “No! Just no! You’re always welcome here but you can’t come in here harassing Cobalt!”
“Ambry, I’m trying to make a point,” Mr. Garner frowned. “One that you—”
“I know some guys run around on their mates. I’m not dumb. Odell isn’t dumb but can you at least let us get claimed before you come barging in making threats and waking people up. You know how much trouble we have sleeping around this time of the year. You too. I get it. Sleep deprivation sucks.”
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to defuse both of them when the only things I wanted to do was find a coffee pot and go back to bed with Odell. “I’ve had worse said to me.”
“Not in my home you haven’t,” Ambry said, making his way over and squeezing between us on the loveseat.
“He just wants to make sure Odell is okay,” I said.
“Would you let your carrier talk to me or Odie this way?” Ambry asked, turning his annoyed gaze on me.
“No, but—” I started.
“No buts. I mean it. Both of you, I mean it. Odie can call the shots in his own relationship. I’m sure he’ll appreciate you looking out for him but if he heard how you talked to Cobalt he’d have hurt feelings. It’s too early in the morning for this. Seriously. Let’s wait for everyone to wake up and we’ll all go out and have a nice brunch but no more of this. Absolutely no more of this, Dad. He slept through the night – er day – no nightmares. Don’t mess up his happy place.”
I opened my mouth to say I didn’t need Ambry to protect me but it wasn’t about me. It was about Odell and Ambry’s boundaries. I waited for his dad to yell or tell him he knew best but Mr. Garner nodded. I left them to work out whatever was going on and headed into the tiny kitchen to start the coffee.None of us slept much and I’d need caffeine if I was going to get through the day.
I tried to ignore the muffled voices coming from the living room and riffled through the matingmoon basket from Teal. I had a few protein bars for a pre-breakfast snack as I waited for the coffee to brew. It was impossible not to hear Ambry and his dad as they discussed what they’d do about his job. It was like night and day compared to how the wolf had spoken to me. He was gentle and kind with his son, assuring him that it was really up to him and Odie if they kept the job or not and that it would be okay either way.
“If you want to come back you can. Whenever. It’s open ended. It’s your business too. It’s ours. You don’t have to work there all the time to prove that. There’s nothing to prove.”
“I don’t want to leave you hanging or Missy. If we leave her hanging, we’ll never hear the end of it,” Ambry said a moment later.
“Leave Missy to me. She’ll be okay. She’s just—I think she was overwhelmed last night. She likes to think she’s in control of the situation and last night sort of got away from her. I want you to go camping or skiing or wh—”
“Dad, no one mentioned skiing. Odie and I still don’t ski,” Ambry laughed.
“You can’t blame me for trying it. I think you’d find it relaxing if you tried it out. My therapist says—”
I stopped listening again and ate another protein bar as Odie padded into the kitchen.
“Morning,” I said softly, trying not to display how pissed I was about him being woken up.
“Morning. Sorry they’re at it. They get along most of the time. Gerry just wants him to be happy.”
“You too,” I said, pulling him in close with a one-armed hug and offering him a bite of my protein bar which he accepted.
“I’m sorry he’s---”
“You don’t have to apologize for him. I get it. I’d worry if one of my friends responded to someone with my reputation. I would.”
“Are you worried, though?” he looked up at me with big, questioning eyes.
“That he’s right about how bad your trauma is? Maybe. I’ve felt your responses. About me having some monster in my dick that can’t be controlled? No.”
“Well, we can rule out your dick as a place your dragon lives,” he teased me and I laughed despite my dragon not finding it very funny at all. “And it’s not as bad as he says. There are people everywhere who have it worse than I do. I can work. Well, sometimes. Wait! Is that why you wanted a vasectomy? Because you don’t think I can parent or something?” he stepped away from me and my heart dropped into my stomach.
“Mate, I haven’t had coffee yet. So this is going to make me sound like an ass. Vasectomies are NOT fun. It wasn’t something I was going to do for a good time or because I thought you’re someone who can’t raise a kid. It’s something I’m willing to undergo so we can outsmart nature if you want more time before becoming a parent. I know that the moment you’re down for it, I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you and condoms don’t do a lot for newly met true-mates. So, it has everything to do with how much I want you and want you to have choices at the same time.”
He blinked at me and sighed.
“I know I sound like an asshole but it’s what it is,” I said, reaching out for him and this time he let me pull him back in for a hug.
“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be a good parent,” he said, pulling away to check on the coffee pot. “Coffee’s ready.”
