Page 29 of Golden Valley
Chapter 10
After Ricky’s long drive and their emotional conversation, the Omega was understandably exhausted, so Morgan hadn’t been surprised when he had fallen asleep while they’d been talking. And then like something out of his greatest fantasies, Morgan had the pleasure of lying with his mate tucked against side and his child in his arms. He reveled in the precious moment and kept very still so he wouldn’t wake either of them, but little Alex eventually stirred and then eyes nearly as dark as his own peered up at him.
“You’re probably hungry, right, little man?” Morgan whispered. As smoothly as he could, he scooted off the bed. “Let’s see what your daddy brought so we can put you in a clean diaper and then we’ll figure out what you eat.”
He looked at the foot of the bed, where Ricky had gone to pick up their son, and saw a duffle bag sitting beside a baby seat. Keeping his hand on Alex’s nape and the back of his head, he tucked his son against his chest, squatted down, and snagged the bag with his free hand.
“Here we go.” Kissing the top of Alex’s head, he padded into the adjoining bathroom, set the bag on the counter, and then clicked the door shut. “You don’t have to worry,” he said as he rustled through the bag. “We’re a growing pack so I’ve changed tons of diapers. I know what I’m doing.”
Lillian’s kids had been in his house nearly every day of their lives, and Morgan had done his part to help with them when Lillian and Ray were busy or tired. And with the Alpha house being open to the pack for gatherings and socializing, there had been many parents with large broods around who needed a helping hand. Morgan had always been glad to volunteer, taking the opportunity to bond with his newest pack members and learning skills he hoped to one day use with his own children. Now that day had finally come. He couldn’t remember being happier.
Within a few minutes, Alex was clean and dry and Morgan was darting his gaze around the bathroom. “I need to set you down to wash my hands.” He considered the counter, but although he was fairly certain Alex was too young to roll off, he wasn’t willing to take risk his son getting hurt. The floor was an option, but although the marble gleamed, he didn’t know whether harsh cleaners were used on it. Ultimately, he settled on the bathtub as the safest place for Alex to rest. He got a fresh towel from the closet, put it on the bottom of the tub, and then lay Alex on top of it.
“This won’t take long,” he promised.
In response, Alex wriggled and gurgled happily. Ricky hadn’t been kidding when he had said their son was an easy baby. Morgan wondered if that would motivate Ricky to have more children right away. As soon as he had the thought, he mentally chastised himself to slow down. A big family was his dream, but maybe Ricky didn’t feel the same way, which would be fine. He had his mate, he had a son, and that was more than he had thought possible only hours earlier.
After quickly scrubbing up, he scooped Alex against his chest, draped the duffle bag over his shoulder, and walked back into the bedroom. He was weighing Ricky’s need to sleep with Alex’s need to eat when he saw that he wouldn’t have to make that tough choice because his beautiful mate was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his clothes crumpled, hair disheveled, and the phone pressed to his ear. The sight of his Omega, safe and comfortably nestled on his bed, set off fireworks in Morgan’s chest.
“I'm sure Alpha Berger will put all of that behind him soon and then my mate and I will be able to come to you.” Ricky made eye contact with him and mouthed, “my father.”
Hearing himself referred to as a mate apparently had a direct link to Morgan’s libido, because his breath hitched and his groin tightened the moment he heard the word in Ricky’s soft voice. Suddenly desperate to touch his Omega, Morgan hurried to the bed, sat beside him, and wrapped his arm around his shoulders.
With a content sigh, Ricky leaned into him. “My mate said you’re welcome in Golden Valley. Will you come visit?”
Morgan had offered for Ricky’s parents to do more than just visit. His Omega was an only child, which meant Alex was the Marxes’ only grandchild. Purple Sky was the pack nearest to Golden Valley, but it was too far for drop-by dinners and last-minute get-togethers. To Morgan, the logical solution was for the new grandparents to move to Golden Valley. The Alpha house was plenty large enough for them to live there or Morgan could set them up in a home of their own. Ricky had sounded genuinely pleased at the suggestion, but maybe he wanted his parents to meet him and see Golden Valley before suggesting they uproot their lives to move there.
“I told you that was my fault.”
Sitting so close to Ricky meant Morgan couldn’t help but overhear both sides of the conversation.“Alpha Berger said you left home because of what the Golden Valley Alpha did to you during the pack visit. That isn’t your fault.”
“He didn’t do anything to me, Dad. I keep telling you that. He’s my mate.”
“Are you also going to tell me the entire Golden Valley pack wasn’t hostile during the visit? Alpha Berger shared details with us. We know all about their behavior.”
“Um.” Ricky’s gaze hadn’t left Morgan since he had entered the room, so Morgan could see them widen. “That’s… That’s more complicated than Alpha Berger probably realizes, and it may take some time to sort it out but—” Ricky’s voice got smaller and then trailed away as he curled in on himself.
The sad, dejected actions triggered all of Morgan’s protective instincts. Having never wanted to lead a pack, he hadn’t put much stock in his Alpha role. He gained no personal fulfillment from physically dominating other Alphas in battle or from seeing pack members kowtow to him. But he had paid close attention to Ricky’s every word and expression, and his mate felt most comfortable in those old, traditional roles. With that in mind, Morgan lowered his head and then gently mouthed Ricky’s throat as a reminder that he was here, he was in charge, he was Alpha, and Ricky was safe in his protection. His instinct was proven correct when his Omega relaxed, his heart rate slowing and his panic-scented pheromones receding in reaction to his Alpha’s dominance.
“Son, did they force you to go to Golden Valley? I can notify Alpha Berger. He’ll bring you home.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Morgan said as he put his hand on the phone.
In response to Morgan’s direction, Ricky immediately relaxed his grip.
He gently handed Alex to Ricky and then raised the phone to his ear. “Mr. Marx, this is Morgan Peters, your son’s mate. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I’m sitting next to him so I heard your question.” Although Ricky’s father didn’t speak, the loud breathing on the other side of the line indicated that he hadn’t disconnected the call. “I understand your concern. We didn’t represent our pack well during Alpha Berger’s visit.” Ensuring that his mate had physical proof of his strength and their connection during what was clearly a stressful situation, Morgan curled his hand around Ricky’s thigh and squeezed. “Golden Valley suffered a great loss at the hands of a male Omega. I should have done a better job healing my pack from that long ago. My failure is the reason my pack remains fearful and that fear is the reason we were less than cordial to Ricky and Brian. I can assure you that it won’t happen again.” Once his pack got to know Ricky, their wariness toward him would abate. One way or another, Morgan would ensure that Ricky felt safe and comfortable in his new home. “You and your mate have an open invitation to Golden Valley, and I very much hope you’ll give us a chance to show you the wonderful aspects of our pack.”
“Wow.” Ricky’s father drew in a loud breath. “I don’t believe I’ve heard an Alpha take the blame for a situation quite so succinctly and completely.”
“Posturing is a sign of weakness.” Morgan gazed meaningfully into Ricky’s eyes and smoothed his palm across Ricky’s inner thigh, enjoying the heat coming through his jeans. “I can’t promise not to make mistakes, but I can assure you that I’ll own them and I’ll learn from them.”
After only a short hesitation, Ricky’s father said,“We’ll need to talk with Alpha Berger, but hopefully my mate and I can be in Golden Valley by this evening.”
“Ricky will be happy to hear that, Mr. Marx.” He gazed down at his mate, whose cheeks were now tinted with an attractive red and whose lips were parted as he blew out soft gusts of air. Continuing to rub Ricky’s leg, Morgan moved his palm higher. “And I’m very much looking forward to meeting both of you.”
“I’m surprised to say this, but I look forward to meeting you too, Alpha Peters.”
Slowly, but steadily, Morgan moved his hand up until he cupped Ricky’s groin. With their son awake and Ricky’s father on the phone, Morgan’s goal wasn’t to initiate a sexual encounter, but he suspected his Omega would find comfort in any action that showed Morgan’s dominion over him. “Call me Morgan. We’re family now.”
