Page 88 of Omega's Flight
I thought about the tall dark alpha that Bram seemed so fond of and tried to reconcile the story I was hearing with what I saw between them. "He seems to have gotten over it," I ventured, prying just a little for information.
"Duke's not the twins' father," Holland said. "He loves them like he is, and those two walked through the Barrenlands, and Bax with them, while Bram was pregnant." He sighed and sat on the floor, the couch forgotten. "I suppose if all that was going to happen, that was the time for it, though. Abel had just lost—or given up his position as Alpha to Quin, Bax was home on childbearing leave, I was here to help with the other pups." He threw his rag on the floor and looked at me with good-natured exasperation. "You. You're making me realize that I owe Bram an apology. Dammit."
But he didn't seem angry with me, just laughed and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. "You know what? I hate this couch." He pulled out his phone. "Hello, love of my life. Are you busy?" His lips twitched and he bent his head, hiding a smile. "I can get the stain out, don't worry. Just don't rub it around and make it worse. You boys having fun?" Another pause, and I watched as the lines of strain melted from his face, so that he looked shockingly young. Surely he couldn't be that young, and be Alpha's Mate? But Bax had. Bax had been even younger, though he hadn't been given the same responsibilities as Holland seemed to carry.
Holland ran his fingers over the curved end of the arm. "This couch is terrible. The mattress isn't much better, and they have a new baby from the sound of it. I know we don't have time to get them in here right away, but maybe between now and Christmas you and I could sneak away to do a little impulse shopping at a furniture store?" His amused look faded and his brows drew down. "Why? I have money." His lips tightened and I watched sadly as whatever plan he had dreamed up in his head came crashing down around him. "Can we talk about this tonight, not on the phone?" His nostrils flared and I smelled the wolf on him. "Yeah, okay. Love you." He ended the call and stared at the phone for a moment, then threw it across the room like skipping stones on the old pond when I was child, so that it slid across the floor and banged into the wall, apparently mostly unharmed. "Damn all bill collectors." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to stare blankly at the wall across from us. "Never mind," he said with a shake of his head. "I'll figure something out." He turned toward me. "I was angry with Bram because of the timing, and because I thought that if he'd only behaved the way we'd been taught to behave in Buffalo Gap, none of this would have happened. I was wrong." His lips twitched. "He still rubs me the wrong way, though."
"Well, you can't be fond of everyone."
"Thank you," he said drolly. "I still think we need to replace this couch."
I gave it a good look-over. "I think we can clean it."
"We can. But would a human clean it?" He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. I'm feeling maudlin. I was mated in Perseguir and I know this omega. I think I do." He stared around the room, and I felt a wave of sadness as if it was a physical substance pouring away from him. "I wish I could give him something more than this."
Despite our frequent trips to the city together, I didn't know the Mate well enough to offer much in the way of comfort. And truthfully, this outpouring of honesty made me uncomfortable. He seemed to sense it in that moment, because he smiled brightly at me and jumped to his feet, the bleak mood disappearing like morning mist before the sun. "Maybe we can find a clean blanket to go over it for now. But I am determined to find them a better mattress." He dropped his rag lightly in the bucket of clear water and began to dig through the baskets of household fabrics and things that lined the front of the room.
It didn't take long before we had the place fixed up and filled with all the things a new young couple needed to start their life together. They had a baby too, a little girl, and the smallest bedroom was soon filled with baby clothing and diapers and home remedies for baby illnesses. Bax left me to do the final sweep through the house while the rest of them gathered what they were going to need to sneak the two runaways into the enclave. I wondered if it was indeed the omega that Holland knew.
Finally, the house was as clean as I could make it and there was still no sign of Bax and Holland and the rest of them coming back. I hung out on the porch for a little while, watching anxiously through the trees and desperately curious to see this other omega, whose life was so like and so unlike my own. He'd run away toward the very hope that I'd run toward, for the right to take the mate he desired. I had run for the rights of my pups to have those same choices and, maybe, because something in me had finally woken up and recognized that the mate I had was not the one I needed or deserved.
But I was nearly six months free of Degan and not one hint that I was finally released from my body's bonds. When would I ever be free to reach for the one I wanted?
Then Fan came out to tell me that the pups were up looking for breakfast and did he really need to stay? I sent him home with my thanks, and went back to my now humdrum life, free of adventures and danger. But I kept an ear open for any noise next door, and when I heard footsteps on the porch and saw who it was, I quickly settled my pups in front of the television and left them to watch their favorite movie while I made an offering of hot tea and went back outside to seek a second hand adventure.
C H A P T E R 6 3
M idday found Cas waiting on the front porch of the new omega's house, his phone in his hand, waiting for the call that would mean it had all gone to the Barrenlands and he had to put on his lawyer hat, however out of practice he was at criminal law. Then again, if he was being turned into a divorce lawyer, then he supposed he could handle criminal law.
Ah, who was he kidding? There was a reason why he was just a step above an accountant. His brothers had damn well better pull this off.
"Tea?" said a voice behind him. He turned to find Raleigh standing almost an arm's length away, holding out a mug that smelled of black tea and spices. "It's chai," Raleigh told him, his smile as sweet as the fragrant tea perfuming the air.
Cas shook himself and slapped his lawyer brain back into place. Alpha hormones were turning him into a poet, apparently—who knew that was a part of the alpha makeup? He slipped the phone into the pocket of his jeans and reached for the mug. "Thank you."
"I saw you pacing. Thought you could use some company." Raleigh climbed the rest of the steps to lean against the railing next to Cas, his own mug cradled carefully in his hands. Steam rose wavering between them and Raleigh dipped his nose into the warm air, breathing deeply and smiling. "I've never had anything this nice before. I don't know if I could go back to regular tea after this."
Cas sniffed his own tea, then sneezed. Hot tea splashed out over his hand and he cursed, using one of the old pack words Holland had taught him on condition he never use it in front of the pups.
Raleigh made a noise of distress and put his mug down, a rag appearing out of thin air in his hand. He patted it over Cas's reddened skin, then tried to wipe away the tea that had soaked into the cuff of Cas's navy blue sweater. "I can wash that, if you want to come in the house."
"No, it's fine," Cas said, fending off more attempts to wipe the sweater dry. "It's not like it'll stain." He lifted the cuff to his nose and the aroma of cinnamon and pepper and allspice drifted to his nose. "Besides, I like the smell."
Raleigh blushed, an attractive look on him, and backed away to pick up his mug again. "When are they supposed to come?"
"After lunch, was my understanding." Which was now, by his phone and the nervous twitching of his stomach. What was keeping them? He started to pace again, because he was an alpha and he couldn't do anything.
"Cas, it's okay," he heard Raleigh say, and then a warm hand was gently guiding him toward the rocking chair in the corner of the porch. He glanced up, their eyes caught and, for a moment, time stood still.
Then Raleigh broke the spell, cupping Cas's jaw with his palm and stroking his thumb over Cas's cheek. "You shouldn't. I have nothing to give you. I still belong to him, in so many ways."
Cas moved closer. "It fades. Bax was mated before. Holland too. Bram..." He broke away from that thought, with all its darkness.
"Patrick is dead, Holland was repudiated. Bram..." Raleigh turned away, as if he couldn't find a way to make Bram an excuse.
"Time is what breaks the bond." Cas moved up behind him and wrapped his arms loosely around Raleigh's waist—an invitation, not a claiming. "You're not even six months away from him."
Raleigh let out a long breath. "I don't know what I feel about this. I think I loved him, once, but when I go looking for that emotion now, I can't find where I put it. Maybe it's gone. Or maybe it wasn't love at all." He laid his hands over Cas's, his fingers curling underneath Cas's palms. "This brings up a lot of memories."
