by Jane Perky
“Yeah?” he asked, after pulling away.
“Did you have something to do with that?” Six asked as Dante nudged his excited Omega out the door and back on the street. Six was still holding onto the laptop, like it was something valuable.
“Nope. Magnus was interested when I told him what you did for a living.”
“That’s good then.”
“Dinner? I’m starved,” Dante declared.
Six gave him a suspicious squint. “Are you secretly fattening me up?”
“Food is good for you and the baby,” Dante reminded him.
Six huffed but agreed. “Okay. I’m game. Where to?”
Dante took Six’s free hand and kissed each of Six’s knuckles. The Omega shuddered, and he smiled. “I was thinking we could order in, watch some movies after, among other things.”
Six lifted his eyebrows. “What do you mean by ‘other things’?”
“Oh, don’t play coy, pet. I think you know what I mean.”
Six blushed. “I think I do. I don’t know why, but,” Six dropped his voice. “Ever since I knew I was pregnant, I’m a lot hornier.”
“Well,” Dante drawled. “What’s wrong with that?”
Chapter Ten
Spike slammed the door of his truck shut, silently seething. The violent motion made the hinges creak, not improving his mood at all. A week had passed since his property had run away from him. His brother, Randall, would have corrected him that Six was no longer his property, because Six had chosen exile. Spike hadn’t thought the timid Omega would have the guts to leave the compound, much less find a bus ticket to a new town.
Apparently, Six made fast friends, according to the private investigators he’d hired to track Six. Spike would have gone on the hunt himself, but he hadn’t thought Six would last long in real world. Randall had said so himself. Omegas like Six didn’t have the survival skills to make it beyond the compound, except Six had proved all of them wrong.
According to the investigator, this dingy little bar, King’s, was where Six frequently hung out with his new powerful friends. Maybe Spike and the other dominant wolves in the Ridgeback Pack had made a mistake after all. Six got around, and far too quickly, too.
Six hadn’t even interested him at first. There were other prettier-looking Omegas in the pack, and since he was Randall’s brother, he had his pick. Six had been a bet, a challenge posed by his friends to rut the plainest, disinteresting Omega in in the group.
Spike licked his lips. It turned out Six was more interesting than the Omega had first appeared. Maybe, Six was secretly a real slut. Six had certainly achieved the impossible—snuck past the guards of the compound and gotten knocked up.
Still, it infuriated him Six had escaped him unscratched. Spike hated to be the butt of his all his friends’ jokes, that he couldn’t hold on to one pathetic Omega. He’ll show them. Randall had told him to leave Six alone, that Six was no longer their problem. Randall was wrong. Even if Randall had explicitly warned him that the Ridgeback Pack didn’t support whatever he was planning, Spike didn’t care.
He could handle one lost Omega, but first, he needed to sniff out what he was up against. Spike might be big and powerful, but he wasn’t dumb. He sauntered into the bar, aware of some of the curious, if not suspicious, glances cast his way. A growl made them pay attention to their own business, but some hadn’t looked away.
A pale face with red eyes watched him from a corner. Another with yellow eyes did the same. His skin crawled. This town was unnatural. He knew it from the first moment he drove in. What kind of town let vampires rule over them? There was a pack that shared territory with the coven, but Spike didn’t think they were a threat.
Didn’t matter. They would never see Spike coming. He would leave just the way he came in—unnoticed. Spike sauntered over to the bar.
“Beer,” he growled to the unfriendly-looking bartender who didn’t appear affected. Fuck that.
Back in his hometown, people feared him, knew he was Randall’s brother, and wouldn’t dare cross him. Spike also had a reputation he was proud of, but here, there were too many predators. Uncharted waters.
“You’re new,” grunted the big bartender whose animal Spike couldn’t quite figure out. Certainly not prey, but some kind of predator. He didn’t answer, and the bartender was wise enough to move away to a new customer.
Spike picked his corner carefully. He sat close to the wall, the darkened part of the bar in case Six would recognize him. His wolf sat silent in him, sensing other dangerous threats in the room. His gaze settled on the three men on the booth near the window. Even his wolf, normally unafraid of anything or anyone, even his brother, warned him to keep away from those werewolves. Alphas, he thought, uneasy and pissed at once.
So many of them?
He hadn’t believed Rogers, the private investigator, when Rogers mentioned Six made friends with three lone Alphas and seemed to have become the mate of a fourth. Six was like any Omega in the compound, closely monitored. Since when would Six have the time to socialize?
The bar door opened and he narrowed his gaze. Speak of the devil. It was Six, and fuck, the Omega seemed practically glowing. Spike cracked his knuckles. The urge to drag Six by his hair and take the disobedient bitch to somewhere private so Spike could teach Six a lesson arose. He wouldn’t have hesitated back in his hometown, but here?
One wrong move could send him back to the starting point, and he had a feeling either the vampires or the werewolves watched any newcomer in their territory.
He gritted his teeth. Six wasn’t alone, but some big fucker had a possessive arm wrapped around Six’s shoulders. Was this the man who had knocked up his former property? Spike didn’t see Six’s pack tattoo either. Frowning, he studied Six carefully. Only a slightly discolored skin replaced the ink.
What the fuck?
Anger pulsed inside of him. Six had no right, strutting around, free as a bird, trying to act like everyone else, but Spike knew the truth. Six was only a fucking Omega, the lowest-ranking member in the Ridgeback Pack.
His brother had made a mistake letting Six out to the world. Spike’s wolf paced inside of him, thinking, plotting. So tempting to rip out the throat of Six’s baby daddy. It should be his pup in Six’s belly, his fucking legacy. Unfair. Spike might be a force to be reckoned with, but he knew his limits. He couldn’t take on an Alpha head-to-head and win. He needed to find another solution but no matter. Thinking out of the box was one of his skills.
Spike would let Six enjoy his momentary happiness, and when no one was looking, he’d swoop in and enjoy reminding Six he was nothing but trash, disposable property.
* * * *
Six shivered, unsure why his wolf felt suddenly different, wary. He turned his head and peered over Mark’s shoulder, wondering what or who was the source of his animal’s distress. Six thought he glimpsed a nightmare from his past by the wall, but then he saw Dante by the bar, grabbing a beer and an orange soda for him. His fear evaporated.
It was probably nothing, nerves. Today marked the seventh day of his new life with Dante. Seven. Sometimes, Six had a hard time believing still that this was his new reality. It was amazing to think how much could happen within a week.
Six had moved in with Dante officially, started his online business back up again, and he was becoming fast friends with Mark and the other Omegas. He didn’t know why he had this secret fear of happiness, that it was too sinful, too indulgent, and someday, it would be all taken from him in a single heartbeat.
Silly thoughts, he knew. He thought Spike had been the number one threat, and yet Dante had reached out to his contacts and found out the Ridgeback Pack was functioning normally, as if he hadn’t grown up and been part of that community most of his life.
Realizing the pack had moved on without him hurt a little. He’d kind of hoped his parents would miss him, even a little, but that wasn’t the case. Six had reached out, called them five days ago just to update them. He didn’t give any rea
l information, just left a phone number in case they needed to contact him.
No response from them. He should have expected that.
“Is something wrong, Six? The baby?” Mark asked, pausing from his conversation with Joe.
“I’m fine, just worrying about nothing,” he admitted.
“You had an ultrasound recently, right? Do you know the baby’s gender?” Joe asked.
The other Omega was the most reserved out of the three of them, but he found Joe was a good listener. Jerry was a little like Mark, never afraid to speak his mind.
“Dante and I decided to make it a surprise, although he has a feeling the baby’s a her.” He leaned close in a conspiratorial whisper, so the Alphas on the booth behind them would need to strain to hear. “Dante’s even started buying baby girl clothes, cute but impractical. One was this little pink ballerina dress—”
Dante snarled, appearing by their table with their drinks, narrowing his eyes at Six. “What are you telling these annoyances?”
“Did your mate just call us annoyances?” Jerry demanded.
“I think he did,” Mark said.
Six accepted his soda, then aimed his puppy-dog eyes at Dante—a trick he learned from Mark.
Dante positively melted and grumbled, “Do you want something else?”
“Fries,” he said. Mark and the others had taught him that it wasn’t bad to lean on his mate, and that sometimes included pregnancy. His mate. Six could never get sick of calling Dante that.
“And spicy buffalo wings,” Mark added but Dante chuckled.
“Get your own,” Dante said, huffing, before walking away to get his fries.
“He’s such a sweetie. I don’t know what I’ll do without him,” Six admitted.
Dante might like to play nice, but he knew Dante would extract payment in the bedroom. Dante always seemed ravenous for him—not that Six minded. He liked it when Dante would suddenly, out of the bloom, bend him over the arm of the sofa or table and start rutting from behind. Just like that, Six was turned on, needy.
He had to keep it in his pants though, because tonight he and the other Omegas were watching a movie, while their mates played bowling. Sometimes, Lee and Magnus joined them, but not all the time. Six understood. As a vampire, Magnus could only be active during the night.
“Did you hear about the new Man Thongs shop that opened in town?” Mark asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Like, they sell sexy underwear for men?” Joe asked, eyes wide.
“What’s the shop name again?” Jerry asked.
“Man Thongs,” Six confirmed. “Magnus mentioned it to me the other day when I dropped by the coven house to update their website. One of his vampire friends owns the shop.”
Jerry furrowed his brows. “Magnus is like a brother-in-law to me. Why didn’t he mention that to me?”
“Because Lee might not like hearing about his adoptive little bro shopping for sexy things to please his best friend?” Jerry suggested.
“I don’t understand the point of sexy underwear,” Six admitted. “I mean, what’s the point, if they don’t stay on for long?”
He should know from personal experience. Dante had bought him a pair of red, scandalous G-string briefs two nights ago, only to rip them off with his wolf teeth. Six had to admit, it was kind of hot and arousing.
“Oh? I see Six has plenty of experience in that area,” Mark teased.
He blushed. Dante returned with his plate of fries, and Six wondered if his mate had overhead it all.
Dante was about to walk away and join the other Alphas at the next table, much to his relief, but to his horror, Dante met his gaze, devilish smile on his lips. “Babe, the point is, I like seeing them on you, even if I’ll tug them off later.”
If possible, Six blushed even harder, and Dante, the cocky bastard, went to his friends.
“Okay,” Six muttered under his breath. “The movie starts in an hour still right?”
“Yup and it’s nearby, like two streets away,” Joe said.
“Good, plenty of time.”
“Time for what?” Jerry asked.
“Underwear shopping. It’s time for Operation Shock Your Mate,” Six said with eagerness. Dante always got the better of him, but it was time to turn the tables on his playful mate.
Mark grinned. “Oh, Six. I always knew you have this naughty streak in you. I’m game.”
Chapter Eleven
“Thanks for coming with me to my Prenatal, Labor, and Delivery Class,” Six told Mark. To his surprise, Mark had even called up Joe and Jerry, who had gone up and signed up. They were all in the classroom designated for the class at the New Hope private clinic for shifters.
He explained, “Dante usually comes with me, but he’s caught up with a case at work.”
Jerry nodded. “Colton’s working on the same case, and I had nothing to do.”
“It’s going to be a handy skill,” Mark said, rubbing at his belly, and Six studied his friend, then sucked in a breath.
“When did you know?” Six asked.
Mark’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
“Wait, what’s going on?” Joe asked.
“I think Mark’s pregnant,” Jerry said.
“I was going to tell you guys. I just found out this morning. I was planning to tell Crash first, so keep it a secret, okay?” Mark said.
“Okay, class, gather up,” said the instructor.
It was more serious when Six took this class with Dante. He knew Dante questioned his ability to be a good father constantly, but Six had little to worry about. For one, the Alpha was amazing when it came to taking care of Six and the needs of Six and their baby. Dante was an organizer who thought of everything and made contingency plans.
He’d learned that during their three weeks of being together. Six rubbed at his slightly visible baby bump and smiled. Unlike the normal forty-week period for pregnant females, male Omegas needed half the time.
Hard to believe they both made it this far together. Sure, they had fights, but it was all part and parcel of a relationship. Dante always made it up for him with gifts and amazing sex.
“Man, that was an eye-opener,” Mark muttered after the class. “There’s like so many things to know. No wonder you always read baby books, Six.”
“I have a lot of them. I can write you those I recommend and you can borrow any one of them.” Dante was worse and kept buying and going through more books. Sometimes, it was cute to see his normally playful mate looking flustered and serious.
“Really? That would be a huge help,” Mark said, as they exited the clinic.
“Six sure takes us to the most interesting places,” Jerry joked. “Man Thongs, then this.”
“Hey, you said that trip to Man Thongs elevated your love life,” Six rebutted.
“Oh yeah. Colton’s mouth practically hung open when I showed him what little I was wearing underneath my jeans,” Jerry said with an evil glint in his eye.
Six hadn’t even implemented his plan to seduce Dante yet. They’d both been so busy lately. Dante took up more jobs to get their savings account going and Six was the same, although Dante encouraged him to work a little less. He fished out his vibrating phone.
“Hey, babe,” he said, seeing Dante’s name flashing on the screen.
“Sorry I missed the class, but Colton and I are wrapping up our case. Want to meet up at King’s for dinner?” Dante asked.
Six mused that three weeks ago, he’d been apprehensive of going into a bar like King’s. Now it was the usual place the gang hung out. “Good plan.”
“See you soon, baby. I missed you so fucking much.”
“Even though we just parted hours ago?” Six teased, laughing when Dante growled through the phone. “Love you.”
Stunned the words just came out without thinking, he quickly ended the call, hoping Dante somehow didn’t hear him. His phone rang again, and swallowing, he picked it up.
“Did you really mean that?” Da
nte asked, voice quiet, serious.
“With every fiber of my being.”
“Good, because I fucking love you, too, baby. But I prefer to say those words to you face-to-face.”
“Me, too,” he whispered. Time to put on that ridiculous thong he bought and make Dante’s eyes pop. “I have a surprise for you tonight.”
“Me, too. Looking forward to it.”
Dante ended the call. Six saw the others smirking at him. “What?”
Jerry whistled, pretending to look innocent, and grabbed Joe’s arm and started another conversation. Six rolled his eyes. His friends meant well, but sometimes they could be so immature.
“Is that the first time you told Dante those words?” Mark asked, curious.
“Yeah. It just came out.”
“Dante said he’ll give you the mate mark when you guys are ready. Is that soon?”
Six wondered at that, too. To be fair, they delayed completing the mating dance because of the tattoo removal sessions. Even with shifter healing, the skin where the ink should have been was still tender. “Soon,” he agreed.
“I’m excited for you,” Mark said, looking like he meant it.
“Me, too. I’m sure Crash will be happy to hear the good news.”
“You think so?”
Mark’s mate had been skeptical of Six at first, he remembered, but Crash was beginning to soften up to him, too, getting used to the fact Six was now a permanent fixture in Dante’s life and part of their group.
“I know so,” he confirmed, then groaned. “Shit. I need to pee. Again.”
God. Sometimes pregnancy was annoying.
“You guys go ahead,” he insisted.
“Jerry and Joe, you guys save us a table. I’ll accompany Six,” Mark offered, nodding to the Starbucks across the streets. “We’ll make a quick stop. After all, I can’t tell Dante I left his pregnant mate alone.”
Six rolled his eyes but nonetheless let it be.
Joe and Jerry waved goodbye and they crossed the street.
“This is one part of being pregnant I’m not going to enjoy,” Mark mumbled, eyeing the queue to the bathroom. “Oh hey, I’m getting a coffee. Want any?”