Page 66 of Abel's Omega
“I’ll get Fan into his pajamas,” Bax murmured. He laid Noah down in the center of the mattress and shrugged off his coat, then came to take Fan from Abel. Duke set the clothes basket on the floor inside the door, and rolled their suitcase in.
Roland stood right behind him. “Once you’ve put the pups to bed, we’ve got food if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks,” Abel said. “We’ll be out in a minute.” His brusque dismissal didn’t sit well with the Jackson-Jellystone Alpha, but it was part of the game. Abel had only so much room to negotiate, with the new trial date looming next month and no idea if he was going to be held to this quarter-million payment on Jason’s behalf. Laine thought it was promising, but so much could go wrong—so much had gone wrong in the last one, even in the middle of the things that went right. He wanted Bax to have the mating ceremony he deserved.
Bax dug in the clothes basket, extracting the new pajamas for Fan, and deftly rolled him into them.
While he was doing that, Abel unloaded the rest of the things in the basket and lined it with the blanket they’d brought to make a cushion for Noah to sleep on. “Do you want to bring Noah out with us?”
Bax shook his head. “He’ll be fine here.” His voice was grim.
Abel paused in trying to organize the pups’ things in one of the drawers. “Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.
“I’m fine.” He picked up the little air mattress they’d brought for Fan and started blowing it up.
“No, you’re not.” Abel left off putting away the pups’ things and came over to hug Bax from behind. “Do you want to stay here with the pups while I go out and do the civil thing?”
Bax paused with the mattress half-filled. “Would you think less of me if I did?”
“No. I know there’s bad memories here for you.” Abel rested his chin on top of Bax’s head. “Maybe you should have stayed home.”
His mate was silent for a moment, then he sighed. “No. I need to lay these ghosts.”
“And maybe a little sweet revenge?”
Bax chuckled. “A little egotistical, are we, Alpha of Mercy Hills?”
“Don’t worry.” Abel squeezed him and dropped a kiss on the curls tickling his chin. “I have a mate who reminds me every day how lucky I am.”
Bax spun in his arms. “I don’t guilt trip you, do I?” His eyes searched Abel’s anxiously.
“Just the opposite.” He pressed his forehead to Bax’s. “You make me rethink a lot of things. I wonder sometimes what I would have been like if I’d been born somewhere else, or if I’d been born something other than alpha. And, to be honest, it scares me. I’m where I am because I had a head-start, not because of who I am. And I’m sorry you couldn’t have that same opportunity.”
“Well, you can make it up to me for the rest of your life.” Bax’s eyes crinkled and he lifted his head for a kiss.
Abel gladly gave it, pulling his mate closer and promising with his body what he’d already promised with words. Love, protection, faith. Forever.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
The night of our arrival passed without causing me too much grief. The pups slept, and the conversation in what had once been my living room stayed mostly on neutral topics: who had mated, who was expecting a pup, plans for the pack. This was the only one that actually touched on our reason for being here was a discussion about power and solar cells, and Mercy Hills’ new design. Even I could tell that Roland was trying to get a feel for how much Abel valued my pups, and how much he could ask for. Abel was appropriately intimidating during the discussion—a side of him I’d never seen before. To back him up, I played my role as well, the passive, submissive omega.
I don’t think either Roland or his mate caught our silent laughter at the charade.
That night in bed, I coaxed him into lovemaking. The master bedroom was right next to ours—I knew Roland would hear every creak of the bedframe, every groan and ecstatic cry.Now try to say I wasn’t Abel’s.The fact that I’d let him into my bed, or encouraged him into it, would reduce what could be asked for me, I hoped. Gossip spread faster than wildfire in shifter enclaves—I knew it would get back to Buffalo Gap. Fuck my reputation.
And in the morning, I made sure I was up before everyone, and I made the best breakfast of my life, serving it around as if this was still my own house. It might have been childish of me, but the resentment I felt had been brewing for months, and I couldn’t seem to help myself. Though the fact that Abel seemed to approve made it a bit easier.
After breakfast, I cleaned—much better than Miranda or her hired help had done—made coffee, and brought it out to the living room, where Abel and Roland were beginning their negotiations. Noah sat happily on Abel’s lap, and Fan played with his race car at Abel’s feet. That surprised me—I’d been certain that he’d want to go find some of his old friends, but he hadn’t seemed interested. He was smart, though, and he knew why we were here. It was entirely possible that he felt he needed to show some sort of pack loyalty to Abel.
Later, perhaps, I’d take him around to visit. He shouldn’t be cooped up all day.
Noah was chewing on his new favorite thing, a piece of rawhide dipped in beef broth. His teeth were coming in with a vengeance and Abel was kept busy with a cloth, wiping drool from his face before he could get it on everything.
Roland cleared his throat. “Perhaps Bax should take the pups out so we can talk without distractions.”
Abel looked up at him, wearing a deceptively mild expression. “They won’t distract me. And right now, Fan is my heir. He should hear how Alphas negotiate, in case he’s ever in that position.”
That seemed to take Roland back. Even more so, when Able pulled me down onto the couch beside him. Memories flooded over me, and I almost reached for my hidden romance stash in the cushions, except they were all gone, and I had real romance beside me. I smiled and rubbed my cheek against his shoulder. This should be interesting.
