Page 62 of Abel's Omega
“Come open presents,” Fan insisted, and began tugging on Abel’s hand. “Midwinter Wolf came! I got a race car!”
“Did you? I’ll have to come admire it.” Abel’s eyes met mine and I suppressed a laugh. His present was a matching one. Well, the present I could give him in front of the pups.
“Yes, come open presents,” I said.
Abel took a step back from the door. “Hang on, I have to get yours.”
“You got us presents?” Fan asked, amazed.
“I did. Do you want to help me carry them over?”
Fan nodded vigorously, puffing out his chest in pride, and followed Abel into his apartment. I watched from the door. Abel loaded Fan down with a lumpy-looking cloth bag and sent him back to me before following with several larger boxes.
He kissed my cheek as he brushed past me into the hall. I closed the door and followed them back to my apartment.
“Look what Abel brought!” I cried when we were through the door.
Teca dropped her stuffed wolf and ran over to us. Beatrice looked up, but her new blocks were obviously more interesting than people she saw every day. Noah giggled in his corner, lying on his back and trying his best to cram his new stuffed sheep into his mouth.
“I’m putting them under the tree,” Fan announced, and dumped the bag onto the floor. He picked them up one at a time and walked over to drop them haphazardly somewhere in the vicinity of the Christmas tree. “Time for presents!” He tried to take Beatrice’s blocks from her, shoving one of the packages into her hand in their place. Beatrice wanted her blocks, and a full-scale toddler meltdown looked imminent, except for Abel setting down his boxes and picking out one of the smaller packages. “Here this one is hers. And that one is Teca’s. And that’s Noah’s.” He gave them to Fan to pass around, then picked up the top box on the pile he had carried in. “This one is yours.”
Fan was immediately distracted, and I was able to retrieve Noah from his corner, then we all sat on the floor around the Christmas tree. I leaned my weight against Abel and he put an arm around my shoulders, probably the first really open sign of affection that the pups had ever seen outside the odd kiss. The three younger ones didn’t seem to notice, but Fan—my ever observant alpha and self-appointed helpmate—eyed Abel’s arm warily for a moment before turning back to his present. The paper flew as those old enough to know how to unwrap did their thing. I helped Noah and Beatrice open theirs—a huge bubble set for Noah, and a stack of coloring books with a box of toddler sized crayons for Beatrice. Teca squealed at her princess costume, complete with shoes, tiara, and fur trimmed cloak to drape around her shoulders. My gifts of clothing and books were almost completely ignored.
“Dabi, what’s this?” Fan asked, holding up his present.
I took the plastic bucket from him and frowned. “I don’t know,” I said, and looked up at Abel.
“It’s Lego,” he told me. “Like blocks, but they click together and stay, so you can build really amazing things with it. This is a starter kit. If you like, we can see about getting you more.”
“Oh,” was all Fan said, and I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced.
“Are you sure this is a good present for a little boy?” I asked quietly.
“The tub of Lego in my storage bin says yes.” He squeezed me. “Give him a few minutes.”
So that’s what I did. We blew bubbles with Noah, though I knew it was going to cost me time later cleaning up all the sticky soap, and Abel colored with Beatrice while I got Teca into her gown. Fan sat to one side, slowly clicking the little colored blocks together, his brows drawn together in a frown that suddenly made him look like his father. I started at a touch on my arm, but it was only Abel, holding out a box to me too.
“You forgot about your present.”
“I didn’t expect—”
He put a finger to my lips. “You’re worth it.”
Well. When a man looked at another like that, and said something so simple and direct, what was an omega to do? I smiled and ripped my own wrapping paper off, which made Abel laugh.
“Now I see where the pups get it from.”
I leaned impulsively across and kissed him. “Presents were a big deal where I come from.” I looked down and flipped open the flaps of the cardboard box the torn paper had revealed. “Oh, Abel!” Books. At least half a dozen. I picked them up and fanned them out, looking at the titles. All new, and all new to me. “How did you know?”
“I have my sources.” But he looked like the wolf that had caught the biggest buck.
“You’re sneaky, but since it was sneaky to my advantage, I won’t complain.” I turned the first book over to read the description, then put it down. “Thank you. Though I suppose I don’t really need them any more.”
“No? I’ll take them back then.”
“Not a chance!” I grabbed the box and held it out of reach, frowning ferociously at him while he laughed. “But honestly, I feel like I already have my own romantic hero.” I put the box down and reached out to rest my palm against his cheek. “None of them compare to you.”
He blushed, something I’d never seen him do before. It made an answering warmth creep through my body, the urge to hold and comfort and care for. I’d never really minded being an omega, aside from the annoying restrictions. With a man like this, I thought it was maybe the best thing I could be.
