From Alpha to Omega

by Cilla B Anthony

  “It was my body that changed not my mind. I am capable of instructing the doctor about what I do and do not want without you in the room invading my privacy.”

  “I’m trying to protect you Brogan.”

  Turning his face towards the window and stared at the passing scenery, Brogan just ignored his father’s statement because he knew that the man didn’t mean it. He wanted to protect his investment, not Brogan himself. For that reason alone, Brogan wanted to tell the man that he didn’t need his protection, but he did. He needed him to survive and that hurt.

  Brogan knew this because not once since he walked out of the examination room did his father ask him how he was doing, or how was he feeling. He didn’t ask if he needed help coping with the emptiness he was feeling now that he’d terminated the pregnancy.

  From the moment he found out he was pregnant all he could think about was how the baby was going to change his life, getting rid of it, but not once had it occurred to him how it would affect him, that he would feel the loss of a child that he would not get to hold. A child whose sex he didn’t know.

  A child he killed.

  His father still angry from what he perceived as disrespect from Brogan, slammed the car door and walked into the cabin leaving Brogan alone to think about what he’d just done. Not wanting to face his father’s scorn so instead of going inside, Brogan quickly stripped, shifted and ran into the woods.

  He’s not sure how long he ran but no matter how far and how long he couldn’t outrun his guilt and midnight found him howling mournfully at the moon. As he howled his anguish the heartache reached the ears of his neighbor Jackson, who knew the mournful sound gave him his answer he’d been seeking, but he would ask again any way.

  The next day Brogan tried to spend sleeping but the baby that he’s left in a drainage pan in the doctor’s office haunted him. In those dreams he could visualize what his child looked like. It started with a healthy happy chubby gurgling baby with bottle green eyes, blond hair and full lips who morphed into an angry Cade.

  He tried to get some sleep several times during the day, but each time he was wakened by the dream.

  “You look like shit,” Richard told him. “I need you to get yourself together so that Jackson won’t change his mind about you.”

  There was no energy to argue with the man, he’d ruined any chance he might have had with Cade because he was feeling sorry for himself but more importantly, he’d lost any chance he’d had to save himself.

  Because of his actions he knew that even if he wanted to, he didn’t deserve to have another mate, so his answer was going to be no to Jackson. His father was going to be disappointed, but he’d get over it.

  “Did you hear me Brogan?” Richard bellowed. “Take a bath and eat something and maybe you’ll feel a little better.”

  The food and the shower did make him feel better, but those were just physical things. His heart still hurt, and his body was still empty and now he had a black mark on his soul and someone like Jackson would be able to see it. That might work out in his favor because why would an Alpha of Jackson’s caliber want a fucked-up Omega like him? If he rejected Brogan because of what he’d done, then his father couldn’t place the blame on Brogan, and it would make life a little easier in their household.

  Father and son danced around one another for the rest of the day and at one-point Richard called Jackson in an attempt to get the man to come over early, but from the way Richard threw the phone onto the counter, Brogan could tell that his request was denied.

  By dinner time there was still only silent communication between Brogan and Richard. Not wanting to make things even more strained between them, when Richard placed a heaping plate of food in front of him, Brogan ate as much as he could. Somehow, he managed to find a place between not having his father yell at him for eating too little and not throwing up.

  The next morning the weather tried to mock Brogan’s feelings by being beautiful. It was bright and sunny without the oppressive heat South Carolina in the summer was known for. The weather changed Brogan’s mood as well as his father’s but the do-si-do around each other continued until Jackson came by for lunch.

  “Jack,” His father greeted his friend as though they’d been separated for months instead of days. “it’s great to see you again. Come in, come in. I have lunch prepared for the two of you.”

  “Jackson,” Jackson corrected as though he didn’t want Robert being to familiar.

  At his father’s words Brogan noticed for the first time that the table only had two places set. Apparently, his father was going to leave him alone with Jackson and the thought scared him a little. Jackson seemed to be a nice guy, but what if Jackson wouldn’t take no for an answer and he decided to take Brogan against his will?

  With his emotions all over the place and being racked with guilt, Brogan wouldn’t have the energy to fight off an attack from this Alpha and his father didn’t seem to care. Before Brogan could complete the thought, Richard was grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.

  Once Richard was gone Jackson didn’t move, he just stood at the door staring at Brogan. The look made Brogan so self-conscious that it took him a couple of seconds to realize that Jackson was scenting him.

  “You smell - different,” Jackson said breaking the awkward silence.

  This was it, this was where Jackson realized what a horrible choice he’d be for a mate and what a horrible Omega he was.

  “Your baby.” Realizing what the change in Brogan’s scent was. “Please tell me you didn’t. Fuck sweetheart that’s not what I meant when I said that the child would have to go. I just meant that it would have to go live with its father.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Brogan mumbled “I don’t want to be a parent, long distance or otherwise.”

  “Brogan?” Jackson asked confused.

  Exhaling Brogan explained. “Nor do I want to be anyone’s mate.”

  “I’ll admit I don’t understand why you chose to get rid of your child, but I understand the stress that you’re under right now, so it’s not a deal breaker with me. The only request I will make is that you don’t do the same to our child.”

  Brogan just shook his head and firmly stated, “No, Jackson.”

  “I don’t understand why not Brogan,” Jackson letting his frustration color his voice. “He changed you by force and from the looks of you when you first arrived here, he treated you badly.”

  Shaking his head, Brogan gave him a small smile, “Cade didn’t change me by force. We met in a parking lot of a bar. I was leaving and he was walking in with friends when his scent hit my nose and that was that. I was the only one who could smell his scent and vice versa. The only thing that didn’t go as planned was when we reached the hotel room. I thought that I would turn him, but he won. If anyone in our relationship has been treated badly, it was Cade. I’ve fought him every step of the way.”

  “Soulmates,” Jackson whispered.

  “Soulmates,” Brogan confirmed.

  Running his hands through his hair, Jackson shook his head in disbelief, “do you have something to drink? Beer will do, but I’d like something stronger if you have it.”

  “Sit I’ll see what I can find.”

  Thankful for the brief reprieve, Brogan walked across the room to get Jackson a beer, and deciding that alcohol as a good idea, he got one for himself as well.

  After giving Jackson the beer Brogan, wasn’t sure what he should do. He had just told Jackson that he didn’t want him as his Alpha and he was still worried about how the man actually felt, so he hovered near the couch with an eye trained for the door should he need to make a run for his life.

  “Richard never told me you were soulmates,” Jackson told him after a long swig from the bottle.

  “I don’t think he cared,” Brogan shrugged his shoulders. “All that mattered was getting me mated to you.”

  “Brogan I can feel that you’re about to jump out of your skin, I’m not going to hurt you or take what
you don’t want to give,” patting the empty space next to him on the sofa Jackson told him, “sit down, you’re making my neck hurt looking up at you and besides I have a story to tell you.”

  Brogan didn’t feel any anger coming from Jackson, so he trusted his instincts and sat next to the older man and waited for him to begin his story.

  “Let me start by saying that I don’t want someone else’s soulmate, I’ve had mine taken from me and I wouldn’t wish that hell on anyone.”

  That got Brogan’s attention, “if you have a soulmate then why are you here willing to claim me?”

  “She - died.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh,” Jackson laughed humorously. “You think that you can live without Cade, there’s no way you can. Had you not met him, then it would have been possible. The problem is you met him, he claimed you and now you’re subjecting both of you to a life of pure hell.”

  What Jackson didn’t know was Brogan thought that he now deserved it because he killed his baby and Cade was better off without him. Hopefully he would be able to find a way to move on and find a better mate.

  “I can hear your doubt from here. Let me tell you about my mate.”

  “Jackson, you don’t have too…” Brogan began.

  “Yes, I do, so let me. Your dad, mom and I grew up together; when we were pups, it was still popular to bond pups born at the same time in a sort of communal den. We are still close to the others who were in that den, but the three of us became very close. So close that when we presented, no one was surprised when it became evident that your mom and I were soulmates - a bonded pair.”

  “Wait… what?” Brogan sputtered. He’d heard his father brag over and over how he and his mom were bonded, how they were meant for each other but now Jackson was telling him something entirely different. That’s one of the first things you learn in sex education, nature only allows one bond at a time.

  “You’re lying!” Brogan accused, not understanding why his father would be given the chance to come between a friend and his mate. Even if it turned out differently that he’d envisioned, Brogan remembered how it felt the first time he scented Cade.

  The scent was overwhelming so much so he was surprised they made it to the hotel room so for Jackson to say that he’d given another Alpha the opportunity to get near his mate, let alone claim her didn’t ring true to Brogan.

  “No, Brogan I’m not. Your grandparents asked me to wait until your mom graduated high school, and as hard as that was, I agreed. It meant that I couldn’t see her, but we only had a couple of months, it was hell, but I could do it. Your dad would visit her for me and vice versa, give us both updates.”

  “What kind of updates was she giving him that he ended up mated to her instead of you?” Brogan sneered, “Now I understand why dad thinks that Omegas are not to be trusted, I mean she was yours but that didn’t stop her from being with my dad. She let him claim her.”

  “Like you let Jaden claim you? Don’t you ever speak of your mother with disrespect,” Jackson growled. “It was your father who couldn’t be trusted! He waited until you grandparents were at work and took her. She was no match for him, and then he came and bragged how easy it was to take her from me. He brutalized her and made her stand in front of everyone she loved and tell them that she’d wanted him.”

  “My father wouldn’t do that,” Brogan shook his head, but remembering how his mother was treated, Brogan knew that his father can do what Jackson had just told him.

  “He did, but what he hadn’t counted on was the bond. Even though she was mated to him, her heart was with me. I begged him to let me remove his claim, but she was pregnant, and his pride would not let him let her go. When he called me a few weeks ago telling me about you, that he would let you mate with me for a position of management in my company I agreed. I thought it was a way to get part of your mother back, but I won’t do to you what he did to her.”

  Now that he knew the story, Brogan understood why his mother took her own life.

  Suddenly everything made sense; the way his father talked about his mother and the way he’d treated her. He hadn’t hated her; he’d been angry because she didn’t love him as he loved her. It also explained why his grandparents hated his father. If someone had done that to his child, then he could never forgive either.

  “Now what?” Brogan asked sullenly.

  “Now you decide what you want, but I wouldn’t recommend staying here with your dad. I will give him the job he’s been trying to get if he takes care of you. You were hers and that alone makes you special.”

  “I don’t really have another choice but to stay with him, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

  “If you need anything, even if it’s just someone to talk to call me. Or better yet, come with me, and I promise I’ll keep you safe. No strings attached.”

  Brogan shook his head, too choked up with tears to speak. He couldn’t go with Jackson if he was going to be punished for not mating with Jackson, then it was what he deserved, and he would take his punishment. He was Omega and they have been withstanding punishment from Alphas for centuries.

  At Brogan’s refusal Jackson gave him a hug and Brogan watched as his chance for contentment walked out the door.

  “What the fuck are you still doing here,” Richard Ford’s angry voice woke him the next morning. “Are you such a bad fuck that he left you here?”

  Brogan’s head pounded at the sound of his father’s harsh tone. After Jackson left, he drank until he passed out and now, he was disoriented and sick at being awakened so suddenly. He was so violently ill that for a moment he thought that he was having morning sickness again, but that was just wishful thinking.

  His stomach was now empty, and he was experiencing dry heaves. Had this been morning sickness some dry crackers and soda would have eased his symptoms, but this, however, was a run of the mill hangover and he’d just have to suffer through it.

  Instead of checking to see if his son was okay or if he needed help, Richard’s only concern was when Jackson was going to take Brogan off his hands.

  “He’s not,” Brogan informed his unconcerned father between dry heaves. “I turned him down.”

  “We - you and I need to talk. Clean yourself up and we’ll discuss how you’re going to convince him to give you another chance.”

  I don’t want another chance, Brogan screamed in his head, but right now he couldn’t muster up the energy to formulate the words. Once he heard his father slam the door closed (fuck you very much) he all but crawled from the bathroom to the bed where he passed out.

  He woke an hour, maybe ten hours later, he’s not sure, when the pressure on his bladder became too much and found a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water on the nightstand. Perhaps his father did care.

  A quick glance at the bedside clock told him that it was noon, that he’d slept away the morning. His head was still throbbing, and he wasn’t sure if it was the sleep or the medicine, but he felt much better and the room stopped spinning.

  The blackout curtains in his bedroom did their job and blocked out the sunlight, so when Brogan walked into the main living area, the bright sunlight almost blinded him.

  “Well look what the cat drug in,” Richard snarked from the table where he was finishing up lunch. “We need to get some food into you and then we’ll talk.”

  All Brogan could do was groan his consent because his brain was not functioning well enough to formulate a response, but apparently, he understood and nodded for Brogan to sit. After a hearty meal, Brogan felt better but not well enough for the conversation he and his father were about to have but there was no avoiding it.

  “I’m not changing my mind and taking Jackson as my Alpha,” Brogan began. “I came here to be under your protection not to be sold off to the highest bidder.”

  “I wasn’t selling you off you idiot, I was trying to make your fucking life better,” Richard defended his actions. Picking up his phone, he threw it at Brogan and demanded, “now call
him and tell him that you’ve changed your goddamned mind.”

  “No!” Brogan yelled. “I will not let myself be claimed by him. Cade and I are bonded, and God knows that I don’t want to end up like mama.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Richard demanded as he stepped up to Brogan. “She was mine!”

  The anger was rolling off Richard in waves and it made the Omega in Brogan scared. He fought the urge to bear his neck and submit, but he didn’t give in.

  “No she wasn’t, she was his and you took her and now you want him to do to me what you did to her. Will that make you feel better if he stooped down to your level?”

  “I was a good mate to that whore Omega, I don’t need another one in my life, you want to stay with me then you’ll learn what it’s really like to be an Omega. Rest up buttercup because Jackson was your escape, now it’s just you and me and I’m top dog.”