by L. C. Davis
Mel gave a grunt of grudging acknowledgment. "Yeah, yeah."
"So, Connor?" Angel said with a coy smile. "How are things going with Everett?"
"I'm not really sure," he admitted. "I haven't heard anything from him since the night I went to the hospital, actually." He didn't feel the need to confess that it was the first time he had thought of the New York alpha at all, while Duke had scarcely left his thoughts. Or his dreams. If he had to choose between the nightmares and the far more confusing topics his dreams had shifted to as of late, he wasn't sure which was better. It was impossible to feel anything other than safe and warm in Duke's embrace, which his subconscious mind had taken it upon itself to replay for him with clarity each night, but knowing that kind of bliss existed would only make it hurt more when it was inevitably taken away.
Besides, after the thorough rebuffing he had given the alpha in the garden, he doubted Duke would be self-destructive enough to pursue him any further, even when he did find out about the pregnancy. For all Connor knew, the flowers the alpha had supposedly brought by while he was in the hospital were a gift from one of his brothers-in-law in a harebrained attempt to make him feel better. As distinct as the alpha and beta were in personality and appearance, they were both the kind of sweet-stupid that would come up with something like that.
"Oh." Concern flickered on Angel's features and Connor found himself wondering if he'd always been able to read other omegas so clearly or if that was yet another trait that was returning to him as his heart thawed out against his will. "Well, maybe that's for the best. I know this isn't a typical mating arrangement, but every omega deserves someone who's willing to pursue him relentlessly."
"I'm not every omega," Connor said with a curt laugh. "I'll settle for one who can be in the same room with me."
Angel frowned and seemed to be about to say something else when the waitress arrived with their food. "Here you are," she said, smiling sweetly at them. Evidently, she didn't recognize who he was. "And congratulations, to both of you."
Connor found himself frozen as she walked off. He knew that of the unusual traits he possessed, being able to identify the scent of a pregnant omega was by far the most common, but he hadn't been expected to get outed when he was still so early on. The look on Angel's face made it clear her remark hadn't gone over his head.
"Congratulations? You're...? Oh," he said, his eyes widening.
"There needs to be some kind of social more against that," Mel grumbled.
"It's alright," Connor said with an embarrassed laugh. "I should've figured that would happen eventually."
"Sorry, but since the cat's out of the bag, congratulations," Angel said warmly. "How far along are you? Her nose must be really sensitive."
"About a month and a half," he murmured.
Angel paused, clearly doing the math in his head. "But that's....oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried. Don't feel like you have to tell me anything else, really."
"You're not prying," Connor sighed. "The truth is, I don't even know if I'm going to have it." He waited, knowing that if Angel's friendliness really was a pretense, that was the surest way to strip it away. Rather than the judgment he'd expected to find in the other omega's gaze, his eyes softened and he reached across the table, giving Connor's hand a squeeze. Connor jolted at the touch, but he was relieved when Angel made no attempt to send him a burst of the soothing energy that passed so freely between most omegas.
"I understand. Whatever you decide, we have the best medical care in the world here, and I know Mel and the rest of the family will give you all the support you need," he said in a gentle tone.
Connor stared at Angel in shock before he finally found the words to ask, "Why are you so kind to me? After everything I've done, how can you be so...nice?"
Angel smiled. "I'm an omega," he said in a playful tone. "Isn't that what we're supposed to be?"
Connor snorted. "So I've heard."
"I won't say we're exactly the same, but I know what it's like to find yourself in a world that's completely different from the one you're used to, not to mention an unplanned pregnancy," he murmured. "Mitchell was on trial with the Tribunal when I found out. I wanted pups and I knew I wanted to be with him, and I was still terrified. I can't imagine what you must be feeling."
"You could if you wanted to. You are an omega."
Angel smiled. "There's sort of an unspoken rule here that omegas respect each other's emotional space as much as we can. It's different in other packs. Silver Lake is a free-flowing feeling fest, and it took me years to get used to that."
"Glad I wasn't imprisoned there," Connor muttered.
Angel laughed. "You probably should be!"
With that, the conversation turned to much lighter fare. Connor started to relax, and even laughed a bit as Angel regaled him with all sorts of embarrassing stories from Mel's past. Without using his powers, Angel had put him at ease and made him feel like he belonged there. Why the other omega felt the need to do so, he didn't have any idea, but by the time they had all returned to their respective residences, he was beginning to realize that he had been wrong about omegas. He and Mel weren't the exceptions as he'd once thought. In light of his recent experiences, logic demanded that he entertain a new theory. One that said there were as many types of omegas as there were humans. Some were weak and selfish like his mother, while others were easy to twist into cruel servants who would do an alpha's bidding without question, no matter who it hurt, like Lora. Then there were the ones like Angel and Mel and Doc who charted their own course in life and seemed to choose which societal expectations suited them while discarding the others.
It was a strange theory, but the evidence certainly bore it out. It left him with more questions than answers, but one in particular troubled him late into the night. If being an exceptional omega wasn't much of an exception at all, then what did that make him?
Chapter Seventeen
DUKE
After more than six months since his last visit, Duke had anticipated the ribbing from his brothers, the grumble-hugging from his father and the joyous squealing from his mother, but as he sat at the massive kitchen table that was just big enough to fit his big family and a few guests, he hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise. That was at least partially because his mother wouldn't stop feeding him. As an alpha shifter with a physically demanding job that usually made training for the Olympics look like light exercise, Duke had the appetite to match his imposing stature, but even he was going to be sick if he ate one more confectionary.
"Ma, I love you, but please sit down," he pleaded. "There's something I need to tell you. All of you."
She blinked, falling into her chair and pressing a hand to her chest like she didn't trust her heart. "I knew it. You're coming out of the closet, aren't you?"
Duke's brothers snickered. The three of them happened to be home helping their parents put on an addition to the farmhouse, so their omegas weren't there. Duke was relieved. His rowdy brothers he could handle, but their mates had sharp tongues and no qualms about teasing him.
"No," he grumbled. "Once was enough."
"I'm just kidding, dear," she said, leaning forward with a big smile and twinkling brown eyes that hadn't aged, even if there were a few sparse wrinkles around her eyes. "Go on, you know you can tell us anything."
He let out a heavy sigh, deciding to work his way up to the big stuff. "I resigned from the Tribunal."
For the first time in years, the Miller kitchen fell silent.
"You did what?" His father was staring at him like the one time he'd got caught in the older alpha's liquor cabinet as a teenager. He hadn't even gotten a sip. His brothers had just dared him to break in and he'd taken the fall for it, of course.
"It's complicated, but I had to make a decision between my career and my personal life and I chose the latter," he admitted.
Mikey, Jeff and Cole were all looking at each other like he had just announced his plans to move to the city and become a go
-go dancer. "Okay, who killed our brother and replaced him with a pod person?" Cole demanded.
"I'm not a 'pod person,' you freak."
"He's right," Jeff mused. He was by far the more studious of the three stooges, as Duke had always thought of his brothers, but it was clear from the mischievous smirk on his face that he wasn't taking the situation seriously. "He's probably possessed."
"Speak your name, demon!" Mikey cried, making the sign of a cross with his fingers.
"Come on, boys," their mother scolded halfheartedly. "Let him explain."
"I'm serious. I imprinted on an omega and there's a conflict of interest that means I can't keep working for the Tribunal."
"Imprinted?" his mother echoed.
"An omega?" Jeff asked in disbelief.
"What kind of conflict of interest?" his father demanded.
Duke took a deep breath. It wasn't that he was afraid of what his family would think so much as he was afraid of the chaos it would introduce to their lives. Connor had a reputation and word traveled fast. He had always charted his own course in life, but they were the kind of shifters who needed to fit in with the pack whose territory lines formed the edge of their world. He wasn't ashamed of the fact that he'd imprinted on Connor and his wolf would never let him live it down that he ever had been, but he wished he could shield his family from the inevitable consequences it would bring on them.
"Who is he?" his mother asked softly. Lainey Miller was as mischievous as her sons, but she had a heart softer than anyone Duke had ever met. He knew she would be the first to welcome Connor into their ranks, once the initial shock wore off.
"His name is Connor. He, uh, doesn't have a last name. Not one he knows, anyway."
She blinked in confusion. "Okay..."
Duke realized he had the attention of his brothers and his father, so he continued, "You uh, know him. Sort of. By a different name." Why was it so damn hot in the kitchen in the middle of September? "It's Cutter."
The room fell silent again, but Jeff was the first to laugh. Duke's other brothers soon started in and even their father gave a dry laugh.
"Yeah, right," Cole said, rolling his eyes. "Is this like when you told mom you'd totaled the car so she'd be relieved you just nicked the bumper on the neighbor's mailbox?"
Anger surged in Duke's gut and he stood, slamming his hands on the table, finding his temper harder to check in the omega's defense than it ever had been in pursuit of him. "It's not a fucking joke," he snarled.
"Duke," Lainey breathed.
He felt instant guilt for raising his voice in front of the older omega and returned to his seat. "I'm sorry for talking like that in front of you," he said to her, his voice still rough and growling as he shot a dirty look at his brother. "But I'm not kidding. I imprinted on Cutter and you can say whatever you want about me, but you're not gonna say sh -- anything about him," he said, catching himself.
"Geez, sorry," Mikey said, holding his hands up defensively. "How was I supposed to know you were serious?"
"It's kind of hard to believe," Jeff agreed, suddenly somber as he searched his brother's face for answers. "You're sure?"
"Deathly," Duke said, folding his arms. If Connor accepted him as his mate, he was going to have to shield the omega from far greater threats than the confusion of his family, so he knew he needed to get used to it.
Duke's parents exchanged a worried glance. "When did this happen?" his father asked, always calm even in the middle of a storm.
Now this was the part Duke had dreaded most. He cringed. "About two years ago." The words stuck in his throat, but it wasn't the shame of confessing them to his family that stung the most like he'd thought. It was the knowledge of what he'd done hitting him all at once--what he'd done and what he hadn't.
Hal seemed to be processing his son's words. Lainey had a hand pressed to her mouth and she wasn't looking at him, clearly deep in her own thoughts. His brothers had gone from bewildered by the revelation to looking at him the way he'd been feeling about himself as of late.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lainey asked, hurt laced in her voice.
"I didn't tell anyone," he admitted. "I was afraid to claim him, like a coward. Afraid of what I'd lose if I did."
"What changed?" Jeff asked, frowning. The young alpha had gone to great lengths to claim his own mate, and Duke fully expected the harshest judgment to come from him.
"I guess the realization that I was going to lose him if I didn't just scared me more."
Jeff looked away, his jaw set. Duke didn't need an omega's empathic gifts to feel the disapproval and anger emanating from his older brother. From all of them.
"We knew you'd been distant, we just weren't sure why," Lainey said in a sad tone, her eyes shining with unshed tears that made Duke feel even worse when he finally worked up the courage to meet them. "Did you think we wouldn't accept him? Did you think we'd abandon you?"
"Of course not. I just..." He trailed off, raking a hand through his cropped hair. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking about anyone else but me."
"The Tribunal," Cole said, suddenly shifting into the serious mode that had made him a bear to deal with in court. In an attempt to take some of the burden off the Tribunal, Cole was one of the lawyers who had initiated a pack-by-pack court system that could handle smaller matters of punishment and civil arbitration fairly and in a way that only other shifters could manage. Human courts didn't have much to offer in the way of arbitrating a dispute between an omega and an alpha who wasn't keeping up his end of the mating arrangement. "Are you in trouble?"
"I should be, but no. Lana let me off with a slap on the wrist for past service, as long as I agreed to resign."
"What now?" Lainey asked worriedly. "I mean, you're welcome to bring him here, but I thought he had to stay in Mountain Ridge."
"He does," Duke said, surprised his mother was even offering it. Accepting Connor into their family was one thing, but as far as she knew, he was still the living embodiment of the image of the ruthless mastermind he had crafted so carefully. Even Duke had bought it completely, and it had taken close proximity and a mate bond to see that there was far more to the omega than even he seemed aware of. The fact that his family would so readily accept Connor made him feel even worse, but guilt wasn't going to make things right. Only time and consistent action would.
"Mitchell Teak has arranged for the alpha who claims Connor to become Alpha of the Southeast Unit," he continued. "Connor can't leave the pack, but if he's marked by an alpha, he should be able to lead a relatively normal life within it."
"Whoa," said Mikey. "I thought you didn't want to run a pack, now you're gonna run a Mountain Ridge Unit?"
"It's not set in stone," Duke admitted. "He uh, hasn't chosen me as his mate. He doesn't even know I've imprinted on him."
"What the fuck, man?"
"Mikey!" Hal scolded.
"Sorry, dad," he muttered, his shoulders slumped like he wasn't a six-foot-three alpha with the build of a linebacker and a family of his own. Hal just had that kind of authority both within his family and his pack, even though he never wielded it for his own pride. If Connor did accept him and Duke ended up leading Southeast, he had every intention of using his father's tenure as Alpha as a field guide for his own.
"It's complicated. Let's just say he's not any more excited about the prospect of being mated to an alpha than I was about being mated to an omega in the beginning," said Duke. "It's going to take time to convince him, and I'm going to give him as long as he needs, but I needed you guys to know first. I'm tired of living a lie, but keeping this from you was the worst part."
"I'm glad you told us," said Hal, looking his son in the eye. "I can't say I'm happy about the way you've handled this, but it's better to come forward now than never. No matter who you imprinted on or what title you do or don't hold, we're your family. I hope you know we'll always be here for you to lean on. You and your mate."
"Thanks, dad." Duke's voice caught in his throat as he stood.
"Can't you stay for a little while longer?" Lainey asked hopefully.
"I wish I could, but I need to get back to Connor. He wasn't feeling well when I left, and now that I've taken care of everything with the Tribunal, it's time I came clean to him."
She nodded her understanding, but Duke could sense her fear. He leaned down to kiss her forehead before enveloping her in a gentle hug. "I won't let it go this long before I come back again. I promise."
"Please don't," she sniffed, giving him a tight squeeze.
Mikey tackled Duke from behind and the other two piled on. "Group hug!"
Duke let out a ragged, impatient sigh, but inside, his heart felt lighter than it had since he could remember. "Just do me a favor and hold back a little when you meet Connor," he pleaded. "He's not really the hugging type."
Chapter Eighteen
CONNOR
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hassan asked, eyeing Connor warily, his arms folded. He looked every bit the worried father as he watched the omega straighten his tie in the living room mirror.
"You don't owe the prick anything," said Toval. "For gosh sakes, he went back to New York while you were in the hospital. Far as I'm concerned, he's got balls to even come back here never mind think he can just pick up where you left off."
Connor couldn't help but smile as the alpha and beta fussed over his decision to let Everett know his services as a mate and an alpha would not be needed, after all. He wasn't hurt by the alpha's abandonment. He had been let down by others who meant far more to him than that. Even though his heart seemed to be swelling with new emotions and experiences each day that passed, he still couldn't muster a shred of affection for the alpha who wished to claim his hand, and he knew the apathy was mutual.
He also knew that he could never be content to live the rest of his life as another unearned trophy on Everett's shelf. Despite his strongest attempts at resistance, life in Mountain Ridge had shown him that alphas--some of them, at any rate--were capable of far more than he had given them credit for. Contrary to what he wanted to believe, they weren't all the same and neither were omegas. Neither was he.
