Page 106 of Alpha Heat
Urho cleared his throat. “That’s it. End of discussion. Xan needs to go. Come on. You need to pack your bags and catch the next train.”
Xan blinked at him in surprise. “You want me to leave?”
“No.” He hated the idea of Xan being away from him for even a night, and even more hated the idea of him heading into a household of sickness, but Xan needed to do this. He needed to see his pater and Ray, and he needed to stand up for himself in the family. It was the only way he’d ever be free. “But youneedto go.”
Xan nodded and stood. His hands were still visibly shaking, and he licked his lips anxiously. “There’s so much to do here, though. I need to call Edes and let him know I’ll be gone. He’ll need to take over at the office here in town in my absence.”
“You can do that while I start packing for you,” Urho said. Xan glanced around the room, worry creasing his face. “Don’t fret about the house,” Urho added. “I’ll hold down the fort here. Me and Caleb.”
“And we’ll be happy to deal with any household issues that don’t involve direct contact with Janus,” Jason said. “Or I will. Vale will probably just stare at his stomach and hum the entire time you’re gone. But I can help keep the place going if Caleb is otherwise occupied.”
Urho glanced to Vale, who nodded absently. He was indeed staring down at his stomach. Urho almost laughed. Yes, Vale’s days would continue much the same until the babe arrived—a walk on the beach, a morning nap, a lunch on the veranda if the day was nice, another walk on the beach, another nap. Urho didn’t resent it in the least. Every omega deserved to feel safe and pampered during pregnancy. He would want the same for Caleb when the time came. He couldn’t wait to see the man round with Xan’s child.
Wolf-god, Caleb…
Urho didn’t know what to make of Xan’s omega’s devotion to Janus’s health or the conversation he’d overheard. He’d suspected Caleb did still harbor feelings of some kind for Janus, but the evidence of it stung him considering how awful Janus had been to Xan, so it must sting Xan as well.
Certainly Xan and Caleb weren’t lovers like other alpha-omega pairs, but they were family, and Xan loved Caleb deeply. And while it would be petty to harbor jealousy when Caleb was so generous with Xan’s feelings toward Urho, it was only natural that an alpha would feel proprietary urges toward his contracted omega.
Maybe if Urho had been given an opportunity to know Janus better, or Janus’s behavior when they did meet had let him like him more—or if Janus had never hurt Caleb and Xan in the past—then Urho might feel the man deserved Xan’s beautiful, kind omega’s devotion. As it was, he resented any feeling Caleb carried for Janus. Perhaps even more than Xan himself did.
Still, he was determined to let the feelings go. After Janus was recovered, they could deal with the situation then. Should Caleb want to leave Xan and go to Janus for good… Well, Xan would have to face that fact, and Urho would be there for him during the fallout.
Until such a point, Urho wouldn’t think on it further other than to feel proud that Caleb was such a loving, forgiving person, and so generous in his care of a sick man.
“I’ll go make a few calls,” Xan said. “Then I’ll leave on the afternoon train.”
With that settled, everyone went back to eating their breakfast. It wasn’t a cheerful party with everyone’s mind still obviously fixed on various worries and problems. When Jason’s plate was clean and Vale had been prodded into eating a few bites more, the two of them said they would retire to bed.
“You should take a nap as well before you go,” Urho said. “I’ll go check in on Janus. I’ll come join you later if I can.”
Xan nodded tiredly. “I’ll go make those calls.” He hesitated in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at them all. Urho’s heart ached in his chest. “Thank you,” Xan said softly. “For bullying me into the right thing.”
“We’re your friends. We want you to be happy,” Vale murmured.
“Go make your calls,” Urho said. “I’ll meet you upstairs in your room.”
Xan kept hisshower short, too worried to enjoy lingering under the water for long. After he’d tugged on his silky, royal blue pajamas for the nap he’d promised Urho he’d take, he sat on his bed to brush his wet hair.
The sudden knock on the door made his pulse jump, and he called out for Urho to come in. But the head that popped through the door belonged to Caleb.
Dreadful. There was no other way to describe his appearance. He looked so pale in his white clothes. Gray smudges of worry darkened the fragile skin beneath his blue eyes. His chin-length blond hair was tousled and hung messily around his jawline.
“Hey,” Xan said softly. “C’mere.”
Caleb shut the door behind him and crept into the room as though ashamed and uncertain of his welcome.
When Xan stood and opened his arms wide, Caleb rushed into them with a soft sob. Xan kissed his hair and shushed him soothingly. They held each other for a long time before Caleb finally pulled free, wiping at his eyes. The dark smudges looked even darker.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“For what, love?” Xan asked, though of course he knew.
“For lying to you about my feelings for Janus,” Caleb whispered, his chin wobbling. “I do love him. But not in the deep way I love you, and not in any romantic way. I never have. But I care for him more than I wanted to admit before. There was a time I would have contracted with him if he’d only wanted me enough. The real me.”
“I know. You’ve already said.”
“But I also said I didn’t care for him any longer.”
