Once he finished his perusal, Cade tried to comfort his mate. “Bought you something to eat,” Cade told him as he picked up the Styrofoam box, he’d placed on the table earlier. “I found your menus and the one from this place seemed to have the most wear, so I thought it might be your favorite.”
Cade bringing him lunch from his favorite restaurant made him feel a little warm and fuzzy, but he tamped it down because he didn’t want the emotions to go over their bond and give Cade the wrong idea.
“Promise me you’ll eat,” Cade husked.
Brogan nodded his agreement because he was too emotional to speak.
“Okay, I trust your instinct, but Christian you’re leaving with me,” Cade announced loudly.
“I want to eat with my Omega, make sure she’s okay.”
“Christian she waited until this afternoon to let you know about something that happened this morning so I’m sure she’s alright,” Benji nixed the idea. “You are not going to stay here and cause trouble in my department. If you want to eat with Paige, then take her to your office.”
“I’m fine,” Paige told her mate while glaring at Brogan.
Once the Alphas were gone the others were quiet at first but soon, they were in the break room laughing and talking among themselves, but not once did they look at Brogan or invite him to join them. But then he really didn’t expect them to. Most of them he didn’t really know and the ones he did he’d pissed off enough that they wouldn’t want to eat with him.
Even though his co-workers wouldn’t eat with him he gave a little smile though because they now knew that despite his diminutive stature, Brogan’s Alpha was not to be fucked with and that made lunch even better.
Even though he would never admit, listening to the others joke and laugh in an attempt to lift Paige’s spirits made Brogan realize how alone he was. Before the change he had friends whose office he could just walk down the hall and visit Tate during lunch or just during the work day, but now he had no one. He’s sure that if he walked into Tate’s office to shoot the shit, he would be rushed out
Going by the reactions of the people he called friends he really had no friends before, merely acquaintances and co-workers. If they had been the friends, he thought them to be, then Tate would have told him about Jaime. Judging by the photos on Jaime’s desk, all his friends had known about Jaime and had met him at get togethers that he and Lara had not been invited too.
Had he been that bad of a person?
Yes, he had.
He and Lara had had several cookouts and gatherings in their home without inviting his lifelong friends because they were all mated to or dating Omegas. Lara had often joked that she needed to have at least one Alpha, Omega couple on the guest list so that she wouldn’t have to clean up afterwards.
Suddenly the phone in his pocket reminded him that he didn’t have to be alone, sitting at his desk he opened his box and began to eat his lasagna Cade had so thoughtfully ordered for him while he called Lara.
After the insults she hurled when they last met, Brogan wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to him, but he would try because they’d been together for years and he had loved her. As he pressed her name from his contact list, he ignored the fact that he didn’t feel that way about her anymore but if he didn’t admit his growing feelings towards his true mate then that mean they weren’t real.
After a few rings he was sure she wasn’t going to answer, but he let out the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding until he heard her say, “hello.”
“Hi, Lara,” He responded trying to tamp down the giddiness he felt because she answered.
There was a slight hesitation before she asked, “Why are you calling me, Brogan?”
“I-I’m not sure,” he stuttered. “Okay, maybe I just wanted to hear a friendly voice.”
“You’re not sure huh? I’m not sure that my voice will be the friendliest right now,” she told him truthfully with a hint of bitterness in her voice. “I was looking forward to forever with you. Marriage, kids and the whole nine yards but you let yourself get turned into an Omega.”
He listened to her speak, hurt was the predominant emotion in her voice, not anger. She probably had gotten over that, but her nerves were still raw. He knew that she understood true mates, in fact they had often discussed this scenario and what would they do if this happened. In their scenarios they had planned for everything except for Brogan being turned into an Omega and now they were both thrown for a loop.
As she continued to talk, he realized that not only was she was crying, Lara was also telling him goodbye.
“I loved you so much,” she sniffed “but I know that even if you hadn’t been turned, that you still would have been lost to me, but it still hurts.”
“I’m so fucking sorry, Lara,” he whispered.
“Me too Brogan, me too,” she sighed, “so why are you calling me?”
“I just needed a friend,” he answered causing her to sob loudly.
Lara was silent for a moment before she responded, “I can’t do that right now, I can’t be your friend. The wound is too fresh.”
He thought that she was trying to compose herself before speaking again but when he heard the dial tone, he realized that she’d hung up.
It was stupid of him to think that she would want to be his friend when three weeks ago they had begun discussing marriage and kids, and he ruined it all with a visit to a bar. He was wondering if she would ever speak to him again when his phone ringing startled him.
“Lara?” He hoped.
“Hi, son,” Richard Ford greeted him.
Chapter 11
Cade was furious when he made it back to his office. Christian had been walking in front of him and he refrained from beating the shit out of him several times during that short walk.
Once he was behind the closed doors of the office, he kept thinking about how the Alpha kept trying to hurt Brogan, making it hard to get rid of the anger towards the man. Instead of working he sent an email to all the partners requesting an impromptu meeting.
When everyone had arrived, Cade advised them what had happened earlier, watching as Stephens squirmed against the accusing eyes of the others in the room.
“Apparently everyone here has issues with Brogan and his opinions about Omegas. You guys were in the process of blindsiding him with a buyout offer so it’s safe to say that you wanted him gone, but things have changed. Even if you’re not his friends, if you are displeased with something, he did then bring it to me, don’t put me in the position of having to defend my Omega.”
“No one wants to hurt Brogan,” Tate retorted angrily, “despite his faults, we were still his friend, it was just getting to be a liability how he was treating Omegas.”
“Well, then act like a friend,” Cade growled. “I know he isn’t perfect and that he can be annoying as hell but imagine what he’s going through. He’s become something he hated. Christian perhaps what he said to Paige was cruel, but what did she do to draw such a reaction from him?”
“She said nothing to provoke his attack,” Christian defended Paige.
“Yes, she did,” Liam interjected. “According to Benji she is the one to start this thing with Brogan, but she should have known better. Omega or not, Brogan is not going to let someone attack him without some pushback. If he felt cornered, then he’s going to come out swinging and Paige knows that.”
“It still was uncalled for,” Christian glared at Liam
“Let me ask you this, if Benji said something to Paige that upset her, are you planning to attack him as well?”
“I wanna know that as well,” Tate demanded, “Because I gotta tell you, friend or not if you ever touch Jaime, I will bury you!”
Seeing the other Alphas get angry over Christian’s reaction to Brogan and Paige’s disagreement made Cade smile. It meant that they understood the need to protect his mate and he didn’t have to worry about Brogan being alone with Christian.
After the meeting Cade was able to focu
s on his work. There were several athletes whom Brogan had been courting, and a couple of them Cade had been as well for his job with Lindsay. Perhaps without a competitor he’ll be able to land them.
One was Miami Dolphins quarterback Jaden Matthews, who like a lot of athletes had a charity and he was looking for branding and promotion.
He thought that he remembered seeing the man’s name on the guest list for a tournament they were promoting in Miami. The man’s girlfriend, a tall willowy blonde from Russia, was ranked in the top ten on the professional tennis tour and so he was sure to be there to support her. To be sure, Cade confirmed Matthews's invitation and he made it his mission to land the man for their company.
Once he had a firm strategy in place it was time to go home so Cade walked down the hall to collect Brogan. After the issues earlier today, he was still feeling a little anxious and he couldn’t relax until Brogan was in his sight.
The ride home was just as silent as the ride there had been, but the way Brogan was staring at him he could tell that he wanted to say something, and he wished that he would. It could be about the Cowboys latest loss, the new neighbors and even the goddamned weather, but he just wanted his mate to talk to him.
It was sad that he wanted to discuss something as banal as the weather to hear him speak, but even though he kept sneaking glances at Cade when he thought that the Alpha wasn’t looking, Brogan remained quiet.
As they got closer to home, Brogan began to fidget, and it made Cade worry if there was something else going on. His first thought was that Brogan was preparing for another attempt to escape and that angered Cade. Why couldn’t Brogan understand that running was not the answer?
If Brogan ran again this time it wouldn’t be so easy on him. He would be sent to an Omega Center, but it wouldn’t be as nice as the accommodations he had before. Simon and Cade had done an internship at an Omega Center, but it was for repeat offenders, as Brogan would be labeled.
If Omegas behaved, they were worshiped, but when they didn’t follow the rules or as Brogan did tried to behave as an Alpha, then they ended up at the camps, and there’s no way Brogan would survive physical labor.
Most of the Omegas in the camps were like Brogan, Alphas who’d been turned into Omegas and fought the change. He hoped and prayed that between the baby and the things that Amanda told him to work on that Brogan wouldn’t end up there.
Cade thought about today and nothing about Brogan’s behavior was screaming that Brogan was going to run again, but he’d play it safe and check into getting an alarm system installed and give Brogan the code when he was able to trust the man.
Instead of going straight home, Cade turned and drove across town. After the shitty day he and Brogan had, what they needed most was to shift and run. It didn’t need to be an all-nighter, but they needed to release some of the aggression from today.
“Where are we?” Brogan sat up and asked. “is this how you’re going to break the bond, by hiding my body in the woods?”
“If I was going to kill you it would not be in a public course where wolves run every day. I just thought that you needed to run off today.”
“What makes you think that I wouldn’t keep running? That would be the perfect way for me to get rid of you.”
“Would you run?” Cade asked as he watched Brogan look longingly at the woods.
“Maybe.” Brogan shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe not. Who knows?”
Instead of getting out of the car on go on a much-needed run, Cade placed the car in reverse and headed back to Brogan’s house.
This sucked. Brogan had really wanted to go on that run, but he was too stubborn to take the olive branch being extended by his mate. That’s okay though because once he was with his father, he could go running any time he’d like.
He was excited by news he’d received this afternoon. His father had called him from his sister’s phone telling Brogan that he wanted him to come live with him. Brogan was ready to pack and leave, but there’s a problem, Cade.
Despite his knowledge of his father’s contempt of Omegas, he’d still rather be with him than the little bastard who ruined his life. His father told him that his life would be better with family and that he’d be treated well, he just had to get away.
It was going to be hard at first because Cade was watching him closely because he’d tried to run away twice already. If he hadn’t been so stupid, then he could have used the run to gain Cade’s trust but instead he’d been petty and turned down the offer. If there was a next time, he’d be ready.
Perhaps he was being stupid because he knew that he had his father on his side. During the entire ride home, he wanted to confront Cade, but his father warned him that they needed to be careful not to let Cade know that they are communicating. If Cade found out, then it would mean trouble for both.
It was hard not confronting Cade, but this was the one time he needed to keep his emotions in check, so he kept quiet. However, each time he looked at Cade he felt as though he was giving something away, that Cade would be able to read his mind and put a stop to the plans he and his father were making to get him away from Cade.
Joyous plans of running away kept running through his mind until he walked inside the house. There was something different, Brogan noticed it time he walked into the house. He searched the room but couldn’t quite place what was out of place of had changed. It even smelled different.
“What did you do?” Brogan shouted before running up the stairs to his bedroom.
Once there he threw open the closet door that held Lara’s things and found it empty. At the sight of that empty space, a sharp pain worked its way through Brogan’s chest and exited through his mouth in the form of a mournful sob.
During this clusterfuck he had been going through the past couple of weeks, being able to retreat to this room where Lara was still present made it easy for Brogan to get through dealing with Cade. In this room where her presence was still felt, he was able to pretend that he was still Alpha, but now that was gone.
The touch on his shoulder startled him; he’d been crying so hard over the loss of his past that he hadn’t heard Cade enter the room.
“She came today to get her things, Brogan,” Cade told him softly, “but you should have known this was going to happen, that you couldn’t live in this fairytale forever.”
“You could have waited a little longer, given me more time.”
“Time for what Brogan?” Cade questioned him, “there was no reason for you to hold onto her things. You’re pregnant with my pup but you come in here every night clinging to a Beta that you had a relationship with. I don’t want you smelling like your brother let alone like someone you’d been fucking.”
“I love her!” Brogan yelled.
“No-no you don’t,” Cade shook his head, “you loved her, but now you’re just trying to cling to what was. Lara is gone and you’re mine. You need to understand that instead of trying to hold onto something that you’ll never have again.”
“Not by choice,” Brogan sneered cheekily, but he tensed when Cade walked up to him and stood between his legs, so they were face to face.
“News flash, Brogan you weren’t my first choice for an Omega either, but it seemed that the universe had different plans for us. You felt the pull that night, hell you couldn’t wait to make me yours until it was my dick in your ass and not the other way around.”
“Well since I’m such a disappointment to you, just let me go to live with my father and then you can get the Omega you want.”
“Not a chance Brogan. You may not have been the Omega I wanted, but right now I can’t imagine not having you in my life and I’m not giving you up without a fight.”
“I don’t want you,” Brogan told him, “and you shouldn’t want to have an Omega who doesn’t want you. You can sign over my share to my father and I’ll be out of your life.”
“One day you’ll understand that this is not about money, this is about our being mated, but I’m not worried y
ou’ll come around.” Cade reached out and rubbed Brogan’s still flat stomach and said, “Besides, this assures me that I’ll never be out of your life.”
The baby.
In his decision to go to his father he hadn’t factored the baby into his plans but there were two things that he was certain of, Cade would never give up his child and his father would not want to keep it, especially if it turned out to be Omega as well.
What was he going to do? He wanted to live with his dad, but if he gave birth then he knew that the Omega in him would never allow him to give this child up, and keeping it meant staying with Cade. The next time he talked to his dad this was something they could work out.
From Alpha to Omega Page 11