by Emma Knox
A quiet life. An office job. Regular hunting trips when the heat did strike to spare me from temptation. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted with no strings attached.
I wanted a family. Eventually. I hoped there was an Alpha out there who wouldn't be like my own Alpha father. I wanted to meet him. Bond with him. Have children intentionally with him.
"Pregnant, huh?" He took a breath of his own. "I'm taking it you don't have a committed Alpha in your life?"
Geez, how’d he guess? Rhett? He was the only man I ever let near me during the throes of my heat. If I was pregnant, he was undoubtedly the responsible Alpha. "I know who the Alpha is, just... um...." I trailed off and thanked my lucky stars that I was having this difficult and embarrassing conversation with my father over the phone and not in person.
"I understand, Beau. I'm not judging you. A charming Alpha can be hard to defend against. Some of them have silver tongues, know the exact right words to say, use your emotions against you."
"I don't know if that's the case here, Dad,” I chuckled.
"Hmm?" My father’s tone reflected confusion.
"I felt like I really had a connection with this guy. Like, it was magical." I didn’t know if he’d understand or if he’d ever felt that kind of chemistry with an Alpha before, himself.
"That's how it feels sometimes, son." His response was full of empathy.
"Like, it was more than that." I didn’t know how to explain it. It was fireworks, rainbows, bliss, erotica rolled all into one when I was with Rhett.
"Please don't let your heart be broken too badly. Life has second chances if you allow yourself to find them." My father’s doubt and cynicism was back.
I sighed. He had given up. He didn't want me to, even if I was pregnant and soon would have a child of my own. "I don't think this is simply history repeating itself."
He paused a moment. I know he was thinking. He always had the right words to say at the right time in the past. "Do you really think this is different, Beau?" His tone reflected vast amounts of doubt.
"I think it might be. Are you that convinced it's the same thing that happened to you?"
"Son, I'm a jaded man. I've been taken advantage of and have had my heart shattered multiple times. I still struggle to trust Alphas even on the simplest of things. I don't know if I can offer unbiased wisdom for you in this case." I knew he was merely trying to instill his own wisdom from heart break so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes, but I needed him to just be a father for now, without all the extra advice.
"I just need your support, Dad. You're the person I can rely on the most." I thought if I was honest and gave him a showering of compliments, he’d understand where I was coming from.
"And it'll be there. I'll back you up no matter what. If you're a single dad just like I was, your son is going to have the benefit of a granddad who will conquer the world for him if he needs to." At last, there was the pep talk I was hoping for.
I smiled at that. "You're the best at reassuring me that the world isn't going to end, you know."
"It's what I'm here for, son. But this Alpha..." He paused again, and I felt another lecture was on the horizon. "Do you believe there's a chance that this is a real thing? That this one time indulgence wasn't just him using you for sex?"
My memory flashed to Rhett, and how wonderful he made me feel. That all couldn't just be faked so easily. I mean, of all the places to look to pick up hot Omegas, in the middle of the Alaskan tundra was likely at the bottom of the list. "My heart says yes." I only hoped that fate agreed with me on that front.
"Then follow your heart. If there's a chance, you don't miss it. You take it. Otherwise you're going to be as jaded as I am, son. Wondering what would happen if you did something different. Go, son. If you can find him, find him." My father gave me a boost of courage, the ammunition I needed to press on with my dreams. I was carrying an Alpha’s child, I’d already been daring once before so I could do it again.
We did exchange information. He was in the area, visiting his Alpha father for his sixtieth birthday. He had given me an address even, saying that's where he had been in the coming month. I just thought it rude to show up unannounced, and yet none of my phone calls had been answered, and he wasn't exactly calling me either.
This was different. The desire for children wasn't always just for Omegas. An Alpha could feel it too.
If Rhett wanted to be involved in his potential son's life, he had a right to. In fact, that was the best possible scenario and I would love it if we could be a family. For now though, it remained a dream rather than reality.
If he didn't, and he turned me away... I would have to accept that I had failed in my pledge to not follow in my father's path. I would have to press on for the baby inside of me.
Yet I had to try. That kindled fire ignited in my spirit hadn’t died yet. The flame was still alive, and burning bright.
"Dad, you've done it again. You really have." I just had to step back and take a moment to thank my lucky stars for giving me a father like him.
"I'm just a shoulder for you to cry onto. You need to take care of yourself, Beau. Especially if you are pregnant. I want the best for you, and in turn the best for my little grandson. You better come and visit me soon." It wasn’t a demand, so much as a request.
"I will, just after..."
"Yes, after you see if you're yearning for your Alpha is true. I understand. I'll be waiting and prepared to make your favorite — spicy sausage spaghetti."
My mouth watered at just the thought of that dish.
I blushed at the words. In this regard, it was really just the thoughtfulness of my father's gesture, and that alone. He knew how to humble me and make me feel grateful for everything I had.
Then in the next instant, I immediately felt wretched and my early stages of pregnancy were undoubtedly to blame. Because any thought of food at the moment was bringing up a desire to open the toilet back up and vomit some more. "I'll be in touch, Dad. You take care of yourself too." I quickly needed to either change the subject, or hang up. Potentially both.
"Don't worry about this old man. I can handle myself just fine. I love you, Beau."
"I love you too, Dad."
The phone call ended, and I smiled. He always did. My father was simultaneously the toughest Omega I'd ever seen and the sweetest and kindest one at the same time.
He would do him proud no matter what he did, and so I had to act for me and me alone.
I needed to find Rhett. For better or for worse. My father helped me cling to the hope that everything would work out in the end and I would have my Alpha and the proper foundation of a family.
Taking my phone into my hand again, I started typing out a message to Tom. I still had plenty of sick time to use, and if there was ever a time to use it, this was it.
Chapter 7
Rhett
Damn, Billy was a master class baker.
This was only the preparation and it smelled good.
Damn good.
My mouth was watering something fierce.
When he started on Alpha Frost's cake proper, I thought I was going to have a scentgasm. If such a thing were possible, anyway.
I hovered outside the kitchen, watching him work, enjoying the chatter of my pack around me because it made the aura of the place shimmer with cozy nostalgia for me.
"Uncle Rhett," a pup asked, tugging on my pant leg while gazing up at me with huge, inquisitive eyes.
"What's happening, Rex?" I leaned down to him so that we would be eye level. Since I'd come back from my indulgent times with Beau, I'd gotten to talk to and know my family more. I stayed friendly, cordial, learned a lot about my nephews. It was the right thing to do, and I knew in the end I’d be happier for the ties I’d made along with the memories.
Asking them questions first stopped them from asking me questions about Beau and his incredible lack of ability to shift into anything.
"Has Alpha Frost really had sixtiesteen birthdays?"
&n
bsp; "Sixty, little one. It's a fairly big number. It's.... like.... ten times more than your age."
"Tenteen?"
"Not everything is a teen, Rex." I laughed at his adorable nature. The pup wasn't old enough for schooling yet. It was a good sign that he had any concept of numbers at all and was apparently eager to learn.
"It isn't?"
I stood, and ruffled his hair, nudging him to go play with his other cousins. He obliged my wish and skipped off with jubilant glee and a bounce in his step.
There was a knock on the door. I glanced around the house, but everyone appeared to be zoned out in their own little worlds and busy doing other things. Seeing Billy was busy with cooking, Zachary and Daniel were doing pup things, and Alpha Frost was snoozing away, I supposed it was on me to play greeter.
I opened it up, and grinned. "Samson. You made it. And you brought Wendell." I eyed my Omega brother's mate up and down. As an Alpha, I took it as a duty to defend my Omega brothers even after they had been mated. The threat of a pack of angry Alphas usually kept many a wild Alpha in line when it came to their Omega.
It wasn't as if we assumed that the Alpha would take advantage of our kin.
It was a just in case. You know. An understanding. We wanted everybody to play by the rules, but it didn’t necessarily always end up that way.
Wendell grunted at me in obligatory greeting, no matter how unfriendly it was. Then, he guided him and his Omega in. He completely knew that was the point of our front. It was basically just tradition at this point.
"It's nice to see you again, Rhett," Samson said with a smile. "Surprised you made it."
"Wouldn't miss it." I shrugged and chimed with lighthearted laughter. I was used to taking the bait and being the joke by now. I guess it came with the territory of hauling ass across the country.
"Um... I don't think Wendell picked this up. He's not used to the area."
Wendell grunted in confusion. "I didn't smell anything."
"Your nose isn't used to the cold, Wen." Samson approached me. "I smelled someone unfamiliar in the area. They were driving this way, but I think they got lost."
"Hmm?"
"What purpose does anyone have up here, Rhett? Our home is the only thing of interest for miles around."
I nodded. Usually a Zimma or Akia wouldn't be so incredibly bold as to come near our home. It might not be boldness as much as stupidity though, and it had happened before. It just came with the territory, we could never be too careful to exercise diligent attentiveness.
"Right. I'll go check it out. I'm on random job duty today it seems."
"Thank you, Rhett. I don't want anything happening that would ruin Alpha Frost's big party." He smiled with genuine delight.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll secure the perimeter." I gave him a swift pat on the back as I walked out the front door into the wide open spaces of Alaskan wilderness.
I popped out the door and immediately shifted. This sort of patrol duty wasn't unusual to me. I'd done it often as a teenager, and I remembered the rounds good enough. I had a sharp enough nose that I could pinpoint if it was an Akia or a Zimma trespassing on our territory from miles away. Besides, it’s what I lived for. There was something about being open and free out in the wild, on the hunt for something. I don’t know what it was. Maybe it filled me with electric energy and gave me a jolt of adrenaline I craved, but never got back in Tampa.
Following the trail Samson was worried about though, it was neither of them.
To boot, why would a member of either pack use a car? It was loud, noisy, and not very discreet. It was honestly a terrible tool in the world of lupine espionage.
My gut hinted that it may not be an invader or any sort of shifter variety.
Could it be...? No…it couldn’t, impossible. He’d never venture way out here.
I hadn't called him. It'd been a week, yes. I was wrought with guilt, though. I didn't want to appear to be that sort of Alpha, and I adored Beau dearly, even though I was avoiding his calls.
Just that the judgment of Alpha Frost and the rest of the pack still weighed heavily on my mind. I didn’t want to deal with the bullshit or the antagonism. Maybe if I cut myself off from him, I would stop thinking about him. I would realize I had the oddest lapse of judgment and fate hadn't decided that a non-shifter was the mate it wanted for me. It was a weak theory I knew, but I had to try anything I could to push him out of my mind.
Then I could move on. Hope fate would turn around and deliver me a mate that wasn't Beau. A mate who had the ability to shift and who I would be prideful in presenting to my judgmental and narcissistic family members.
God, I wished for that— kinda. More of my mind was locked on Beau and just how perfect he was. The man was simply gorgeous. His body, the way he moaned for me, well, it made my ears prickle and made giant cock tingle and wake up in my pants. The way he made me feel, and everything else was something unmatched, something I’d never recognized in any other potential mate.
If he wasn't it, then fate was fucking with me and it was a damn cruel joke indeed.
I finally caught whiff of the scent, masked by metal, gasoline, and something else.
There was something different about it that I didn't quite understand, and I couldn't entirely put my finger on it. It did smell familiar, I just couldn't name it.
I darted toward it, galloping over the snow and rushing myself. My mate was near and after a week without, I had to see him again. The same internal cravings that I’d had in his presence before came leaping back with every jump I took trying to find his scent.
Regardless of the fact that I wished that he wasn't my mate, but that’s the way life worked sometimes. Maybe I wasn’t destined to choose this one for myself.
I came across that familiar car, the one that was parked outside his cabin. It was stopped, but snow hadn't covered it, so it hadn't been there for long, I’d guessed a few hours at the maximum.
Peering inside the window, I saw him, his face buried in a map. My heart pounded with longing and I licked my lips in sexy, desirable hunger.
I approached carefully, wondering just what the hell he was doing out here in the middle of nowhere.
Again. Didn’t he claim to have a job back home in Anchorage to get to?
This time he didn't have a gun so he couldn't have been hunting.
"Make a turn on Sheepshead road? There is no Sheepshead road. At least one that I saw. GPS is busted. Map is busted. Fuck."
Sheepshead road did exist. It was just unmarked and had a tendency to have itself completely covered by snow for much of the year.
I decided to be playful with my revelation.
As a wolf, I stared at him for a time through the window, just studying the way he moved and his mannerisms. It wasn't long before he caught sight of me and freaked out proper.
He started the car's engine, then stopped himself. He rolled down the window and called out to me. "You're an asshole." I could tell he was skittish, still shaking with the wild scare I just gave him.
Becoming more humanoid, I shrugged, opened the door and got in next to him. "What? I told you I like playing with my prey." I shot him a seductively saucy gaze.
"You gave me a fake address. You're an asshole for that too," he huffed and rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair as if he considered himself to be the biggest idiot on the planet.
"It's not my fault they don't clear the roads out here in the boonies." I pretended to take offense.
He sighed. "It's good to see you again."
I knew he would be the first to relent to that admittance. I looked his way, and I could immediately tell that he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I reached across the seat and threw my arm around his shoulders. "Something's amiss. What's happening?" I gave him a knowing look as if I were both playing a psychic and his shrink.
Beau was silent at first, hesitant to reveal whatever was going on in that pretty little head of his. Something was bothering him and it wasn't trivial i
n the least. I wanted to get to the bottom of it so I could make sure and fix whatever was plaguing him. I hated to admit that seeing him so melancholy reflected on me a bit.
"Spill it. Something's bothering you." As per the usual, I wasn’t willing to relent until I got my way.
"Can we go somewhere warmer to discuss it? It's a pretty big deal."
I thought about suggesting Alpha Frost's place, but with what Beau was, or more accurately what he wasn't, I didn't want to risk showing him to my family yet. Their noses would immediately notice something was askew and it had nothing to do with whatever was bothering Beau at that moment. "Can you rent that cabin again?"
Beau nodded. "Do you want to go back to my hunting cabin?"
"That place has good memories. We should go back and recreate them." I gave him a sexy wink that was full of imaginative innuendos.
Beau smirked. "You just like to cut to the chase, don't you?"
"Well I'm guessing whatever you tell me is heavy, so it's probably a good idea to balance it with some good memories, and then we can create some new ones too." I hoped I sold him on the idea because all I could do was picture him naked, ass in the air, ripe and ready for the taking.
He kicked the car into the proper gear and got it rolling down the road, taking us through it all.
Beau was quiet all through the car trip. I wanted to poke at him, find out what was really wrong, but he needed time and I had to respect that. I allowed the silence to hang between us, because we didn’t need to fill it with mindless chatter. We walked up to the door, and he opened it up for us. As soon as the door was closed behind us, tears start streaming down his face, and his arms were wrapped around me.
"Okay. We're somewhere that's not a car in the middle of nowhere. Tell me. What's bothering you?" I whispered into his ear, trying to sooth him, but I wasn’t the best at pacifying Omegas.
He was still silent.
"What is it?"
The scent he was exuding was something I didn't even need to sniff to realize. I started to piece its origin together bit by bit, realizing why it was so familiar.
