Page 43 of Omega's Heart
“What do you need my damn phone for?”
“To call your human doctors. This is their responsibility. They need to fix this.” All said with that same calm tone that made Kaden want to close teeth on the back of the omega’s neck and just shake him until he gave up and left Kaden alone to mourn.
Kaden turned the chair to face him. “Go home, Felix. I’m not in the mood to be your charity case.”
“Okay. I’ll get the number from Bax. Never mind.” Felix turned and left, or tried to.
Maybe it was instinct, or maybe he didn’t actually want to be alone right now, but Kaden’s grip on the alpha part of him slipped and that power leaped out, its claws hooking into Felix before he could touch the door handle. The omega froze with his hand extended, but he didn’t back down either.
“I don’t need help, Felix,” Kaden ground out.
Felix looked back over his shoulder, still with that maddeningly calm expression. “You want to believe that, I know. When will you accept that this isn’t the Army? You don’t have to do everything by yourself anymore. You have pack.” He shivered, his fingers twitching, then with an effort that would have been obvious even to a human, he closed his fingers around the door handle.
“No!” Kaden roared and launched himself out of the chair, slamming Felix back against the wall. And even more infuriating, he almost fell, except the omega put his arms out and held Kaden until he could balance himself on his one leg.
His one leg.
In that moment, it all became too much. The mourning he’d been refusing to allow himself to do rose to the surface and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor, Felix settling in beside him, and he couldn’t stop the painful sobs that wracked his body.
Felix—bless the Lady for a patient omega—put an arm around Kaden’s shoulder and held him, braced him against this torrent of emotion that was easily as frightening as the dreary thoughts of his future in the pack.
It was like the opening of a floodgate, or the first barrage of weapons-fire. Once he started, he couldn’t stop, and he realized he was crying tears for all the things he’d never cried for before. For his father, dead of cancer. For his pack, that struggled to make do with what they had. For his mother, who he loved but couldn’t live with. For friends lost in military actions. For Honisloonz, who he’d failed there at the end. And finally for himself, because he’d seen what his brothers had—family, friends, useful work, pups—and couldn’t see a way forward into that for himself. Even for Felix a little, who’d already faced the same battle that Kaden was going into.
Now there was a class act.
“I’m sorry,” Kaden mumbled into the omega’s shoulder. “That wasn’t…right.”
“I think you needed it,” Felix said. His voice was warm and soothing.
He’d make a good bearer. His pups would be well taken care of.
Kaden pushed that thought away and sat up, scrubbing at his face with his hands. “Some alpha,” he joked in a watery voice. He’d left a damp patch on Felix’s t-shirt.
“Even alphas have limits,” Felix said gravely. “You’re handling this a lot better than I handled it when I figured out I was unmateable.”
Ah, the truth was out. “I don’t see why you think that. You’re handsome, you’re skilled. You’re easy to get along with. Your pack are a bunch of idiots.”
Felix laughed and started to get to his feet. “Come on, I’ll help you into the chair, you can go wash your face. I do think you need to call your doctors. They owe you at least a phone call.”
Strange how light he felt now, how entirely surreal. “Sure. If you’ll stay.”
“Of course. Whatever I can do to help.” Felix gave him a hand up and let him steady himself on the omega’s arm as he hopped back to the wheelchair.
Just as he got settled in it, there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Felix said softly. “You go clean yourself up.”
More grateful than he ever could have imagined, Kaden nodded and made his escape toward the bedroom.
C H A P T E R 2 7
I waited until Kaden was out of sight before I opened the door, already suspecting who it was. Adelaide would have called Quin and he would have come to check on his brother.
But when I opened the door, it was Holland, not Quin, standing there. “Were you looking for Kaden? I think he’s going to lie down for a while, he’s tired.”
Holland had his Alpha’s Mate expression on—funny that I’d learned to tell the difference between Holland, Quin’s mate, and Holland, Alpha’s Mate, just by the way he held himself and the lines of his face.
“I heard that Kaden got some bad news today,” he said gently, but with that push behind it that I’d come to associate with him wanting to get his way.
