Page 42 of The Omega's Secret Baby
“What does he do that's so mean?” I was sure Jake hadn't taken his sandwich for no reason.
“He says mean things,” Jake said, and then he pressed his lips together as if he didn't want to elaborate.
“Does he call you names?”
“Not me.”
“But?”
Jake looked at me with an angry expression. “He says mean things about Daddy! He can't do that!”
Oh.It looked like I wasn't the only one worried about what the town's people were saying. But I'd had no idea that their children carried this crap into school with them where it hurt Jake. And that just made me mad. Eli and I had both screwed up in our own ways, but our son was innocent. He didn't deserve this. None of us did, really, but least of all Jake. He was just a kid.
“That is mean,” I agreed, rubbing the back of my neck because I wasn't sure what to do about this. I was supposed to impart some sage advice to my child like a true parent, a real dad--but I had nothing.
In truth, I was every bit as angry as Jake was, and that was affecting my ability to think.
“I can't let them talk like that,” Jake said.
“I get that.” I really did. I felt the same drive to punch everyone who might hurt Eli that Jake did. But I also understood that I couldn't always act on my instincts. And suddenly I knew what I had to tell my son. “I know that you want to protect your daddy. You're an alpha, you know that, right?”
Jake shrugged. “Daddy said so. But I'm not sure what it means.”
“It is what you make of it.” I remembered getting this talk a long time ago. Not from my dad, because my dad had never had the time, but from one of the teachers at the boarding school I'd visited. I would have preferred getting it from my dad, though. And I was glad I could be here for Jake now.
He looked at me curiously, and I went on. “It's not bad to be an alpha. Some people will tell you that we're aggressive or easily angered and we can't help but get violent.” I shook my head. “Don't listen to those people. No matter what happens or what you feel, you're always in control.” That had been an important lesson for me to learn. “You didn't have to punch that kid. You could have walked away, if you'd wanted to. In fact, next time, I want you to walk away, just so you know you can. Do you understand that?”
“I can walk away,” Jake repeated, but he didn't seem fully convinced yet. “Do I have to walk away?”
“Well, that depends.” I leaned in to him. “Do you want to make your daddy sad again?”
He dropped his gaze. “No.”
“Good boy.” I ruffled his hair again. “So you have to try not to get into fights. No matter what people say. You always choose what you do, and there's always a choice other than violence, okay?”
“Okay,” he said without looking at me. “So what's good about being an alpha?”
“There's lots of good things!” I gave him a smile. “You know the reason we so often get into fights?”
He looked at me and shook his head.
“It's because we have so much energy,” I told him. “And that's a good thing, if we use it in the right way. We get things done. We protect the people we love. When a group of people needs a leader, they look to us. We're the ones who take charge in an emergency.”
Jake's eyes grew wide. “Like heroes.”
Not exactly what I'd been trying to say, but if he liked that idea then yeah, sure, why not? “Exactly like heroes.”
He grinned. “I want to be a hero.”
“Yeah? If you could pick a super power, what would it be?”
He tilted his head, face screwed up in thought. “I want to be invincible. So daddy wouldn't have to worry about me.”
It was official. I had the most adorable kid.
“That would be good,” I said. “But I think he's always going to worry about you, regardless.” And as I said that I realized that it was true. Because I already felt the same way.
“Daddy's an omega, right?” Jake asked.
