“Where are we?”
“Town called Howerton. We’ve still got a long drive ahead of us. We thought it best to take a break to get some food and rest before we keep going.”
Howerton. Aaron searches his memories for reference of it on any of the forums but nothing comes to mind. The view out of the car window isn’t any help. There’s the low flat building of the motel in front of them, and a row of stores behind.
Gregor’s back in under five minutes, dangling a key on a finger-sized slab of wood. He rummages in the trunk for a minute before opening Aaron’s door.
Aaron gets out of the car, feeling his muscles complain with the movement. He sniffs. The air smells different.
“That’s the lack of adderthorn trees,” Gregor says conversationally. “We’ve driven right out of the region they grow. Don’t notice them until they’re gone, do you?”
“I don’t ever want to smell one again,” Aaron says, a little more passionately than he intends.
“You and me both,” Gregor says. “Here we are.”
Aaron turns and looks back at the car. “Dan’s not coming with us?”
“In a bit,” Gregor says as he turns the key in the lock.
The room has one double bed and a single. It looks and smells clean enough, even if it looks like it was last decorated in the seventies. Everything is either orange or brown, including the paint on the ceiling.
Gregor tosses the backpack he’s holding onto the bed and makes his way straight across the room to the bathroom where he pokes his head in.
“Looks fine and it’s got clean towels like they promised, and a couple of those tiny shampoo bottles. It’ll do.”
Aaron stands in the doorway, hugging his arms to himself. The extra movement of the last five minutes has made his neck start to ache again.
Gregor stops where he stands, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Aaron says because he’s not sure how he feels. He’s been planning how to survive a mating run for so long, it never occurred to him what to do if he actually made it out of one the other side.
The future has suddenly opened up in front of him and he has little idea what it is going to look like.
“Well, the shower looks like it works,” Gregor says, breaking into his thoughts. “How about you get out of that robe and wash that shitty red sand off of your feet?”
Suddenly, Aaron can’t think of anything he wants more. He wants to scrub off every trace of the Red Run: make it like it never existed.
“Yeah,” he says again.
Gregor nods. He crosses over and drops the room key on the table.
“Lock the door after I leave. Dan’ll be in the car outside but you can never be too careful.”
“You’re not staying?”
A look of surprise crosses Gregor’s face as if it hadn’t occurred to him. “I thought you’d want some privacy. Besides, I need to go out and get us some food. Dan’s made extravagant promises about the burgers in this town. We’ll have to see if they hold up.”
“Oh, sure.”
“It’s too late for any clothing stores to be open but I’ve got some spares of mine in the bag,” Gregor nods to the bed. “They’ll be way too big but better than that.”
I had a backpack, Aaron remembers. I had my own clothes. They didn’t claim it back after the ceremony. He shakes the thought off. It wouldn’t have been worth it.
Gregor gives him a smile and walks around him on the way out of the door. Aaron wants to grab him as he goes past.
There is something he wants more than scrubbing off the Red Run. He wants to put his face up against Gregor’s chest, feel the big alpha’s arms around him and know that everything is going to be okay.
Gregor closes the door behind him, leaving Aaron fully alone for the first time in days.
Aaron locks the door behind him as instructed and looks around the motel room. He’s never been in one before, even if he’s seen plenty from TV shows or in pictures.
It feels like a dream.
A dream in which he never has to do the Red Run or any other mating run ever again.
He pulls the robe off of his head and dumps it in the trash can. He’s halfway to the bathroom before he thinks better of it.
No one’s watching him.
He gets the robe out of the trash and pulls at the sheer material, but whatever it’s made out of is sturdier than it looks because it stubbornly refuses to rip.
Aaron throws it onto the floor and jumps up and down on it instead, until his legs start to complain, then he kicks it into the corner. The trash is too good for it.
The shower is set over an old-fashioned tub with a curtain that Aaron doesn’t look at too closely.
It takes him a couple of minutes to work out how to turn the water on, and another couple to get it to a comfortable temperature, then he stands directly under the shower, letting the water stream over his body to wash away the hell of the run.
It stings when it hits his neck and he embraces it. Let it hurt. Something like this should hurt when it washes off.
He looks down at the flat of his stomach.
I’m pleased to announce the first confirmed breeding pair of the evening.
There’s a pup in there. Gregor’s pup. He lays the flat of his hand against the wet skin of his belly. He doesn’t feel pregnant. Maybe it’s too early.
Maybe in a couple of weeks, he’ll be throwing up every couple of minutes, and in a couple of months, the flat of his stomach will turn to a curve.
And then not long after that, there’ll be a real live tiny person that he’ll be responsible for.
Him and Gregor. The thought makes his lips curve up in a smile.
You’ll never have an alpha. The memory of the shock in Gregor’s voice slices through his smile. The bite on his neck isn’t a real one. It can never be a real one. It was all just pretend. Pretend and survival.
Hell, for all he knows Gregor’s got a boyfriend at home who’s going to be furious when Gregor brings home a strange pregnant omega. They barely talked about their personal lives.
Aaron lays his forehead against the cool bathroom tile and lets the tears come. They’re small at first, just hiccups and hot eyes, but then they drown him and he howls with it. Burning tears roll down his cheeks and mix with the water swirling down the drain below.
GREGOR
a mug of coffee and a promise kept
Aaron looks good in his clothes if a trifle ridiculous. They’re far too big.
Gregor offers to stop at the first open store after the sun rises but Aaron just shakes his head and sinks back into the seat.
He’s barely spoken a word since Gregor knocked on the door of the motel room with the burgers.
Aaron ate in silence. He got back into the car in silence and now they’re driving through the town of Aylewood in silence.
Aaron stares out of the window as they drive. Gregor remembers Aaron telling him that he’d memorized the entire route from the Aylewood mating run start line to the packhouse and he wonders how much of it he’s recognizing.
Aaron’s face is expressionless and without his scent glands to signal his stronger feelings, Gregor is left feeling oddly adrift.
Ben is waiting when the car turns into the entrance to the packhouse. He’s sitting on the ground by the door, book in hand, and gets to his feet when he sees them. He runs over as the car pulls to a stop and opens the door.
Gregor watches in the rearview mirror. Aaron’s face shows the first emotions it has for hours.
He bursts into tears, then Ben bursts into tears.
Aaron shuffles out of the seat and envelopes his brother in a hug.
Gregor gets out of the car, closing the door gently.
Ben loosens his grip on his brother and holds him at arm’s length so he can take a look at him. “Your neck,” he says softly. “My god. And the clothes? What are you wearing?”
“Gregor’s stuff,” Aaron says with a shrug. “It’s all we had.”
&nb
sp; Ben nods. “You can wear mine for now. It’ll fit you.” He hasn’t taken his eyes off Aaron once as if the moment he looks away, his brother will disappear in a puff of smoke.
“Come on,” Gregor says. “Let’s get you inside and I’ll get a pot of coffee on. We could all do with it.”
Dan waves from the car. “I better get back to my wife. She’s not going to be happy about me just disappearing for a week. Give me a call if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Gregor replies.
Dan reverses out and the car disappears around the bend.
Ahead of him, Ben is leading Aaron into the house, his arm around his shoulders.
Gregor feels an irrational surge of jealousy which is stupid. They’re brothers: brothers who have been through hell and haven’t seen each other in years.
He’s being an asshole and he knows it.
He walks into the packhouse to find his own brother fussing over the new arrival. Jax has a pair of disposable gloves on and his medical bag sits on the reception desk.
Jax touches the skin around Aaron’s neck with gentle fingers, eyes serious as he considers the damage.
“It’s a mess but it’ll heal,” he pronounces, “but I need to get it cleaned up. Come on. Let’s get you into Ben’s room and I can give you a proper check up.”
Aaron smiles. “I’ve never seen an omega doctor before.”
“There aren’t many of us,” Jax replies, “but there should be more. I really need to see to that injury though. Just looking at it makes my doctor’s hands itch to do something about it.”
Aaron’s pregnant too, Gregor wants to say but it feels like it’d be a massive pronouncement standing in the doorway of the packhouse. You also need to check that. And for dehydration. And malnutrition. And everything else.
“This way,” Jax says, followed a moment later by: “Not you. Sorry, bro. No alphas allowed.”
“Of course. Sorry.”
The door closes in his face.
Gregor stands outside in the hallway feeling useless. Oh, stop being such a baby. Put some coffee on. Talk to Luke about Corrigan and catch up on what’s happened in a week.
He ambles into the kitchen and reads the news on his phone while he waits for the coffee machine to do its thing.
It feels like he’s been gone for more than a week. Little has changed. There’s the same celebrity gossip, the same jerk politicians. He’s still got planning for the Aylewood run to do.
He did his job. He kept his promise.
He pours himself a big mug of coffee and takes it back to his office, closing the door.
His pants make a crinkling sound as he sits behind the desk. He scoots up enough to retrieve the folded piece of paper from his pants pocket.
He pulls it out and unfolds it.
Certificate of Claim. Gregor Winterstoke, alpha. Aaron Schibold, omega.
Claimed on the 126th annual Red Run, Blood Moon.
Gregor knows what he’s supposed to, what all his friends would tell him to do.
Tell him how you feel.
That’s the usual advice, and any other time it would make sense.
Now? Gregor owns a certificate giving him effective ownership of the man.
Aaron has been through enough. He doesn’t need extra pressure. What if he feels obliged to say yes?
Gregor sighs and gets to his feet. He unlocks the safe hidden behind the wall at the far end of the room and puts the certificate in it for safekeeping.
That certificate is going to mean nothing other than Aaron’s freedom.
AARON
scar tissue and bulbous leaves
It’s definitely a bump now, Aaron thinks as he stands sideways looking into the mirror.
It’s too earlier to find out whether he’s having a boy or a girl, but he’s not bothered anyway. What he does want to know is whether he’s having an alpha or an omega or even a beta.
That’s going to a far bigger signifier of how his child will have to navigate life.
Ben sits on the bed behind him, watching as he turns this way then that to better see the changes taking place in his body.
“I wasn’t nauseous in my pregnancy either,” Ben says. “Maybe it runs in the family.”
“Be the first good thing that did,” Aaron replies.
“Hey, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Ben says. When Aaron turns to look at him, Ben’s dark eyes are serious. “It’s about my baby.”
A wave of guilt crashes over Aaron. Ben lost his baby. The alpha he was sold to sent her away. He’s been aware that his own pregnancy might be hard for Ben. He’s clearly not been aware enough since he’s been standing here preening in front of the mirror instead of thinking of Ben’s feelings.
“I’m sorry,” Aaron says, sitting on the bed. “I’ll try to be more sensitive.”
Ben shakes his head. “No, it’s not that although it’s part of it. The last few years have been wonderful. I’ve felt safe here. The Winterstokes have been amazing. They’ve let me have the space to heal without any pressure. They’ve been nothing but supportive.”
“But...” Aaron asks. He can recognize when a sentence has a ‘but’ at the end of it.
“But I can’t stay here and hide in a room forever,” Ben sighs loudly, seemingly frustrated in trying to find the words he needs to say. “You know what this feels like?”
Aaron shakes his head.
“It’s like Mason Reed was this big stone thrown into a pond. And when it happened, he disrupted everything and there’ve been ripples ever since. Every now and then, I feel like I’m better and then I have a nightmare and wham another ripple.”
“Okay,” Aaron says. He thinks he understands what Ben means. He’s just not sure where he’s going with it.
“The thing is those ripples are coming less frequently. They’re fewer and further between, and when they do come, they don’t threaten to drown me like they used to.” Ben reaches over and takes Aaron’s hand in his. “And now you’re here. I know you’re safe just like I was.”
Aaron squeezes Ben’s hand. “You need to move on. What do you want to do?”
Ben grimaces. “Not so much move on as move back. I need to find out what happened to my daughter. I don’t even know if she’s alive or she’s dead. I’ve never stopped thinking about her. Never, but with you pregnant, it’s been hitting me harder. I need to know.”
Aaron’s free hand unconsciously moves to the curve of his belly. His baby isn’t much bigger than a fist and the thought of losing it makes him want to throw up.
“I’m going to go back to River Beach,” Ben says.
“Oh no,” Aaron replies, shaking his head. “That is not a good idea. Definitely not.”
“I think it’ll be okay. I’ve been in touch with the new pack leader, the one who killed Mason Reed. He’s promised me safe passage.”
“And you trust him? The guy stood by while Reed held you captive for years.”
“He also let me go. And he let Cal go. Twice. I think he’s telling the truth,” Ben says. He shivers. “I need to know, Aaron. I can’t just keep sitting in this bedroom while my baby is out there. Maybe she’s long dead. I don’t know, but then I want to know where her grave is.”
“Okay,” Aaron replies. He lies back on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. He doesn’t like it but he gets it. Even more than that, he knows Ben’s not going to do anything to risk being stuck like he used to be. He’ll be careful. “When are you leaving?” he asks.
“I was thinking Monday,” Ben answers. “No reason to put it off.”
Ben lies down beside him on the bed and turns his face to his brother. “I want you to come with me.”
“But I just got here.”
“I know. That’s why I want you to come with me. I don’t want to leave you behind. Besides, you’ll be even safer out there than I am. Look at your neck. You look claimed. You’ve got the growing belly. You don’t look like some free omega out there for someone to pick up. B
esides it’s the beach. You always wanted to see the sea.”
No.
The answer hits Aaron’s brain instinctively. He doesn’t want to go. This is where Gregor is, the father of his child.
He’s also barely seen Gregor since he arrived. The Winterstoke pack leader did his job at the Red Run: he rescued the omega he went to find, and now he’s getting on with his life.
It’d be pointless to stay.
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course,” Ben says, getting up from the bed. “But I’m leaving Monday either way. I’ve hung around this place for far too long.”
He crosses the room, sits down at his desk and opens his laptop. “Just let me know as soon as you can. I need to know how many plane tickets to get.”
Plane tickets. It’s not even a short distance away.
“I need to talk to Gregor,” Aaron says. He still hasn’t moved from the bed. His limbs feel unexpectedly heavy. He doesn’t want to make this decision. He wants to stay here. He wants Ben to stay here.
Even as he thinks it, he realizes it’s a selfish thought. If their positions were reversed, he’d want to know what happened to his child. It would consume his life.
“Gregor won’t stop you from going,” Ben replies. “He’s a good guy. He’s not like the rest of them.”
“I know, but this is his kid too,” Aaron says. He gets up from the bed and heads into the bathroom.
He stands in front of the bathroom mirror staring at the wound on his neck. It’s mostly healed although it’s left a mass of red and pink scar tissue. There are visible teeth marks around the edges.
He reaches up, feeling rough tissue under his fingertips.
That’s where he bit me. And there. And I told him to. ‘Do it’. That’s what I said, and he did. He did it so we could both leave.
It must have been really gross, Aaron thinks, biting into a bloody wound. Gregor did it anyway.
He sighs and pulls the collar of his shirt higher. It does nothing to hide the scar. There’s little that can. Either he is going to have to wear polo necks for the rest of his life or his history is going to remain on display forever.
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