The Alpha's Wish: Lost Omegas Book Three: A M/M Shifter Romance

by Claire Cullen

  “Safe journey,” she called as she slid into the backseat of the car they’d just exited.

  Zack took a moment to stretch, taking a good look at their surroundings. The area didn’t look familiar, just another middle of nowhere. They got into the new vehicle, Zack rummaging through the bag to offer Matthew and Andrew a breakfast of sorts. Shifters didn’t do too well on empty stomachs.

  “We should reach our destination by lunchtime. Turns out you’ll have some company. We’re trying to give them some warning about your arrival.”

  “What if they don’t want us to stay?” Matthew piped up from the backseat.

  “Don’t worry,” Andrew reassured them. “They’re sympathetic. But if we had to, we’d find you somewhere else.”

  Mollified, Matt returned to eating and watching out the window.

  “So how long have you two been together?” Andrew asked, glancing at Zack out of the corner of his eyes.

  “We’re not…” Matthew started to say.

  “You’re not bonded, no, but your scents are all over each other.” Andrew had a knowing smile on his face.

  “It’s complicated,” Zack replied shortly.

  “Isn’t it always,” Andrew agreed, visibly trying to smother his smile in the face of Zack’s glower.

  Things were silent for a while before Andrew tried to make small talk with Matthew. The Omega seemed distracted, giving vague, half-hearted responses. Gradually the roads became busier and Andrew’s attention was taken up by driving and navigating. They turned off the main artery, navigating smaller back roads before Andrew turned off down a snow-covered trail. The wheels traversed the snow easily.

  Five minutes later, a cottage came into view and they slowed to a stop.

  “Wait here a minute while I see if they’re expecting you,” Andrew said as he got out of the car, trudging his way towards the gate.

  “Looks prettier than the cabin,” Zack commented, watching Matthew through the rearview mirror.

  “I liked the cabin,” Matthew replied, biting his bottom lip as he craned his head to watch Andrew’s progress.

  “It’s going to be okay, Matt. We’ll stick together until we figure out the next move.” Zack wasn’t sure if his words would be reassuring to the younger wolf. He had to be wondering what the hell Zack had gotten him into, between rogues, exes, and now Fenrir’s Warriors. What next?

  What next turned out to be another familiar face, following Andrew from the cottage towards the car. Zack straightened, trying to work out what exactly they’d wandered into the middle of.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” he muttered under his breath.

  “Who is he?” Matthew asked, one hand reaching to clasp Zack’s arm.

  “He’s a Pack Alpha. You must have seen him before…”

  Matthew was shaking his head. “Father kept me out of the way when we had visitors.”

  “He’s the Alpha of Glenoak. But what is he doing here? We’re nowhere near their Pack lands.” His musings were cut short as he decided he had better get out of the car.

  “Stay here a minute, okay Matt?” He wanted Matthew out of the way until he knew what was going on.

  “Doesn’t he have an Omega?” Matthew asked as Zack opened the door and climbed out. He closed the door, cutting off the end of Matthew’s question but the other man had made a very good point. Of the two known Omegas in existence, Sebastian was mated to one and both he and Fenrir’s Warriors had a connection to the second. Apparently, it was a small world where Omegas were concerned.

  Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as they caught sight of him before recognition dawned.

  “Of course, Zack, Greg Brown’s son. I didn’t make the connection.” The other Alpha nodded in greeting, looking past him to the car. “The message we got was short. Something about an Alpha and Omega in need of a safe haven.”

  “We didn’t have time to get into the specifics,” Andrew said apologetically. “Matthew is a runaway, from Briar Wood Pack. It seems he escaped an arranged mating and ran into Zack on his travels but his Pack and his intended’s Pack were closing in. Things are… complicated,” Andrew mimicked Zack’s words.

  “We’re not bonded,” Zack clarified. “We’re… I’m not sure what we are. But Matthew doesn’t want to go back and it seems like it isn’t an option for me now either.”

  Sebastian’s eyes went from Zack to Matthew and back. He looked confused and about to ask another question when Andrew interrupted.

  “We’re working on alternative accommodation, but it might take some time. We’d appreciate it if you could host them for a few weeks.”

  Weeks? Zack glanced back at Matthew to see if he’d heard but the news didn’t seem to bother him.

  “It’ll be close quarters for the four of us but we’ll manage,” Sebastian replied. “Why don’t you introduce me to Matthew? Then I’ll bring you all inside to meet Robert.”

  Zack could smell the other Omega’s scent on Sebastian, like Matthew’s except it didn’t raise the same interest in him that Matt’s scent did.

  He opened the back door, letting Matthew out. Andrew introduced him to Sebastian. Matthew seemed a little in awe but greeted the Alpha politely. He lowered himself, bending his knees but Zack grabbed his arm, forestalling his attempt to show respect.

  “You don’t need to do that,” he murmured, relaxing when Matt straightened and leaned into his touch.

  “It’s good to meet you, Matthew,” Sebastian said. Zack was almost certain the Alpha’s keen eyes had picked up on what Matthew had been about to do and his next words confirmed it. “We have done away with a lot of the older formalities in Glenoak, though I know some Packs put a strong emphasis on tradition.”

  Matthew nodded slowly, seemingly put at ease by the Alpha’s kind words.

  “Come inside and meet Ro. He’ll be excited to meet another Omega.” But it seemed Robert beat them to it, appearing at the cottage door and making his way towards them.

  His eyes glanced over all three of them, but it was clear his interest was Matt.

  “Ro, this is Matthew, Zack, and Andrew,” Sebastian said, indicating each man in turn.

  Matthew was taller than Ro, but not by much.

  “Hello,” the Omega offered cautiously. “Seb said you were coming to stay with us.”

  “Just for a while,” Zack clarified. “While we get a few problems ironed out.”

  “How long have you two been mated?” Robert asked, stepping up beside Sebastian, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  Zack opened his mouth to answer but Matt beat him to it. “We’re not. It’s complicated,” Matthew’s tone was a little sharp, causing Robert to tense. Even Andrew did a double take.

  “You must be tired after your journey,” Sebastian said, smoothing things over. “Why don’t you come inside?”

  “I have to get going,” Andrew interrupted, taking a step back towards the car. “Sebastian, James asked me to pass on a message. He would have given it directly to Ben, but given the circumstances,” he shrugged.

  Sebastian’s expression turned serious. “What’s the message?”

  “We haven’t found Tobias. We’re still looking.”

  The message meant nothing to Zack but it clearly did to Seb, who tugged Ro a little closer, the Omega running a calming hand along the Alpha’s arm.

  Andrew said goodbye to them then and there, promising to return as soon as he could.

  Sebastian brought them inside and showed them around.

  “We'll be a bit tight for space but we’ll make do. There are two bedrooms, so you and Matthew can take the second one.”

  “I can sleep on the couch,” Zack offered, glancing around the open plan living space.

  “There’s a camp bed as well. It might be more comfortable,” Sebastian countered.

  “Come sit down,” Ro said, gesturing to the couch. He offered them coffee and food, which Zack gratefully accepted on behalf of them both. Matthew remained stubbornly silent and Zack wasn
’t sure what the problem was.

  Seb and Ro worked together in the small kitchen while Zack and Matthew sat in silence.

  “I know it’s been a long week,” Zack said, “but after some food and some rest, things won’t seem so bleak.”

  “You haven’t changed your mind.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Come on, Mattie. We’ve only known each other days. We want different things.” Zack leaned forward, letting his chin rest on his hand.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just hard seeing someone else with the life you always wanted,” Matthew admitted softly.

  “You’re jealous?” Zack hadn’t thought of that, of what seeing another Alpha-Omega couple would be like for Matthew.

  “I guess,” Matt admitted.

  Zack couldn’t keep the smile from his face when Matthew added softly, “A real-life green-eyed monster.”

  He watched Matthew battle to keep a straight face as he noted the Alpha’s amusement. The Omega gave in, breaking out into a grin that matched his.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sebastian and Robert went for a walk while Matt and Zack ate.

  “Why didn’t you take Derek up on his offer?” Matthew wanted to know.

  “The offer to sell you out to his father so that we could go back to sneaking around behind everyone’s backs?” Zack asked.

  “I guess, when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so great,” Matthew admitted. “Not that it sounded good to me in the first place.” He yawned, hand covering his mouth and his eyes slipping closed.

  “Why don’t you lie down for a while?” Zack suggested. Matthew nodded slowly, then made his way into the bedroom Sebastian had shown them.

  When Sebastian and Robert returned from their walk, Robert excused himself to cook some dinner. Zack offered to help but wound up talking with Sebastian instead.

  “You have questions,” Sebastian guessed. “Such as why Glenoak’s Alpha and Omega are so far from home?”

  “Yeah, it did cross my mind,” Zack admitted.

  “Do you know of Benjamin Reeve?”

  “Sure, the ex-Enforcer who killed Gray Valley’s Alpha successor.” It had been all anyone had talked about that year.

  “He and Adam, his Omega, joined our Pack last year. Adam is expecting.”

  That still didn’t explain why Seb and Ro were out here.

  “Do you know much about Alpha-Omega relationships and their standing in Packs?”

  Zack shook his head, wondering at the change in topic. With no Omegas, that information seemed obsolete nowadays.

  “It turns out there was a very good reason each Pack usually only had one Alpha-Omega couple. Think about the over-protectiveness of an Alpha whose female mate is pregnant and magnify it by ten. It has only gotten worse as the pregnancy progressed. Adam’s due any day now and things should settle down once the first few weeks have passed.”

  “You left your own Pack because of another Alpha?” Zack couldn’t get his head around that.

  “Only after Ben and I almost came to blows a few times. Forcing Adam to leave in his condition was unacceptable to both Ro and I. Besides, we have been looking for an excuse to get away for a few weeks, to take some time to ourselves.”

  That only made Zack feel even more awkward. Seb noticed his discomfort. “We’ve been here almost three weeks already, Zack. Your company, if unexpected, is welcome. Matthew is very lucky he ran into you, there are far worse out there.”

  Zack woke Matthew for dinner. He felt sleepy and grumpy, his mood only made worse by watching Robert and Sebastian across the dinner table. Why couldn’t his father have found him someone like Sebastian to mate with? The Alpha seemed devoted, his eyes rarely strayed from Ro. Robert, in turn, appeared to draw comfort and confidence from their bond. He wasn’t timid or cowardly, like some of the Omegas of old were said to be. He spoke his mind with no fear of reprove.

  Matthew had grown up constantly censured by his parents. Discouraged from speaking his mind, from asking questions. Only his maternal grandmother indulged him and even then, only when his father wasn’t around. And while he didn’t know Bear Lake’s Alpha well, the Alpha had barely looked at him and hadn’t said a word. There was no fondness there, there’d be no indulgence on the part of the Alpha for Matthew’s curious nature. His appetite faded and he toyed with the food on his plate.

  “Eat it, don’t play with it,” Zack said jokingly as an aside, elbowing Matt gently. Sighing, Matt managed another forkful of spaghetti.

  After dinner, Zack decided he wanted to scope out the area. Sebastian went with him, assuring the Omegas they’d stay within earshot of the cottage.

  That left Matthew and Robert alone in awkward silence.

  “So how long have you and Sebastian been bonded?” Matthew threw Robert’s own question back at him.

  Ro smiled at the question and Matthew had to force down his irritation at being faced with the Omega's blatant happiness.

  “Two and a half years.”

  “Was it an arranged mating?”

  Despite his jealousy, Matt was curious. How did Omegas get happy endings these days?

  But Ro was shaking his head. “No, not at all. It’s kind of a long story but my Pack wanted rid of me and Glenoak took me in and took care of me. Then Seb figured out that I was an Omega and we decided to mate.”

  “So, your own Pack rejected you? Why were you hiding being an Omega?”

  Robert shifted in discomfort. “It’s more complicated than that. And I didn’t know I was an Omega, no one did, until Seb recognized my Omega mark.”

  “And he bonded with you, even though your own Pack had rejected you?”

  “My Pack didn’t reject me, they…”

  “…wanted rid of you, that’s the same thing.” Matthew knew he wasn’t being fair. He was being cruel, the way his brothers had been to him. But the unfairness of it all stung. An Omega whose own Pack didn’t even want them, didn’t even know what he was, and he gets the true bond that Matthew had always wanted.

  He seemed to have shocked Robert into silence but he had one last charge in his volley.

  “And why haven’t you given Sebastian a baby? Are you barren?”

  Robert stood up abruptly and crossed to the front door, opening it and disappearing outside. The anger that had built up inside Matthew fizzled suddenly and a pang of shame grew in its place. Voices carried through the open door and three pairs of footsteps returned.

  Matthew couldn’t look up as the three came in. Ro’s light footsteps crossed the room and disappeared down the hall towards the bedrooms. The other two sets of footsteps approached the couch where Matthew sat.

  Sebastian’s voice, heavy with emotion, filled the room.

  “Robert was given to our Pack in payment in a blood debt for a murder he’d had no part of. His Pack of origin were vicious, abusive, and blind to the fact that he was an Omega. Robert hasn’t had an easy road. I know from speaking with Zack that you have had a trying time in recent weeks but Ro is not your enemy or your competition. With so few Omegas in the world, he is the closest thing to a Pack brother you will ever have. You need to stand together, support each other. At the very least, while you are our guest, we expect you to be civil and mindful of the effect of your words on others.”

  Matthew looked up, meeting the Alpha’s eyes. There wasn’t the anger and disappointment that had always filled his father’s eyes, only sadness.

  “I’m sorry,” his words were a whisper.

  Sebastian nodded. “We’ll see you both in the morning.”

  Matt watched as the Alpha made his way to the bedrooms, the hum of voices following a moment later.

  “What were you thinking, Matthew?”

  Zack sounded like he was trying very hard to keep a lid on his anger but having less success than Sebastian had had. The Alpha’s hands were fisted by his sides.

  Matt shrugged, watching him warily. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. Just feeling. I know I shouldn’t have said what I did. It
was unfair and cruel.”

  The Alpha moved and Matt held himself very still. He’d seen Zack angry but, apart from that one time, hadn’t had that anger directed towards him. The Alpha sat down heavily next to him.

  “You can stop looking at me like that. I’m not your father. I don’t use my fists to communicate.” Zack’s tired voice drew Matt’s eyes to the Alpha’s face. Zack yawned, setting off Matt in turn. He reached out, snagging Matt’s t-shirt and drawing the younger man to lean against him. He gave in to the comfort of Zack’s embrace; the warmth of his body beneath his shirt, the rise and fall of his chest and the rumble of his deep breaths.

  He woke to Zack lifting him into his arms and carrying him across towards the guest room. The Alpha settled him on the bed then stepped away.

  “Stay, please,” he asked, his hand closing around Zack’s arm. “There’s room for two.”

  He was far from home, far from Pack, and he didn’t want to be alone.

  The Alpha settled down next to him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  He apologized to Ro the next day but the other Omega seemed understandably cautious and not too keen to spend much time with him. They were overdue some time in wolf form, so Zack arranged for them two of them to go out on a run. Another unfamiliar forest with different scents and sights. When they got back to the house, Ro was working on an essay for college while Sebastian worked on their Pack’s accounts.

  Andrew rang to speak to Zack, who went outside to take the call. Matt distracted himself looking through the bookshelves. Most of the books didn’t interest him but on one shelf he found old handwritten books about Pack history. He chose one and sat reading it on the floor, looking for any mention of Omegas. He found a few sentences here and there, mostly noting a birth or mating.

  Zack returned and Matt helped him cook lunch for the four of them.

  “Andrew is sending someone tomorrow to bring me to meet James, the FW’s leader. I’ll be gone a day or two.”