Page 25 of The Omega's Alpha
“Yeah, kick it.” Quin did a neat bob and twist that moved me out of the way without him ever letting go of my shoulders, and I heard a soft thwack of sneaker against denim. I laughed and Quin leaned in for a quick kiss before saying, “So, you want the story of our horrible names.”
“I think I do. I mean, being named for a country famous for wooden shoes and windmills probably beats them all, but you guys are free to try to top me.” I tried sticking my hand in the back pocket of Quin’s jeans, so delightfully racy and outrageous. Oh, I was a bad omega, but it was fun.
“Okay,” Cas said, his tone sharp with wicked humor. “I’m sure Quinhasn’ttold you that his name is actually Tarquin.”
“No, he hasn’t.” I tipped my head sideways to peer up at Quin, who looked entirely disgruntled. “That’s even more interesting than most.”
Cas snorted and dodged his brother’s attempt to grab his ear. “Yeah. Interesting. It’s the name of an old Roman king. Nothing like giving your pup something to live up to.”
Quin laughed. “Damn. Yeah. Well, at least she didn’t screw mine up.” He grinned at my inquiring expression. “What’s the meaning of Casimir?”
“Casimir?” I started to laugh, then clamped a hand over my mouth. Alphas were never named things like ‘bringer of peace’. Oh, Lady of Wolves, poor Cas.
“I prefer the alternate meaning,” Cas said mildly and kicked at a stone in our path. It skipped off ahead of us, splashing into a puddle left by the rain last evening.
“There is no alternate meaning,” Quin began, and Cas shouted, “Yes, there is!”
“Oh, for… what is it? Before you scare all the pups.” I frowned at the two of them in mock anger.
“Peaceful destroyer,” Cas said defiantly, and Quin snorted and shook his head.
We walked on in peace for another minute, until Quin said, “You know she just made that up because she thought it sounded regal.”
“It is regal. It’s an old Polish king’s name.” He kicked at another rock. “Yeah, Mom’s kind of…interesting.” He sighed. “At least she only got to name two of us. I can’t imagine what Abel and Kaden would have been named.”
“As long as it wasn’t Romulus and Remus,” Quin said and Cas laughed.
“Yeah. Just wait. She’s going to want to name the next pup in the family.”
“Abel said she sent him an email when she heard that he’d mated and his mate was pregnant. He shut that down pretty quick.”
I glanced up at him. “Shut it down?”
Quin shook his head and smiled at me. “Mom can trace her lineage back through fourteen generations of Alphas. So she’s got this idea that all her pups and her pups’ pups should have regal names, because they’re obviously destined to be rulers.” He shook his head. “She’s mostly all right, you just can’t put up with her shit.”
Cas started to laugh and kept laughing until tears were streaming down his face.
I couldn’t say that I was as unconcerned about it. Of course, the likelihood of me having pups was on the wrong side of none, so I supposed it wasn’t something I had to worry about. Still, a small part of me cringed at the thought of having to fight for my pups’ names.
Abel’s house came into sight and I regretfully pulled my hand out of Quin’s pocket as we approached the front step, putting everything I’d learned out of my head and smiling brightly as Bax came out to greet us.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It had been good evening. No, an excellent evening. The food had been fantastic and the three alphas had spent the evening telling old stories from their puppy days, to the amusement of the omegas and the giggling shock of the pups. Holland’s brother Cale had stayed for the evening and so, at the end of the night, Quin had had no trouble coaxing Holland out of the house, carrying a convenient change of clothes, and back to his apartment. Once there, Quin had hustled Holland into the bedroom, where they’d made slow, passionate love forever, until neither of them could hold back any longer.
And after… “This is nice,” Holland said, and snuggled in closer. His skin was warm against Quin’s and he smelled of sex and forest paths and sated omega, which made Quin’s alpha side entirely content.
“Mmm,” Quin murmured and let his cheek rest against the silken darkness of Holland’s hair.
“Did you set the alarm?” Holland asked, his voice already blurring around the edges as he sank toward sleep.
“Yep.” No reply from his bedmate. “Holland?” Nothing but soft breathing.Asleep already.He smiled and let his own eyes close as the fatigue of the day settled into his bones and he drifted off to sleep.
Quin was digging a hole in dusty yellow earth. He needed to dig the hole, to make enough space because he had to put everyone in there or something bad would happen. But the hole wouldn’t grow any bigger, and eventually he gave up and tried to shove his family in there, but they were sitting around a picnic table talking and eating and they weren’t paying attention to him, while a sense of rising doom flooded over him. He tried to take them by the arms and drag them to the hole, but they kept slipping away somehow and he was so frustrated he wanted to howl.
Then he woke up with a massive jerk of his entire body, his arms flailing out to the side. One elbow hit something weirdly solid and someone squawked, “Ow.”
“Shit,” Quin said and sat up, his face buried in his hands. He was home, in bed, with Holland. “Fuck.” His whole body shook.
