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.
“Well, I gotta go back to dinner. Night.” I would ask Naheed about a possible adoption later, not wanting to discuss it in front of Robert. He seemed nice enough, but I still didn’t trust him yet. It was hard for me to trust an alpha. Most alphas anyway. I trusted Naheed almost instantly. That should’ve been my clue.
“Night, Trevor,” all three of us said in unison as he skedaddled out of the room.
“I should join him, too.” A smirk crossed Robert’s face. “I’m guessing having an unmated alpha in the room has you on edge.”
“I resemble that remark,” Naheed confirmed. “See you in the morning.”
And with that he left, leaving me alone with my alpha. We spent a minute in silence enjoying the feel of each other before heading back to his place. Home.
18
Naheed
“We really should pick up my car before it gets vandalized,” Jace said, stripping off his hoodie as we entered the house.
“No time like the present,” I teased, even as I kicked my shoes off.
His hands slid around my hips and pulled me toward him. “I have better plans.”
“Do they involve you being naked?”
“Briefly,” he said, kissing me lightly. “I’m imagining a pretty luxurious night. A soak in the jacuzzi. Mutual backrubs. And then an early night of cuddling in bed.”
I grabbed his thighs and lifted him to my hips, his legs wrapping around me as I walked to the bedroom. “Oh is that what you had in mind.”
“Mmmhmm…”
“Mind if I make some improvements on that plan?”
Jace sighed in fake weariness. “Oh, if you must.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Jace cocked an eyebrow. “Are you happy to see me, or do you need to get that?”
I considered ignoring it, but if there was an issue at the House... Jace unwrapped his legs and dropped to the floor.
"I'll just go get the bath started."
I slapped his ass as he turned, throwing a saucy wink over his shoulder, then answered the phone. Robert. "Naheed here."
Roger's voice was light, but there was a tension I'd never heard before. And give the situations we dealt with, I'd heard him pretty tense. "Hey, Naheed, I'm sure you're not busy with your shiny new bond and all, but I just wanted to check, you didn't happen to take Trevor for the night, did you?"
The blood drained from my face. As much as I'd wanted to, I'd never taken Trevor for an overnight, or even from the House without someone else's say-so. I didn't want anything to fuck up the future possibility of making us family. "What? Why? What's happened?"
"I left your office just after him, but I didn't see him at dinner. And when I went to find him to see if he wanted to give some tours to the new omegas in the morning, I couldn't find him."
Jace had come to the doorway, drawn by the alarm in my voice.
"But we've only been gone a half hour. Are you sure you didn't just miss him somewhere?"
"I would tend to think that, but most of his stuff is gone. His school books are still here, but his clothes, his blankets, the room is half empty."
I looked to Jace for confirmation as I spoke. "We'll be right there. Keep me updated." Jace nodded and came to me.
I bowed my forehead to his and ended the call. "Trevor is missing."
"What do you think happened?" Jace asked.
"I don't know." My voice cracked. "Maybe he recognized one of the omegas and there were bad memories? I can't think of anything that would have happened that he wouldn't have told me about."
"You'll need something warmer than a sweatshirt," he chided as I started for the entry way. I struggled to put my shoes back on, my hands shaking, and he handed me my wool overcoat. Something crinkled as I put it on, and I stuck my hand in the pocket to discover the letter Trevor had given me for Jace. I'd completely forgotten it with the whirlwind of Jace's heat. I handed it to Jace with a hand trembling with adrenaline. "He wrote this for you."
"For me?" Jace took it. "What does it say?"
I shrugged. "He made me promise not to read it."
Jace sliced the envelope open and read it silently, tears welling in his eyes as he handed it to me.
Hey Jace, Naheed listens to you more than anyone else I've seen. Can you tell him I'm a good kid? I really want him to be my dad. Thanks. Your new friend, Trevor
My throat was clogged.
"Do you think..." Jace ventured. "We didn't get a chance to tell him about us and the baby before Robert blurted it out. Is it possible that he thinks you might not want him now that you've got a kid on the way?”
The idea that I would ever think that was so ludicrous, I had trouble processing it. But I tried to put myself in Trevor's shoes. I'd never told him I wanted to be his dad. I was too afraid to. Afraid I'd never be in the position where I could. Too many people had broken their promises to the kid, I wasn't going to be another.
"It's... possible..." I croaked out.
"Give me your keys," Jace demanded. "You're in no condition to be driving."
I handed my keys over without a word, thankful he was here.
"While I drive, you think about where he might go. You know him better than anyone."
Where would Trevor go? Until now, I would have been able to name exactly where he would run away to. He would have run away to me. But if I was the cause, what did that leave?
19
Jace
We drove aimlessly through the city. It wasn’t going to help us find him, but it at least it made us feel like we were doing something. Anything. As hard as this was on me, it was a billion times worse on Naheed. I had barely met the kid, and he held my heart. Naheed, he had a strong relationship with the boy, even if Trevor hadn’t come to realize it yet and thought he had been abandoned. Abandoned, that was it. He would go back to where he knew he could survive, even if it was a horrible existence.
“Naheed, love.” I squeezed his thigh, feeling a spark of hope building in me. “When Trevor was abandoned, where was he dropped off?”
“In Omega-ville.” He sighed. I hated that name, but knew exactly where it was. I turned on the blinker at the next cross road.
Omega-ville was what a lot of people called the slums or ghettos. It was even worse than the location of Omega House and that was saying something. It was filled with omegas who were destitute, single dads, and many who made ends meet in any way possible, including the sex trade. It was a rough area of town, made rough not by the people, but by the circumstances that got them there. I shook just thinking about Trevor wandering alone there, but I had to be strong for Naheed. Now was about Trevor and bringing him home to us.
“Naheed, we will find him. We will bring him home.”
“Home?” Naheed’s voice quivered. I took his hand in mine.
“Yes, if he will still have us.” It had to be Trevor’s choice. He had lived in a world that had given him none.
“How did I get so lucky?” Tears flowed silently down his face. I turned the car once again. It was heartwarming to see that he trusted me with his tears. It was a very un-alpha thing to do with anyone other than your omega. I even had trouble imagining crying in front of anyone… except maybe Naheed. Yet, here he was, sharing his pain freely with me after such a brief period of time. I was the lucky one.
“I have been asking myself that very question.” The streets were visibly less affluent, less safe, as we got closer to our destination. No one wound up in Omega-ville on acci
dent. “Do you know exactly where he stayed while he was there?”
“Not really. He never registered with a shelter or told any of us. It was probably his exit plan. What a messed up world where a little boy needs an exit plan.”
He was right on that one. When this mess was done, I needed to discuss with Naheed the idea of leaving Café Om and finding a way to help the omegas here using my skill set. I, better than many, would be able to connect to these men. I had the air of authority of an alpha without the alpha pheromones that scared many of those who had been abused.
“Where did you find him?” We were in the center of the area and we needed to find a location. Driving aimlessly would cause people to notice us, and that was the last thing you wanted somewhere like here.
“In a confessional.” I racked my brain. I wasn’t raised in a church that had confessionals so it took me a moment to piece together where that would be.
“At the shelter?” It would make sense to go back where he was fed, even if he had eaten for the day. Stomachs had a pesky way of needing to be filled often, which was extra problematic for people in situations where food was lacking.
“At the church connected to the shelter, yeah.” For the first time since we got the news, Naheed sounded himself. He must’ve believed we were on to something. I let out a deep breath. I was grasping at straws, but maybe, just maybe, we were close.
“We should try there first.”
He directed me to take the next left.
“Jace,” he said. “I know this is really crappy timing, but before you commit to me any further, I need to tell you something.”
I couldn’t imagine what he had to tell me. Did he have five kids somewhere? A secret fortune? A bankruptcy?
“You can tell me anything.”
He huffed, looking out the window. When he spoke he stared straight ahead. “I’m not sure if I mentioned before, but both my parents are omegas.”
“Yeah, you said that.” I waited for a light to turn green, then continued.
“Well, when I was eighteen, I was really lost. I was the only alpha in my family, and I felt like I didn’t really know how to be an alpha. So I tracked down my sperm donor.”
None of this seemed particularly alarming. I made a positive noise to encourage him to continue, and he directed me to make another turn.
“I found him. And… let me tell you, he was a real winner. But he was exactly what I was looking for at that point in my life. He had very firm ideas on what it meant to be an alpha. And there was this whole that I thought he filled.”
“But…?”
He shook his head. “His idea of a real alpha was someone who takes what they want, when they want it. Who knows better than omegas and betas what they need. I…” He swallowed hard. “I honestly don’t know if… it’s so hard to say it.”
I thought I got where he was headed. “You’re not sure if you coerced some omegas into having sex with you?”
Naheed took a shuddering breath. “There are times, I don’t know if it was rape or not. I can’t believe I’ve finally said it. I can’t trust my brain and my memories from back then. At the time, I thought we both wanted it. But after working at the Omega House, I have a new perspective. I know how far some omegas will go to avoid confrontation or what they imagine are worse consequences.” I’d never seen my alpha look so small and still. “If you want me to disappear after we find Trevor, I totally get it. I wouldn’t blame you. Hell, I still blame myself every day. There’s just no excuse for that kind of willing ignorance.”
I used a stop sign as an opportunity to put the car into park and face Naheed. I took his hands and made him look at me. “Naheed, I know I haven’t known you long, but no one does the work you do without being changed. I trust in the man you are today. Yes, the man I’ve barely gotten to know in the past couple days, but also the man I’ve seen reflected in the faces of the people you work with. The man Trevor desperately wants to make his father. And I will do whatever it takes to help you come to terms with your past, but right now, know that I am here, I’m not running away, and we are going to find the boy we want to be our son.”
Naheed bowed his head and touched his forehead to mine. “Thank you,” he whispered.
I put the car back in gear and a few turns later, we were parking. I gave Naheed a questioning look and he nodded. I didn’t want to intrude if he thought my being there would cause Trevor to run even further away.
We ran up the front steps of the church. It had already been dark before we’d headed home originally, but the church was well-lit. The first door we tried was locked, but the second opened and we made our way inside. I had never been to confessional, but I had seen enough movies to know what they looked like so when we got close, I placed my hand on Naheed’s shoulder and looked at him with an unspoken question, asking him to trust me completely. When I saw his acceptance of my offer, I called out.
“Trevor?” I hoped I was loud enough, but not so loud that I would attract the attention of anyone else who might be in the church. The last thing I wanted was to spook him. “Trevor, we hope you’re here. We’ve been looking all over for you.” I listened, hoping to hear anything that would let me know he was there. He was too young to scent, and I needed some assurance I wasn’t wasting valuable time by talking to no one. Naheed grabbed my hand for the first time since we had exited the car, encouraging me to continue.
“I got your note. I didn’t need to tell Naheed you were a good kid. He already knew.” Still not a sound. “We’re having a baby, yes. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to be your dads, too. If you will have us. You won Naheed’s heart long before I did, and you stole mine right away. Will you be our son?”
My heart was beating a thousand beats a minute as the door to one of the little booths began to open and Trevor made his way out, timidly, but with a small, uncertain smile on his face. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.
“Naheed, is Jace right? Do you want me?”
My heart swelled as Naheed ducked down and opened his arms widely as Trevor ran into his embrace. “Yes, Trevor. I want you to be my son more than pretty much anything.” I wrapped my arms around both of them.
20
Naheed
Everything had moved pretty quickly after that. It had cost a pretty penny to break Jace’s lease early, but it was cheaper than paying for a second place we didn’t need, and I needed Jace nearby. Definitely in my home and preferably in my bed. I'd had some kind of naive idea that the more we were around each other, the less I'd feel the need to keep track of him, but it was the complete opposite. As the pregnancy hormones built up, my protective instincts and need for him grew stronger. Maybe it would have been easier if we had completed our bonding that first night, but I had no regrets. The right path wasn't the same for everyone, and ours had worked out pretty well. But I was definitely looking forward to claiming him.
I was reading in bed when Jace closed the door quietly behind him. I put my book down. "How is Trevor?" I asked.
Trevor wasn't completely ours yet, but I was hopeful the adoption would go through before Jace went into labor. He was living with us, though, and that was one of the biggest hurdles. He'd started at the public school just the month before and was really blossoming.
"I think it was just a stomach bug he picked up at school," Jace said. "If he's still feeling bad tomorrow morning, I was thinking about letting him stay home."
I pulled him to sit on the bed next to me and snuggled my nose into his large, round belly. "Would it be terribly sexist for me to say I love that you're home and not working now?"
Jace slapped the back of my head softly. "Yes."
"Well, I'll say it anyway. I love that you're home and not working now." Abrar had given me shit for taking one of his best workers from him, but I'd been prepared with a list of possible replacements he could start interviewing. I knew Jace loved his job, but I also knew that with the pregnancy and Trevor, he wanted to be home. And one of the many
alpha tendencies he had was the need to live up to his responsibilities. I didn't make the choice for him, but I saw nothing wrong with helping smooth over any obstacles that kept him from getting what we both wanted.
"Just so we're both clear that I'm not planning on being a house omega forever."
"Mmmm." I kissed his belly. "But I'm happy with it as long as you're happy. And even if you're not a house omega, you're still planning to come work at the House, right? So I'll still have you in my clutches."
"What am I going to do with you?" Jace sighed exaggeratedly. He put up with a lot from me, but he never hesitated to call me on my shit when needed.
"I can think of some things..." I waggled my eyebrows.
"While it's extremely gratifying that you still desire me while seven months heavy with your child, the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
"Well then I can do somethings to you." I moved further on the bed, pulling Jace down to lay beside me. We took our time exploring each other's mouths. This had become familiar, but no less exciting, territory. I wondered if this would change once we were fully bonded. Would he taste different? Would things become too normal? Or deeper? Both? As content as I was to enjoy each day as it came, I couldn't help but look forward to the day when Trevor was fully ours and we were fully each other's.
Jace gave a satisfied murmur and pulled away. "I was wondering, is it normally so easy to foster an omega?"
I propped my head on my hand, the other caressing his beard. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, all we really had to do was say, 'Hey, can Trevor come live with us?' and the House said ‘yes’. Is that normal?"
"Not really, no. It was a pile of special circumstances. Trevor had been there longer than most, and I'm pretty well known by the House." Jace rolled his eyes at my understatement. "Not to mention my connection with him. But then there was the big bust, and they were really tight on space. So we were definitely fast tracked."
Embracing His Omega: M/M Non-Shifter Alpha/Omega MPREG (Cafe Om Book 1) Page 8
