The Runaway Omega: M/M Wolf Shifter Mpreg Paranormal Romance

by Apollo Surge

  He didn’t mind feeding him, especially because it was clear to Joseph that he had been undereating for God knew how long. Joseph didn’t like to think about it very much.

  It was interesting and also kind of sad to watch Wes eat, when he kept those things in mind. He was starving and he ate like the food was going to be yanked away from him any second. It greatly upset Joseph to think that Wes ever went hungry, that someone was ever anything but kind to him.

  Wes struck him as the kind of wolf—the kind of person—who tried to be kind even when people weren’t being kind to him.

  Wes licked his lips and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He made a sound which was slightly sexual and Joseph cleared his throat, reminding himself that the man in front of him was completely off limits.

  There was no way that Joseph was going to have sex with Wes. Doing that would undermine everything that Wes was trying to do. Joseph thought that he had enough control to make sure that didn’t happen, but he knew that he would have to take other measures to prevent anything from happening between the two of them.

  Joseph might have been trained but Wes wasn’t.

  Wes grabbed the can of soda from in front of him, brought it to his lips, tilted his head back and sighed happily once he was done.

  He burped and put his hand in front of his mouth, mumbling a weak, “Pardon me,” when he did.

  Joseph turned to smile at him and to tell him that it was no big deal, but Wes’ eyes were still glued to the plate in front of him, which was now empty, and he seemed to be wondering something.

  There was a sadness in his eyes too and Joseph couldn’t help but clamp his hand over Wes’ shoulder. Wes looked at him and smiled.

  “Thank you,” Wes said, his voice a hoarse whisper.

  Joseph nodded. This reminded Joseph of the fact that Wes had never had human food in his life, that he really didn't understand what the human way of life was like.

  He got it. He understood what being in an isolated pack was like, but this was too much.

  It was clear that Wes’ pack had tried to hide him from the rest of the world so that their one and only omega wouldn’t escape, and that very fact made his stomach churn.

  Clearly it made Wes’ stomach churn too or he wouldn’t be there.

  “I’ll help you clean up,” Wes said. “Thank you, seriously. For, uh, everything. Not just for the food.”

  Joseph watched him.

  “I mean it,” he said. “You could have just kicked me out the moment you found me in your house. You could have called the police or…”

  They both knew what Joseph could have done. Wes didn’t have to say it. It was on both of their minds. Joseph shook his head. “I would never do that,” he said.

  “I know,” Wes replied. “But I didn’t know when I first came in here.”

  “I know you didn’t,” Joseph said. “Is it wrong to say that I’m glad you stayed?”

  Joseph knew that he shouldn’t have said that. He knew that everything between them was temporary, if there was even anything between them. He couldn’t let himself feel that there was, just because their circumstances happened to align and put them in the same place at the same time.

  Once they were done cleaning up and the kitchen was spotless, it was time to discuss what was going to happen over a cup of coffee. They needed to get some boundaries in place, especially for when the two of them started shifting, but they were putting off the conversation, probably because it was an uncomfortable conversation to have.

  Once Joseph had finished showing Wes how to work the French press and Wes drank his coffee—apparently, it was the one thing that he did drink—the two of them sat at the plastic table in the kitchen while Devin snored away in his little knitted sweater and under his quilt.

  It was all so perfectly domestic that it was hard for Joseph to remember why he was there in the first place.

  “So,” Joseph said, taking the last of his coffee. “We need to talk about… you know, how things are going to work.”

  Wes nodded.

  “There are some rules in my house, Wes. You should know that.”

  Wes swallowed, looking away from him. His cheeks were a deep dark red. “I know,” he said. “I'll replace your window as soon as possible.”

  Joseph nodded. “Sure,” he said. “That’s great. Do you have money?”

  Wes watched him, saying nothing.

  “Windows are expensive,” Joseph explained. “Getting someone here to replace it is going to be even more expensive than the window.”

  Wes rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can install the window,” he said. “I’m handy.”

  Joseph nodded. “Okay,” he replied. “What about the window itself?”

  Wes continued to look away from him, saying nothing for a little bit.

  Joseph didn’t want to prompt him. He didn’t want to accidentally make him feel like he was demanding payment, because he wasn’t. He didn’t care about the window. He only cared about establishing a set of rules for both of them, so that neither one of them fell into a trap about the other one.

  He could easily see that happening.

  He could see it happening because he hadn’t been able to stop looking at Wes, though he should have. He hadn’t been able to stop looking at the way that Wes’ eyes lit up every time that their gazes locked. He could see the way his pupils expanded and his gaze darted down to Wes’ lips and he couldn’t help but wonder if he tasted just as good as he smelled.

  “I have a little bit that I saved up before I left,” Wes said, mercifully bringing Joseph out of his trance. Maybe it was an omega thing, but Joseph couldn’t be sure.

  On the other hand, he hadn’t felt this way about anyone else. Joseph had dated. He had made sure to date and to sleep around, because that was the easiest way to learn to control himself.

  No human wanted to see the animalistic part of him and if there was one thing that was drilled into his head ever since he was a cub, it was that he had to keep the existence of their species a secret.

  That, other than mating, was the biological imperative.

  So he’d gotten a mini pig, and he’d slept around, and he’d stayed away from other wolves. It had worked for him so far. That was, until he’d run into Wes, but he couldn’t help that.

  That was completely out of his control. He wasn’t upset about helping another wolf, though. In fact, this was helping Joseph.

  He still felt guilty about having left Maurice the way that he had. If this was the omega that he could help, then that was good. It would make his life easier. At least he thought so. That, and he couldn’t bear the idea of sending Wes away to fend for himself when the danger facing him was so pressing and real.

  Joseph wouldn’t be there to defend him either. He couldn’t be there. He knew better than to confront another alpha. That meant death—or at least some real, true pain—for at least one of them.

  And it wasn’t like Joseph wanted to claim Wes as his own alpha.

  He just wanted him to be a person, have his own life. Do what he wanted. He didn’t want to own anyone that didn’t want to be owned. Wes was a little bit magnificent and the last thing that Joseph wanted to do was to stop that magnificence from manifesting. He wanted to help him be free, just like the way that Joseph had freed himself from the shackles of his destiny years ago.

  But it was also clear that Wes didn’t have a clue.

  At least Joseph hadn’t been this clueless when he had first left his pack. They were pretty normal, trying their best to slip through the cracks of human life.

  Joseph had heard of packs like Wes’, but they were a myth, a legend. They were barbaric and they were the stuff of legends. But he could see it in Wes’ eyes.

  He wasn’t lying.

  Joseph understood completely why Wes was so scared.

  He was going to help him. Whatever reservations he might have had, the moment he thought about helping Wes, he realized that it was more important that he help Wes t
han do anything else.

  It might be the most important thing that he ever do in his life.

  If Wes managed to escape, where was he going to go? What was he going to do? Joseph didn’t even want to think about it. The very thought of it made him sick to his stomach. He could be shot, or worse, imprisoned and studied.

  Then his entire species would be at risk and not just the sweet young man in front of him. As defiant as he was, Joseph was pretty sure that it would break him.

  It could break even the strongest of alphas.

  Wes was still watching him curiously when Joseph cocked his head and smiled at him. “Okay, Wes,” he said. “How much?”

  “How much what?”

  “How much did you have saved up?”

  Wes looks at him for a second, clearly wondering if he should tell him. Joseph could tell that he was embarrassed of what the answer was.

  “It’s okay,” Joseph said. “I promise I’m not going to judge you.”

  Wes laughed at that. “You should, because it’s pitiful. I mean, it might be enough to start, but…”

  “Wes.”

  “About two hundred dollars.”

  Joseph had to stop his mouth from dropping open. If Wes really thought that two hundred dollars was enough for him to get settled, then he really had a lot more to learn than Joseph had anticipated.

  Joseph smiled at him, trying to hide the shock in his face. “Well,” he said. “We need to do something about that too.”

  Chapter Five

  Wes hadn’t expected Joseph to be so nice. Even once they started talking, Wes was pretty sure that he was going to turn into a horrible person, or that he was going to shift into an alpha asshole.

  But that wasn't what had happened at all. Instead, Joseph had offered to let him stay, and when Wes had asked how that would work, Joseph had said that he would give him work around the house.

  He had also said that Wes could stay without paying rent, which had surprised him, but he appreciated it nevertheless. It felt a bit like destiny that Joseph’s cabin had been the one that Wes had broken into.

  If it had been anyone else’s cabin, he doubted that they would have had the conversation that they’d had the night before, over Chinese food and coffee. God, even the thought of that… it was so foreign to Wes. This wasn’t the kind of life that he’d led up to that point. Joseph had opened his eyes to so much more. It was kind of hard for Wes to process that this was what his life could be like and that Joseph would help him get there.

  He smiled as he thought about Joseph, stretching as he got out of the guestroom bed. It was the nicest bed that he had ever slept in, and these were the nicest clothes that he had ever worn, though much like Joseph had said, they were too big for him.

  Joseph looked around at his new room. It was also the biggest, nicest room he had ever been in. Back at the farm, he slept in the garage with at least one other wolf, because they didn’t want him to run away.

  He had been lucky the night that he’d managed to escape, because Alfonso and Robin had gone out on a date and they had sworn Wes to secrecy.

  It had been perfect for him, though he couldn’t help but wonder what Griffin had done to the two of them after the escape was discovered.

  It was none of his business, he told himself as he walked around the room. The room was huge and facing the east, so he could see sunlight streaming through the windows.

  The light was soft and everything about the place was cozy. He could imagine himself here in the long-term, but he knew that wasn’t very likely to happen.

  It was too nice to be a stepping stone, Wes thought with a sigh. This was the perfect place for him. He could already tell.

  And the fact that Joseph was so nice, kind and sweet… well, that didn’t make him feel like he wanted to move on. He knew that Joseph was just taking pity on him, but even then, his gratitude was winning over his pride.

  Without Joseph, he didn’t know where he would be.

  Especially because of the discussion they’d had the night before.

  Joseph had told Wes that all he had to do was repair some things, help with some fixtures, make sure that everything was finished up and ready to live in. After all, Joseph had explained, the house was still not quite finished.

  There were a few things that needed to be done and Joseph said that he wasn't handy, so he would appreciate Wes’ help. Wes was handy, and he was happy to help, considering what Joseph was doing for him.

  Wes knew that his handiness was being used as an excuse, but it was a good one and he didn't mind it. As long as it meant that he got to stay there, Joseph could have told him anything and he would have done it, though it was probably best that Joseph didn’t know that.

  He sighed as he thought about him. He remembered focusing on those long, calloused fingers—his hands were big, and his skin looked soft, but the ends of his fingers looked like they saw a lot of use, and Wes wanted to grab them and feel them against his own. He wanted to put them on his face and feel the creases of his skins, the ridges of his knuckles.

  He closed his eyes as he felt his cheeks redden, thinking about what else he would love to do with Joseph’s fingers. He wanted to have them on his cheeks, he wanted to suck them dry until—fuck. He needed to stop thinking about it.

  He was sporting a pretty obvious morning wood and he couldn’t go out there with a hard-on, especially not in Joseph’s pajamas. That would have been… weird.

  Nothing was going to happen between them. There was tension, sure, but that was only the natural imperative. It wasn’t because there was actually anything between them. It was just that Joseph was an alpha and Wes was an omega, so their bodies were betraying them.

  Wes’ body certainly was, though he was sure he had never felt this way about Griffin. Sure, he had wanted Griffin to have him, so that he could end up pregnant, but he didn’t think about Griffin like this when he closed his eyes.

  He didn’t seek him out when his bed was empty in the morning. He couldn’t remember what he had dreamed about, but he was reasonably sure that it had been about Joseph.

  He couldn’t afford to get obsessed with the man that was helping him by letting him stay with him. He told himself to get a grip and went down to the floor to do push-ups, hoping that they would kill his boner.

  After twenty, he was pretty sure that he was presentable enough to go downstairs. There was only one bathroom in the cabin at the end of the hallway, near where Wes had broken the window.

  He could feel the wind chill going through the wall when he had been sleeping there and he was sure that he was going to feel it now when he was taking a shower.

  The fact that there was only one bathroom in the entire cabin was unfortunate, Wes thought.

  They would have to share it, which Wes guessed Joseph didn’t really appreciate.

  There was something about having to share a bathroom with a guy that he didn't know that well. He had done it before with his family, and obviously, they relieved themselves by going outside and washing in the river when they had shifted.

  But Joseph’s existence seemed a lot more… human. And Wes really wanted to fit in. He didn’t want Joseph to feel like he had made a mistake by taking him in, and he was going to do his best to make sure that Joseph didn’t think that he was a freak.

  Once he was ready and there was sweat on his forehead, he decided that it was time to go downstairs.

  He could hear Joseph talking to Devin and he couldn’t help but smile at the way that his tone shifted when he talked to his mini pig. He was normally so wise sounding, but there was something sweet about the way he talked to Devin Bacon, almost paternal.

  He wondered what kind of father Joseph would have been, if he had chosen to go through with his alpha nature. He appreciated that he hadn’t, though he didn’t know much about him.

  He smiled when he saw Joseph on the floor, Devin doing circles around him, wearing a different sweater this time.

  “Good morning,” Wes sai
d with a smile.

  Joseph smiled back at him, then went back to playing with Devin. “Good morning to you. Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Wes said. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Joseph replied.

  “How many sweaters have you knitted your pig?”

  Joseph narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. “I don’t know,” he said. “At least twenty?”

  “Twenty,” Wes echoed.

  “Yeah, so I knit him one for each season, and obviously the summer ones aren’t technically sweaters,” he said. “They’re more like… capes.”

  “You knit your pig capes.”

  “He gets cold!”

  “I’m not judging you,” Wes said, biting his lower lip to stop himself from smiling. “I feel like you should do whatever you want to do.”

  “Of course I should,” Joseph said, grinning at him. “I took up knitting because it was a way to learn how to relax. I felt myself getting really wound-up all the time, living among humans, not being able to be true to my nature. I needed to find something to do with my hands.”

  Wes watched him. He wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to explain himself to him, but Joseph wasn’t doing it because he wanted to explain himself. That much was clear from the look on his face.

  He was enjoying this. Wes knew, instantly, that it was because he never got to tell this story.

  He never got to talk about the things that he did to stop himself from exploding. Wes approached him and sat down on the floor in front of him, smiling as Devin darted in and out from between their legs.

  “But it felt pointless to do it if it wasn’t going anywhere,” Joseph said. “I wanted what I did to go somewhere. I knitted myself a few hats, but I don’t know, that wasn’t very fulfilling. So then I got Devin. I thought it would be good practice to knit him some hats, but… it was harder than I expected. Then I got hooked on making him sweaters.”

  “And you’ve been doing it ever since?”

  Joseph nodded. “Some people run,” he said. “I knit.”

  “I like it.”