Kyle raised his eyebrows. “Really? I mean I understand that it’s easy enough for you to do, but since when do gamma’s involve themselves in domestic chores? How would you feel if one of the sigmas decided to guard the perimeter?”
The idea was so absurd, Bard laughed out loud. He cut off the sound when he realized the omega was serious. “Um.” Lost for words that could safely explain why he stripped his own pallet every morning, he felt sweat prick the back of his neck. This was definitely not a discussion he wanted to have with any omega, let alone his alpha’s mate.
Kyle’s expression softened. “I’m not trying to embarrass you, Bard. It’s only that the sigma in charge of cleaning the men’s chamber came to me out of concern. He thinks you don’t trust him to handle your bedding. You understand that servient shifters worry about pleasing dominant ones.”
He did know that, yet it hadn’t crossed his mind that his actions might have been not only noticed, but resented. He’d merely been trying to hide the evidence of his reaction to spending his days in Loki’s orbit without the buffer that Destin and Carr had once provided.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause offense or alarm. I was trying to be helpful. Obviously, I won’t do this anymore.” And by “this” he meant bringing his bedding in to soak. The cause for the sheets to need washing was another matter. No way he could stop that. He wasn’t strong enough to resist.
A smile ghosted across Kyle’s lips. “Thank you, and it was sweet of you to try to be considerate of the sigmas’ sensibilities.” He focused his attention on his daughter, as he added, “You know servient shifters take comfort in the scents of dominants. We like smelling you—your sweat, your seed. It makes us feel safe.”
And now the conversation had veered in way that made Bard long for a cliff to run off. His wolf curled up and made it clear he was on his own from this point. He swallowed hard a few times trying to come up with an appropriate response to the alpha mate’s casual remark about the virility of Bard’s cum.
Kyle patted Bard’s arm. “Sorry, I didn’t intend to make you uncomfortable. I was simply reminding you that the rest of us know you’re a gamma and we respect you for it. Your role as a protector is important to us. It might seem silly, but doing your laundry is pleasurable for a sigma.”
Bard grunted out a breath of air. “Right. Got it, Alpha Mate. Thank you for correcting me. Sir,” he tacked on because why not? Bard might be a dominant, but Kyle was higher up in the pack’s order than some dumb gamma who had recently joined.
With another pat, Kyle snorted, then turned to leave. “You’re a nice man, Bard. I can see why Loki adores you.”
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in. Kyle was almost out the door. “What? No, he doesn’t. He hates me,” he added and a stab of pain made his chest hurt.
Kyle laughed over his shoulder, yet said nothing more as he left the room.
Perplexed and unsettled by the interaction, Bard left the laundry room and headed for the kitchen. If he didn’t hurry, he would miss Loki coming over to the longhouse for breakfast. While on some level he knew there was no need for him to stick to the omega’s side, he nevertheless took the duty entrusted to him by Destin seriously. Besides, Craig and Mabel already had their hands full with their twins. Foisting Loki onto them at night was necessary to keep him away from the unattached males in the pack. It was only fair that Bard relieve them of their burden at first light.
When he got closer to the great room, however, he realized that virtually no one was around. There was a commotion outside the longhouse. His wolf pricked up his ears, ready to shift and defend, until the jovial nature of the noise confirmed that nothing was wrong. His disinterested wolf settled back down again and went to sleep. Bard hurried to join the pack.
A massive and unfamiliar SUV stood parked by the door. Bard didn’t recognize the vehicle, but he did know the beta who was helping his very pregnant mate out of the passenger side. Most of the pack members were crowding around them, although at a respectful distance. The alpha and his mate were front and center, as was Carr and Ben. The moment Reed’s feet touched ground, his brother broke what would have been clear protocol in any other pack and rushed forward to embrace him. Here, though, there was no tension. None of the servient pack members cringed back or whined with worry about what the alpha might do. Bard had seen this type of thing play out a few times since arriving at this pack. The Rogues did things differently, and he couldn’t say it bothered him.
The omega brothers laughed and hugged as best they could given the pup inside Reed and the one in Ben’s arms. Their indulgent mates greeted each other with more manly back-thumping. Bard had experienced some sadness and a bit of jealously when his friend from pup hood had formed the strong bond with the beta. He hadn’t envied the circumstances, though, and appreciated now how much sense it made for the mates of brother omegas to be so close. And although Carr hadn’t said a thing about how Ben’s pup had come out with clear arctic parentage, Bard knew him well enough to know he did feel relief. He expected that the others did as well.
“I can’t believe you waited so long to come back,” Ben was saying.
“I know, it’s been hard to be away from you so long, and just look at this little guy.” Reed nuzzled the pup’s head. “Jasper, such a great southern name. He’s adorable.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Ben agreed with a laugh. “He eats as much as two pups. I’m sure he’s going to be big like his sire.”
Reed flashed a smile at Carr. “I’m sure he is.”
“But look at you,” Ben exclaimed. “You’re huge,” he added, taking a step back to look at Reed’s protruding belly. “How did you hide it from the humans?”
Reed huffed and jerked his thumb toward his mate. “Daniel kept me a prisoner in the apartment for the last month. He wouldn’t let me take a step outside.”
A chuckling Daniel wrapped his arms around his mate from behind. “Oh, yes, I was a completely overbearing mate, bringing you chai lattes and take-out from all of your favorite restaurants. And, how many streaming services did I buy for the smart TV so you could binge-watch every series on the planet?”
Reed giggled and playfully slapped Daniel’s arm. “Okay, so maybe there were some perks. Plus,” he added with obvious animation, “it meant Daniel finished a huge project and has brought even more cool stuff for the pack. He had to buy a new, bigger SUV to fit it all.”
Lorcan stepped forward. “You are generous with us, Daniel. We are grateful.”
“It is nothing, sir, really. You’ve given my family a safe home. It’s the least I can do. I’m sorry that we’re disrupting breakfast. We had to leave at night to keep Reed hidden from prying eyes. He slept the whole way, but he should eat as soon as possible.”
“Of course,” the alpha agreed. “You should, too. There’s plenty of time to unpack.”
“I won’t say no, sir. Thanks.”
The rest of the pack took the exchange as an indication that they should all head back inside. Through the throng, Bard caught sight of Mabel hurrying over carrying one of her pups. Remembering that Craig was on watch, Bard wasn’t surprised that the omega’s mate wasn’t with her. Nor was he surprised that Loki was by her side. What he wasn’t prepared for was seeing his bratty omega with the other twin straddling his slender hip.
The pup appeared overly large given Loki’s small stature. It looked as if an older brother carried a younger one. Or, it should have appeared that way. But Bard saw something else—the future. He could picture Loki carrying his own pup just like that. And not only Loki’s pup—Bard’s. Loki’s slow transformation in Bard’s mind from untouchable pup to breeding mate came to its completion in that very moment. He could imagine the two of them raising a family together, and now he could see how wonderful a father Loki would be.
In the unguarded moments where the omega watched the excitement still lingering and chatted with Mabel, he no longer played the part of the brat. He looked happy and relaxed, hefting
the pup to settle him more firmly, toying with the boy’s fingers clasped in his own. This was an omega coming finally into his own. Loki was all grown up. Soon he would go into his heat, and Bard would be there to breed him. The mere thought woke his wolf and caused Bard’s dick to punch against his fly.
“It will be soon.”
The sound of the voice low in his ear startled him. He jerked and found Destin to his left. The beta’s eyes were on Loki, too. Bard clamped his hands in front of his crotch and his blood pressure spiked. He hadn’t meant to covet Loki so blatantly in front of the boy’s brother.
Destin raised his eyebrows before sighing. “Bard, relax.”
Bard arched an eyebrow back at his friend. “Seriously? You would have ripped my throat out if I so much as glanced at Loki with such a thought when we were running feral.”
“That was then. He was too young and keeping him alive and well was paramount. Things have changed.”
“We are safe, that is true. But, Loki is still young and still your brother. I would never disrespect him or you.”
Destin shook his head. “I wouldn’t have given you charge over my precious brother if I didn’t trust you completely. He’s not a little pup anymore, his small stature notwithstanding. I want you to desire him because I can think of no one else more worthy of mating Loki. I’ve worried for months now that I’d only burdened you with a problem. I’m gratified to see that my concern was unfounded.”
Bard couldn’t look his friend in the eye. This conversation had become almost as uncomfortable as the one he’d had with the alpha mate in the laundry room. “I won’t lie, it has its frustrations. But I do want him, almost desperately so at this point. I’ve been telling myself he’s not ready. I’m not sure that’s true anymore,” he added, watching Mabel and Loki walk to the door of the longhouse.
“As I said, it will be soon. His heat, I mean.”
As Destin made his observation, Loki’s gaze caught Bard’s. The smile on the boy’s lips drooped and his expression turned more somber before he looked away.
“He doesn’t want me.” Saying the words gave him a pain deep inside. He rubbed the spot between his pecs as if that could ease the discomfort.
“He’ll come around.” Destin sounded so sure.
Then again, the beta had even when they’d plotted their daring escape from their old pack and faced new dangers every day while running feral. Always before Bard had taken comfort in that, confident that a beta could always think his way out of a problem. Bard had only had to listen and obey and trust in his superior.
This was different. Claiming Loki was unlike any other challenge Bard had ever faced before. Failure was both possible and unimaginable. And if he failed? It wasn’t only Bard’s feelings or wants on the line. It was Loki’s very life at stake. He wished he could have some of Destin’s confidence because at that moment, he truly didn’t know if Loki would ever accept him.
“Ba!”
“Yes, Eli,” Loki said solemnly to the pup’s upturned chubby face. “We’re going to have breakfast now because that’s what you need.” He grunted as he hefted the boy up farther on his hip. “More food.”
Mabel chuckled. “Almost there. We can get one of the sigmas to take him so that you can sit at your family table. It’s always hard,” she added with a sigh, “when Craig’s running the perimeter during meal time.”
“I don’t mind,” Loki hurried to reassure her. “I was just joking. I can sit with you, if you want.”
Helping Mabel with her pups was the least he could do given how nice she’d been to him. She never once made Loki feel like he was a burden staying in the home she made with her mate. It was a three-room hut, bigger than others, yet it was still close quarters. He figured she and Craig must be hoping for his heat to set in so that they could get rid of him. Being decent shifters, they gave no outward indication. He wasn’t so self-absorbed not to realize it, though.
And, he liked living there with them. It was so homey. It made him long for his own place to furnish and make nice and comfortable for him and his family. He’d spent most of his life planning and looking forward to that future. It was running away from the pack that had killed those dreams. Or, at least put them on severe hold. Living with Mabel, the happiest shifter he’d ever met, had resurrected those old hopes. Despite resisting any efforts to get him to conform once more to pack life, he’d also started needlework for household linens. Sometimes he felt as if he’d been split in two, pulled in two different directions. And of course, his imminent heat was making everything intolerably worse.
As was Bard. The damn gamma’s gaze had a way of scrambling Loki’s brain. Like moment’s ago out in the yard. One minute he’d been enjoying the show of Reed and Daniel’s return and Mabel’s company. The next he’d been stumbling with a heart beating too fast and a hot flash running through his body. His eyes had homed in on Bard instantly as the source of his discomfort. Worse, for the first time, something had fluttered deep down in his belly and his hole had clenched. It had felt almost as if it itched, something to be scratched. Only not with a finger, or at least not his own.
Dammit, he didn’t want to notice Bard or the way his long legs had stood braced with obvious power. Or how his shirt stretched too tightly across a broad chest. His hair had been pulled back into a tight braid, emphasizing his widow’s peak, and exposing the sharp features of his face. The man shouldn’t have been appealing, overbearing as he was. And yet, on a primitive level, Loki’s body responded to him. As did his wolf. The silly thing had been making quite a fuss lately, whining when Loki did something he shouldn’t. His wolf had become quite the buzz-kill. He’d also pranced around happily any time Loki reacted to Bard’s physical appeal.
He didn’t give Mabel a chance to refuse, taking a seat next to her where she and Craig shared a table with Liam’s family. Joey was still running around with Little Craig in a sling. The omega took his meal-overseeing role very seriously and rarely sat down for his own food without his mate forcing him to. Given that Liam and Craig were out together, there was no one to keep Joey from eating on the fly, Little Craig happily sitting against his father’s chest and occasionally getting a taste of solid food. It meant there was plenty of room for Loki and Mabel to spread out.
Loki didn’t so much sit as fall into the chair with the heavy pup weighing him down. Eli wiggled his way around to face the table, already anticipating his food. His eagerness made his mother laugh.
“Take it easy, honey. Momma’s going to get you something as soon as she settles your sister down.”
Craig had rigged straps to the chairs so that the pups could sit on their own. Mabel hadn’t had a chance to confine Esme to one before Bard appeared all of a sudden with two plates of food. He loomed up behind Mabel.
“Please, allow me.”
Startled, Mabel whirled around. Her face lit up. “Oh, Bard, that’s so sweet of you.”
He inclined his head with his usual perfect manners. “It is my pleasure. With your mate working to keep us all safe, it’s the least I can do. You and Loki have your hands full.”
Bard placed the meals on the table, one in front of the seat next to Mabel, the other in front of Loki. His set his placid eyes on Loki. “You are staying to help Mabel, I assume?”
“Yes,” Loki confirmed, dipping his gaze in unaccustomed shyness.
“That is good. I’ll return shortly with my own meal.”
Loki opened his mouth to assure the gamma that wasn’t necessary, but the guy had already turned his back on him. Then Eli lunged for the plate, and Loki had to focus on the more urgent matter of keeping the frisky pup on his lap.
He plucked up a French toast stick and handed it to the boy. “Here, gum this for a while.” Eli’s squeal of delight made Loki grin.
“That gamma of yours is so nice,” Mabel remarked as she spooned some scrambled egg into Esme’s tiny bow-shaped mouth.
“He’s not my gamma.” The response was knee-jerk. He’d been saying it for
months.
And as always, Mabel merely laughed and shook her head. Like everyone else in the pack, she accepted the idea that Bard and Loki were destined to mate. The usual resentment reared up in him before quickly deflating. He was tired of fighting and his hungry belly captured his attention.
He spent the next few minutes alternating between shoveling food into his own mouth and feeding the equally voracious Eli. For an omega, the pup was an awfully brawny thing. That strange sense of shyness overtook him once more when Bard returned. He’d taken long enough that Loki had mostly forgotten that he was coming back. The gamma had probably waited until the servient pack members and the pups had gotten their food before serving himself. Bard was like that, always courteous and helpful. Mabel was right about Bard being nice. In Loki’s weaker moments, it was almost enough to give up his resentment and accept the gamma as a mate.
“You should drink some milk.” So saying, Bard poured a big glass of the stuff from the pitcher the sigmas always put out on the tables.
Loki turned his attention from Eli and glared at the gamma. “That’s for the pups.”
Bard nodded. “Yes.”
Loki didn’t make a move to pick up the glass. Instead, he stared at Bard and pictured dumping the stuff right over the insufferable gamma’s head. His fingers twitched with the urge to put him in his place. Loki didn’t need anyone telling him what to eat or drink. He was old enough to make those decisions for himself.
“Would you please pour me a glass?” Mabel interjected.
“Of course.” Putting down his fork, Bard did as she asked. He seemed oblivious to Loki’s ire.
Mabel beamed at Bard before picking up the glass and taking a long gulp. Over the rim, she flashed her eyes at Loki, the warning clear. He felt instantly contrite over making her uncomfortable. He’d sat with her to help, not embroil her in his constant fight with Bard.
Omega Lost (The Rogue Pack Book 7) Page 3
