“I’ll keep up.” And his heart lifted in joy. He wanted the man he saw behind the omega and he thought, maybe, the door had cracked a little wider to let him in.
The music ended and the couples changed, taking their places for the next set. Abel led Bax out onto the grass and waited for the musicians to call the name of the dance. They’d timed it well—it was the Moon in the Clouds, a lovers’ dance.
“You sure?” he whispered in Bax’s ear.
Bax moved into place, his back to Abel’s front, and brought Abel’s hands around to rest on his hips. “Yes.” He nodded. “I’m making my claim.” But under the excitement, Abel still smelled his fear.
I’ll fix that. I promise.
Abel got himself settled, ready for the first notes to play. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bram, of all people, getting into position with the young shifter from Utah, who’d come for six months to get experience working with the brewers before going home to try to start his own business. Where the hell were his parents?
Then the music started, and everything else was dismissed in favor of the man in his arms.
The dance was a spinning, gliding series of circles, together, around each other, dipping and turning and always at least one point of contact between their bodies. Bax danced like a wood spirit, exquisite grace with a hint of ancient wildness. His hands where they touched Abel’s skin left points of heat, like sparks drifting from a bonfire. His eyes never strayed from Abel’s, except where the movement of the dance turned them away from each other. Their bodies twined and parted, brushing past each other in subtle invitation, closer and closer until the song ended with Bax wrapped up once more in Abel’s arms, though this time they faced each other. Abel gazed down at Bax, unwilling to let go even though the rest of the dancers were slowly moving out of the ring or taking their places for the next dance.
With great deliberation, Bax lifted his mouth to Abel’s and kissed him, in full view of the entire pack.
Staking your claim for sure. Abel tightened his arms, enveloping Bax in his grasp, then pulled him even closer when Bax didn’t seem to protest. He was staking his claim as well. Bax was his, if Bax was willing. And he was Bax’s, if Bax would have him.
A wave of applause rippled out from the crowd. Bax jumped back and even in the cool silver of the moon’s light, Abel could see the flush on his cheeks.
He grinned and pulled Bax back up against him. “They’re all jealous. I think you’ve just made my reputation.”
“Like you didn’t have one anyway.” But Bax seemed pleased. He cuddled in under Abel’s arm and let Abel lead him away from the dancing, toward the tables and the remnants of the feast from earlier.
They met Mac and Jason and Duke over by the cider. Jason handed Bax a mug and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Whatever it was, it made Bax smile, but when Abel raised his eyebrows in inquiry, he shook his head and looked like a wolf with a fresh rabbit between his paws.
Mac threw his arm around Abel’s neck and dragged him away. “So, I take it he’s going to put you out of your misery.”
“He’s giving me a chance to prove I’m not an asshole, anyway.” They stopped under a tree, not so far away that Abel couldn’t watch Bax in the center of his own little court.
Mac snorted. “Then no problem. When’s the ceremony?”
“There’s no ceremony yet.” Abel downed half his cider. “He’s agreed to stay until spring and we’ll…I don’t know. Date? I can’t blame him. He’s been treated like a chattel, and all he has is his pups.”
“You like the pups, though, don’t you?”
“I do. I think Fan needs someone other than Bax—Bax says Fan misses his father badly. The others have more of Bax in them, or maybe… I don’t know. I want to help.”
“Louise will be happy to hear you plan to keep him.”
Abel snorted. “Louise was my spy on the ground in the office.” He swirled the cider in his mug and scanned the crowd. “I think he could be good for the pack, and I think the pack could be good for him.”
“Do you ever think of just yourself?”
Abel smiled wryly and downed the rest of his cider. “No since about ten minutes after I became Alpha.”
Mac put a hand on his shoulder and steered him back toward the cider. And Bax. “Well, it’s never too late to start.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Bax was in the center of a group when Abel got back to him. Mostly mates of local alphas, but Bram was there and, of course, Jason. He seemed to be making the introductions and, Abel was glad to see, keeping all the new faces from overwhelming Bax.
Abel wiggled his way through the crowd, waving off the startled, “Oh, sorry, Abel!”s, until he could ensconce himself at Bax’s side. The fear smell was mostly gone now.
“I feel like I should be staying right here, growling at everyone. Except they’re all mated, so I’d just be making an idiot of myself, wouldn’t I?” He desperately wanted to kiss him. Not a huge passionate kiss, but a peck on the cheek in greeting, simply because he could.
Bax took the decision right out of his hand by going up on his tiptoes and pressing his lips lightly to Abel’s cheek. “I like the idea of it, but don’t really do it, okay?”
“I won’t.” Abel put his arm around Bax’s shoulders, delighted by the way Bax’s body just relaxed into his, and made small talk with the people around until Bram said, “Oh, it’s time to go. Mac’s going with the blood ball.” His face lit up and he skipped off, meeting up with one of the other teenagers in a festival of giggling and pseudo-covert planning.
Bax turned his face up to Abel’s. “Blood ball?”
“Just for the teenagers. Someone takes a roast of meat in a bag and runs around in the woods west of town, creating scent trails. The teenagers are divided into teams and have to find the roast before the other team. They mostly spend the night jumping on each other and getting up to mischief. Usually Duke does it, but he’s still in kind of rough shape.”
Bax craned his neck to look around Abel’s shoulder. “I’ve met him. He seems nice enough.”
“Yeah, he is.” Abel checked on Duke as well, but Duke was chatting with Garrick over by the chili pot, having what looked like an animated discussion.
“Jason told me what happened at the car.”
“He’s a good shifter. A good packmate.”
“He told me that you trounced the guys who attacked you.” Bax cast him a flirtatious glance, which was fun, because Bax normally was so serious. Maybe with the risk of being returned to Jackson-Jellystone no longer looming over him, he’d start to relax a little. Abel didn’t mind a bit of flirting.
“I might have bounced them around a little,” he said modestly, then winked at Bax, who laughed. “We should go get ready to run, if you want to.”
“I’d like to.” The longing look on Bax’s face underscored the statement. “Can I take a minute to check on the pups?”
“Of course. Like I’m going to stand between you and your pups.”
Bax’s eyes flew to his, his expression wary, then his smile came back again. “It’ll only take a minute.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Bax, I want to. Why do you think I wouldn’t want to spend time with your pups?” Then it dawned on him. “I’m not Patrick. I’m not going to play favorites, and I know you’re a package deal.” He turned Bax to him and cupped Bax’s face in his hands. “Trust me, okay? If something bothers me, I’ll tell you. But if I don’t complain, that means I’m either not bothered, or I like you enough to put myself out for you.” He ran his thumb over Bax’s lower lip and debated a kiss, but decided the moment was too important. “You’ve promised to give me a chance. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Bax smiled uncertainly, but he softened the blow to Abel’s ego by rubbing his cheek into Abel’s palm. “We better go, then.” His gaze flicked to the people around them, stripping clothes away, some already in wolf f
orm. “Noah will probably be hungry too.”
“We can wait while you feed him.”
Bax leaned in for a hug, then took Abel’s arm. They stood quietly for a moment, until Abel realized that Bax was waiting for him to lead them over to the children’s pens. He started walking across the grass, puzzling over the way other packs socialized their omegas. Or maybe the fault was in him—he’d generally dated alphas or betas, finding the other groups too easy to roll over. Bax wasn’t, though. And maybe that was a characteristic of omegas—they were just as stubborn and opinionated as alphas, but they showed it differently. He tucked that thought away for closer inspection later on, and focused on simply enjoying his stroll with a gorgeous shifter on his arm.
The babies had all moved back inside the daycare. Abel followed casually while Bax checked on Beatrice, one of nearly a dozen toddlers sleeping the sleep of the happily exhausted, laid out in rows at the far end of the room. The floor had been cushioned by layers of quilts and foam mats, and each child wrapped in a light blanket. He watched as Bax delicately smoothed her hair back from her face and smiled adoringly at her. Bax watched her sleep for a minute, then stood and came soft-footed back to Abel, wrapping himself once more around Abel’s arm. “I could sit and watch her for hours.”
“She’s cute,” Abel agreed.
Bax guided him out into the hall, to a room divided almost perfectly in half, with cribs filling one side, and wooden gates crisscrossing the rest of it to divide the floorspace up. They found Noah near the door, crawling clumsily after a tiny toy duck one of the on-duty shifters held out to him.
“I’ll feed him before I run,” Bax said. Noah giggled and held his arms up. “Da, da, da, da, da,” he chanted, and squeaked when Bax picked him up.
“Come on, baby boy. Let’s go fill your tummy and change your bum.” Bax kissed him on the cheek, grabbed a battered denim bag from a shelf by the door, and led Abel to another room.
“This is fantastic,” Abel said. He hadn’t seen it, not since approving the plans for the expansion.
“It’s nice to have a quiet space.” Bax picked a chair in the corner and sat down with Noah on his lap. He undid three buttons of his shirt, then paused, his fingers resting on the fourth. “Um, if you’re not comfortable…” His gaze held only a little anxiety, though. Mostly, he seemed interested in Abel’s feelings.
But about what? Abel stared back at him in puzzlement, then enlightenment dawned. “Oh, no, go ahead. Or would you rather I left?”
Bax shook his head. “No. If you’re courting me, this is part of the territory, right?” His words were conciliatory, but a hint of challenge echoed in his tone.
Testing me, are you? Abel made himself comfortable on the couch beside Bax’s chair and stretched out his legs, crossing them at his ankles, controlling his body language to be completely at ease. “No, feel free.”
Bax cast him an unreadable glance, then he undid the rest of his buttons. He pushed his shirt off to one side, barely in time to keep Noah from getting a mouthful of cotton.
Abel snorted, and Bax looked up at him.
“Just a little goal oriented, isn’t he?” Abel said lightly.
Bax grinned. “They all are when it comes to food.” He looked back down at his pup and stroked his thumb over Noah’s cheek. “I’ll miss this when he’s weaned.”
“You can have it again, if you want.” Go easy here, Alpha.
Bax never moved his eyes away from Noah. “Do you want pups?” He busied himself adjusting the one in his arms.
“I always assumed I’d have some. Whether we have any needs to be a decision we both make. I won’t push you to do something you don’t want to do.” In all ways.
Bax sat back and sent him a level look. Abel shook his head. “It’s a mating. I don’t own you.”
“No?”
“No. I don’t care what tradition says. Maybe it’s time we changed tradition. If you don’t want pups—and I could understand if you didn’t, after having four—then we won’t. You’re not denying me a chance to be a father.”
“Just denying you the chance to father your own.”
“You don’t like people making choices for you. I agree with that, because I’m the same way. So stop trying to tell me I need to get a pup on you. I won’t enjoy it unless you’re looking forward to it too. And what a hell of a legacy to lay on a pup, a ‘just because’ child.”
At those words, Bax looked up at him, his expression startled. “I…hadn’t thought of it like that. It wasn’t what I meant. I love all my babies. I’m certain I’ll love yours.”
Abel swallowed, his heart suddenly up in his throat. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Bax smiled up at him, and then, before Abel knew what was happening, he’d moved over to sit beside Abel on the couch. His arm was warm where it pressed against Abel’s, and he leaned in a little so his head fell on Abel’s shoulder. “There’s a lot of this when you have pups. This, and the next part.”
Abel lifted his arm and draped it around Bax’s shoulders, pulling his future mate close. Noah looked up at him, but never stopped in his industrious sucking, simply watching the two adults with interest. Abel pressed a kiss to the top of Bax’s head, and ran a finger over Noah’s cheek. “I could get used to this.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“I could get used to this.”
My breath caught in my throat, hearing those words. Patrick had never been interested in the pups, not until they were old enough that they could do things he could brag about. This was what I wanted more than anything, someone who would love my pups as much as I did. I pressed my body back against Abel’s in gratitude, and he kissed me again.
I could have stayed there forever.
Noah fussed a bit and came off. “Time to switch sides, hm?” I asked him, while turning him so he could grab onto the other side. I moved my shirt out of the way and that was when I noticed that I’d leaked while he was nursing. “Dammit!” I said, and scowled at the large damp patch on the cotton.
“Does that happen all the time?”
I sighed. “Sometimes. Not always. I’m usually more on top of things.” I regarded it another moment, then gave up. “You distract me,” I said to my maybe-future mate.
“I could get used to that too.” He grinned at me, and I shivered. “Are you cold?” he asked.
“No.” But I wasn’t going to explain, especially after our talk in the woods, that he drew me like the moon. If he’d wanted, he could have had me right then, and I would have done my best to please him, because the moon knew I wanted him. But I also didn’t want to mix my messages to him. I’d asked for time—I’d damn well better take it, and make sure that whatever strange scars Patrick had left on my heart were healed before I offered myself to Abel. “No, just happy.”
He went still, and then his arm closed tightly around me and my pup. “Me too.”
I cuddled into his side as best I could with the baby in my arms. Noah was getting full, the movements of his mouth punctuated by longer and longer pauses, until he finally turned his head away and reached for my face. I let him sit up and started rubbing his back, waiting for a burp.
“I can do that, if you want to do up your shirt.” Abel half-reached for Noah, who reached back, grabbing Abel’s finger with his chubby fingers.
“Are you sure?”
“Part of the package, right?” His gaze caught mine. “I mean it. They’re my pups too, or will be, if you say yes. I want in.”
There were so many things I could have said to him, but I thought, maybe, actions would speak the loudest. Without a word, I handed Noah over to him. “You’ll want a cloth.” I bent to pull one out of my bag and handed it over. “Just in case.”
He took it with a bemused expression and I suppressed a smile. He said he had brothers, and he rubbed Noah’s back like he’d done it before—he’d figure out what the cloth was for. I bent my head to fasten the buttons on my shirt again, wincing a little as the damp spot, now cold, touched
my still heated nipple.
Noah burped, sounding more like the Beast of Gévaudan than a six month old boy. No spit up, thankfully. I took the cloth, and Noah, back from Abel. He seemed slightly disappointed, which was a good sign. “I just need to change him, then we can head out.”
“Sure.”
I spread the cloth out on the floor and laid Noah on it, stripping him out of his diaper as I did so. He giggled, rolled up onto his hands and knees, and started crawling away.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked him, and he giggled some more. Shaking my head, I balled up the used diaper and put it in the plastic bag I used to keep them from smelling up the cloth bag, then pulled out an unused one and my supplies to clean my little runaway up.
Abel touched my arm. “Bax, look!”
I searched for Noah and found him halfway down the room, rocking back and forth on hands and knees and grunting. At first, I thought he was planning to make a mess, and I quickly gathered up the cloth he’d been lying on, but then a tiny patch of hair sprouted between his shoulder blades, and I knew what was happening. “Oh, good boy! Such a big boy! Come on, Noah, you can do it.” I grabbed Abel and dragged him down onto the floor next to my boy. “That’s it. Come on!”
Noah grunted again and stretched, and his muzzle appeared, then shrank back again almost to nothing. He growled in frustration, and the muzzle came back, as well as the beginning of a tail. Then hair over his arms and legs and his limbs became distinctly wolf-like. He fell over and staggered to his feet again, his ears flat back against his head. His dark curls disappeared into the soft deep brownish-gray coat of a puppy, and his tail stuck out straight behind him.
I squeezed Abel’s hand, and he squeezed back, then the two of us watched in fascination as Noah growled and stumbled the rest of the way through his first change. Finally, he shook himself, and staggered toward us. His legs weren’t quite strong enough for his body weight, but that would only be for so long. Now that he had a taste of walking, I’d have a hard time keeping him on two legs until his human form caught up with the wolf.
Abel's Omega(Gay Paranomal MM Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 2) Page 19
