by Marcy Jacks
Micah was finally giving birth.
Theron watched, transfixed, as the omega’s face turned a bright shade of red, his mouth dropping open with another surge of pain as he held his mate’s hand.
Stefan seemed to be doing his absolute best to keep his mate calm and help Micah get undressed as quickly as possible.
Theron didn’t understand why until Micah was naked and then shifting into a wolf.
A few of the other omegas were there. Miles was one of them. Cole, Evzen’s new wolf mate, ran into the room with a stack of fresh sheets. Seth, the alpha of this dragon clan, stood back while his mate gave orders and instruction as everyone lowered themselves down to the ground with the wolf.
It made sense for the dragons to stand back in this case. The omegas in the house would know more about their own kind and how birthing worked, after all.
Theron had wondered where the baby would come from. Now he knew. Micah had turned into a female wolf. He could tell. Apparently he was going to give birth like that. Would the child come out looking like a wolf, a dragon, or a human?
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
As the wolf howled and groaned, Stefan stroked the beast’s fur, smiling the most anxious smile Theron had ever seen on a man. Several others came to stand in the doorway, to see the miracle taking place.
Theron turned around and jumped off the roof.
That seemed like a private moment, something he shouldn’t be bothering himself with.
He didn’t want to intrude, so it was better if he stayed out of it.
He ran back to the fox omega still frozen on the lawn before the man could get it into his head that running away again was somehow a good idea.
“Is…is everything okay?” he asked, wringing his hands.
Theron nodded. “Yes. It’s a happy event. Micah is finally giving birth.”
“Oh,” said the fox omega, his ears briefly rising up as he looked toward the house. “They said he was overdue.”
Theron nodded. “Right, so I won’t be able to bother Seth about you running away for a while. He and Stefan are busy, so I’ll just take you back to your room.”
He reached out to grab onto the omega’s arm.
The little fox shifter stepped back before Theron could reach him.
That same guilt came back, eating away at Theron’s stomach. “I won’t try to kiss you again if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Though it had felt so good to do so. He wanted to do it again, and he couldn’t explain why.
“It not…” The omega shook his head but then steeled himself, as though getting ready to say, or do, something that required a lot of bravery. “You’re not going to hit me again, are you?”
“Hit you?”
Theron couldn’t have been more shocked if the omega in front of him revealed he was actually a vampire.
Then he glanced at the man’s arms and realized. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dig my claws into you like that. It won’t happen again.”
And he meant that.
“Oh, yeah, that,” said the omega, lifting a hand and touching one of his shoulders, as though he’d completely forgotten about it. “Well, not just that. You slapped my hand in town. That really hurt.”
“I…” Theron blinked then groaned. “Jesus, I was trying to protect you! One of those idiots put some powder in your drink when you weren’t looking. They could have drugged you and done anything they wanted to you. I was saving you.”
The omega frowned at him. Either because he didn’t entirely believe what Theron was saying or it was an explanation he hadn’t expected.
“No, those were my friends. They wouldn’t do that.”
“Do you even know those people?”
“No.”
Theron slapped his forehead and rubbed his face. He struggled not to laugh. “God, I need a stiff drink. You mean to tell me you snuck out of the house and into town, and you’ve been hanging out with people you don’t know? You’ve been hitching rides with perfect strangers. You can’t do that.”
“Humans are nice to me.”
That guilt and pain came back and got Theron right in the gut. He didn’t want to break down the man’s trust in the outside world like this, but it seemed as if that was something he was honestly going to have to do.
“All humans are not good. Some of them can be good, and some of them can be bad. Others can be terrifying as fuck. You are lucky that in the time you’ve been doing this that you haven’t been killed. You completely let your guard down out there.”
The omega shook his head, as though he still didn’t believe a word of what he was being told.
Theron sighed. This was something he was going to have to explain at a later time. He could tell that much right now.
“Look, just trust me on this one, all right? You don’t know enough about the outside world to be doing what you’re doing, and even if you did, you’re in no position to defend yourself if anyone ever feels like chopping you up into chum and throwing you to the sharks.”
“I’ve already lived with sharks. How bad can humans be?”
Theron was gentle this time as he took the omega by the shoulders. He didn’t want to irritate the little wounds he’d made on the man, but he needed to get this through his head.
“Humans can be just as bad as vampires when given the chance. Everyone can be just as bad as the vampires when given the chance. Don’t get yourself killed putting your trust in the wrong people. You just got your freedom, all right? You need to enjoy that a little bit before you die.”
The omega’s brows came together. God, his freckles were so damned cute in the moonlight.
Theron took the man by the chin, holding him, lifting the man’s gaze just a little bit more. He ran his thumb across that bottom lip.
The lip that had felt so soft and plump when Theron had kissed it.
He wanted to kiss it again. He wanted so badly to press their mouths together and to bring their bodies together. He wanted to be inside this man and really take him, to make sure that no one would ever dare do something as stupid as try to hurt him again.
He smelled so good.
As the omega stared back at him, something terrifying struck Theron right in the chest. He released the man, stumbled back, and stared at him as though he’d never seen a fox omega before in all of his life.
The omega blinked at him, as though he didn’t understand.
Theron didn’t blame him.
“Did…did I do something wrong?”
Theron shook his head, but it wasn’t really in answer to the question that had been asked. It was more at himself.
No way. How could this happen? This wasn’t supposed to happen, and Theron wasn’t supposed to find a mate who was a damned animal shifter of all people.
He wanted to groan. Theron wanted to clutch at his heart and sink to his knees with this new direction his life was taking, entirely without his permission.
He stayed on his feet. He was a goddamned alpha. He was one of Evzen’s men, and he was going to do at least that much.
His brother’s memory deserved to be treated better than to have a brother who was knocked off his feet so easily.
“I’ll take you back to your room,” Theron said softly.
The omega nodded. “O-okay.”
Theron nodded back, feeling in a daze, as though he was on autopilot as he walked the omega back to the house and to his room.
He made sure not to ask the omega’s name, and he sure as hell didn’t invite himself into the man’s bedroom.
Not until he had a cold shower, a stiff drink, and enough time to think over this new predicament he’d just discovered.
After he’d calmed down, after he’d let himself come to terms with the fact that this was not mere lust, then he could act.
Until then, Theron returned to his room, ignored the wails and howling of the wolf giving birth, and then, eventually, the baby cries, as well.
Chapter Four
Angel expected to be woken up the next day to a group of dragons around his bed, glaring down at him, getting ready to pass judgment and punishment onto him for what he’d done.
It didn’t happen, but when he did leave his bedroom, the good news of Micah and Stefan’s new child was the first thing he’d heard.
Followed immediately by, “Seth wants to see you.”
It had been Jesse to tell him that, and Angel’s insides had immediately turned to stone. It was even worse than that one time he’d found himself alone in a room with Lord Sorin, and Angel absolutely hated that vampire.
He walked to the study, where he knew the alpha of the dragon clan would be waiting for him.
Angel stopped outside the door, inhaled a deep breath, and knocked softly. He hoped to keep under the radar so that when no one called for him to enter, he could simply pretend he’d tried to get the attention of the people inside and walk away.
No such luck. Of course the alpha would hear that knock, and of course, he called for Angel to enter.
He did.
Angel stopped short when he spotted Seth, Stefan, Evzen, and Theron standing around the mahogany desk where Varrick used to do his paperwork, taxes, and keep a tab on the family members who owed him money and had borrowed his slaves.
Angel swallowed hard. He looked at Theron and then had to glance away quickly before he could glare at the man.
After being kissed last night, Angel had hoped the dragon shifter would let go of what had happened and leave it between the two of them.
Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen. Angel was completely and totally screwed.
“You can have a seat, Angel,” Seth said.
There was only one chair currently in front of the large desk. Angel took it. His shoulders wanted to hunch, but he forced them straight.
He’d done what he’d done, and he was pretty sure that these dragons would respect his decision more if he showed some confidence in it.
Even if that meant faking his confidence, he would do it.
“Yes, alpha?”
Seth looked to Stefan, who, in turn, lifted a brow down at him.
“I was told by Theron that you went out and did something…unusual last night.”
Angel’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding. He could hear it all the way into his ears.
“I did. I guess.”
Seth laced his fingers together. “Are you aware of how dangerous it is to run through the woods like that? To hitchhike into town and to get into some seedy bar and let your guard down around a bunch of half-drunk guys?”
This time Angel couldn’t stop himself from glaring at Theron. “They were being nice to me.”
“Uh-huh,” Seth replied.
“It’s true! They were!”
“Because they bought you some drinks and let you play the games?” Evzen had that wide-eyed, disbelieving look on his face, too. Why did everyone have to look like that around him? He didn’t understand it.
“Well, yes. Isn’t that the way it works?”
Theron covered his hand with his face. He shook his head, as though he honestly couldn’t believe the things he was hearing.
And Angel was angry.
“Angel,” Seth began, “when men in bars offer to buy you drinks, and when they pay to let you play the games, it’s usually because they’re hoping to get something in return. Do you know what that is?”
The way Seth asked it made Angel feel stupid. He was talking as though Angel was a child. Angel was no child, and he’d been schooled in the ways of the world on many issues.
“You’re talking about sex.”
Seth nodded.
Angel shook his head.
Theron snapped at him. “Stop trying to deny this. You have to see that this is what they were doing.”
“Theron,” Evzen said, his tone soft, and yet there was a hint of a warning within those words.
Theron snapped his mouth shut, rolling his eyes and glancing away.
Angel shook his head. “But…no, they were being nice.”
Seth inhaled a deep breath through his nose. “Not everyone who treats you nicely is doing it for noble reasons. Theron tells me he saw one of them try to slip something into your drink. I know you know what that means.”
Angel’s eyes burned. The worst kind of humiliation hit him, and he didn’t know what to do about it.
He didn’t want to believe any of it, but what choice did he have when he was constantly being presented with facts like this?
Maybe he was stupid. He didn’t want to be, but four grown dragons who knew more about this world than he did were telling him that this was the way things worked in this world.
What choice did he have but to believe them?
Which meant that Theron really had, in all likelihood, saved his life.
“I…are you sure?”
Theron nodded. “Very sure.”
It was the way he said it. There was something there that made Angel cringe, even though he didn’t detect anything mean spirited about it.
Theron sounded calm, as though he’d accepted that Angel wouldn’t understand right away, which was true. He hadn’t understood.
And now it felt even worse.
A rock formed in his throat. He could hardly breathe, and at the same time, he found himself struggling to talk. “I just…I wanted to learn about the world. I wanted to see it.”
The alphas looked amongst each other, as though curious as to how he could have thought such a thing in the first place.
For some reason, it hurt so much more, and was so much more embarrassing, when it was Theron who had that expression on his face.
“Angel,” Theron said softly, that kid-gloves tone of voice coming back. “You know a bar on the outskirts of town isn’t really the world, right? There’s a lot more to it than that.”
Angel felt his bottom lip tremble. That was the worst. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to come off as an adult who knew what he wanted and who knew the ways of the world. He was twenty-four, he wasn’t a child, and yet he still felt small. Despite the fact that he was now a free alpha, he felt small and weak. Helpless.
As much of a prisoner now than he ever was.
“Angel?” Theron pressed.
Angel couldn’t answer.
He knew what he should say. The answer was no, but at the same time, part of him had thought he was learning what he needed by going to that bar. He was meeting new people, they were being kind to him, he’d learned the taste of alcohol, and how to make what he’d thought were friends when he was invited to play their games.
He’d gone only three times, and it had never occurred to him that the humans he got to drive him down there and back when he finished could possibly hurt him.
He never stopped to think that he was trusting strangers.
It seemed like such an obvious blunder, which was what made his humiliation all the worse.
He wanted to sink into a hole and disappear.
Theron sighed. He looked to Seth.
Seth nodded. “Angel, Theron brought something to my attention, and now that I know what you’ve been up to at night, I think you should consider it.”
Angel rubbed his arm, trying to appear a little smaller so the alpha wouldn’t have to look at him so much. “What does he want?”
Angel was still mad at the man for telling on him in the first place. He didn’t know when, or if, he was ever going to forgive the man for that.
Then Seth dropped the next bomb, and it was insanity. It was such crazy talk that Angel would have fallen on his ass had he not already been sitting in this chair.
“Theron told us that he kissed you last night and that he realized, when he did, that he’s been struggling against a mating pull. He’s a strong alpha, Evzen has given him the seal of approval, and he could keep you safe if you ever wanted to dip your toes back out into the real world again.”
Angel blinked at the alpha. Seth, the red dragon who had dropped in fro
m the sky, rescued a vampire from burning to death at the stake, and taken Angel, a couple of betas, and a few of his omega friends away from Varrick’s home.
Seth, who was strong and powerful, whom Angel had learned to trust in the short amount of time he’d been here in this pack.
He was doing something that made Angel’s breath halt for seconds at a time.
“You want to give me to another alpha?”
He looked at Theron. Yes, the man was handsome. It was certainly no chore for Angel’s eyes to feast on him.
But that didn’t mean he wanted to be handed over to someone like he was nothing.
As if he was still a thing to be traded away at a whim.
“No, that’s not it at all,” Seth promised quickly. “This is entirely different. I’m offering you the choice to mate with him. Theron told me that it’s a natural mating—”
“It is,” Theron said, quietly but also quickly. Theron turned his attention to Angel, those eyes that Angel had been getting lost in whenever he had the rare chance of looking into them striking Angel in the most vulnerable place.
Right in his heart.
“I’ve been sniffing someone around in this house who smelled…good, to say the least. That person was you. I didn’t want to admit it, but it’s true.”
Theron inhaled a deep breath, the sort that made his chest puff out and seemed to make him stand a couple of inches taller. “I can take care of you. If you ever need me to take you anywhere so you can meet people, people other than those drunks at the bar, I can do that for you. I can help you learn, set you up so you can get some schooling. Whatever you want.”
Angel’s heart wouldn’t stop beating so loudly. He couldn’t seem to get himself under control.
He was having a small panic attack.
“Angel?”
Angel shook his head. He looked up at the alphas. “I…I know where this goes. I know how these promises are made.”
He looked to Theron, who was so handsome and seemed so good.
But good and handsome people were always the ones he needed to worry about the most in a vampire household. Angel never thought he would have to worry about them here.
Seth leaned forward against his desk. “And how do you think this promise is going to go?”