Page 27 of Golden Valley
“Yes.” Blinking away tears at the raw pain in his mate’s voice, Ricky said, “I'm sorry.”
Morgan nodded in acknowledgement. “My parents and my siblings were gone, and I was stuck with a pack role I’d never wanted.”
“You didn’t want to be pack Alpha?”
“No.” Morgan shook his head. “I wanted to be useful to the pack, of course. I expected to help my brother. But he was supposed to be Alpha, not me. My plan was to find my mate and have a bunch of kids. That’s all I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember.”
Psi pregnancies lasted only nine weeks and although they were draining because of the surge in hormones, they weren’t as physically impactful. Ricky had healed from the birth within days. If Morgan’s fondest wish was for a large family, as a Psi wolf, Ricky could give that to him. Suddenly, he had hope that he could be worthy of his mate.
“How about you?” Morgan swung his legs over the side of the bed so he was sitting up and then he patted the empty spot beside him. “What did you dream of doing when you grew up?”
Carefully holding his sleeping son against his chest, Ricky climbed onto the bed and sat close enough that his knee touched Morgan’s thigh. “I’m an only child and an Omega so my parents were really protective when I was growing up. I was so focused on wanting more freedom that I didn’t consider much else about what I wanted in the future.”
“They sound like good parents,” Morgan said with a grin. “I’m excited to meet them.”
“Figures an Alpha would feel that way about anyone described asprotective.” Ricky playfully nudged his shoulder against Morgan’s. “Make sure you leave me room to breathe when you cover me with that bubble wrap, okay?”
Not missing a beat, Morgan responded, “It’s a soft cotton fabric. Totally breathable.”
Enjoying joking around with his mate, Ricky relaxed for what felt like the only time in days. Maybe the only time in months. He hadn’t had a moment of peace since the night he had left Golden Valley. The night he had left Morgan. He dropped his head onto Morgan’s chest and sighed contentedly.
“My parents will like you.”
“I’ll make sure of it. Nothing matters more than family.” Tender fingers caressed his nape. “Did it bother you?” Morgan asked, the playfulness leaving his tone. “Their protectiveness?”
“It did at the time, but…” Ricky reflected on his stay at Blue Mountain and his conversations with Simon. “It won’t with you.”
“No?”
He moved his head from side to side. “Maybe it’s because I got used to it or maybe it’s because I’m older now, but mostly I think it’s because it feels right. I’m an Omega. You’re my Alpha.” He tipped his head up and met Morgan’s gaze. “I know the way I’ve acted so far—running away and hiding from my Alpha—makes it seem like I don’t like being an Omega, but I do.”
Simon was a nice enough guy, but Ricky wasn’t like him and he didn’t want to be. He wasn’t angry at or afraid of Alphas and he didn’t need to prove himself to be equal to them in strength. A relationship wasn’t a competition, it was a partnership. He hadn’t been a good partner to Morgan so far, but he was committed to changing that.
“I’m grateful you looked for me when I left, but I shouldn’t have made you chase me like that. It was wrong and I promise it won’t happen again.” Wanting to bring back some lightness to the conversation, he added, “Even if you get busy and forget to tie me down with that cotton wrap.”
Morgan snorted and wove his fingers through Ricky’s hair. “I’ll keep the knots loose.” He kissed the top of Ricky’s head and then searched his face. “All joking aside, protecting you is one thing—I’ll always do that, I can’t not do that—but this isn’t a prison. Omega or not, every shifter in Golden Valley is here by choice. That includes you.”
Remembering the flattering, almost worshipful way Ray Lopez had described Morgan, Ricky realized that what Brian had told him about the Golden Valley pack—that their ability to prosper after the fire that took Morgan’s family was a testament to their unity as a pack—wasn’t precisely accurate. The survival and success of this pack was a testament to their Alpha.
Morgan was the reason Golden Valley thrived.
Morgan was less stringent than Paul Parson, who had led Purple Sky when Ricky was a kid. That Alpha never would have abided by an Omega questioning him. If Ricky had run from Paul, he doubted the man would have debased himself enough to follow, and even if he had, it would have been to conquer him with enough force to show him his place.
Morgan was less rigid than Wesley Stone, who Ricky had expected to take over Purple Sky when Paul stepped down. Though he was smart and strong, Wesley seemed to follow an unwritten checklist of what he deemed to be a perfect Alpha and he never deviated from it. Ricky had talked to Wesley a few times since he had joined the Red River pack and the man sounded happier and more relaxed, but in the old days, Wesley had been too rigid to understand a break from convention. And an Omega leaving his Alpha was most definitely unconventional.
Morgan was less lighthearted than Brian Berger, who had strolled into Purple Sky as their new Alpha with all the confidence of a man who didn’t doubt his place or his destiny and couldn’t conceive of anything getting in the way of either. From what Brian said about his birth pack, Red River was tight knit, the shifters prosperous, and the Alphas beloved. Despite being older than Morgan in years, Brian hadn’t lived through devastating loss and nearly insurmountable pressure; he wasn’t burdened by Morgan’s life experiences, but neither did he have Morgan’s perspective and perseverance.
Morgan was less intimidating than Mitchell Grant, whose size alone made people around him cower. Though Ricky had spent most of his time in Blue Mountain alone in his room, he had overheard enough to realize that Mitchell was a man of few words and fewer smiles. There was no way he could miss the hesitancy and fear of the shifters in his pack, yet he wasn’t inclined to change that. He was nothing like Morgan whose human form was welcoming, whose demeanor was friendly, and who had changed everything in his life so his pack would feel comfortable and secure.
“You’re a great Alpha,” Ricky said, snuggling deeper into Morgan’s side. “I’m glad you’re my mate.”
Curling his arm around Ricky’s back, Morgan held him tightly. “For years, I’ve wondered if the fates were punishing me. I love my pack, but every day, I woke up alone, and every night, I went to bed the same way. I didn’t want to keep going but the pack needed me so I did, and the Golden Valley shifters were happy, but I was…existing. Just existing.” He reached his free hand up and traced his fingertips over Ricky’s jaw. “But now you’re here. My mate. My family,” he said worshipfully. He hovered his hand over The Baby, like he wanted to touch him but wasn’t sure he could. As if sensing Morgan’s presence, The Baby opened his eyes. Dark brown, just like his father’s. “I’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect you and him.”
“I know you will,” Ricky said, realizing the meaning of his own words as he spoke them. Morgan would protect him the same way he had protected the Golden Valley, which meant he would do more than keep his body safe; it also meant he would strive to make him happy. When it came to how he had treated his mate, Ricky couldn’t have made more mistakes if they had been assigned to him. And he only now realized the biggest one by far was keeping this man from his son. “Do you want to hold him?”
“Of course,” Morgan said, breathlessly. He reached his hands out. “I’ll be careful.” When Ricky placed The Baby in Morgan’s arms, he immediately cradled him to his chest and kissed his head. The baby gurgled and pushed his fist against his mouth. “Thank you,” Morgan said, meeting Ricky’s gaze. “He’s beautiful.”
Ricky hadn’t spent much time with Morgan, hadn’t had much in the way of conversation with him, but he knew him enough to realize his Alpha was gentle, perseverant, strong, and loyal. If he could welcome Ricky into his home after he had led him on a chase across the country and rejected him in front of other Alphas, two things sure to enrage most Alphas, the man sitting beside him and gazing lovingly at his child may be upset to learn his Omega had withheld information, but he surely would forgive this mistake.
