From Alpha to Omega

by Cilla B Anthony

  Judging from how close the mountains were, Brogan was sure that he wasn’t in Greenville any more, maybe they were in Travelers Rest or Cleveland. He had fallen asleep so he could even be in North Carolina, but it didn’t matter if he was away from Cade and Alpha’s in general.

  Stretching out onto the sofa, he was surprised at how comfortable it was and that was his last thought before drifting off to sleep.

  Something woke him, he’s not sure what, but when he tried to pry open his heavy eyelids, Brogan couldn’t understand why he was waking so he turned over and began the fast descent into dream land. Even though it was wrought with dreams of Jaden beating him and attempting to rape him, in this world Cade came to his rescue not his father.

  His Alpha was smiling at him, but he didn’t get to enjoy it because the sound of an old fashioned telephone ringing pulled him away from the dream. It was his intention to let it ring because he didn’t want to have to talk to Cade as he planned to kill his baby, but the veil of sleep disappeared, and Brogan remembered that this couldn’t be Cade because he was in a cabin somewhere away from Cade. So, he looked around the room and realized that it was the ringtone of the new cell that his father had provided.

  Since he was in the middle of nowhere on his own, he needed to keep the lines of communication open with the only person he could trust at this time.

  “Hello,” he answered sleepily.

  “Hey, son,” Richard greeted a little over enthusiastically as far as Brogan was concerned, “I was just calling to see how you are doing.”

  “Sleeping,” he grunted from pain as he sat up. Even with the vivid dreams of this afternoon, Brogan had forgotten about his sore stomach.

  “You looked as though you could sleep for a week,” Richard teased but continued on a sterner vein, “I know that you’re tired but don’t forget to eat. Even if you’re not eating two you need to keep up your strength for... just make sure you eat.”

  That surprised Brogan. For all his eagerness to help, his father couldn’t say abortion. Perhaps the man had more compassion than Brogan and his siblings had given him credit for.

  “I will dad,” he softly reassured the man.

  “Good. Um, look, I don’t want to alarm you but Cade and that woman from the Omega Center came by today. They were waiting for me when I arrived home. It’s a good thing I arrived at my normal time or they would have been all over me.”

  This was no surprise that Cade was searching for him. He had led the man to believe that they had a future together, and then he ran. Cade was pissed when he left the previous two times so Brogan didn’t believe that it was him Cade wanted, he wanted his child. It was too bad that when he found his Omega, there would be no child.

  A part of Brogan wanted to call Cade and tell him to give up, that he didn’t want to be found, but he knew that it was not in the Alpha’s makeup to stop looking for his mate and his progeny. Also calling would give him a location and that’s something Brogan didn’t want, but he did want to ease his mates suffering.

  “This is not the end of them following me so I’m going to have to lay low for a while to convince them that everything is normal. I have a friend who lives by and he will check on you for me. If you need something before, I return, Jackson’s number has been programmed into your phone under J. Bennett”

  Pulling the phone from his ear, Brogan checked the contact list and there was this Jeff person’s name.

  “I see it dad,” Brogan confirmed.

  “Good, if you need something before, I return, then call him, he’ll help you.”

  Despite wanting to face thing on his own, knowing that his dad’s friend was close by made Brogan feel better; it let him know that he wasn’t alone and as he prepared his dinner later that night he felt as though he had a guardian angel watching over him.

  For all of Brogan’s bravado about wanting time alone, three days in and he was going stir crazy. Sure, his father called him every day to check on him, but that wasn't the same as having a live person there with him.

  Damn it he missed Cade so fucking much.

  The cabin was stocked with more than just food, his father had either gone above and beyond to make sure that Brogan was comfortable or, he’d had this place for some time now.

  There was a 60” smart television - complete with the game controllers and games. If he got bored, there was a state-of-the-art computer with a Roku and subscription to Netflix and Hulu.

  He had a lot of friends online, gamers like him, but he was supposed to be in hiding, so he couldn’t reach out to any of them because he was sure that either Cade or Amanda were monitoring those sites as well as his email.

  At one point he even thought about calling Lara, but he knew that she was still angry and hurt and he wasn’t sure if she would turn him in or help him and he couldn’t take that chance. There was news all over the internet and television about Jaden and that he was missing after their encounter, but this could be a trick and he wasn’t willing to risk his freedom for news articles that could be a lie.

  There was always Benji.

  It couldn’t be called friendship, but his relationship with Benji, Jaime and Paige even, was fragile at best but he didn’t want them to be caught in the middle of his bid for freedom. All of them being natural born Omegas would not understand his need to be free of an Alpha, so he gave up on that idea. He realized that he didn’t really want to reach out to those people around Cade other than getting some information about his mate.

  What he did instead was search online for groups of turned Omegas and found that there were several small groups dotted along the landscape of the internet and he trolled them until he found one that he seemed to like.

  Alpha to Omega was what they called the chat, no it wasn’t very original, but it was made up of people like him who were struggling to come to terms with their new lives. He spent hours on the site relishing in the fact that there were others like him, that he wasn’t an anomaly.

  There was even a few who’d even had an abortion.

  Brogan spent an hour composing a question asking the Omega to meet him in a private chat room and discuss the repercussions of having the procedure, but in the end, he was too scared to send it. What if it was a trap and Cade and Amanda were scouring the boards looking for him.

  The chances of them actually finding these groups were slim, but Brogan wasn’t taking any chances so he didn’t send the message, but the temptation was very strong.

  To distract himself, Brogan moved from the computer and prepared lunch, and while it was good, it wasn’t distracting. What he did find distracting was the beautiful lake that he somehow missed before, but now as he stared out of the window, he rushed through the dishes he was washing to go outside.

  There wasn’t a path that could be seen from the house, but there had to be one - it just didn’t make sense to purchase property this close to the lake without access. Once he was in the backyard, he found the path and followed the short trail to the lake.

  The lake was huge, and it reminded him of Lake Hartwell that bordered South Carolina and Georgia where his father used to take the family for vacation. For some reason he was expecting a small manmade lake but seeing the large body of water made him smile and remember his childhood and he felt comforted. He walked out of the woods and noticed to his right a deck with a boat tied to it. He wondered if it belonged to his dad but then he saw the name, Carmen. The boat was named after his Omega mother.

  His father had named his boat after a woman he professed to hate.

  Brogan had been on boats before and had even steered one before and that was the extent of his knowledge of them, but even someone with as little knowledge of boats as Brogan knew that this was a new boat, so his father couldn’t claim that he just never changed the boat's name. Hell, as far as Brogan knew his father never owned a boat, but then he never knew that his father owed a cabin in the woods.

  If this wasn’t his father, he would think that this was the beginning of one
of those Lifetime movies that Lara loved to watch where his mother would still be alive and hiding but made herself known to give him guidance. Shaking his head Brogan laughed at himself as he walked to the end of the dock, took off his shoes and sat down. After the way he’d treated her, if his mother was still alive, she’d probably kill him and throw his body into the lake.

  Even though he laughed at the notion of his mother still being alive, he wished that she was just so that he could tell her that he was sorry. He felt his eyes moisten at the thought. Stupid Lifetime. Stupid hormones.

  As he sat there, Brogan tilted his head back, there was a gentle breeze that came through and blew his long hair into his eyes. This was nice, and if he had to, he didn’t mind spending the rest of his life right here.

  A couple of days after he discovered the lake, Brogan noticed a slight roundness to his stomach. Because he was now trying to ignore the baby’s existence, instead of attributing it to be the baby, he decided that it was because he was being lazy and needed more exercise and began spending long days at the lake.

  Sometimes late at night when the moon was high and pulling him, he would shift and run through the woods feeling like a little kid again. It had been a long time since he had been able to run like this, at full throttle and howl at the moon.

  This was how he spent the next few days, exploring the property and enjoying the lake. In his explorations, he found a shed in the back that held a grill and fishing equipment and spent the days shirtless from swimming, working on his tan and fishing. Most days he didn’t catch anything but today he did, two nice sized catfish and one was going to be dinner.

  He was so happy about his catch that he didn’t notice that he was no longer alone.

  “That’s one of the prettiest things I’ve seen since I arrived this week,” a deep voice told him admiringly.

  Alpha.

  Judging by the way he was staring him up and down, Brogan wasn’t sure if he meant him or the fish.

  He stopped in his footsteps, trying to judge if he could get past the Alpha and make it into the cabin safely. If he dropped his catch he could. This Alpha was not Jaden, he was fit, but he was older, closer to his father’s age and Brogan was sure he could run past him and escape to the safety of the cabin.

  As though sensing Brogan’s uneasiness, the older man stuck out his hand to stay Brogan’s retreat, “easy sweetheart I don’t mean you harm. I’m your neighbor, Jackson, but you may call me Jack. I believe that your father has mentioned me.”

  “Yeah, he did,” Brogan muttered cautiously, still not sure if he needed to get away from the unknown Alpha. The man might be a friend of his father’s, but Brogan also knew what kind of Alpha his father had been and birds of a feather, yada, yada, yada.

  “I don’t mean you any harm, I just wanted to introduce myself. If it was my intention to hurt you, I could have done that the day your father deposited you here. Why don’t you let me help you with your gear and we can get to know each other?”

  Jackson took a step closer to Brogan, and Brogan instinctively took a step back. He didn’t want to be within reaching distance if this man decided to strike out.

  “I-I…,” He stuttered like the helpless Omega this man probably thought that he was.

  “Whoever did that to you,” Jackson nodded to Brogan’s healing face, “I’d love to rip their heart out and feed it to them. I would never hurt you, please know that.”

  It might be stupid, but Brogan believed Jackson. He wasn’t stupid enough to invite the man into the cabin, but there was something trustworthy about him. It could be because he reminded him of Cade, quiet but protective.

  He didn’t give Cade the chance and he missed out on having a great Alpha because he was too stubborn to give in. While he’s not looking for an Alpha, Jeff has the potential to be a great friend so he would give him the chance.

  Once Jackson noticed Brogan’s Omega mark any interest would be gone. Of course, he thought that Jaden would have lost interest, but then Jackson’s offer to help him carry his gear already differentiated him from Jaden.

  During the short walk back to the cabin any uneasiness Brogan had disappeared under Jackson’s gentle prodding and quick wit.

  “Since you have the main course, why don’t I come over later and impress you with my homemade hush puppies and coleslaw?” Jackson asked. “I’m a good cook,” Jackson promised when Brogan hesitated.

  “Sure,” Brogan shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

  Closing the door to the cabin, Brogan raced to the window and watched the Alpha and he made his way back towards the lake. What the fuck had he done? Was he so lonely that he would accept friendship from the first person to offer kindness?

  The time alone made Brogan quickly come to his senses. Jaden hadn’t seemed to be a threat and he knew the man. He knew nothing about Jackson but is ready to invite him over to cook a meal. Had this been before his turn and someone had told him that an Omega was doing this, he would have called said Omega a cock slut.

  What else would you call someone who was overtaken by an Alpha almost a foot shorter and fifty pounds lighter. Only a slutty Omega would invite an unmated, strange Alpha to their home a few days after he had nearly been raped. Twice.

  He didn’t have the nerve to call the man, so he sent a quick text telling him that their dinner was off. Message sent, Brogan set about skinning and cleaning the catfish. It took him longer than it should have, but then it had been a long since he had gone fishing with his dad, but in the end, he had four nice fillets soaking in buttermilk.

  After a quick shower to get the fish smell and scales off him, Brogan settled in for a nap. If he kept on at this rate, he was going to be fat and wouldn’t have to worry about anyone wanting to claim him. Hadn’t his father always said no one wanted a fat O.

  A knock on the door startled him awake and he knew instantly that it was Jackson. Alphas with a strong protective instinct never gave up easily. As an Alpha Brogan wouldn’t have taken the text seriously, but then as an Alpha Brogan was a dick whereas Jackson was probably just concerned.

  Concerned or not, Brogan was not going to let the man inside; Jaden had taught himself preservation if nothing else and letting a strange Alpha in the cabin was not in his best interest. The problem was Jackson was still knocking and wasn’t going to go away.

  Having made the man wait, Brogan cautiously opened the door to face the Alpha. He grimaced when he saw that Jeff was carrying bowls of food, “Didn’t you get my text?”

  “Yes, I did,” Jeff smiled and pushed the bowls towards Brogan, “and I had every intention of pushing my way in, but I remembered the bruises on your face and understood why you probably wanted to cancel, but I still wanted you to taste my awesome hushpuppies and coleslaw so here.”

  Reaching for the bowls, Brogan pulled his hands back before they made contact, even taking the gift from Jackson could be sending the wrong message.

  “There are no strings attached,” Jackson smiled. “I understand that you don’t know me so consider this a welcome to the neighborhood gift.”

  That was plausible, when he moved into his house, his next-door neighbor Issa came over with a platter of fish tacos. He didn’t want to seem like a total ass though, reaching out and taking the offered food, Brogan offered, “I go swimming early, around 8 A.M. you can meet met at the dock if you want.”

  Flashing him a beautiful smile, Jackson nodded and said, “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

  Without so much as a goodbye, Jackson was soon disappearing through the woods and back to his cabin on the other side of the lake. He was surprised that the Alpha left without putting up a fight and once again his demeanor reminded him of Cade, patient and kind.

  Cade was without fault, but despite Brogan’s desire to fight him at every turn he was patient and he tried. A mature Cade would be very much like Jackson and for a moment a wave of sadness passed through Brogan at the thought that he wouldn’t be there to witness the transformation.


  Shaking his head and removing the thoughts about what he could have with Cade, Brogan set about preparing his dinner, but what he didn’t realize was that he wasn’t the only one watching Jackson leave the cabin.

  Parked at the edge of the driveway with his lights out was Richard Ford watching his plans come together.

  Brogan may have convinced his friend to leave, but he knew Jackson, he was a smooth talker and would soon gain entrance to the cabin. He has managed to give Cade and Amanda the slip since the first time they came to visit, but hopefully he wouldn’t have to sneak around much longer. If things go the way he wanted, and Brogan was rid of Cade’s pup, his son would make a fine mate for Jack and a meal ticket for himself.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning at eight, Brogan was at the dock but so far there was no sign of Jackson and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed. While he wasn’t interested in the older man, it would be nice to have someone to talk to.