Page 44 of Abel's Omega
The security team had finished their workout and were now lounging around on the grass, chatting and indulging in the kind of horseplay common to young alphas and betas. I watched them idly, but they weren’t really the potential mates I was interested in. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the older shifters roaming the park seemed to already be paired with someone, though some of those pairings might just be friendly. I wanted to ask Jason, but with Jason’s father within earshot, I found the words hard to come by.
There’s still time.Though not much, and with the added complication of the broad-shouldered wolf currently at the bottom of a pile of pups near the playground. I sighed and laid my head down on the blanket. I needed to lower my standards. Either that, or get over my nerves about the bedroom.
At first, I’d thought I could work through my unease, taking my own pleasure at night in the peace and privacy of my bed. And it worked—up to a point.
I lifted my head with a barely restrained snarl of frustration, my eyes going automatically to Abel. He was playing tag with the pups now, the youngsters swarming behind him like a flock of swallows. My chest hurt with the knowledge that I could only fail him in this, the most important service an omega could provide. I’d thought I might fake pleasure in the act until either he tired of me or I burst through that barrier I struggled with, but what if it never happened? The thought of going into a mating with himwith that lie between us made me want to cry. Already, though we’d only met a week ago, I knew it would break him to find that I took no pleasure in the bedroom, in the same way that I knew that I would never be able to keep that secret for long.
Dammit. Stop living in a dream world.I needed to be an adult. It didn’t matter that I just wanted to curl up in someone’s arms and have them tell me it would be all right.
“Fan seems to like Abel,” Jason commented. “He’s good for Abel too. The man wasn’t joking when he said he never took a day off.”
“He’s an important man,” I replied casually. The conversation’s direction made me suspicious.
“He is, but part of it is that he has no reason not to drive himself that hard. Mac told me that since Abel took over, the standard of living went up almost by a quarter. We have pack members here going outside walls to school—Mercy Hills bought a house in town and renovated it for a student residence. But it’s because he’s involved in just about everything.” Jason picked at a blade of grass that canted over the edge of the blanket. “I love Mac, but sometimes I think I should have mated Abel instead. He needs someone more than Mac did.” He rolled over on his side and propped his head up on his hand. “Does that make any sense at all?”
“Some.” Jason had been dropping hints all week. I guessed that now the gloves were coming off. “I don’t think I’m the right distraction for him.”
“Why not? I think you’re perfect for each other.”
In all ways but one, and if I could fix that one, I’d throw myself at him like the shameless hussy I was. “I can’t.”
Jason looked up at me and frowned. “Why not? I can guarantee he’s not like Patrick.”
I shook my head. “It’s…personal.”
“You can’t get help if you don’t ask for it.” He raised his eyebrows at me, his expression open and friendly.
I shook my head, and flicked my eyes toward his father. His gaze followed mine and he nodded. “We can talk later.”
Abel spent the evening checking the population forms for errors—something he should have done that morning instead of playing with pups for more than two hours. He couldn’t regret it, though. It was the most fun he’d had in a long time. He worked until his eyes stopped focusing, then stood and stretched.
Bedtime.
He was just plugging his phone in to charge when it rang. The number showed up as the main security building, the one with the monitors for the walls. “Fuck,” he said tiredly, and thumbed the line open. “Hello.”
“I meant to call earlier,” Mac’s voice came from the phone. “Got tied up settling down some of the teenagers. You got a few minutes?”
“Iwasgoing to go to bed.”
“Oh, we can talk about it tomorrow then.”
It was so tempting… “No, spit it out.”
“It’s about Bax.”
Now he was wide awake. “What happened?” He unplugged the phone and went looking for his shoes.
Mac laughed. “Nothing. But I have a spy in the camp, and I thought you might be interested in the intel.”
Abel stopped with one shoe on, the other in his hand. “What intel?”
“Just a bit more background that Jason pried out of him today.”
Abel kicked off his shoe and wandered slowly back to the couch. “What?”
“Don’t yell.”
“Mac…”
