Page 11 of Abel's Omega
Never stand between an omega and their pups.
He frowned, and I could see him considering the potential benefits of encouraging my ‘relationship’ with a member of Mercy Hills. “Very well.” He scribbled his name on the line at the bottom, granting me permission for a one week’s stay with my ‘cousin’, then paused, squinting at the dates I’d written. “Do you want to pass the full moon with them?”
“It would be nice.” Two weeks would give me plenty of time to plead my case in Mercy Hills and, if that didn’t work, to make a plan to do what Jason had done—hide in the human world. I didn’t know how he’d done it, but I could probably tease the information out of him. Surely he’d be willing to help another omega being forced into an unwanted mating, especially now that he had a pup of his own. He’d have to feel it in his gut how impossible giving them up was.
Roland changed my return date to give me another two days past full moon and initialed it. I felt a momentary pang of guilt for deceiving him, made worse when he scratched out my name and added his to the section indicating what account to debit for the vehicle use, preserving my last few credits. My plan had included sneaking food out of the kitchen here, because the use of the pack’s van would empty my account completely. Another twinge of guilt shot through me, which I fiercely repressed in the face of what he and the pack had planned for me.
“Thank you, sir.” I picked up the piece of paper with hands that only trembled slightly. It took all my strength not to run out of his office, but I managed it, at least until I was out of Roland’s view. Then I raced full tilt down to Central to arrange for the van, and back home to hurry my children into what I hoped would be a better future.
I blew the last of my pack credit on treats for the pups, since I didn’t have to use them for the van anymore. Fresh apples, berries imported from human territory, little packages of dark cookies filled with sweet white icing, slightly stale because of how expensive they were. Fan and I shared a huge bag of barbecue potato chips—luckily Noah didn’t seem to mind any barbecue flavor in my milk when it came time to nurse him.
The normally six-hour drive took me eight, with bathroom breaks and stops to clean up messy pups. I didn’t care. I was free, at least for now, and my undefined future shone in front of me like a full moon in summer, bright and hopeful. I stopped once more as the sun set, underneath the sign for the exit to the Mercy Hills Shifter Enclave, and dragged all my babies out for a last pee before we got to the gates.
My own bladder was feeling a little nervous—everything depended on Jason going along with my deception. I hadn’t been able to find a way to contact him, so I was banking on the tendency of shifters to side with each other in any situation involving humans and sort out the details later. I just hoped he was quick enough to follow my lead, though if he’d stayed out of the hands an Alpha who’d been actively hunting him, he had to be pretty bright.
“All right, darlings, time to go. We’re almost there.” Fan climbed into his car seat all by himself while I got everyone else into their seats and buckled in. He fumbled the straps into place on his own, but was still struggling with the buckles when I got to him.
“Let me do that for you.”
“No! I’ll do it.”
You’re such an alpha.But for once, the thought didn’t bother me. He’d been so good during this trip, like just getting away from Jackson-Jellystone had turned him into a whole new pup. It gave me hope. “How about if I hold one side for you, and you click the other one in.” That worked, and only moments later we were on the road leading to Mercy Hills.
I slowed down as we got close to the gate, my headlights skating across the heavy concrete walls and the rolling iron bars. One of the officers stepped out onto the road, and I stopped beside him. My papers were ready on the passenger seat, and I touched my collar tabs as if to reassure myself that I was there on legitimate business.
“Can I help you?” the human said. He peered into the back of the van and raised his eyebrows at my crowd of pups.
“I’m here to visit my cousin, Jason.” I prayed the lie would hold.
“Papers,” he said, and held out his hand, though his eyes never strayed from my pups. “These all yours?”
“Yes,” I answered, handing out my travel permit. “They’re too young for tabs yet.”
He read through the page listing our ages and physical descriptions, and I could tell when he’d done the math on when my first pup was born, because he sucked in a breath between his teeth and gave me a funny look. “All right. You know where you’re going?”
I shook my head. That was the one real weakness in my plan. Well, that, and the possibility that Jason might out me anyway, though I thought shifter solidarity would hold up. It had to.
The officer nodded and handed me back my papers. “I’ll call one of their security team down once we’ve searched your vehicle. He can tell you where to go.”
“Thank you.” And I really did mean it. He’d just solved one of my worries, and did it without blinking an eye.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Abel stretched his legs out and leaned back on Mac and Jason’s couch. Macy slept on his chest, a warm comfortable lump that made him disinclined to move, ever. He canted his head down to take a peek at her peaceful and absolute sleep, and wondered what it would be like to have his own. If he could ever rearrange his life well enough to make space for one. Or two.
Watching Mac and Jason make a go of their unlikely mating made him wish he could have the same chance. Of course, he’d have to find someone to take over half of his workload. Even tonight’s stolen moments of ease would have to be paid for tomorrow, but they were all worth it.
Macy smacked her lips and rubbed her nose, then fell back into boneless slumber.
“I made brownies,” Jason said, leaning over the back of the couch to gently brush Macy’s pale hair back.
“I think I’m trapped,” Abel told him.
Mac sat beside him and handed him a plate with a single brownie in the center. “That’s how they get you. The greatest hunters of our species aren’t the Alphas, they’re the babies.”
“Well, she’s caught me.” He set his plate on his thigh—not the bruised one--and picked up the brownie, his mouth already watering in anticipation. They were at the end of their harvest cycle, and everyone was producing good food, but Jason could make canned tuna and macaroni taste amazing. He always shrugged it off as a result of being on the run for six years, but Abel thought there was some real talent there, if he could figure out how to get Jason to tap into it. And it might be a way for Jason to help pay into his mating-price, since he and Mac seemed so determined. He bit into the brownie, and closed his eyes in appreciation. “Holy shit, Jason, I should have mated you when I had the chance.”
Jason poked his head out of the kitchen. “You snooze, you lose, oh great and wise Alpha.”
