CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Mercy Hills went all out to celebrate Harvest Moon. Well, all the packs I’d ever been in did, but I’d never seen anything like this.
The whole enclave hummed with excitement all day. I’d ended up drawn into an impromptu dance with Fan, and then Teca, this morning when I’d gone over to nurse Noah. The pups were learning their first pack dances and they could hardly wait to show off what they’d learned. I’d barely extricated myself in time to finish my afternoon’s work, but I’d forced myself to, because this Harvest Moon celebration looked like it was going to be something I’d never experienced before in my life.
First of all, a group of volunteers looked after the young shifters for the evening, arranging games and full moon activities for them. Fan’s and Teca’s eyes when they saw the toys set up in the fenced field were all I needed to make my day perfect, but it didn’t stop there. Even the babies had a small enclosure where they could run and shift and play puppy games, and Beatrice was four-footed so fast I didn’t even get to see it happen.
Jason and I went together to drop the pups off at their respective areas. The tension of the weekend had passed, and I’d seen no sign that he’d spoken to anyone about my foolish confession. I hadn’t meant to tell him as much as I did, just enough to get him to back off about Abel. As much as it would be a dream come true, I was trying not to believe in or expect dreams anymore. A nice dull mating with someone who would provide for my pups was my plan.
Someone whom it wouldn’t kill me to break their heart.
Jason grinned at me as he passed Macy over to one of the caretakers. “Come on. Let’s go pretend we’re single for a while.”
“I am single. But childless, yes.” I loved my babies, but they were being well looked after. Fan and Teca had taken off without a backward glance or a goodbye and in their excitement they didn’t even notice my slightly wistful wave. I returned Jason’s grin. “You’ll have to be my guide to all the best fun. We never had anything like this at home.”
“Oh, you’re going to have fun. This is my first one too, but Mac’s been telling me all about it ever since the trial.” A shadow passed over his face, but it disappeared quickly enough, and soon we were jostling our way through the crowd to find food. They even had alcohol, beer, and a packmade cider that was bright and sharp and absolutely delicious. I sipped cautiously at mine, wondering what Noah would think of it later, and accepted a plate of barbecued meat on a wooden stick, accompanied by another stick with small potatoes and vegetables on them. They both dripped with some sweet, acidic sauce and I moaned in delight at my first mouthful.
“Good, isn’t it?” Mac appeared out of nowhere and pressed a kiss to Jason’s cheek, then bit into a chunk of meat. I watched them enviously; they didn’t have a fairy-tale romance, but I wasn’t certain that theirs wasn’t better.
Jason reached up to wipe away a smear of sauce at the corner of Mac’s mouth. “Is this Duke’s?”
Mac nodded. “Old family recipe. You can’t even beat it out of him. I know. Abel and I tried.”
I choked on a laugh. It was hard to imagine the Alpha ganging up on a pack member over a recipe. Or any alpha, capitalized or not. I took a second bite of my food and let the taste coat the inside of my mouth. It was sad that an alpha cooked better than I did, but I had other skills that this pack seemed to value, so it didn’t sting as much as it would have before I came here.
Bram wandered up, his chin shiny with grease and sauce.
“Wipe your mouth, for crying out loud,” Jason said, then did it for him.
“Hard to eat this stuff without getting messy.”
“Maybe, but you’ll end up with it all over your clothes.”
Bram shrugged and I bit back an acerbic comment that had no place in tonight’s celebration. Besides, he wasn’t my responsibility, but I pitied the alpha that took him on. He’d been the only omega in Mercy Hills his entire life, and the attention had made him spoiled, though seeing him with the pups I knew there was sweetness underneath it. I watched as he wandered away to tease some of the alphas. Mac and Jason exchanged a glance, then Mac sauntered casually in the same direction, as if he were only after another skewer of meat.
Watching the young omega, I couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding I felt.
“Jason, have they decided on a mate for him?”
“What?” Jason mumbled, holding a hand in front of his mouth to hide his chewing. He swallowed, and said, “No, not yet. He’s only sixteen. And he’s not ready to be mated, even if he could settle on someone.”
A tension I hadn’t realized was there drained out of my shoulders. “That’s good.” I took another bite of my meal and let my eyes drift around the park.
Jason was quiet for a moment, then he said, “Why are you asking?”
“No reason.” Huge reason. I wiggled the little finger on my right hand in memory. I went to my mating night with that finger broken and roughly splinted—they’d had to drag me out the door the day they gave me to Patrick. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know him, that I wasn’t ready to be mated, even that I hadn’t had my first heat yet. I was glad that Mercy Hills didn’t think Bram was ready either.
Jason was still watching me with those eyes that saw through my stories.
I shrugged. “We got pushed out the door kind of early in Buffalo Gap. There were a ton of omegas born in the community around the time my mother had me, and it was creating havoc.” There’d been fights over me, something I’d been ridiculously proud of at the time, but eventually the Buffalo Gap Alpha had had enough of dealing with the constant spikes of testosterone in the unmated alphas. And when Patrick had come looking for a mate, he’d been delighted to pass me on to him.
“Oh,” was all Jason said, and I was glad enough to drop the subject.
I hadn’t seen Abel at all this evening, and was surprised to realize that I missed him.
Mac came back. “I sicced Duke on him.”
Jason looked up at him in surprise. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
Mac shrugged. “Why don’t you two go sit and I’ll bring you more food?”
“You just want more for yourself.” But Jason rubbed his cheek against Mac’s shoulder. “Meet us over by where the dancing’s going to be?”
“Be right there.” He kissed the top of Jason’s head and strolled off again.
“What was that about Duke?” I asked as I followed Jason down the edge of the clearing.
Jason rolled his eyes. “You done with that plate? We’ll drop it on the washing up table.” He took my plate from me and handed it off to someone I didn’t know—which was about ninety percent of the pack still—and looped his arm through mine. “Mac is convinced Duke is more than half in love with Bram, bratty behavior or not. And Bram’s really enjoying being king of the hill here. Personally, I think he’s got a bit of a thing for Duke himself, but it’s pretty addictive, being able to crook your finger and have half the young alphas in the place come running.”
It had been. “He’ll probably grow out of it.”
“Like you did?” Jason said casually, startling me, though after nearly two weeks here, I should have expected it.
I drank another mouthful of cider. “How’d you know?” It wasn’t a part of my past I was particularly proud of anymore, though at the time I’d been falsely modest about it.
“Well, a guy could hardly look like you and not have it happen at least a little. Add in omega, and I can’t see it going any other way.” He tugged me to the right, and we found an empty spot underneath a cherry tree. I was starting to be able to identify them now, and it made the place feel more like home. But I only had a couple more days left on my visitor’s pass, and I needed to find a mate who would take my pups in that time, or this would never get to really be home.
With that thought, I started to really look around the crowd. I saw Duke, lines of strain on his face as Bram flirted wildly with a blond alpha whose name might have been Rick, or Ron, or�
��Roane? I thought that was it. I’d only met him once, briefly, when I’d gone chasing Abel down through the floor assigned to the software company for a signature. There was another dark-haired alpha, and two more who I judged to be betas, though I’d need a good sniff to be certain. Well, they were all too young for me anyway.
But there was another one. Actually, a couple, lounging by a tree about twenty feet away from us. Older, settled, in their forties, one maybe in his fifties. Old enough not to ask for more than I could give. I caught the eye of the darker one, smiled briefly, then looked away as if overcome. I wasn’t, but he looked interested, and I knew a sense of triumph when he left his companion behind and crossed the grass to stand in front of me. “Hi,” he said. His voice was deep, but it lacked the authoritative timber of Mac’s or Abel’s. “I’m Jim.”
“Bax,” I replied, and relaxed one hip so my jeans fell just so, stretched across my thigh to show off the length of my legs. He smelled like a gamma. Good.
He breathed deeply, taking in my scent, and a puzzled look grew on his face. “I thought you were omega.”
I tilted my head to one side, exposing my jugular and the delicate flesh under the edge of my jaw, and smiled. “I am. And I have four pups to prove it.”
Jason gave me a hard look, but kept his peace. He knew why I was there, though I could tell he didn’t approve of it. I think he still thought Mercy Hills was special enough that an omega could live here without a mate. I hoped he’d given up on matchmaking me to Abel.
“Oh, you’re already mated,” Jim said.
I liked the sound of the disappointment in his voice. “No, not anymore. My mate passed six months ago.” This had potential. He wasn’t bad looking. Didn’t seem pushy either, which was a blessing.
Music started up behind us, and the crowd began to stir. “Do you dance?” I asked.
Jim looked uncomfortable. “Uh, not really.”
Oh. Okay, I could live without dancing. And it wasn’t like I couldn’t dance with other shifters, as long as Jim didn’t mind. I ignored the music and took a step closer, opening my mouth to ask another of my ‘potential mate’ questions, when I was interrupted by a hand on my arm.
“Come dance,” Abel murmured in my ear. “You know the old pack dances, right?”
I did, and I was good at them. Sure, I could dance to the modern stuff, the human music and the human-influenced pack music, but I loved the feel of the pack dances, the fast pace, the skill needed to follow the figures and not bump into someone. The slow ones, too, the more intimate ones usually just performed by courting couples. I knew them all, and had danced most of them. The only ones I’d never had a chance to dance were the lovers’ dances, because I’d been mated before I could get serious with anyone.
But Jim was watching, and I’d just been flirting obviously with him. “Jim and I just met,” I explained.
“Oh, Jim won’t mind.” Abel grinned at me rakishly and I felt the first stirrings of arousal. I did like him, the way he looked, the way he talked, the way he’d casually toss a complex problem on my desk and disappear, as if he had no doubt of my ability. He’d wormed his way into my heart and I didn’t have the strength to bear the pain of tearing him out. But for all those reasons, I didn’t dare dream of him. I should really say no.
Still, it was just a dance, right? I did love to dance.
I glanced up at Jim.
He raised his mug of beer in salute. “I’ll be here whenever you’re done.”
Ah, so sweet. I patted his arm, downed the last few mouthfuls of my cider, and handed my mug to Jason.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Abel had a plan. Bax only had a couple more days here in Mercy Hills, and Abel wanted him to stay. If not to plan a mating, then at least to give Abel a chance to prove he was different from Bax’s experiences. He’d called Buffalo Gap the other day to ask their Alpha about Bax, and had gotten the whole story of Bax’s mating. It made him sick, and sad, at the same time. He understood the absolute urgency of needing a new well when the old one collapsed, but essentially selling a fifteen-year-old into a mating to finance that…
Though, with Mercy Hills’ current financial insecurity, he could see the temptation. Mated to an Alpha of a richer pack, financial aid, and promises of mates for other omegas when they came of age. It would have looked like a good mating from the outside.
Why couldn’t Patrick have waited?
But looking at Bax, the moon gleaming off his fair skin, the ebony curls waving around his face, the grace with which he moved…
No. There was no excuse for what Patrick had done.
They stepped into position for the first set, a fixed smile marring the beauty of Bax’s features. Abel did his best to be charming, over the noise and conversation of people getting into place, and then the music started, and he stepped forward to take Bax’s hand for the first turn.
They spun and stepped and separated, trading partners with other dancers, and as the song wound on, Abel saw the tension leave Bax’s face. His smile became more natural, and soon he was laughing as loud as the rest of them, his eyes bright in the moon and lantern light.
Abel could see now why alphas had spent so many years keeping omegas down. Bax, should he choose, could issue any command he wanted and rule the pack from his place at an Alpha’s side, simply by smiling. Abel found himself jealous of the other males as they took Bax’s hand to whirl him through the dance, but consoled himself listening to Bax’s joyful laughter as he moved through the pattern like dandelion fluff, practically floating through the steps.
Finally it was his turn to take Bax around the waist and spin through the dance. Bax’s cheeks were flushed and he shouted, “Thank you!”
“For what?”
“For inviting me to dance.”
“You looked like you were having fun with Fan this morning at the daycare. I thought you might enjoy a slightly taller partner tonight.”
Bax laughed and Abel fiercely shoved away the urge to whisk him away somewhere private.
The dance came to an end and they were back in their original places, grinning at each other like fools.
A different song came on, something human, and the groups of dancers dispersed, to be replaced by couples bumping and grinding to a heavy bass beat. Bax started to walk off, but Abel caught him by the hand. “You don’t have to leave.”
Bax threw a glance at the shifters all around them, their bodies pressed close in public intimacy. “I’m not sure I should…” His voice trailed off, and Abel could see the longing in his face.
“I’m the Alpha. Who’s going to say anything?”
Bax looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t want to give the wrong impression.”
“I know.” And Abel held his breath, waiting for Bax’s answer.
The moment stretched, then Bax moved back into Abel’s arms. “Okay.” He seemed troubled, but Abel planned to fix that tonight. For now, he kept some distance between their bodies, the only contact where their fingers were laced together.
Slowly, Bax’s movements became more fluid. It was obvious to Abel when Bax finally lost himself in the song; his eyes closed and he seemed to forget where he was, his body moving in perfect unison with the rhythm of the music. Even after the last few beats had stopped, he continued to sway, then slowly his eyes opened and he blushed.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a while.”
Abel squeezed his fingers. “You should get to dance more often.”
“Oh, well.” Bax ducked his head and disentangled himself from Abel’s grasp. “I suppose I should get back to Jim.”
“Why?”
“Because he seemed nice, and I abandoned him to come dance with you.”
“He is nice.” They were setting up for another pack dance, the Red-Tailed Deer. “Are you sure you want to miss this one?”
Bax narrowed his eyes and a surprising glint of mischief shone in them. “I don’t know. I usually dance the wolf’s part.”
Do you now
? “I can be the deer.”
That set Bax back. “You can’t dance the deer, you’re Alpha. I’ve only ever danced this with other omegas, that’s why I danced the wolf.”
Abel laughed and slung his arm around Bax’s waist. “It’ll shock them all, and they’ll be so off-balance I’ll have no trouble with them for at least a week.”
Bax stared up at him uncertainly.
Abel dipped his head close to Bax’s. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can go. But I think you should know—I absolutely would not mind being hunted by you.” He heard the tiny gasp and turned his head to catch Bax’s expression, hope and pain and fear, of all things. What’s up with that? He thought they’d become easier with each other the past couple of weeks. Abel waited, giving Bax the time he seemed to need to make up his mind.
Bax glanced around to where the other dancers had set themselves up, waiting impatiently for the first notes of the song to soar out into the night air. He looked back up at Abel, his eyes searching Abel’s face for what? Then he nodded slowly and moved into position. Abel noted that Bax was still twitchy over the speculative glances, which meant he probably understood the implications of this dance. This wasn’t a dance for lovers, but it was close. More of a declaring-your-intentions dance. And if Bax remained in the wolf’s part, it essentially declared his intentions toward Abel, which was what Abel had been working toward. Bax had some block in place against admitting he was interested, some fear that drove him in the opposite direction. Let him play the aggressor, and perhaps he’s feel easier about what was between them.
Bax rubbed his hands over his arms, the light from the patio lanterns glinting off the stone in his necklace, so similar to his eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” he said in a small voice.
“We can trade places if you’d rather. Or we can leave.”
Abel's Omega(Gay Paranomal MM Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 2) Page 17
