His Reformed Omega: MPREG Romance (The Mountain Shifters Book 7)

by L. C. Davis

  Then again, Connor was uniquely gifted at picking fights.

  "Yeah, but this is something that should come from Connor himself, not you," Toval shot back. It was the first time Duke had heard the mates come close to quarreling and he stilled his breathing to listen closer. He told himself it didn't count as eavesdropping if they were talking about his mate.

  "He's not thinking clearly! He's panicked and he's going to do something he regrets because of it."

  "Would you listen to yourself? You sound like an alpha, deciding he knows what's best for the poor, fragile little omega."

  "Alright, enough, both of you." Hassan's voice was calm but pleading. "We're not getting anywhere and this isn't something that has to be decided now. Besides, I think I hear someone."

  Duke winced, waiting a moment before he strode past the waiting room and towards the patient rooms like he had every right to be there.

  "Duke?"

  The alpha turned to see Mel watching him from the hall, his arms folded over his chest. "Uh. Hey, I came as soon as I heard Connor was here. What happened?"

  Toval and Hassan followed Mel out of the waiting room and the beta mumbled something Duke couldn't quite make out, but he thought he caught a less-than-flattering reference to Everett in there.

  "He's stable now," Mel said carefully, not giving him any more of an answer than the doctor had. If the omega had been physically harmed, he knew he would have sensed it.

  "Where's Everett?" Duke asked, his tone turning dangerously sharp. Whatever reason the trio had for being so secretive about Connor's hospitalization, it couldn't be good. "Did he have something to do with this?"

  "No," said Toval. "Nothing at all."

  Duke frowned, trying to decipher the hidden meaning to the beta's words when Hassan offered, "He's sleeping for the moment, but if you like, I'll make sure he gets those."

  Duke hesitated before handing the flowers over to the other alpha, wondering why Mel wasn't the one who offered to take them. The omega was in one hell of a mood if the scowl on his face was any indication. "Something you wanna tell me?"

  Mel looked surprised by the question, but a strange look passed between he and Toval and he shook his head.

  "Mind if I ask you something?" Hassan asked, watching Duke closely. The alpha could see the wheels turning behind his warm eyes.

  "Yeah?"

  "Why are you here?"

  Duke looked between the three mates and he could tell they all knew damn well why he was there. It wasn't a question so much as it was a challenge. A test to see if he would come clean about imprinting on Connor or if he'd stay in the closet, even while his mate's health was in question. Duke's stomach churned with the realization that it would have taken him a moment to think about it a month ago.

  "Because Connor is mine," he said, stunned by the weight that lifted from his shoulders as he confessed the secret that had once been his greatest burden. "Maybe it's too late for that to mean anything, but I have to try."

  "Knew it," Toval muttered.

  "Son of a bitch," said Mel.

  "Did Mitchell tell you?"

  "No," said Hassan. "But I've had my suspicions for a while now."

  "Since when?" Duke asked, unable to hide his shock.

  "Since the first time you saw him in my prison," the alpha replied. "I hoped you'd come forward on your own and when you didn't, I began to think I was wrong."

  Duke somehow kept his head up even though shame was weighing him down. "I fucked up. I own that. I just need to know he's okay."

  "He isn't," Toval said flatly.

  "Tov..."

  "No," he said, ignoring his mate. "I'm not an alpha, and I know there's no field guide for what to do when you imprint on the enemy, but I know what it is to see someone for the first time and know they mean everything to you. No matter who he is, the way you handled all of this says a hell of a lot more about who you are."

  Mel rested a hand on the beta's shoulder and seemed to feel about a fraction of the self-reproach that was tormenting Duke. He nodded. "Yeah. No argument there."

  Toval watched him for a long while before he sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Between you and Everett, I guess you're still the best bet. Not that that's saying much."

  "What is it really?" Duke demanded. "All my cards are out on the table, so tell me. What the hell is wrong with Connor?"

  "That's not how this works. Toval's right," Mel said softly. "You forfeited your right to have a say in things when you decided not to claim him. You don't get to come forward now and start making demands from the people who've been there for him this whole time. If you actually do give a shit, then prove it."

  "How?"

  Hassan looked down at the flowers in his hand. "Today was a good start, but Connor needs rest and if you care about him, you'll respect our judgment. Go home, and if you're serious about claiming him, take care of whatever you need to take care of so you're not dumping more chaos on him. All I can tell you for now is that he's going to need security and support now more than ever."

  Duke choked back the argument on the tip of his tongue. Mel was right. They had been there for Connor, all three of him, while he had been content to let his mate sit in prison alone. "Fair enough. Please just promise me you'll call if anything changes."

  "We will," said Mel. "I've got your number."

  Hassan glanced down at his watch. "The kids will be home from school soon. I should go to make sure someone's home."

  "I'll stay here," said Toval. "Mel, you wanna show him out?"

  "Gladly," the omega said, motioning for Duke to follow him down the hall.

  Before they reached the door, Duke stopped walking. "I'm not gonna cause trouble, I just want to ask you a question."

  "You heard them. I can't tell you what's going on with Connor."

  "That's my question. Why?"

  Mel frowned. "I don't understand."

  "I heard you when I came in," he admitted. "You were arguing about Connor. I know you wanted to tell me, and Toval didn't, so why did you change your mind?"

  Mel sighed, raking a hand through his dark brown hair. "I didn't, but that's the thing about being in a relationship, especially one with three people. There is no other side, there's only your mate's side. In public, at least."

  "Keeping a united front, huh?" Duke had heard a similar version of the story plenty of times from his parents, and their thirty-five-years of marital bliss were hard to argue with.

  "It's kind of a necessity when you're raising pups," Mel snorted.

  Pups. There was another topic Connor had forced Duke to see in a new light, even if he was sure the omega's aversion to the idea of starting a family was even stronger than his ever had been. It wasn't so much that he didn't want a family, just that he couldn't see how he could give one the time and attention it deserved while managing his career, but if the whole debacle had taught him nothing else, it was that his priorities were in need of some serious reevaluating. For the past month, he couldn't get the image of having little hybrids between him and his mate running around, cackling maniacally. Would they have Connor's eyes and impish smirk? Part of him hoped not, since the omega had already done an efficient job of wrapping Duke around his finger on his own. He wasn't sure even he could handle a small army.

  Of course, that was all theoretical, all contingent on Connor not hating him the way he probably already did and almost certainly would when he find out about the imprint Duke had been resisting long before their first official meeting.

  Mel punched his arm lightly. Duke had fought alongside the omega to know that was his version of a reassuring gesture. "One day at a time. That's how you both made this mess, and that's how you're gonna get out of it."

  Duke nodded. "If his condition changes --"

  "We'll call you," Mel called, giving him a dismissive wave before he shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered back into the infirmary to join his mate and his brother. Duke could have sworn he heard the omega mumbling somethin
g about caveman alphas. Family resemblance, he thought with a sigh before heading back to his quarters to begin the undoing of his old life for the sliver of a chance at a future that had Connor in it. It had taken him far too long to realize it, but Duke had finally come to accept that that was the only kind of future worth fighting for.

  Chapter Fourteen

  CONNOR

  Guilt was by far the most overrated emotion common to humans and shifters. It had made Connor's sleep more fitful than usual and it was still with him by the time sunlight streamed in through the hospital room window. Doc had already come and gone, giving him more pills to take home and an instruction that he should be fine to keep taking his current regime of sedatives as he went off the suppressants until further notice.

  By further notice, Connor knew well what the doctor meant. Until he decided whether or not he was going to carry the thing inside of him that was probably the very reason his own body had turned against him. Granted, he had only gotten pregnant because he had gone into heat in the first place, but he was clinging to the hope that there was a solution to the human emotions that had plagued him ever since. The only thing holding him back was the antiquated pack law that insisted he tell the father. Mountain Ridge had become far more liberal when it came to the laws governing omegas than the other packs in the Council and most in the western half of the Federation, but it was still an antiquated reminder that a poor little omega couldn't be trusted to make his own decisions without guidance from a dispassionate alpha.

  The thought churned his stomach as he sat up. Then again, it might well have been his stomach. The pills Doc had given him helped, but they didn't stave off the sickness completely. They just helped him not feel like he was going to die, an outcome which he thought might be preferable to his current predicament. The idea of facing Duke after their last encounter, especially since he hadn't been able to get the alpha out of his head ever since, was surely a fate worse than death.

  Someone knocked at the door and Connor steeled himself for what was sure to be either an awkward encounter or an infuriating one. Doc had already discharged him, even though he'd been tempted to ask if he could just stay at the hospital. The door opened a moment later and Mel was on the other side. Awkward it is.

  "Hey," Mel said, standing in the doorway with a duffel bag hanging from his hand.

  "Hey."

  The omegas stared at each other in silence for long enough that Connor became acutely aware of every minute sound in the room, from the scraping of the branches outside the window to the low murmurs of the staff down the hall.

  "I'm sorry," they said at the same time.

  The corner of Mel's mouth twitched in a half-smile. "I'm not sure why you're apologizing. I was the one who was a complete ass yesterday."

  "I suppose you're entitled, given my track record."

  Mel dropped the bag by the door and crossed the room, pulling his brother into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. You just got really fucking scary news, and I got judgy and preachy when you just needed someone to listen. Can you forgive me?"

  Connor hesitantly returned the embrace, wondering if the comfort that washed over him was a result of Mel's omega energy. He didn't feel the same buzzing on his skin the few times another omega had made the foolhardy attempt to control his emotions, but that raised another unsettling possibility. He was changing and changing fast. Connor had always loved Mel, fiercely and often obsessively. His brother was his true north, and at times he had been his only reason for living and the reason death held little sting, but love hadn't been an emotional experience for him in a long time. It was a drive, a dedication, a fixation, but never a feeling. He wasn't one who took comfort in things like physical displays of affection or soothing words, even if he felt cause to humor Mel by pretending he did from time to time.

  The other omega seemed to sense his worry and pulled away. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," Connor murmured. "I'm just...it's nothing."

  "Let's get you out of here," Mel said, giving his shoulders a squeeze. "I brought you a change of clothes. The kids are home, but I told them to play quietly since you need rest."

  "I'm the one who took over Jaspar's room," Connor said with a sigh. He stood to change into the fresh clothes, only feeling a fraction of the uncertainty on his feet he had felt the night before.

  "He doesn't mind. There's a bunk bed in Lucy's room, so they're just using it as an excuse to have a fort war," he said, rolling his eyes.

  "You know you're going to have to upgrade at some point now that you're expanding the company," Connor said, looking pointedly at the barely visible protrusion of Mel's usually muscular abdomen as he straightened his collar and slipped on his shoes.

  "Yeah, Hassan and Toval have been wanting to move to a house for a while," Mel said, patting his stomach.

  "Why haven't you?"

  The hesitation in Mel's eyes betrayed that the answer wasn't as simple as not wanting to be further away from the compound gym. "I mean, the only lots available were pretty far away from the prison, so..."

  There it was. Emotion. This time, Connor wasn't sure if it was guilt. It felt softer, almost like his heart itself had grown a few degrees warmer. "You did that for me?"

  "I mean, it's easier for Hassan to get to work, too," he said quickly. "But he can always drive."

  "He's a wolf, I think he could run if he wanted to," Connor snorted. "Exactly how big is this pack anyway?"

  "Hm. With the expansion, I'd say the residential district inside Central Unit alone is probably a good five miles."

  "Holy shit. I know everyone jokes about Mitchell building a city, but how are the humans not going to notice?"

  Mel shrugged. "We keep the construction spread out between units. It's probably going to be an issue now that there's talk of putting in a university for shifters, but Mitch pays people off."

  "Of course he does. And he gives me flack for being a crime boss," he grumbled, following Mel down the hall.

  Mel grinned, linking his arm in Connor's. "You can still be a crime boss. Just organized crime for the right reasons."

  Connor squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light in the outdoor corridor. He glanced around the bustling streets and sidewalks and realized it really was more like a city than the military compound it had been even before his imprisonment. Maybe he was technically still imprisoned within the territory, but it seemed that Mitchell had been telling the truth. There was more than enough going on in Mountain Ridge to keep even him busy enough that he'd hardly feel trapped at all if he wasn't thinking about it.

  Once they reached the threshold to the apartment, Connor paused. Mel eyed him doubtfully. "You're not seriously nervous about meeting eight-year-olds, are you? They know who you are."

  "I'm not good with kids."

  "Neither am I, but Jaspar and Lucy are cool. Just see them as tiny people," he said, pulling him inside. The kids were sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, playing on the chessboard Connor recognized as the one from his cell. Lucy watched him with wide, wary eyes but Jaspar had a broader version of his father's welcoming smile plastered on his face. He was the spitting image of the older alpha.

  "Welcome back, Connor!"

  Mel snickered.

  "Hi," Lucy said softly, standing to join her brother.

  "Hi," Connor said, forcing what he hoped wasn't a particularly malevolent-looking smile. Children hadn't liked him even when he was one and he hadn't the first clue how to interact with them. He remembered Mel's advice just to treat them like he would treat anyone else, but that didn't seem like a terribly good idea, either, given that his default socialization strategy was detached contempt. He glanced down at the board, mentally retracing the likely steps each piece had taken to get where it stood on the board. A few of the moves Lucida had made weren't legal according to the rules of the game, but Jaspar seemed to have a knack for strategy. "You're playing chess?"

  "Papa Hassan said you probably wouldn't like a card, but we heard y
ou liked this game, so we wanted to learn so you'd have someone to play with," said Lucida.

  Connor looked at the younger omega, for once unable to mask his surprise. "That's...very sweet," he said, smiling a bit easier. He sat on the couch and they moved back to their spots around the coffee table. "I see you've already got a game started."

  "We didn't get very far," said Jaspar. "Could you teach us how to play?"

  "Connor is probably tired, kids," said Mel.

  "It's alright. I'm never too tired for chess," he said with a laugh, rearranging the pieces to their starting positions.

  "Well, okay," Mel smiled. "I'll make lunch, then."

  "Alright, let's start with the basics," said Connor, holding up the pawn. "Who can tell me what this is called?"

  "Pawn!" cried Lucida. Her timid demeanor didn't seem to linger for long once she had met someone.

  "That's right. And this?" he asked, holding up each piece in turn as he worked his way up the board in terms of hierarchy. They knew all but the rook.

  "That's the queen," Lucida said proudly, pointing to the carved wooden piece in Connor's hand.

  "That's right," he chuckled. "The most powerful piece on the board. You never sacrifice your queen, if you can help it."

  "But the pawns don't matter, right?" asked Jaspar.

  "Oh, I wouldn't say that," Connor mused. "There are more of them, and they can't move very far, but they can do something very interesting later on in the game. If they survive and reach all the way to the other side of the board, you can turn a pawn into any piece you like."

  "You can?" Lucida's eyes widened. "Even a queen?"

  "Even a queen."

  "Wow," she murmured, looking out over all the pawns on her side. "You could build an army."

  Connor laughed out loud. "You most certainly could."

  "We messed up the first time," Jaspar said. "I wanna play again now that I know all the rules!"

  "You were too good before, I'll never win now!" Lucida protested.

  Connor moved over and patted the spot on the couch next to him. "How about we play on the same team against Jaspar, then?"