Page 43 of Mating the Omega
I still had that odd, eerie feeling that everything was going to work out for the best, so all I did was nod, and kiss the thumb still moving back-and-forth across my lower lip. “That’s fine. I trust you.” Then, to push the mood towards something more cheerful, I asked in a plaintive voice, “Did you bring me any supper?”
He laughed and glanced down for a moment, but then his eyes were on me again, as full of love as ever. “Laine brought it back. And he got you strawberry shortcake.”
“Yum.” It wasn’t a milkshake, but it would do. And Mac had a smile on his face again, which was all that I really cared about anyway. But I hadn’t forgotten my question about whatever power they thought I had, and I was going to get that answer as soon as we were done with this stupid case.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Back in the courtroom, the tension was as high as a kite. Mac kept an eye on Jason. He didn’t like his mate’s color—twice that morning, he’d gone from normally colored to pale, then back again, but claimed it was nothing. Practice contractions. Still, Mac worried.
The judge entered and they all stood, then sat again. Mac took Jason’s hand and squeezed. This was it.
Wilson stared down at them all over the rim of his reading glasses. “I had fully intended to come in here this morning and render a verdict. But, I find myself somewhat unwilling to do so. Shifter matters are not generally dealt with in my court—I’m not entirely certain of how this landed in front of me in the first place. One thing I do know, is that it seems very strange that the person whom both parties are arguing for custody of has not had his day in court, or that he wasn’t called by either side as a witness. I would like to hear his side of the story. And while I’m aware that this contravenes, to some degree, the rule of law, I wouldn’t bother appealing whatever my verdict becomes on that basis. Not in the human justice system, anyway. I’m willing to hear it as a contract dispute; others might not.”
Laine tensed and glanced back at them. Mac mouthedWhat?at him, but Laine shook his head and turned back to the judge.
The judge continued. “Therefore, I would like to ask Mr. Jason… I’m not sure what family name to give you at the moment.”
Wilson’s eyes landed on Jason, and Mac felt the convulsive movement of Jason’s fingers before Jason stood and said, in his friendliest tone, “Jason is fine. I think of myself as Mercy Hills, but I know there’s some confusion.” He bent to kiss Mac, smoothing away the frown between his eyebrows with a loving touch. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, and he stroked Mac’s cheek before making his ponderous way through the gate and toward the witness’s chair. He sat down with an audible sigh of relief and smiled up at the judge, who smiled back.
“I’m going to ask you to put your left hand on the bible and repeat after me.”
“Of course.” Jason did as he was asked, and moments later he had been sworn in.
The judge looked him over, and Mac held his breath, wondering if he’d be someone who was disgusted by the idea of a male carrying a child, or if he’d be intrigued—it seemed to go about fifty-fifty with the humans. But the judge smiled at Jason, and commented, “I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first child. The last couple of months, I only felt safe if I was bringing her food or foot rubs.”
Jason grinned and leaned in, though they could clearly hear him. “It’s pretty much the same at home right now.” The audience laughed and Jason sat back, stroking his belly in slow, mesmerizing movements.
The judge shook his head. “And where is home, according to you? Remember, you’re under oath.”
“I know. I don’t like to lie anyway. I had to do too much of that before, and it makes me feel kind of dirty now when I do it. So I don’t.” Jason turned his head to meet Mac’s gaze, and his lips curled into a fond, sappy smile. “Home is Mercy Hills.”
“And why is that?”
Jason turned back to the judge. “Because I’m happy there. And I feel safe.”
The judge sat back in his chair and regarded Jason with interest. “What would you say if I offered you the opportunity to go anywhere, with a pack or without, to raise your child without the interference of either of these alpha shifters. If you knew that they would never bother you again.”
“I’d go back to Mercy Hills and bother Mac myself.” His face took on that pale, distracted look, his eyes focused on something Mac couldn’t pick out. A faint, disturbing suspicion began to grow in Mac’s chest. Then Jason was back, and his gaze, when he glanced around the room, was sharp and encouraging. “I’m happy there. I have a garden, a fantastic mate, and soon I’m going to have a pup to snuggle.”
“And that’s different from your old pack?”
“Very. My old pack wasn’t very well off. Our house wasn’t in good shape and there were a lot of fights, so I spent a lot of time scared. I like Mercy Hills better.”
Interesting. That wasn’t the story that Jason had told Mac. And apparently Orvin’s lawyer knew it, because he stood up. “Your Honor, I don’t believe that the witness is telling the entire truth.” Even more interesting, that Orvin looked like he was trying to shut his lawyer up. Had Orvin not told the man the entire story? Mac sat back to watch how it played out.
The judge turned grimly back to Jason. “You know there are penalties for lying under oath.”
Tears welled up in Jason’s eyes. “I didn’t want to be mean. As long as I get to go home with Mac, I can forget what happened in Montana Border.” He bent his head and began to weep, clutching his belly, and Mac was half out of his seat to go to him before Laine caught his eyes and motioned for him to sit down.
“What exactly are you trying to say?” The judge handed Jason a tissue. “Would you like some water?”
Jason shook his head and wiped at his eyes. “No, because then I’ll have to pee and I already spend half my life in the bathroom.”
The judge’s lips twitched. “All right. Can you explain to me now what it was you were trying to hide from me? You said you don’t like lying.”
“No, I don’t.” Jason sighed. “It’s kind of an omega thing. You see, we’re treated different. I was the only male omega all the way through, so I guess I got it worse than the girls, because they only started the omega training when they showed that they were omega, when they got to be teenagers. All my life, it’s been lessons about looking after babies, and how to cook, and how to clean. And then my heats came, and like the other omegas, they locked me away in my house so I wouldn’t accidentally get mated. But my second season, I didn’t wait until it was completely done and I snuck out to go to the bonfire, and the Alpha found me. And he got mad, because he said I was supposed to mate him, and he’d better mate me now, because if I kept sneaking out, someone else would catch me first.” Jason paused, and looked innocently up at the judge. “I think he was drunk.”
A boiling wave of rage and pride swamped Mac. He knew how omegas were viewed, and he’d assumed Jason’s flight had had something to do with an over-aggressive alpha. But he hadn’t expected this. The only thing that kept him in his seat was watching how Jason used this story to coax the judge to their side, leaking the details out as if he were being forced. But Mac knew his mate, and he recognized the signs of Jason tweaking his words to have a particular effect.
