Page 25 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
I saw both Tate and Hiroshi bristle at the comments the other alphas were making. None of them were being particularly quiet, despite this being Roan’s home and mate. Anger rose inside me at the omegas’ expressions. Neither of them deserved to be treated that way.
When I heard one making a comment about trying Hiroshi out, since his bond with Roan couldn’t be real, I knew I needed to step in.
My footsteps paused, though. Roan was the alpha they needed. I fired off a text to him before I herded the omegas away from the rest of them.
Larken: You need to come home. Now. These alphas and even some betas are saying some stuff. Hiroshi looks like he wants to hide. Tate looks scared.
It didn’t work. The alphas followed us through the house still saying shit.
I was ready to take them outside to get them to Roan when one of them really let loose.
“You can’t seriously be happy living like this?” Trevor demanded of Hiroshi. The guy was a real meathead. His curiosity over the omegas had to be the driving force for him helping with the move, because this idiot was not a team player. I was shocked he was still an enforcer.
“Roan is a pariah in the pack. Look what he’s done to you!” He gestured at Hiroshi up and down. “Are those babies even his?” I heard Tate give a gasp of horror. Hiroshi visibly flinched. “He’s not strong enough to be your alpha.” Trevor, brute that he was, paced back and forth, getting too close to the omegas. Once again, Hiroshi shied when he got too close.
“You should break the bond. There are plenty of alphas here in the pack that would accept you. Maybe not if those are his, though.” He directed his sneer atHiroshi’s rounded stomach. The omega was trembling. I didn’t know him well enough to know if that was from anger or fear. Likely a mix of both.
Doubting the parentage of Hiroshi’s babies was the last straw for me. I didn’t know if Roan was on his way; he was keeping the pack bond locked down tight, but I couldn’t stand there while the omegas were abused, complicated feelings or not. “Hey!” I yelled as I gently guided Hiroshi behind me. “What’s your problem, Trevor? You’re supposed to be helping, not hassling the omegas.”
I was about to really lay into them when I caught sight of Roan and Deke walking up the path, faces both murderous. They had clearly just caught that last exchange.
“I’ll sort this out. You get the omegas into a room and help them calm down. Tate looks faint.” Deke took charge of the situation as he tied his hair back, ready to swoop in and sort the mess out.
Roan spared a glance for Tate, then dashed forward into the house. He caught Tate before he could hit the floor.
“Move!” he roared at the cluster of shifters who were blocking the entryway.
“Is he okay?” Hiroshi asked, worried and scared for his other mate. I still didn’t get how that worked. Probably never would. He went to Roan, looking forcomfort. I noticed he slipped a hand up the back of Roan’s shirt. Then watched him calm as he got the skin to skin contact he needed after such a spike in anxiety.
“He’ll be fine. The stress was too much for him. Just in case, I’ll call Aldrin and see what he says, once I lay him down.” Roan was so gentle and steady for his omega. He was a good mate.
“We made the bed already. Larken helped.” Hiroshi gave me a sweet smile as I hovered behind them, guarding their backs from any more trouble. Deke seemed to have it in hand.
“Me and Tate made it,” I couldn’t help but tease, trying to lighten the mood some. “Hiro just oversaw the process.”
I shared a grin with Hiroshi, feeling that last barrier to being friends with him drop. It wasn’t his fault he got the man I had feelings for. I never took the chance with Roan, and I’d likely have damaged our friendship forever if I had.
Now I had to ease into this new chapter, find a place for myself in Roan’s changing priorities. He wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with if he didn’t put his mate and their children first. He was being an alpha, creating a family, and I had to either accept that, or just fade into the distance, be a memory.
Getting into their bedroom first, I turned down the bedding for Roan to place Tate comfortably in bed.Once the omega was settled, Roan asked me to watch over Hiroshi and Tate while he went to call Aldrin.
“You’re in good hands,” I told Hiro.
He smiled wistfully, looking at the doorway to the nursery where Roan was on the phone. “I know. Coming to Sweetwater has changed our lives for the better, well,” he looked down on Tate, “mostly. I think Tate is accepting things more.”
“I can’t imagine what he’s been going through, changing, then being pregnant.”
“Me neither.”
We didn’t get to speak alone for long. Tate roused, looking groggy.
“Hiro?”
“Hey, you’re in bed because you passed out. I’ll go get you some water, okay?”
I followed Hiro out of the room, catching the end of the conversation with Aldrin. The healer would be with us soon enough.
“Hey, you okay?” I knew Roan needed the comfort of touch. Wolves needed it more than any other shifter. I squeezed his shoulder.
