Page 32 of Abel's Omega
“There’s my supper!” he roared. The pups shrieked with jubilant terror and hid behind their bearer, peering around his thighs with eyes bright with excitement.
Abel hid a smile behind his hand while Bax wobbled and tried to contain his offspring. A smile of his own curved Bax’s lips, and he gasped in mock horror as Mac scooped Fan up and threw him over his shoulder. “Oh, no, whatever will you do, Fan?” he cried.
“He’s going to help me carry his things down the stairs,” Mac informed them in his non-monster voice. “Let’s go, Fan.”
Fan giggled and waved as he disappeared up the stairs with Mac.
“Up, up,” Teca begged, jumping and tugging on Bax’s jeans. Bax stooped and picked her up, seemingly unaware of the grace in his movements. Beatrice toddled out of the kitchen, a brownie in one hand.
“Where did you get that?” Bax asked. He looked about to take it away from the young shifter, then shook his head in defeat. “You’re going to end up spoiled here.”
“Oh, she’ll be fine,” Jason said, coming out of the kitchen with the rest of the brownies. “Here, have one.” He pressed one into Bax’s hand, then handed another to Abel. “Duke’s on his way.”
“Okay.” Abel took a bite of his brownie and sighed in contentment. He opened his eyes to find Bax eyeing him. “They’re good. Try it.”
Almost automatically, Bax bit off a corner of his brownie, white teeth flashing in the last of the daylight sneaking in the still open front door. He seemed trapped in Abel’s gaze, and Abel forced himself to break the disconcerting stare, worried he’d accidentally pushed with his own power in his fascination with the new omega.
New omega. Though he hoped he hadn’t ruined any chances they had of keeping Bax.
“It’s good,” Bax said. “I can’t cook like this.” Abel looked up to see him regarding the brownie thoughtfully. “I should learn.”
“I’m sure Jason would help.”
Bax smiled up at him, but it looked strained.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.” The rich chocolate of the brownie turned to ash in Abel’s mouth. “I swear I’ll do better.”
Bax smiled, but it never reached his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I saw the truck from the other night pull up in front of Mac and Jason’s house, and Duke, with his cast and his bulky frame, get out. Abel turned and waved, then slid past me into the hallway. I might have said he slunk past me, except that wasn’t a term I was used to applying to alphas, let alone Alphas. Beatrice came to press herself against my leg and I laid my hand on her dark curly hair for both our comfort.
Mac and Fan appeared at the top of the stairs, Mac with half our bags hanging off him, Fan carrying my baby bag with bits of their toys peeking out through the top.
“Dabi, I’m helping!” Fan grinned widely as he made his slow path down the stairs, one hand in Mac’s, the bag dragging behind him.
“You are! What a good alpha you are.” I’d been doing my best to counteract Patrick’s lessons about what an alpha should be and I threw a grateful look at Mac. Nothing taught better than a good example. The bag clunked with each step they descended and the toys looked in imminent danger of falling out. I took the bag from Fan as he reached the second last stair, or tried to.
Fan held onto it fiercely and yelled, “No! I’m doing it.”
“You have enough to carry,” Mac reminded me, and nodded to Teca on my hip, and Beatrice toddling after me. “He’s okay.” He helped Fan down onto the floor and grinned.
Jason appeared at the top of the stairs, Macy in one arm and Noah in the other. “Abel’s taking the baby’s bed apart. Let’s get the truck loaded.”
I suppressed the urge to argue about the crib again, but Jason had made it plain that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Honestly, he was the most un-omega-like shifter I’d ever met. If it wasn’t for his scent and the way he deferred to Mac, I’d never have guessed. Well, the baby was kind of a giveaway as well, I supposed. But what it meant for me was that there was no further point in arguing with him about his offer. I was taking that crib until Noah outgrew it, and that was the end of it.
I stepped out of the way and let the parade begin moving my belongings out to the back of the truck. Jason headed for my van, and I followed him, trailing Beatrice behind me.
“It’ll be fine, Bax. Really,” he said quietly as we reached the van. “Duke wasn’t lying when he said I was suspicious when I got here.”
“Why did you come here, specifically?” I hadn’t stopped to think about it before, so intent on escaping Roland’s plans for me that nothing had mattered except that faint gleam of hope. I set Beatrice beside the van, and opened the door so I could put Teca in her seat.
Jason made a small noise. “Honestly? I spent my whole life running from a myth, and I was tired. We nearly got caught at Christmas, and Dad got beat up pretty bad. I figured it was only a matter of time, so I started looking into packs. But you know how it is—faithful unto death, obedient in all things, that kind of shit. Mercy Hills is doing really well for itself, compared to the rest of the packs I looked into. If I was going to spend my life as someone’s possession, I didn’t intend to want for anything. So that’s how I ended up here.”
With Teca securely buckled in, I stood up and reached for Noah. “Probably a smart move. I wouldn’t have chosen Patrick if I’d been given the option. But the rich packs don’t come looking for mates in the poor ones all that often. It was a small sacrifice on my uncle’s part for the good of the pack.” I bit my lip over the bitterness in my last words. There was no one to blame for my current situation—it was the way things were. And, after all, I was here, doing something about it, right? Except it still felt like I was waiting for someone to rescue me, and that knowledge sat queasily in my stomach.
“No. I just wish I knew why they wanted me back.” He handed Noah over and watched me tuck him into his car seat.
