Page 67 of His Bonded Omega Mate
Asher stepped away from his mate, backing into the corner as far as he could as he waited for an answer.
“I don’t know.”
The instant the words were spoken, Asher’s lion burst free. The change was instantaneous, as the white lion roared his pain and rage. Bottles rattled on shelves, the walls and floor shook. All the while, Aldrin’s bear stood firm in front of his patient.
James shifted too, his bear also imposing, making the room feel claustrophobic. I backed out further, pushing Hiroshi into the hall.
Shift. I urged. His tiger was bigger, stronger than he was in human form. Better able to protect the two lives inside him.
I felt him drop the robe to the floor before his tiger’s head butted at my side, reassuring me he was safe and well.
Inside the room, the two bears had backed the snarling and hissing lion into the furthest away corner from the poor omega. A terrified Tate had slipped from the bed, and was shuffling towards us.
The movement caught Asher’s attention. He growled. I could only imagine what was happening in the bond. Tate looked stricken and Asher’s noises were pain filled.
Within a blink, Tate shifted, taking flight and escaping the room into the corridor and out the open door where Blake stood waiting in his wolf form.
Move. I urged Hiroshi, sensing Asher was about to pounce to track down his fleeing mate. Hiroshi heeded my words, following the raven and stopping next to our alpha.
I joined them, wishing that this was just a nightmare and not our reality. Tate shouldn’t have to fear his mate in order to have control over his body. If he didn’t want the baby, no one would make him carry it to term, right?
My thoughts must have rushed down my bond with Hiroshi and into the pack bond. I felt my alpha jolt.No, Tate, he vowed. While he directed his words to Tate, all of us heard them.If you don’t want this child, then we will help you. Your body is yours. Your mate cannot make that decision for you.
The raven flew in circles above us.You swear?
I do. Blake promised.The same as I would never have asked Kade to have our babies if he hadn’t wanted them. I won’t allow a member of my pack to be treated like an incubator. Yes, this baby is a miracle to us, but if it isn’t to you, then I understand. You’ve had only a couple of weeks to adjust to something that other shifters have their entire lives to come to terms with.
Slowly, Tate fluttered closer, taking a perch on Hiroshi’s head. The tiger doing his adorable chuffing purr I loved when he knew his mate was safe.
Aldrin and James fled the building, having kept Asher at bay for as long as they could. Signs of stress and sweat lining their bodies.
The lion ran for the door, spotting his mate and roaring at how close I was to him.
Hold.Blake ordered me.He needs to get over himself.Our alpha was pissed off in a way I hadn’t seen since Rincoln.
I flinched, but held steady.
Stop. Blake barked to Asher. The wave of power rolled over the lion, halting him immediately.Asher, this is your final warning. Get your lion under control or you will be exiled from this pack. I will petition the council to dissolve your bond with Tate for mate abuse. We have grounds.
Hiroshi’s tail twitched. His fear ran down the bond. I felt some guilt there, though his thoughts were closed off. He clearly thought this would be a suitable solution for the situation. It frustrated my mate that Asher kept putting Tate through misery.
With a gasp, Asher shifted into his human form. “Alpha, please!” he begged.
No. You have no right to another person’s body. Tate gets to choose. Always. If you cannot come to terms with this, then you cannot be a member of this pack, or a competent mate.
“But Alpha —“
Blake shifted. Standing tall in front of the other alpha as he spoke for the gathering crowd to hear. “No. We have tolerated this for too long. You are irrational and dangerous. You either fix this, and soon, or you leave. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Tate?” Blake’s voice gentled as he turned to the raven still on Hiroshi’s head. Tate was shivering with fear. “Take your time to choose. Though you only have a week or two at the very most.”
Tate took flight again before landing softly and shifting. “You’d truly let me choose?”
Blake took in the crowd. “Every omega may choose to share their body with a new life. Babies are a privilege, but not everyone can bring new life into the world.” His tone gentled as he spoke to the frightened omega. “Tate, your bond with your alpha, with your omega mate, is so strained right now. With Hiroshi pregnant, you’d have someone to go through it all with, yet if it’s too scary for you to contemplate, then we support that. We are your pack, your family. Anything you need, we will provide it.”
The former beta chewed on those words for a moment as he brushed his fingers over Hiroshi’s fur subconsciously, both taking comfort in the action.
