Page 12 of His Bonded Omega Mate
With the deal in place, we were both stuck. The consequences of breaking the deal were much too heavy to consider. Logan could lose everything, the pride, his family, potentially his life, for letting me go.
My parents just wanted more cubs, so our kind wouldn’t die out as they had in the non shifter species. I had disappointed them by being an omega. Both had wanted an alpha cub after the birth of my omega sister. If I had been an alpha child, then they could have almost guaranteed a Japanese tiger cub, with only one in four babies taking after the omega parent. Perhaps if I’d been an alpha, I’d have saved my sister from her arranged match too.
The clan had done extensive genealogy research to find Jared. He wasn’t Japanese, far from it, but the tiger was a recessive trait from an ancestor. With him being an alpha, chances were that he’d create Japanese tiger cubs with whoever he mated with.
However, being mated to me meant Japanese tiger cubs were guaranteed.
I lay between my betas and prepared for the time that I’d have to say goodbye. Jared had shown me a dark streak ran through him. Before I thought him a pampered prince, now I believed he had the potential to be really dangerous. I had to get myself, and my betas free of the pride.
His Chosen
Tate
Evenweeksafterwaking,I would still dwell on that day. The way that it changed everything for us. In some ways, it brought us closer. Before, Hiroshi wouldn’t have relied on us emotionally like that. Then it made us all too aware of the consequences of what we were attempting. How much was at risk. Not just our hearts, but our lives.
I paused, setting up the heat room, thinking about the distant memory of that space, the place in between sleep and waking. It felt important. All I could remember was leaving the strange void that I’d inhabited with my raven, for the last however long, was waking to the sounds of Hiroshi bustling about.
I’d known it was him immediately by his sweet honey scent. It covered everything in the room I’d been sleeping in, so it could only have been his home. Weeks later, I still longed to be covered in that scent. To be tucked up with our omega in his home. They watched ours too closely to risk it.
It had warmed me to my toes even as I slid from unconsciousness to waking that he’d kept us close to him. Our unconventional relationship was fraught with difficulties, but we fought with everything that we had to stay by his side. I could still remember sensing Asher next to me, his breaths slow and even, signaling that he was asleep, even if our bond hadn’t already told me so. The bond had been there, as it still was now, as strong as it usually was. A gentle hum of awareness that was soothing.
I recalled hoping to have that bond with Hiroshi. It was something I still wanted. I just wished, deep into my soul, that we could find an alpha that would accept us, along with the sweet omega that we loved. That was the dream.
The lingering effects of the sickness had both Asher and me bedridden for another week. Housebound for another after that. Then we had to leave. To end things or at least make it look like it was over.
It was awful to be away from Sunshine and to only get glimpses of him. We attended regular healings because even just under three months after waking, there was some lingering weakness in my muscles. Those were days I lived for. Just to spend some time with Hiroshi.
I’d begun spending more time in my alter form, keeping track of Hiroshi from afar. It was often the only way that I could see him.
As far as Logan knew, Hiroshi had kept up his side of their bargain. He’d ended things with us publicly and we snuck away together as much as possible. It wasn’t much, but it had to be enough until we came up with something better.
It pulled at the bond that I had with Asher. Sometimes he didn’t feel as committed to Hiro as I was. I wondered if he was only going along with things to keep me happy.
Sweetwater was where we could be free. Our employers had taken us back at Heatwave, the heat club there to serve omegas in heat, though they understood that we still weren’t ready to help omegas sexually. We’d never be ready as there wasn’t another omega for us but Hiro.
Often Hiro would sneak into Heatwave and we’d have some stolen moments. He’d linger at the bar and we’d just talk. I missed him so much.
He was trying to find his fated. All our hopes fell on one that was understanding of the love that we shared and our desire to bond. It made everything more complicated with the fact that I was already bonded. Asher and I would have to break it, a temporary measure, so we could bond with Hiroshi and his mate if they were still willing after finding each other.
That was all that it hinged on. Would Hiroshi change his mind about us when he met his fated? Would that bond sweep away any feelings he had for me and Asher?
Still, he had no choice but to look for this mysterious alpha. The months to the deadline were steadily slipping away from us. Hiroshi was slipping away. Each day, he retreated further into himself. Hiding from the stress and fear that mounted at every failed date and interaction with an alpha that wasn’t his fated mate.
His heat was upon us, and he’d assured Jared that he was going to handle it alone. He couldn’t mention Heatwave since everyone knew that we still worked there. They just didn’t know it was as security and bartenders.
Our manager was aware of the situation and was letting us slip out to some rooms that were kept for omegas that were more wary of alphas. They had never been used as far as I was aware, yet they were kept immaculately clean and prepared, just in case. We even had an alpha friend, one of the regular club alphas, that would help if Hiroshi was okay with that.
Nathan entered the room that I was checking. “All right?”
“Yeah. Thanks for doing this.”
“No worries. It’s not a hardship. I’ve been with Hiroshi before.” My mind stalled.
“You have?”
“Yeah, way back, before Dakota caught his eye.”
“That’s a relief. He’ll be more likely to go for it.”
