Page 30 of Abel's Omega
Jason looked at Duke. “You might as well tell it. I was wading through the stream at that point.”
Duke shrugged. “I bailed out of the car before I really knew what had happened and found Orvin and two of his alphas there. You’d taken care of Orvin,” he nodded at Jason, “and by then Abel had crawled out and we had a bit of a knock-down with the Montana boys.” He grinned. “Haven’t had a good fight since I was in bachelor’s quarters. But I tripped on a rock near the end and broke my wrist.” He gave his cast a disgusted look. “Still kicked the shit out of blondie, though. But it was Abel who really put a stop to it.” He glanced over at me. “You probably won’t be able to tell when you see him, but he’s one of the smartest fighters we’ve got around here. It’s like he’s got three arms and eyes in the back of his head.”
“I’ve met him.” And contrary to what Duke had said, I had no doubt that Abel could defend himself. He moved like a wolf, even in human form, and though he’d been kind to me, his demeanor was that of a man used to defending his position and his pack. “He gave me a tour of the place this morning.”
Duke looked strange at my words, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he continued the story of the car accident. “Mac whacked his head on the window when we went off the road and he was out for a few minutes. Once he came to, all he wanted to do was go after Jason. Both cars were undrivable, so we ended up calling the cops.” He grimaced. I didn’t need him to explain what the experience with the cops had been—we all heard the stories, even if we hadn’t experienced it ourselves. “Mac didn’t want to wait to go look for Jason—”
“I was in labor in the car,” Jason put in. “Looks like our food is ready.” He stood up and walked around the table. “Here, you can hold Macy,” he said, laying her against Duke’s chest and holding her there until Duke got his unbroken arm up to support her. “Do you want me to order something for you too?”
“No, I’m fine. I was just wandering around, bored. Not much good for security with a busted arm.”
“I’ll be back in a minute, then.” Jason headed up to the counter.
“I’d better get the pups back,” I said, but I didn’t get up. “Duke, can I ask…” How did a person put this? “If Abel can’t raise the money for Jason, what are they doing to do?”
He looked me over, his expression stern, as if he was trying to decide if I could be trusted. Or maybe those were just the lines his face fell into when he was thinking about something.
I leaned forward. “I may need to do the same thing.” I put a hand on his arm and pulled out what I called my ‘omega look’. It generally had alphas falling all over themselves to help me out. I’d learned not to try it with Patrick, except under the right conditions, but this wasn’t Patrick. “My pack found me a new mate, but he doesn’t want my pups.” Tears were maybe too much, but I put as much emotion into my next words as I could. “If I can’t find a way to stay here, can you…help me?” And made sure my posture, and everything else, told him just how desperate I was, and how far I’d go if necessary. I was leavingnothingto chance, because this mightbemy last chance.
Jason came back with a tray, and I quickly pulled my hand back and covered my ploy by turning toward the pups. “Fan, Teca, your food is here.” I turned around to find Jason watching me, though his expression wasn’t unfriendly. “What?” I asked, a quick burst of fear making me brusquer than usual.
“You don’t have to make deals here to get help. It’s not like that.”
Yeah, right. Maybe you don’t expect anything from me, but Duke here has no reason to do me any good deeds without compensation. And I need this.I stared back at him mutely.
Duke spoke up. “Easy, Jason. I know what he’s getting at. Not like you were any more trusting when you got here.”
To my surprise, Jason blushed, and set out the food without saying another word.
Duke nodded at me. “Don’t worry. Things work out.”
And then my pups were there, and the time for planning was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Abel shut down his computer and stretched. He hadn’t gotten all the paperwork done that he’d wanted to, but he had finished off level thirty-four of Alpha Hunt and gotten a start building level thirty-five. Once he had fifty done and debugged, he thought he might release it and see what kind of funding it brought in. There was research to be done on that too, since he didn’t have the first clue about marketing a game. They did very little for the inventory program—that had grown organically out of the pack’s needs and bids on a few contracts outside walls. They still bid on projects, but about half their income came from word-of-mouth.
He wondered if Bax would mind looking into that as well.
Shit, Bax!His eyes flew to the clock on the wall, a turn-of-the-century piece built by a pack member just before the Enclosure. Six-thirty.Damn.He’d meant to be at Mac’s an hour ago. Quickly, he gathered up his phone, and the keys he’d retrieved from Housing, and bolted for the elevator.
Fifteen minutes later, he was jogging up to the front door, uncomfortably aware that he might have been showing off a little just in case Bax was outside playing with the pups. Sadly, he wasn’t, but the joyful sounds of pups creating havoc inside were loud enough that even closed doors and windows weren’t enough to contain them. Moments later, the sound of Bax’s voice raised in frustrated laughter met his ears, and then he was knocking on the door, his heart in his throat.
Apparently, he was fourteen again and going through his first crush.
It was kind of fun.
Abel grinned and waited for someone to get the door.
A rather wild-eyed Mac opened it, and slipped outside with him. “I don’t think you want to go in there. Everyone’s awake, and it’s a madhouse.” He lifted a pantleg to show a small bruise on his ankle. “Fan got me again—I seem to be the target of choice. Bax made him sit in a corner for five minutes for it. I’m thinking about pressing charges.” But he laughed as he said it, and then he was just Mac again. “I take it you found accommodations?”
“I’m just going to put him in guest quarters. We’re too damn crowded.” He sat down on the step and Mac joined him. “If I don’t find us more space soon, we’re either going to lose running space, or—” He paused and stared down the street at the tightly packed rows of townhouses. He didn’t have to explain to Mac that the expansion was on hold now—Mac knew the reason. “It may come down to population control.”
“The lottery again?”
Abel nodded and picked at a nail that wanted to split. “I don’t want to go there, but Becca tells me she’s going to need more room next year. I don’t want to lose the park, the pups need the space, and we all know what happened in Ohio.” Rogue’s Hollow had been a disaster of overcrowded conditions and the social problems that went along with them, and the human government had eventually brought in the army and nearly wiped out that pack back in the fifties. “Can’t go north either or we lose all the fruit trees and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be any more beholden to the humans than I have to be. Can’t go west, or we lose the new gardens. There’s east, but that’s not a lot of room.” He grinned. “I imagine Jason would have my hide on your living room wall if I destroyed the pond, anyway.” He winked bawdily at Mac, but Mac only shook his head and grinned.
“What about moving the gardens into the park? They wouldn’t have to be permanent. Or using the commons behind the townhouses for gardens?”
