Unexpected Alpha (Gay M-Preg)

by Chris McHart

  “I don’t know. I can’t imagine him wanting anything more serious, though. He was always very vocal about that, and he never wanted to mate anyone to spend his life with him.” D put an arm around his partner and pulled him close.

  Ash’s past had shaken them all and made it even clearer to them how unfair the mating laws had been. Now they were no longer valid, and the mates were free. Not all circles had put the laws into effect, but most had.

  “What I noticed is that he just works a lot. Luis wants to pick up his studies again, and Gerome is busier in the circle than ever. I think he’s supposed to take over now. That’s what Josh believed the last time we talked. He was pretty stressed out and didn’t have much free time. Besides, you’ve been on the road a lot lately, so maybe that’s why.”

  “That’s possible.” Anthony drank from his beer. “It’s not like we talk for hours when we’re seeing each other.”

  “Spare us the details if possible.” That was D.

  “That’s all you’ll know, brother. I just meant that we talk less about his or my work and all that.”

  “Yeah, but like I said, I don’t think it’s because he wants something more solid.”

  Somehow Anthony was relieved when he heard those words.

  “That’s good to know. I think he’ll call again if he wants to spend another evening with me.” He deliberately threw a dirty grin in D’s direction, who made a face. “The more detailed report will follow.”

  D laughed and threw a pillow in his direction. “Don’t you dare. This is my partner’s best friend you’re talking about, and you’re my brother. I don’t want to know from either of you what you’re doing with whom.”

  “But it’d be so nice if at some point you two could get together. That’d be the perfect combination.”

  Anthony flinched when he heard Ash’s words. What did he just say?

  “Excuse me?”

  “Think about it. Josh and I are still best friends, and you and D are also very close. It’d be perfect if you and Josh would become a couple. It couldn’t be better. No matter which partner you or Josh ever will have, he’d be an outsider in our group. If you two were together, that wouldn’t be the case.”

  Anthony shook his head. “I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen. If there’s anything I can do to stop it, I won’t have a partner. I have no intention of ever mating anyone, let alone having a relationship with anyone.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”

  “It’s nothing I talk about much. I just don’t plan on it.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean–“

  “It’s okay, Ash.” He cast a glance at his friend to tell him it was all right. Suddenly, a hearty yawn caught up with him. The last few weeks hadn’t been easy. “I think I’ll leave. I’m tired.”

  “I’ll see you around. And maybe you’ll actually be happy to become an uncle again.”

  Anthony got up, followed by D. Before his brother could say anything, Anthony pulled him into a hug. “I’m really happy for you, even though I reacted so badly earlier. It was just the last thing I expected. But I’m really happy, and I hope everything goes just as well as last time.”

  D returned the embrace and said quietly, “Thank you. I’m really happy it worked so quickly. I’m looking forward to having more kids. If someone had told me that a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it either, but now I couldn’t imagine anything else.”

  “I know, and I’m sure you’ll manage with four kids, too.”

  D stepped out of the embrace and looked at his brother. “I think so too. And if we don’t, you’ll have to babysit.”

  “I’ll have to think about that.”

  D laughed. “Your face when I suggest it is always the best. But don’t worry. Josh will be happy to do it.”

  “Your luck. I think I’d be hopelessly overwhelmed with these two.”

  “I feel that way every day, but somehow it always works out. It has to.”

  “But you still wanted two more. I really don’t understand that.”

  D laughed as he tried to hit Anthony’s arm. “Don’t be jealous, brother.”

  “Definitely not. But I’m really happy for you.”

  Anthony made his way to the front door.

  “Thanks, man.”

  He opened the door and stepped outside into the dark hallway. He turned on the light, quickly pulled his brother into a hug again, then he went down the stairs. D was apparently watching him, since it took a few seconds until the apartment door closed.

  Anthony shook his head. Twins again. D must be crazy if he wanted to have two more children, but well, this was a decision those two needed to make. Anthony wouldn’t comment.

  And secretly, maybe he was even a little jealous that his brother had something he’d never have. Even if he’d never admit it.

  Anthony’s phone rang as he was just stepping out of the shower after his run. The water was still dripping from his upper body, but when he saw Gerome’s name flashing on the phone, he swiped over the display to take the call.

  “What’s up?”

  “It’s me, Gerome. Can you meet me?”

  “How urgent is it?” Anthony looked down, asking himself how fast he could make it to the palace. Gerome didn’t sound like something bad had happened, but normally he didn’t call Anthony just to chat.

  “I need to ask you something, that’s all. But I’d like to discuss that with you in private.”

  “I can be with you in half an hour, if that’s okay.” Anthony tried to dry himself off while holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.

  “Half an hour is perfect. Just come in. I’ll let the gate know to expect you.”

  “All right, I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Gerome hung up and Anthony finished drying off. What would get Gerome to call him to the castle? Usually, they arranged through text messages if they wanted to spend an evening together, or Luis talked to D to arrange something. Being called by Gerome was unusual, since he usually was too busy for that.

  But Anthony would find out once he was dressed. Then he’d know what the prince wanted from him.

  As Gerome had said, he was waved through when he approached the gate, and Anthony rang the bell at the apartment 25 minutes after Gerome had called.

  It was strange that Gerome was even at home, but maybe he’d worked from here. By now, he had his computer in an extra office, where Josh also worked, because children’s noise and work didn’t get along so well.

  The door opened and Gerome stood in front of him. It didn’t look like he was working, though, because he was wearing a loose sweater and jeans and had his son on his arm. “Come on in, we’re waiting.”

  Anthony nodded and entered. He waved at Lucas then took off his shoes before following Gerome into the apartment. Luis sat on one of the large sofas, but he stood up to greet Anthony.

  He walked up to Anthony and pulled him a short hug. “Hi. Long time no see.”

  Gerome sat Lucas on the floor, where he immediately began to stack building blocks until they toppled over again. Finally, Gerome turned to Anthony and pulled him into half a hug.

  “I’m glad you could come so quickly. We need to talk to you.”

  “We?”

  Luis nodded. “Yes, we. Let’s sit down, shall we?”

  They took a seat on the sofa, but before Anthony could say a word, Gerome interrupted him. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “No, thanks. Just sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

  “This is Luis’s business. I was only allowed to play the messenger and summon you.”

  Luis grinned at his husband, but it was more like a grimace. “Oh, stop it. I thought we’d gotten over that by now.”

  “No, that’s your business. I’m not getting involved.”

  Luis stuck out his tongue in Gerome’s direction, then he turned to Anthony.

  If you didn’t know Gerome was a prince, you wouldn’t believe it. Well,
nobody else saw him the way he was with this mate, and nobody would talk to the prince like Luis was allowed to – and did.

  “It’s about someone here,” he gave his husband a hard look, “saying I need another bodyguard.”

  Gerome shrugged. “If you care to explain how you’re gonna do it after D–“

  “I know, I know. Still, I think we could’ve figured it out somehow, but please. It’s not personal, by the way, Anthony. It’s just that we don’t agree on this issue.”

  Gerome laid his hand on Luis’s and threw him a worried look. “You know exactly why we’re having this discussion. Please don’t make this any harder for everyone involved.”

  Luis hung his shoulders as he gave in. “Yeah, I’m sorry. You’re right, and I just have to live with it.” He paused and looked at Anthony. “In any case, I wanted to ask you if you’d like to work as my bodyguard. D will probably drop out pretty soon, and I can’t think of anyone else who could take this job. It’s working well with D, and I think we might get along pretty well too. I was thinking about asking Jeremy or Lindsay, but I’m closer to you. With D, I feel more like I’m just going for a walk with a friend, not someone to protect me. And–“

  “Let him answer first, Luis. Anthony hasn’t agreed to work for you yet.”

  Luis looked at him and then he smiled, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I’m just… I don’t like it at all, but it’s something I have to deal with, as my mate has so nicely put it.”

  “No problem, Luis. I understand you don’t like it. I think that’s how any of us would feel.” Anthony gave Luis an encouraging look. “As for your offer… I’m very honored. But I’ve been travelling with my team for years and I don’t know if I can stay in one place for long. It’s nice to be home for two weeks every now and then, but then I’m drawn back on the road.”

  Luis’s face told him it was certainly not the answer he’d hoped for.

  “But I’d like to give it a try, see if it works out. I’ve been thinking about retiring, but I don’t know if I can do it. If things go wrong, I could still go back to my old work. So we could at least try as long as D is taking time off. I think he wants to go back to work after giving birth. We can always figure out how to go on then. Would that be okay?”

  Luis nodded. “That sounds pretty good, if I’m honest. I really wasn’t sure you’d accept.”

  Anthony shook his head and grinned. “Me neither. But I think it might work, and if it doesn’t, you can still find a replacement. And when I quit, Jeremy and Lindsay need new jobs, too.”

  Gerome interrupted. “I think we have enough work at the palace, if they’re looking for work. I wanted to change a few things anyway.” He sighed deeply. “And it’s not like I don’t need one or two bodyguards, too.”

  Anthony frowned. “Why’s that?”

  “Because my father’s resigning.” Gerome said it like he’d just stepped into a pile of dog dirt.

  “So congratulations are in order?”

  “Don’t even think about it. But I haven’t found a way out, so I guess I’ll have to do it.” Gerome sounded like he had to attend his own funeral, not his coronation.

  But it was common knowledge that he didn’t want to take the throne and that he’d tried everything to escape it. Gerome had four siblings, but none of them had agreed to take over this duty. They enjoyed their lives as ordinary citizens. Gerome was the only one who hadn’t escaped because he needed to follow in his father’s footsteps.

  At least Luis supported him. From what Anthony had heard, it hadn’t been like that in the beginning, but by now the two had sorted out their problems, they’d gotten married, and they had a son together.

  It’d been a long, hard road – at least that was how it’d sounded when D told him about it. But now things seemed to be going well between the two of them.

  Strictly speaking, they had Luis and Gerome to thank for the fact that the mating laws had been changed. Gerome had needed to experience for himself how bad it was for all involved if they were forced into a mating. He’d been mated to Luis, then fallen in love with him and realized how much his partner had suffered before. He’d made sure to change the laws so Luis could leave him if he wanted to. Then, after he stayed willingly, Gerome had asked Luis to marry him.

  And now Gerome would become king. Luis was the king’s mate. He certainly didn’t appear like he was looking forward to it, but he’d stand by his husband and go through this with him.

  “Then no congratulations, but I’d still like to take the bodyguard job. I think we might be able to work together very well. We’ll see how it works if I stay here all this time. And I’m going to talk to the other two, to see if they also would like to stay here. Thank you very much for this offer.”

  “How long have you been my friend?” Gerome frowned as he looked at him.

  “I don’t know.” Anthony tried to remember when he and Gerome had gotten to know each other better, but he didn’t have any idea. “It’s been a few years.”

  “Then why are you thanking me for the offer?”

  Anthony glared at him, but he made sure Gerome could see the smirk on his expression. “You know, I don’t really want this fucking job, but now that you’re going to be the big boss, I didn’t think I could tell you no. I’ve simply chosen the more polite way, and then I’ll make life hell for you.” Anthony spoke as hard as he could, even though he didn’t mean the words.

  Gerome looked at him like he didn’t know how to react, whether Anthony was really just joking. Luis seemed to wait for his husband to kill Anthony.

  “Well, then I’ll tell you now that I intend to make your life hell too. Nights of boozing, hours of shopping with Luis–“ Gerome avoided the elbow to his ribs from his husband, “and babysitting will definitely be part of your job.”

  “Damn it. Maybe I should’ve told you how much I love the job then.” Anthony saw the sparkle in Gerome’s eyes. They understood each other. “No, seriously, no matter how long we’d been friends, I’m glad you’re offering me this job and I’d love to work for you. That was all I wanted to say.”

  “So do I. And just for the record, D usually goes shopping with Luis when he’s planning to. Or I go myself, so D doesn’t have to suffer so much.”

  Louis was just trying to hit his husband again when Gerome grabbed him and pulled him close. He pressed a quick kiss on his husband’s lips and whispered something into his ear. An interesting red color spread across Luis’s face, all the way up to his hairline.

  Whatever they did while shopping, it probably wasn’t what Anthony expected.

  Luis nodded and reddened even more. Gerome grinned. He pressed another kiss on Luis’s lips, and Luis hid his head on his husband’s shoulder.

  Yes, those were things he didn’t want to imagine, no matter how good his friendship with Gerome was.

  “So you’re taking the job? You’ll have to talk about salary for the duties as Luis’s bodyguard with him, but the rest will come from me.”

  Anthony frowned. What was that about?

  “It’s okay. You can do it. I don’t think it’s that important now.” Luis leaned against his husband’s shoulder, smiling at him. Then he turned to Anthony. “When we hired D, we had an argument about who’d pay him, but now, it doesn’t matter.”

  Anthony still didn’t get it, but as long as the money showed up in his account, he didn’t really care who paid it.

  Gerome nodded, then looked to his husband. “If you’re sure, it’s no problem.”

  “We have a shared account. It doesn’t matter who exactly transfers the money. And by the way, I’m pretty sure the bills are being paid by Josh when he’s in the office. I think you gave him that job, didn’t you? I’m not doing it anymore, so I kind of hope so.”

  Gerome nodded. “Yes, he’s taken over. Sometimes I wouldn’t know what to do without him.”

  “Yes, he’s absolutely irreplaceable. I’m just glad he likes the work.” He looked at Anthony. “Are you guys still together?” />
  “We were never together.” Why did everyone want to know what his relationship with Josh was like? Or rather, his non-existent relationship, as it had never been one.

  “Oh, okay. I thought you were an item, but I never really talked to Josh about it. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Luis looked like he wished he hadn’t asked.

  “No problem at all. You couldn’t know, and I don’t mind talking about it. Funny thing is that D and Ash asked the same question when I was there the other day. But it’s about time I call him again, at least to ask him how he’s doing.”

  He really hadn’t met up with Josh for quite some time, and maybe it was time to spend another evening with him. Even if they wanted nothing else from each other, Anthony enjoyed the evenings, simply because Josh was nice company. He was relaxed, casual and content to spend an evening on the couch, eating pizza.

  “All right, but now let’s get back to work. When can you start, and what’s your normal hourly rate?”

  While Anthony was working out the details with Luis and Gerome, he kept thinking about Josh. Once he was done here, he’d text Josh to see if they could meet.

  He wriggled a little back and forth as his cock got harder. It knew exactly why they’d meet. Anthony hadn’t had another man since they’d met. Since… Yes, since they’d met at Alex and Sam’s wedding. That was quite some time ago, but somehow he hadn’t met anyone he got along with better than Josh. Not just in bed, but outside.

  He talked quite a bit longer with Luis and Gerome, even after they’d laid down the details of his new work.

  It was late when he finally left the palace. It felt good to know that he didn’t have to travel any more. If he found a couple jobs for Lindsay and Jeremy, he’d be happy. He didn’t want his two colleagues, who’d saved his ass more than once, to be on the street because he took on a new job.

  They probably wouldn’t mind staying here, either. If they wanted to continue working as trackers, there were certainly enough other teams who’d take them. With Anthony’s good recommendation, it shouldn’t be a problem at all, but he suspected they’d stay.