"We'll talk about it at home, then," I choked out, fighting to keep my voice under control.
"They'll be happy, Parker, I promise," Graham said.
God damned right they would.
I left Roll Over and went in search of those who were so high and mighty. They said that they wanted change? They could start with my pups, the innocents who deserved to live free and happy. I stomped outside and looked for the protestors, but the one day I needed them, they weren't anywhere to be found. If they had been, my life would have been so much easier. I couldn't have that.
But their scent laid heavy on the ground, so crushed by their feet over so many days. I licked my lips, shucked my shirt and shifted. I spent the better part of ten minutes going over their scent again and again, cementing it in my mind. The doctor hadn't said if it was safe to shapeshift, but I assumed our ancestors got away with it. We could, too.
One of the protestors had a scent I recognized. It took a lot of gall to report to his friends in broad daylight, but Scott was that kind of wolf. I breathed my comrades until I knew I'd find them every day of my life. Then I sat down with my phone, intent on finding them for the sake of my babies and my mate.
Because I knew, if he put my sons in an omega camp, I'd rip his throat out without regret.
My babies would never spend a day behind cold, steel walls.
11
Graham
"I like the gray better. It breaks up all the greens and yellows a bit, don't you think?"
I mm-hmmed my way through another passionate internet shopping trip. Parker had his head on my lap, flicking through his tablet. It amazed me how fast he'd caught on to current technology. Between his online classes and the baby shopping, he was nearly glued to the thing. I ran a hand over his stomach, finding the slightest swell beneath my fingers. In another few weeks, he'd be showing to even the least observant wolf.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do with him then. It was a nice daily treat to have him visit me at work, bringing me snacks or lunch, sometimes just stopping by to see what I was doing. The doctors said he needed exercise, and it was the perfect excuse. Still, I was haunted by the numerous possibilities. What if he slipped? What if he was pushed? If some alpha savaged him, would he lose the pups or his life? Some alphas went off when they scented a pregnant omega, though no one seemed to understand quite why.
It made all the more sense to keep the omegas behind closed doors.
"What do you think?" Parker asked.
"I like the other gray, the one that looks like a pigeon," I said.
"Dove gray," Parker answered with a good-natured roll of his eyes.
"Pft. Pigeon."
He shoved me, all playfulness, and I smiled.
"You want our boys to share a bed?" Parker clicked without looking at me.
The web-cart said the total was just under ten grand. I didn't care. Our boys would be well taken care of--and who knew. Maybe by the time they went into heat, omegas would have better care in their safe zones. I hated to send them off, but I was already trying to decide between three different camps. Brochures had appeared on my desk the morning following Parker's diagnosis. I supposed omegas-to-be were reported to some government agency because even Jenard wouldn't have stepped so far over a line with me. I'd spent most of that morning trying to decide if I should throw them away or show them to Parker. Instead, I'd kept them in my desk and hoped he wouldn't notice them. It was something we would have to approach, and soon, but I wanted to give him his head when the pups were in their most crucial development stage. Stress wouldn't help him or the twins.
"Do you want a snack?" I asked, tickling his side.
"Food?" came the response.
My mate stared at me like I had the sun in my hands. I kissed his forehead and got up to make him a sandwich, careful to slide a pillow beneath his head when I'd left.
I wasn't the best cook in the world, but I could smack together a simple BLT for my weary, pregnant husband. I managed it, stacked it on a plate, and delivered it to him with a flourishing bow. Parker smiled up at me and, with a little assistance, dragged himself up to a sit. Some little part of my inner beast felt so absolutely fulfilled at bringing my omega his supper. Verily, I had hunted upon the frightful plains of the kitchen and brought this bountiful meal back to him, as any predator should.
I flopped down beside him and picked up the tablet. "It's too bad neither is a girl. We could grab a little pink to offset the gray."
"Pink pigeons?" Parker asked through a mouthful.
"Pink pigeons," I confirmed.
"You're incorrigible," he said.
"Is that one of them big high school words they teach the smartest mutt in school?" I asked.
I flipped through page after page of baby stuff. Who knew you needed a special platform for bottle warming?
"I don't know if I'm the smartest..." said the smallest voice I'd ever heard from Parker.
I looked up at him to see most of his sandwich gone. A crust remained in his hand, the edge tapping his plate. I frowned. Had I said something to upset him, somehow? His grades were incredible, much better than mine had ever been. The teacher had stated time and again he would probably graduate early.
"Ms. Tak loves you. All she says is how brilliant you are," I said.
"I'm sure she says it to everyone else's alpha, too," Parker shrugged. "She wants to keep getting paid, so she keeps on every student she can."
"This isn't like you," I frowned. "You okay?"
"I just don't feel as happy as I did a minute ago," he said. "Maybe it's the vitamins or... something. I'm going to go take a nap, if that's alright?"
I kissed his cheek as he got up and left, unable to force down a touch of worry. The moment he was in the bedroom, I logged in to PACK, the most popular social media channel around these days. Jenard was never offline. If he wasn't my pack alpha, I'd have probably told him off for spending company hours on his phone. He had a huge family at his house and I couldn't entirely blame him for trying to keep a handle on it all day.
I started to send him a message when a window popped up.
Parker had an email. I clicked the window without thinking about it. He knew my passwords, had full access to my phone. Why wouldn't the same be said of his accounts?
I felt like a hot poker had been lodged between my ribs as I read. Between orders for the pups, school communication, and the occasional email from his brother, were dozens of emails from Rise. I'd given him permission to see what they were about, not join their fucking newsletter.
And it was far more than just newsletters. There were transcripts of meetings, coverage of anti-alpha protests in other cities, even invitations to protest at Roll Over. And they were all directed to my omega. Mine. What had he brought to the table other than a pair of costly omega boys?
I reined myself back as that thought crossed my mind. No. That was wrong. This was Parker and he deserved some small amount of freedom in his life, as much as I could give him considering the circumstances. But this was wrong, and he knew it. I ignored Jenard's messaging window, stood up, and headed for the bedroom. It was long past time for Parker to learn that, if I was going to give him respect, he had better show me some, too.
"You comin' to bed, too?" Parker yawned when he saw me.
And all the fight trickled out of me like water from a wet blanket. I was still angry, still felt betrayed. My husband was practically a card-carrying member of a group that hated me, what I stood for, and the company that kept a roof over our heads. It would buy a safe place for our omega children when they had to have it. My work was secure in our world, and Parker was just determined to set everything on its ear.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, offering him the tablet.
My mate pushed himself up on his side and took it, flicking through the open cards. Then his face turned dark when he realized what he was seeing.
"You looked through my email?" His voice was a low, venomous thing.
&n
bsp; "A message popped up. You have access to my phone," I said, defending myself. "What's all this with Rise, Parker? I said you could talk to them, not turn into a cheerleader."
Fur fluffed out of Parker's curled locks, the creamy gold stark against the darkness of his hair. I saw the tips of his ears sharpen into points.
"You're my mate, not my keeper," Parker growled. "I can do what I want."
"Damn it, no you can't!" I snapped. "We've been over this how many times? I don't care if you have an interest in them. They hate my guts, but hey, sure. Hang out with them. Be best friends. But you start joining little clubs like this and--"
"Little clubs?!" he snarled. "Those little clubs are willing to keep our sons out of the hell I was in for so many years. They want real progress, Graham. Real change. Not whatever Roll Over is really about!"
"Really about?" I frowned. "What did they put in your head this time?"
"There's some therapy project, and you know all about it so don't you start with me," Parker said. "It might be Jenard's pet project, but it's got your name all over it, too."
How the fuck had Rise found out about that?
"You're staying here, from now on," I commanded. Parker's fur sprouted in several other spots, mostly along his shoulders. "I mean it. I can't have you seen with them when you're like this."
I got up and left. Behind me, I heard the tablet thunk against the floor and listened to my mate sniffle. I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and took it into the bathroom. There, I dialed Jenard.
"I know it's a weird time to call and-" I started.
"Nah, don't worry about it. It's a work day. You took it off. I'm on the clock. I'm happy to waste your money talking you through a pregnant omega," Jenard said.
"How'd you know?" I asked, leaning against the vanity stand.
"Because they're all a pain their first time around," Jenard said. "It takes them two or three batches of pups to settle down and learn to control those hellish pregnancy hormones. What'd he do, yell about how insignificant you were? That you weren't wolf enough for him?"
I frowned at the phone. I couldn't imagine those words coming out of Parker's mouth, much less anything like them. Maybe Rick had been right to run.
"He's just frustrated that I don't agree with Rise."
"Well, it'd appeal to any young omega. All that freedom after being locked up for so long? They don't see the dangers. They don't see what we protect them from, all the potential to lose their kids or their own necks--even you, if they got into a situation where you had to defend him. They're stupid creatures, Graham. You have to understand that, to start off with," Jenard said.
And that was where I lost track of what he said. My mate was not stupid. I stared at the ceiling fan overhead, listening to the quiet rotations. I couldn't understand what I'd never lost. My eyes slid shut. All Parker wanted was the same chance that I had in life, but he would never have that opportunity. The risk was just too high. So he threw in his support with a group that claimed to want the same thing.
What he didn't realize was the potential political impact from his alliance with the organization. Roll Over was doing incredibly well and any little speed bump in the road could hold doom for a growing company. I licked my lips and sighed. Roll Over wasn't as important as Parker.
But why didn't he see that Rise wasn't as important as me?
"Did you hear me?" Jenard asked.
"Yeah," I answered. "Thanks for picking up. I appreciate it."
"If nothing else in this shitty world, we alphas have to stick together. You're a good alpha, Graham. You're just young. You're still learning, still growing. I've been doing this for almost twice your age. It takes a lot of time, but you'll get there in the next decade or so. Five or six pups under your belt and Parker won't have time to complain about his lot in life. All those hormones will turn into something productive and he'll be the best little mate you can imagine," Jenard said.
I hung up without saying goodbye. Beyond everything else, I hoped Parker would never be what Jenard imagined him as.
12
Parker
How could he act like I was the one in the wrong? I hated the fact that he had given me permission, of all things, to attend Rise--but he had, and now he was acting as if I'd snuck there of my own free will just to screw him over.
I huffed and shoved my snout deeper into my blanket nest. A wolf, my ears flat, I pouted in the darkness of our navy quilt. My mate had scolded me like a pup and worse, he wasn't entirely off. I'd never told him that I had joined the organization, or that I'd been to more than one meeting since the first he'd allowed me to.
It was only sensible that an omega-based group met during the week, usually while most alphas were at work. I couldn't count on both hands how many sessions I'd been to, and every time I'd walked away feeling more frustrated with the state of the world. They wanted things to be better for us--for all of us! They wanted a real future for both alpha and omega. They even wanted betas to be allowed to mate, for all it was pointless. Most betas were infertile.
For so long, I'd equated mating with reproduction. It was what we were taught at Talewah, how we were molded. Rise wanted to see the world find love again and embrace the power of choice. Not just picking your mate out of a hat and hoping the two of you got along for however many years you were lucky enough to get.
I bit my pillow and growled, unsatisfied.
Graham didn't have to agree with me, he just needed to understand that what I was doing wasn't me trying to hurt him.
Yet that's exactly what I'd gone and done.
The door creaked open and I hesitated my gnawing. Heavy footsteps thumped along the floorboards before a hand grasped the fabric over my head. Graham pulled it back to look me in the eye.
"This has to stop. We have to find a middle ground," he said.
I couldn't have agreed more.
Smooth hands reached out and stroked my face, my neck, and down past my ears. I closed my eyes and wagged my tail. It was a ridiculous movement, but I couldn't help it. All I wanted, at my core, was Graham's touch.
"Would you shift back? That way we can talk a bit more easily? I can interpret a tail wagging and grumbling, but it's so much simpler if you just use your words," Graham said.
I yawned up at him and rolled onto my side, offering up the pale fluff beneath my belly. Graham rolled his eyes, sat down beside me, and scratched until I kicked my leg just so. Then I shifted, naked and human in a moment. I took his hand in mine and I listened.
"I know you don't do these things to upset me," Graham started. "You believe in whatever cause they say they have. I don't know Rise enough to tell you that they're out for my blood, our blood, whatever."
I kissed the inside of his wrist and let him continue.
"I'm just worried about what they might try to do if they gained enough of a following. Can you imagine werewolf civil war?"
"It'd be bloody," I said.
"Exactly. And I don't know if that's what Rise wants or not. Maybe they're really just out to give you omegas more freedom and make the world safer," Graham said. "So, I guess what I'm saying is--if you're going to be involved with them, I want you to be more involved with Roll Over, too. I want you to see both worlds."
I'd been to a media event already, but I'd had to duck out from the stress of the cameras only after five minutes. A nervous bubble crept up my throat. Graham wanted me to attend another event. I'd let him bring it up.
"I can do that," I said. "I can try. The pups will be a lot to handle as they grow, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Maybe you should come to a Rise event."
Graham's hand twitched in mine. I'd caught him off guard.
"You may as well take a werepanther to a sheep farm, for all I'd be welcomed," Graham laughed.
"They're pretty open, Graham. They'll let anyone join if they think that they care about the cause. They might not be your biggest fans--"
"I can't imagine they think much of me at all," Graham said.
"Well, not so much. But can you blame them?" I asked.
Graham flopped down beside me and wrapped his arms, snake-like, around my body. I nestled into his chest. I didn't expect an apology, and I wasn't exactly prepared to give one, but it was nice to have my mate come back to me so quickly.
"I don't blame them, but I can't let the more conservative wolves get the wrong idea, either. If I'm going to try to play both sides and listen to what everyone wants, I'm going to lose and so you are. So are the pups," Graham said.
"You keep bringing up the pups when I talk about these things," I sighed. "This affects them, too. They're omegas, Graham. They can't end up the same way I did. I can't cope with that."
"And I understand that-"
"Do you? Do you really understand it?" I snapped.
"Understand is the wrong word, then," Graham said, keeping his voice even. "I comprehend it, but no. I've never been in that position. So I suppose I can't completely understand it."
"Thank you," I breathed.
"Did I do it right this time?" Graham teased.
I smiled and pressed my head against his chest. "Careful, you're digging yourself another pit."
"I know that you and I are from different worlds, these days, Parker. And I think you understand it's a lousy sight from either side," Graham murmured.
"Almost like we're supposed to be together. All of us. All the time," I told him.
"Trust me, I hear you when you say that," Graham said. "Do you think I liked being away from you for so long?"
"Then why start something like Roll Over?" I asked.
And Graham remained silent for so long, I thought he'd gone to sleep. His breathing was steady, quiet, and I almost held my own as I waited for an answer.
"I wanted to bring alphas and omegas together in my own way, I guess," Graham said. "Can we not go down that aisle? I think there's a lot of baggage to unpack in that direction, and I don't know if I'm ready for that."
Furbitten Falls Alpha's: A Wolf Shifter Mpreg Romance Bundle Page 43
