by Athena Blaez
“I’m not going to let this go.” Noah followed him to the bathroom. He plucked the small jar and motioned for Wyatt to turn around.
Wyatt dutifully lifted his shirt and Noah applied the balm to the center of his lower back. Already it was feeling better. “Maybe I just need a massage. I can get a massage while pregnant, right?”
“I don’t know. You’re already four weeks along; it’s hard to say and don’t change the subject.” Noah’s fingers worked at the tight muscles along the sides of his spine. “I think it’s really irresponsible for you not to at least let the father know you’re pregnant. He might actually surprise you and help you financially.”
Wyatt let his shirttail drop. He took the balm and put it away. “You didn’t see him, Noah. He’s a real playboy. After you told me his last name, I did some digging. The guy is a partier. He’s not looking to settle down. He’s too busy being…alpha-y. I’m no one. I bet he doesn’t even remember my name.”
“By your admission, you guys barely got beyond names.” Noah went into the kitchen to start some tea.
Wyatt followed and eased into a kitchenette chair to watch. “I can handle this on my own.”
He rested his hands on his belly and smoothed at the bump that was clearly showing. “Sometimes I wish I were a normal human and didn’t have to worry about this sort of thing.”
“If you were a normal human, you’d carry to term in nine months and not sixty days like wolves.” Noah got the mugs ready and then joined Wyatt at the table to wait for the water. “Nine months of hell doesn’t sound like fun.”
“If I was human, I wouldn’t be pregnant.”
“Point. But that’s not your life and so here we are.”
“We? I’m the one pregnant.”
Noah reached over to hold Wyatt’s hand. “But you don’t have to go through this alone, Wyatt. That’s all I’m saying. I’ll help you as best I can. I’m not the father but I can be your support.”
Wyatt’s cell phone rang. The caller ID displayed. It was the shop. “Hey Jason, need me to come in?”
“Nope. Got it all under control. My brother is proving out to be quite the salesman. You may want to consider hiring him at least part-time.”
Wyatt pinched at the bridge of his nose. The shop was getting busier. He and Jason could use the extra help. “I’ll call the bookkeeper and see what I can do. So what can I do for you?”
“I wanted to let you know that Gage Weston came by the shop this afternoon.”
“What?” Wyatt almost dropped his phone. “Gage was there? When?”
“Left like ten minutes ago. I didn’t tell him where you lived but he was able to find the shop so I suspect he’ll figure out where you live next.”
Wyatt’s face felt numb and he was light-headed. Luckily, he was already sitting down. “Oh boy.”
“Anyway. Need to get back to work. If you need anything, call me. My sister is married to a cop.”
“Right. Thanks, Jason.”
Wyatt dropped the phone on the table with a clatter and lowered his head on folded arms. “Shit.”
“What?” Noah asked.
“Gage Weston.”
“Gathered that part from the conversation.”
“He’s looking for me.”
Noah sat quietly for a moment. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt agreed. “I am guessing he will be here soon. If he found my shop, he’ll find me. So…looks like you’ll get your wish after all. I have to face him. You should probably go.”
“Not on your best day, buddy,” Noah said. He leaned back in his chair resolutely and crossed his arms. “I’m not leaving you alone with him until I’m convinced that you’ll be okay.”
“I will be. He won’t hurt me. I don’t think so, anyway.”
“That’s not reassuring, Wyatt.”
“Please, don’t make this any harder than it’s going to be. Could you please just go?”
The whistle of the kettle drew Noah’s attention away as he went to pull the hot water to fix their tea. “I said no. I’m staying, and you and he can just get over it. You’ve already taken on more than you were ready for by getting pregnant. I’m not going to let some Alpha wreck you emotionally again.”
Wyatt sighed heavily. This was a battle he was destined to lose. “Okay.”
A knock at the door startled Wyatt and he jerked upright. “Shit.”
“You stay, I’ll get the door.”
Lunging out of his chair, Wyatt grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him back. “No, I’ll get it. Just…stay here in the kitchen. Please.”
After a reluctant nod, Wyatt drew a deep breath and went to the door.
His hand rested on the knob. Gage’s scent wafted through the cracks. It was just as alluring and addicting as it was when he first met the man in the throes of his heat. Part of him wanted to jerk the door open, fall on his knees, and worship Gage’s cock right there in the doorway.
Which might embarrass Noah and scandalize the neighbors, but the fact that Wyatt didn’t care about that was what bothered him the most.
He didn’t want to want an Alpha this much. He didn’t want to want Gage this much.
But he did. He did so much that he ached when he was alone in his bed at night.
“I know you’re there, Wyatt. I can smell you, even though you smell differently, I can tell it’s you. Open the door,” Gage’s voice demanded through the closed door.
A part of Wyatt balked at being talked to like that. It warred with the part of himself that wanted to open the door and have Gage take him right there. “Go home, Gage. We really don’t have anything to talk about.”
The silence that followed almost convinced Wyatt that he had left. Until Gage spoke again. “No. I’m not leaving until I can talk to you.”
“What’s there to talk about?” Wyatt turned to lean heavily against the door. He should just walk away and let Gage shout himself out. Maybe one of the neighbors would call about a disturbance and take care of Wyatt’s problem for him. “I had you do what I needed you to do. It’s done. No strings, remember?”
“I won’t let it go at that, Wyatt. Please, just open the door and let me talk to you face to face and not through this piece of wood.” Gage punctuated that with a slap to the door. The vibration tickled Wyatt’s chest.
“You’re not really convincing me there’s anything more to discuss.”
“Wyatt…please. Just…let me in. I can’t explain it. We were supposed to be just a one-time thing. But ever since you left my penthouse, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. You’re on my mind all the time. I want to know more about you, Wyatt. I really want to get to know you.”
Wyatt sucked in a slow breath. How was it possible that Gage was feeling the same way he did? Gage was supposed to be the epitome of the unavailable Alpha.
“Please,” Wyatt said with an annoyed huff to screw up his courage to continue. “That’s your lust talking. I just…” he reached for any excuse he could to explain why Gage was there. “…I’m just someone lucky enough to pique your interest enough for a second taste. There’s nothing there.”
“That’s unfair.”
“But it’s true. I read about you, once I pieced together who you are. You’re a playboy. You can have your pick of omegas. So just move on to your new omega.”
There was a soft bump against the door. “I don’t want to move on. I want you.”
This was ridiculous. Wyatt pushed away from the door. How could a playboy Alpha who had his choice of any number of pretty boy omegas want a boring omega like him? “No you don’t. Go home, Gage, or I’m calling the police.”
Wyatt placed a flat hand on the door. He imagined he could feel Gage’s body heat beneath his palm. There was no denying that for Wyatt, Gage was everything he wanted. Beside the playboy part, he was smart, he was funny, and when they talked that day at Jinx’s, Gage appeared to be completely fascinated with him. He just chalked that up to being caught in the moment of heat as well.
>
The few hours he spent with Gage, though, he believed were something special. At least for him. Wyatt wanted to keep that fantasy pristine and intact.
Gage was threatening to force reality into the situation just by being there.
Wyatt forced himself to push away. He needed the physical, as well as the emotional, distance.
Noah was standing at the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed. He gave Wyatt an encouraging nod. “That’s the best thing, Wyatt.”
“I know.”
So why did he feel so miserable?
He made it as far as the edge of the sofa when there was a loud crash behind him. Wyatt whirled to see the door swing open, splinters of wood sprayed from the doorjamb as they sheared away. His arm came up to shield his face when the doorknob buried in the drywall behind it.
Noah grabbed Wyatt and heaved to pull him further away. “Jesus, what is wrong with you?” he barked at Gage, who now filled the ruined doorway.
“I won’t be put off,” Gage growled. He reached behind him and slammed the door shut. Mostly shut. The door hung pathetically on the bottom hinge.
They’d have to get a repairman out to fix it.
“Don’t walk away from me, Wyatt. Not until we have a chance to talk.”
Gage was angry. The timbre of his voice was low, growling deep in his chest. It reverberated like rolling thunder. Wyatt’s dick twitched immediately in arousal at how feral Gage sounded.
Wyatt sighed heavily and faced Gage. His hand rested on his slightly swollen belly. “Well, come in then, I guess.”
Gage took a step forward and paused, his gaze focused on Wyatt’s stomach.
Suddenly, Wyatt felt self-conscious of how he looked. He pulled at his shirt to cover the obvious bump.
“Whose?” Gage demanded.
Wyatt’s face heated. His intense desire to have Gage take him again warred with his irritation at being talked to in such a manner. No man ever talked to Wyatt like that, not if they wanted anything to do with him again. Which was why, his mother’s voice in his head reminded him, he couldn’t attract and keep a mate.
“Leave.” Noah’s voice didn’t hold the same command that Gage’s did, but for an omega, Noah was showing surprising strength in the face of Gage’s ire.
“Fuck you. Who are you? Is this your mate?” Gage demanded.
Wyatt put a hand on Noah’s arm. “Noah, hold on—”
“What if I am? What will you do about it?” Noah’s sudden boldness was going to result in getting his ass kicked and Wyatt tugged on Noah to stand down.
“I will kick your ass from here to across the street and back without you bouncing once.” Gage approached with sudden speed and aggression. It caused both Wyatt and Noah to back up a step. With an inhale, Gage leveled an angry gaze at Noah. “It’s not yours. You’re an omega.”
Noah lifted his chin. “What of it?”
“Nothing. You’re inconsequential—”
“Hold on, now,” Wyatt said, stepping between them. His stomach brushed Gage’s arm and the Alpha backed up a step. “You don’t come into my apartment and order me around and insult my friends—”
“Then you should have opened the door.”
“I didn’t want to talk to you before and I damn sure don’t want to talk to you now.”
“Whose?” Gage demanded again.
Wyatt straightened to face Gage head on, even though he wanted to back down and push Noah into the kitchen so they could talk privately.
“Mine,” Wyatt said with a defiant lift of his chin.
“And?”
“…yours.”
8
Gage
Gage stood in the face of Wyatt’s defiance, feeling like he’d just been hit.
“Mine…” he said quietly. The anger, the tension, and the aggression bled from him. This Noah character wasn’t a threat to him so he backed away to sit on the sofa.
“Mine.”
“That’s what he said,” Noah retorted, “so now you can go.”
With a wave of his hand, Gage dismissed Noah. He rested his elbows on his knees to take all of this in. “Is this why you didn’t want to open the door?”
Wyatt lingered by his friend near the kitchen doorway. “Yes.”
“Am I that big of an asshole?” Gage knew he could be. Aaron reminded him of it all the time. But to think that Wyatt would have been frightened of him over it?
And carrying his baby?
Wyatt drifted into the living room and eased on the chair next to where he sat. “I didn’t want you to know because I didn’t want you to feel obligated. I didn’t want you to think I had entrapped you or anything. I didn’t mean to get pregnant at all.”
He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But I don’t expect—”
Gage reached out and gathered both of Wyatt’s hands in his. “Why the hell are you apologizing? I was there and I share in the responsibility of getting you pregnant. I knew you were in heat and I didn’t use anything. I was a bonehead and wasn’t careful. But Wyatt—”
He tugged gently on Wyatt’s hands until the man shifted to sit next to him on the sofa. “I won’t abandon you over this. If I’m honest with you, I’m kind of excited. I mean, this…” he rested one hand on Wyatt’s stomach, “this is mine too, you know? So you shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own.”
Out of his peripheral vision, Gage saw Noah drift into the living room and sit in the chair across the coffee table from him, arms crossed stubbornly. “I won’t let you take the baby.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “Do you mind? This actually has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me because Wyatt is my friend.”
With a deep breath, Gage steadied his rising irritation. “Don’t you have something else you need to be doing? Someone else to irritate?”
“No.”
Wyatt huffed out a small laugh. “It’s okay, Noah. I’ll be okay now. Why don’t you go home and let me and Gage talk?”
Noah studied his friend, still defiant. Gage didn’t want to have to throw Wyatt’s friend out. Rationally, he knew that Noah was being protective of his friend. Omegas tended to band together like that. It was touching.
Also, aggravating. Especially since now Wyatt was willing to actually talk to him.
“Fine,” Noah said after a long silence. He stood and crossed to Wyatt to rest a hand on his shoulder. “If you need me, you know to call, right?”
Gage met Noah’s gaze over Wyatt’s head. It was clear Noah didn’t trust him. If Gage weren’t so pissy, he might even admit Noah had good reason. Right now, he just wanted Noah gone so he could talk alone with Wyatt.
After a glaring contest which Gage won, much to his grade-school delight, Noah left, trying to shut the ruined door behind him. “You owe Wyatt to fix this,” he said shortly before disappearing.
“I will have that fixed, Wyatt,” Gage conceded now that the walking irritation was gone.
Wyatt chuckled, hands fidgeting in Gage’s hold.
Gage refused to let go.
“Would you like some tea? We were just making it when you showed up.”
“Yeah, if it’ll give me a chance to start over?”
“Could be a chance,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt wiggled and pulled to get Gage to finally release him. Not willing to let Wyatt get too far, Gage followed him into the kitchen. Watching the omega walk from behind, his weight was already starting to shift and he had the pregnant waddle he’d seen in other pregnant omegas. It was so damn cute Gage would have squealed, if Gage did something that unAlpha.
He met Wyatt’s questioning gaze with a grin. “You are just so damn cute, Wyatt.”
Wyatt waved at a chair at the kitchenette. “Good Lord, Gage, you don’t even know me.”
“But I want to get to know you. You’re carrying my baby, after all.” Gage looked at the chair critically. He hoped the flimsy cheap aluminum held up beneath his b
ulk.
Gage worked hard to stay in shape and there was very little fat on him. His genetics and his regimen kept him in top form and a little on the heavy side.
The chair creaked a little but held up as he sat down.
“I won’t lie, I’m a little scared by what this means.” Wyatt stayed facing the counter, his back to Gage. Gage could see the stress making Wyatt’s shoulders tense. “I’m not ready to be a father.”
“Neither am I,” Gage admitted. “The elders of the pack have been pressuring me for years to have offspring to inherit the leadership of the pack. I guess I fought it so long and so hard because I hadn’t met the right person yet.”
Wyatt paused in his tea preparations before he turned to face Gage. “Yet? You met omegas all the time.”
Gage nodded. “Before meeting you, I had never met anyone who lingered in my mind as much and as often as you have. When you left that morning after? I couldn’t explain this emptiness I felt,” and he patted on his chest, over his heart. “I was so scattered and unfocused. That never happens to me. Do you understand that? Never.”
Wyatt moved the tea mugs to the table and filled them with water for their tea. “Maybe I was just a better lay than the other omegas,” he said with a rueful smile.
“It’s not that at all. I never connected with them before. Not like with you.”
“The papers are filled with your exploits, Gage. What am I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I have a lot to fix with you and I’m okay with that.” Gage moved the mugs and sugar bowl out of the way, and then reached for Wyatt’s hands. “I wasn’t expecting this development but don’t mistake my surprise as grudging obligation. I want to take care of you through this pregnancy. I want to be a good father to the baby. To our baby.”
“I can’t afford any more time away from work. The shop needs me.”
“You can afford to take at least a few more days off. Have you been to a doctor to make sure you and the baby are healthy?”
Wyatt’s wince was all the answer Gage needed. “Let my pack physicians have a look at you both. Stay the weekend at the very least, okay? Let me prove to you that we can make things work. That I can make things work.”