“When we get there, do what you need to do. I’ll find a way to be useful,” I offered, trying to relieve the stress pouring off him.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” The rebel in me rose quicker than I could process, the words coming out far too quickly. I knew his mind wasn’t fully on what he was saying, but on the task ahead of him. That knowledge didn't stop my knee-jerk reaction. “You don’t think I can be useful?”
He let out an exasperated breath and I was unclear if it was directed at me or himself. I placed my hand on his thigh, letting him know I was there for him, even though my words were entirely wrong for the situation. “I know you can… I’m just not sure how far you can be from me if I am still to be useful.”
“Because I’m pregnant.” Of course he would need me with him and not around other alphas. It was a natural alpha instinct, left over from our caveman days, I imagined. This was as new to him as it was to me. We both had a huge learning curve ahead of us.
“Because you’re pregnant and not fully mine yet.” And there was that.
“But I will be...” I half-asked, half-stated. In my mind it was a done deal. It felt as if it were the same for him, but my insecurities ran far too high for me not to ask, which was dumb considering what we had waiting for us at the center. Those omegas were the focus right now. Not me, pregnant with a decent job and an alpha watching out for me.
“Oh yes.” He took the hand that was on his leg and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. “You will be, first chance I get. Mine.”
There was something so primal about his words, it soothed my apprehension while revving up other parts of me. Parts of me that needed to stay down until much later in the day, if at all today.
“You just let me know what you need when we get there.” If he needed me to follow behind him like a little puppy in order for him to be productive, I was going to do it with bells on. “You do realize I will be pregnant for nine months and I work with the public?” I added, because sometimes I just say too much. It was a sign of trust, but one that needed to be put on hold.
“Don’t remind me.” He was only half-teasing.
I wasn’t sure I could be the kind of omega who was happy staying at home, nesting. I would never do anything to put my baby at risk. I already loved the being that was no more than a few split cells at this point. That didn’t mean I was ready to leave Café Om. They had been good to me. I was good at my job, and I liked earning my way.
I had a feeling this discussion was far from over. It would simply be tabled. When he added, “Let’s just get through today first,” I was sure of it.
We drove the rest of the way in silence, holding hands, placing them gently on his thigh. The few times he needed to let go for a sharp turn, I felt the loss immediately. It would be good for us to complete the bond, putting us both at ease, although I had a feeling touching him whenever possible was going to be a daily necessity for me, mated or not.
The silence wasn’t out of discomfort over the conversation or even a sense of day-after awkwardness. He was strategizing. I could practically see his brain moving as he was piecing together everything that needed to be done for the incoming omegas. Without places like Omega House, they would probably end up on the streets and a high percentage would end up in the sex trade. It was the sad reality of the world, a reality people like Naheed and Abrar were trying to change.
As we turned the last corner, he tensed. This was it. What we did in the next few hours mattered more than all the piddly shit I stressed about in any given year combined. My alpha was the facilitator of their hope. Hope was something many of them would be grasping for the first time. Pride filled me, knowing it was my alpha who did that. He made a difference to so many for no other reason than it was right.
I was one lucky omega.
16
Naheed
It was utter chaos when we walked in, but with Jace's hand in mine, I felt calm. Settled. I found Robert fairly quickly.
"What can we do?" I asked.
He eyed Jace with curiosity, but said nothing. I knew I'd be getting grilled later. I smiled. I looked forward to it. I wanted to shout that he was mine to anyone who would listen. But now wasn't the time. Even with our entire staff and our volunteers, we were nowhere near ready for an influx of this magnitude. "The elves have the rooms under control. Can you prep the paperwork? We won't subject them to that right away, but I'd like to have it ready to go when we do need it."
"Sure thing. Do you know how many we’re actually getting?"
Robert drew a hand down his long, tired face. "The number keeps changing. First it's ten. Then it's sixteen. Then it's a dozen."
I whistled through my teeth and Jace's hand tightened around mine. "Do we actually have that many rooms?"
"If we have to double up with cots, that's what we'll do," Robert said. "From what I hear, it was huge. All of the shelters are taking in a batch. They're even busing them out to Brockton and Oreville."
I blinked, trying to fathom what in the world the cops had uncovered. "That's... well, I guess I better get on that paperwork."
Robert nodded. "I'd appreciate it."
Jace trailed behind me, his hand still in mine, as we threaded through the halls to the intake office. I closed the door behind us, dimming the hustle and bustle. Jace collapsed in one of the thinly padded swivel chairs.
“What are the elves?” he asked, and I laughed.
“The volunteers. Short for house elves.”
He smiled. “Do I detect an inner nerd?”
“How do you know I nicknamed them?”
“More of a hope, really.” His face turned serious. “How many shelters are there in the city?"
"Seven. The Catholic shelter is the largest, they can house up to seventy or so if they're at full-capacity. We're probably the second largest, and we're half their size. Most of the others are smaller and can house a dozen or so."
"And how many openings do you have right now?"
I checked the assignments. "We're a little over half-full, so fourteen." I started opening file cabinets and pulling out the forms we would need. "Could you copy these? The machine's right there."
"Sure. How many?"
"Best go big, make it thirty. We'll always use them later." That was the sad truth.
While Jace made copies, I started prepping arrival packets. Depending on how bad the situation was, we might have omegas that had been born into the operation, and chances were they weren't able to read. But for the literate ones, it often helped to have something to read through after the first shock of freedom was over. Just as Jace was finishing up the copies, a small head poked through the office door.
"Naheed?" came Trevor's uncertain voice.
"Hey, buddy, come on in."
The boy's shoulders were hunched in, and I gestured for him to come to me. He snuck close to my side and I wrapped him in a hug. "What's wrong, T-man?"
"Are we getting a bunch of new omegas?"
"You bet we are. And they're going to need a lot of help settling in. Can I ask you a favor?"
His back straightened with the weight of my words. Whenever his world deviated from its norm, I'd noticed he always felt better and more settled when given a task to help him integrate the changes. "What is it?"
"We're getting a lot of omegas this time, and I'm worried I won't get to meet all of them right away. Once they get settled in, can you make sure to say hi to each of them? They're going to need friends. I'm not a hundred percent sure what kind of situation they were in, but it was bad. Even worse than yours."
"A breeding farm, right?"
I hated that the kid knew about such things, as young as he was. But it was hard to avoid when you lived on the streets. It was hard to avoid here, even. "That's right."
His eyes were solemn as he nodded. I ruffled his hair.
"That's my boy."
His eyes shined with pride under my words. God, what I wouldn't do to give this kid a home. But now... the
realization dawned on me. Now, my circumstances had changed. My eyes strayed to Jace. We had barely talked about what our situation would be when our kid came into the world. And it would be asking a lot. I was probably out of my mind for considering it...
Jace turned and rested a soft smile on Trevor and me.
But if anyone was ready and willing to take on a new mate, a pregnancy and then newborn, and an adopted omega, it would be Jace. I blinked tears back and cleared my throat.
"Why don't you go on over to the kitchen and see if you can help?" I asked. "I'm sure they're preparing something special for the new omegas."
Trevor ducked his head shyly and finally returned my hug. "Okay. See you, Naheed. See you, Jace!"
"That kid seems pretty awesome," Jace said when the door close behind him.
"He is."
"Can I ask, what's his story?"
"It's all too common, shitty parents tested illegally, tossed him out. He spent a couple years on the streets. He was actually referred here by a priest over at the Catholic safe house. Father Newman. They also run a soup kitchen over there. The father kept seeing him, both in the church and in the kitchen, but every time he approached him, Trevor vamoosed. Turns out his parents were pretty devout, but from a much more conservative group, and he'd had some pretty bad associations with priests. But food was food. I was able to approach him— "
"Because you're not a priest?"
"Because I'm not a priest, and convinced him to give us a try here. He's been with us a year and a half now."
"Is that a normal amount of time?" Jace set the finished copies on my table and I separated them out to start collating.
"Some stay longer, some less, but for a kid his age, it's unusual."
"Why?"
"Normally we rehome them, get them in a proper family that doesn't have bullshit ideas about omegas."
"So why hasn't he been rehomed? He doesn't seem like a difficult kid."
"That's probably my fault," I said sheepishly. "I just couldn't imagine him going home with any of the families that were interested in taking him."
"Because the only family you could imagine him with is you."
I looked up at Jace with surprise and hesitation. He'd hit the nail on the head, but how did he feel about it?
He reached out with a smile and took my hand. "I'm not saying anything one way or another, but I'm open to the conversation," he said.
I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed his fingers. "I'm so damn lucky."
Robert took that moment to open the door, my lips still on Jace's fingers. "You would pick the worst timing to find a boyfriend," he muttered. "Time to get the show on the road, kid. The vans are here."
17
Jace
Exhaustion seeped out of my pores as the omegas, finally settled in as much as they could, began their supper in the dining hall. They, for the most part, seemed unsure whether they were rescued or in a new kind of confinement. No reassuring was going to change that, only time. One thing was abundantly clear during lunch; they had not been fed real food where they were. The omegas who seemed to remember their old life were excited by the sandwiches and chips we provided, mumbling something about it being better than “omega food” and the others looked on with curiosity, hunger eventually taking over.
Their living hell had been worse than I imagined and my brain went dark. How could people--and I used the term loosely--commit such atrocities against others? All for what? Monetary gain? Not much was clear about how the bust went down or if they were able to arrest all involved yet. At least society, even those who would have been first in line for one of the alpha babies, would hold up the appearance of support for throwing the book at them. No one said in good company, or even bad company, “Good for them, we need more alphas.” It just wasn’t done.
I’d spent the entire day by Naheed’s side, helping where I could. Mostly I got papers ready, took meeting notes, and carried things. It felt good to be able to help in any capacity, even if we both knew I was mostly there to keep Naheed grounded in a time when an alpha tended to be anything but. Getting an omega pregnant tended to bring out all the emotions.
We left the omegas eating their supper and walked hand in hand to his office in silence. We got quite a few glances throughout the day, but no one said anything except Robert. I couldn’t figure out whether he thought he was funny or if he was too dryly sarcastic. He was an odd duck, but all about the mission, so I liked him nonetheless.
As we reached the office, Naheed pulled me inside, kicking the door closed behind him before plopping down in the largest chair in his office, bringing me down with him, holding me close as I snuggled into his lap. We may have been together the entire day, but I needed this. He needed this. We needed this.
“Thank you,” he murmured against my neck between kisses. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“You would’ve been fine, just like you are every time a crisis arises here, I’m sure.” I grabbed his arm, bringing it tighter around me. If my need for his embrace was so great already, I was going to be a needy mess well before this baby came. Baby. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that one. “I heard people talking today. I know what a hero you are in their eyes.”
I filled with pride each time I heard someone mentioning all that my alpha did for this place. He wasn’t just an employee. He wasn’t just a fundraiser. He was so much more. He was the heart of this place.
“They were just kissing my ass,” he dismissed. “People tend to do that to their boss.”
“Hey, I never kiss Abrar’s ass.” I felt him tense beneath me. Maybe mentioning kissing another alpha, even in jest, should be scratched off my list of good topics to bring up while pregnant. “Besides, the elves are volunteers, so they would hardly benefit from a good ass kissing.”
“First of all, you best not be kissing any part of my brother-in-law,” he was forcing a light tone, but he was serious. I was oddly fine with his possessiveness. Heck, I kind of relished in it. “And second of all, the elves all choose this place for a reason. Many have had friends or family who were omegas done wrong. They are prone to hero worship.”
He was probably right about the elves to some extent. When you have seen the dark reality of omegas in less-than-ideal situations and, worse, for an omega with a strong connection to you, that does change how you see things. That didn’t make their assessments any less valid, though.
“You can’t take a compliment worth spit.” Except in bed, but now wasn’t the time to either think about or discuss that.
“That may be true.” He leaned back, pulling me with him
“So what now?”
“We should probably go home and get some rest.”
Home. I knew he meant his place, but the warmth still filled me at his inclusion of me in his plan.
“Tomorrow is when reality will hit for many of the omegas. That is when our real work begins.”
“I have work tomorrow,” I said with regret. I wanted to be here. Not just because I had become addicted to Naheed in the very best of ways, but because seeing the omegas all broken had done something to me. I needed to help. He pulled out his phone and began typing over me. Darn, his arms were long. “Wait, what are you doing?” His phone beeped back, he looked at it and put it back in his front pocket.
“You’re off work tomorrow,” he proclaimed as if it were a done deal. My guess was it was.
“What did you just say to him?”
“Just that my work was in crisis and I needed you, my mate, by my side.”
My Mate. Those two words now held so much power. I no longer felt even a twinge of anger over him overstepping and contacting my boss without permission. Especially since the reason was legit. I needed to be here.
“And he was all ‘Oh good, no problem, I’ll cover his shift’?” It actually sounded a lot like Abrar, but I wasn’t going to give him that just yet. I liked giving him a hard time and he seemed to like it right back.
�
�No, he said, ‘Good on you, bro’.”
“Alphas.” I shook my head against his shoulder, trying to be all sly as I inhaled his scent.
The door opened. “Need me to come back another time?” Knocking seemed to be optional for Robert, and I filed that away for later. If the day ever came when we used this office for more than work, the door would need a good locking. Just the thought made blood rush to the wrong place.
“No, you are free to speak in front of my mate.”
There was that word again. Any embarrassment I felt, gone. Now there was just pride. Pride in being his. Carrying his child.
“So I did smell correctly.” I forgot alphas could smell pregnancy. All the embarrassment returned and my cheeks flushed. “Congrats, man. Worst. Timing. Ever. But a baby. Wow. You should get on that bonding thing.” And they could smell a bonded couple. Great.
I felt my skin flush, but Naheed chuckled beneath me, obviously finding humor in my discomfort. At least Robert appeared supportive.
“Who’s having a baby?” Trevor came to a stop in front of us. Yeah, door locking needed to be a thing when privacy was needed.
“We are,” Naheed answered for us both.
Trevor’s eyes widened in shock, but he immediately schooled them. “Oh… Um… congrats. A family. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know I did what you said.” He was babbling. I could hardly blame him. It had been a long, stressful day for me, let alone a kid who’d probably seen too much of this stuff in his life already.
I had already planned to find him tomorrow and have a nice chat with him. Feel out how he felt about being here and if he was ready for a forever home. If he was, I was going to see if Naheed and I could make it work. He had all but said so earlier, but with a baby in the mix I needed to be sure.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Trevor.” Naheed’s words held such affection as he leaned over and ruffled the boy’s head, as he so frequently seemed to do. Best do it now before the teen years hit and he needed his hair just so.
Embracing His Omega: Cafe Om Love #1 Page 7
