Page 84 of Abel's Omega
The paint was scented with moss and amber and hints of spice, and the perfume rose up around me, freed by the heat of my body. From this point on, I could no longer sit down, for fear of smearing the patterns before Abel and I had a chance to smear them together. Tomorrow, the rozvennya and I would examine the mating sheets to see if anything could be divined from them, some hint of what the future might hold. It was complete bullshit, but kind of fun.
Once my paint was on, Holland held out the pants and Bram helped me step into them. The boots came next, then they helped me into the shirt, easing it carefully over my arms and tying the belt in the complicated mating knot. Holland tweaked the loose ends so that they dangled just inside my right hip, one side longer than the other.
Bram watched me with hungry eyes, his longing for a mate and a child obvious in every line of his face. Holland was outwardly calm, but it was calm mixed with sadness. He’d likely never have this again, if he’d ever had it in the first place. I didn’t even know if he’d had a proper ceremony when they’d mated him off—he didn’t like talking about that time of his life, and I couldn’t blame him. Impulsively, I reached out and hugged him, then Bram.
“You’ll smudge!” Bram exclaimed, but he seemed pleased by the hug.
“I think I’m fine.” I glanced between the two of them. “Is it time to go yet?”
Holland checked his phone. “Five minutes. Need anything? A drink? Bathroom?”
I laughed shortly. “If I needed the bathroom, I should have gone before the paint went on, shouldn’t I?” I shook my head. “Let’s go. I can’t stand waiting.” I took Holland’s hand in one of mine, and Bram’s in the other, and led them out of the bedroom.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Abel stood in a huddle with Mac, Duke, and Quin behind the series of open-sided tents that had been set up along one side of Central Park in case of rain. Clouds covered the sky, and Abel was worried that Bax might be upset, with no full moon to shine on his mating. But that was a small worry compared to the one they were discussing at the moment.
Duke shook his head. “I think it was a mistake to invite them.”
“I invitedallthe Alpha’s. I couldn’t not invite Montana Border.” Abel shifted, the leather of his mating suit creaking with the movement. “You’re sure they were Montana shifters? And that it was Jason they were talking about?”
“As sure as I can be without a label pinned to them.” Duke crossed his arms over his chest and looked down, shifting his weight restlessly from one foot to the other. “We could invite them to a private party.” He glanced up at Abel, a half-grin curling his lips.
“I’m a little worried about the kind of games you might play,” Abel said with a wry grin, and Duke laughed.
“We’d know what they were up to at the end, though.”
Mac spoke up, tension dropping the timbre of his voice to a deep bass. “I think we should ask Becca or someone to watch the pups. Including Macy. And we keep Jason under close watch.”
“Is it too late to include him in the rozvennya?” Quin asked, the first time he’d spoken since they’d gathered.
Mac shook his head. “He won’t have the clothing for it. There’s been giggling and sewing and embroidering going on since February.” He mock shuddered, and the men laughed.
“You love it,” Duke said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ve never seen a man domesticated that fast in my life.”
“I don’t know that I was ever that wild,” Mac said.
Abel raised his eyebrows, questioning that comment and Mac grinned. “Okay, maybe a little wild, in my misspent youth. I had a good teacher.”
And that made Abel laugh. “He’s got you there, Quin.”
But Quin just smiled that slow smile of his and didn’t say anything.
Abel was worried about him. Quin had never been much of a talker before he joined the Navy, but now he was almost mute. “How much longer before you’re done your enlistment, Quin?” Like he wasn’t counting down the days until he could have his brother back.
Quin shrugged. “This fall.”
“We’re mostly going to be working on opening up the wall and extending it this summer, but I promised Bax a house as a mating gift.”Along with the baby he’s carrying.But that wasn’t for public consumption yet. Let people think he’d gotten pregnant on his first heat after mating—it would be seen as a sign of good luck. “By the time you get back, my apartment will be empty. I’ll put you in there, until we figure out permanent housing.”
“Mmph,” Quin said. He didn’t sound enthusiastic about it, and Abel made a mental note to ask him specifically what his plans were after his enlistment was up. He was eight years older than Abel, and had enough time in to retire if he wanted, something he’d talked about before—putting in his time, then bringing his pension money into the pack. But he’d changed since his last visit home and Abel had a sudden worrying vision of Quin re-enlisting. He didn’t think either of them wanted that, but Quin had always had a tendency to brood about his problems instead of looking for help in dealing with them.
He had a couple of days yet to deal with that, though, and right now, Montana Border was a more pressing problem. “About tonight…we have to get through the ceremony first. Jason will be in full view of everyone, so they’re not likely to try anything then. My guess is that it’ll be during the party after, when people are full of food, and drunk.” And drunk they would be—one of his gifts to the pack was an open bar, though he’d warned the bartenders not to mix strong drinks, and all Mac’s security people were working to keep on top of drunken rowdiness. He’d debated a dry ceremony, but he was already under siege by Montana Border, and probably soon Jackson-Jellystone, once they realized what Bax was. He needed a show of strength, and part of that was a display of financial power. So he’d winced and okayed the purchase of the alcohol. And had given Mac permission to bump up his security numbers, even if it left some other areas of the pack shorthanded. They could shuffle people back to other areas later.
“Once the party has started, he won’t be leaving my side,” Mac stated flatly.
Abel nodded. “Quin, I want you to stay with him and watch for anything out of the ordinary. Get him to my apartment if it looks like they’re trying to take him.” Quin nodded, and Abel turned to Duke. “You hang back, just in case anything happens. Keep one of the new guys with you as a backup for communications. And send for me as soon as you know it’s starting.”
Edmund, their newest security officer, came running up. “The omegas are here! They just left Headquarters.” That set off a flurry of activity as Abel broke away to go back to the site of the ceremony, and Abel’s bratvuk spread out to surround the omegas as they entered the clearing.
