by L. C. Davis
"He's a genius," Mel laughed. "Speaking of which, I hear Mitchell's found use for your talents."
"Starting next week, I'm officially a Mountain Ridge Intelligence Officer," Connor said, straightening his shoulders. "I figure I'll be running the place before long."
"And Duke's okay with you doing that?"
Connor rolled his eyes. "He's my mate, not my father. Besides, I've got an office set up so I can do most of it from home until Nathan's older. I'll be working closely with Toval's team, sharing what I know from my old contacts in the field," he said, growing somber. "I know it doesn't make up for the things I've done, but I guess in some small way, it's my penance."
Mel shifted Tanner in his arms and reached out, giving Connor's arm a reassuring pat. "We've got our whole lives ahead of us, Connor. That's a lot of time to put things right, but you deserve to enjoy the good things, too. Nathan and Tanner aren't going to be young forever."
Connor nodded, gazing down at his son in adoration. Whether Nathan turned out to be an alpha or an omega had ceased to matter to him at all. The labels might serve their purpose of categorizing common traits and omega didn't have the sting it once had, or the power it had once held over him, but there were things that mattered more. Whatever Nathan was and whatever he was destined to become one day, he would always be the light at the end of a tunnel that had seemed never ending, living proof that sometimes even the bad guy got his happily ever after. He wasn't sure he would ever fully feel like he deserved the happiness he had found in his mate and son, but he decided his brother was right. Deserved or not, it was all his and he intended to enjoy every moment of it.
"I'm just glad I can help actually put an end to that world instead of just plugging the leaks," he said, glancing up at the clock. "Duke's running late."
"All the Unit Alphas are meeting with Mitchell tonight," said Mel. "Toval, too."
Connor frowned, sensing the shift in his brother's tone and the nervous energy gathered around him. "It's about the war, isn't it?"
The Alliance had grown bolder in their attacks along the thin border that separated their lands from the Federation's allies. While the human world was immersed in conflict of its own, they remained entirely unaware of the power struggle going on between creatures they didn't even know existed. What that would mean for Hassan as an asylum seeker and the young verum alpha in their midst was uncertain, and Connor could tell the gray haze looming over the future weighed heavily on Mel.
"I'm sure it is," Mel murmured. "It's been all but official for months, but things are changing. It's like electricity in the air."
"It won't come here," Connor said, knowing that offered little consolation when so many of those the other omega had come to care about were soldiers who would go and fight to ensure that their homeland remained a sanctuary. "And if it does, we'll be ready. Now that I have clearance, Mitchell has been using me as a second eye for his tactical plans. Despite his chess skills being lackluster at best, Mitchell is really quite a gifted military strategist."
Mel smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes until Tanner leaned into him, cooing happily as if to console him. "Sweet boy," he said with a laugh. "Just like your daddy."
"How is Toval adjusting to having an infant in the house?" Connor asked, knowing it was the first time either the beta or Mel had taken on such an intensive caretaking role since Jaspar and Lucida had arrived in their family when they were older.
"He loves it. Sleeping in shifts is easier when you have three parents," he said with a laugh, his mood lightening as he spoke of his growing family. "Jaspar and Lucy are always eager to help out, too. I think Tanner is a doll in their eyes."
"Well, he looks like one. He's going to be a heartbreaker when he's older," Connor snickered.
"Please don't even start," Mel sighed. "Jaspar is going to be enough to deal with once he's old enough to take Tyr on an actual date. He already talks about how they're going to have their own pack one day, in a faraway land."
"So he remembers where he came from," Connor murmured.
"He must. Hassan tells him stories about Arya and his grandparents, but he never talks about him being the verum Alpha. It's just safer that way."
Connor held his tongue. He had spent most of his life controlling alphas, but a year of living with and loving one had showed him that there were as many facets to their kind as there were to omegas. If there was one unshakable trait that united all alphas worthy of the title, it was that no matter how long they ran from destiny, it always had a way of catching up with them. Especially when that destiny was to lead.
The front door opened and Duke walked in, followed by Hassan. The alphas both seemed weary, but the scene before them soon put a smile on their faces. "What is this, a strategy meeting?" Duke teased, taking his son from his mate's arms. Nathan cooed happily, pawing at his father's face as Duke helped Connor to his feet.
"More or less," said Connor, leaning up to kiss Duke. "How'd your meeting go?"
"The meeting was fine." Connor could tell from his mate's troubled eyes that the subject matter was less than fine, but he knew Duke would tell him what he needed to know when they were alone.
Lucy and Jaspar came running to greet Hassan, followed closely by Winnie and Tyr. "Daddy!" Jaspar cried. "I caught the criminal!"
Hassan looked confused before a scowling Winnie ambled over to them. "He cheated."
"I did not cheat!"
"Yeah, he didn't," Lucy protested, even though she seemed uncomfortable at being forced to choose sides.
"That's a lofty accusation, Winnie," Connor said gently. "Why do you think he cheated?"
"Winnie's just mad 'cause Jaspar can see with his eyes closed," Tyr said in a matter-of-fact tone."
The adults fell silent, looking to one another. Mel was the first to ask, "What do you mean, Tyr?"
"Tell him, Jaspar!" Tyr was grinning from ear-to-ear, clearly proud of whatever it was his friend had done.
Jaspar looked down at the floor, bashful for the first time since Connor had met him. "I just see things sometimes," he mumbled. "I don't mean to. Winnie's good at smelling, so she always wins hide and seek. I don't see how it's different."
Hassan looked to Mel, then back at his son. "It's alright," he said, patting the top of the boy's head. "Everybody has something they're good at."
"Come on," Mel said, taking Tyr's hand as he held Tanner on his hip. "Let's get you pups home, it's getting late and your dads will be over to pick you up soon."
"See you," Connor called at the door, watching as Mel waved and the small pack disappeared to cross the quaint little street that separated the two homes on either side of the territory line.
Once they were gone, Connor closed the door and turned to his mate who was babbling adoringly at their son as he drifted off. "I thought we agreed, no baby talk."
"He's a baby," Duke said pointedly, carrying Nathan into the nursery. "Everything we say to him is baby talk."
"You're hopeless." Connor sighed.
Duke returned a moment later, carefully closing the nursery door and motioning for Connor to keep his voice down. Once he returned to the living room, the omega asked, "What do you think that was all about with Jaspar?"
"Who knows? He's probably a verum Alpha, he's bound to start showing signs of it sooner or later." Duke wandered back into the room after grabbing a couple of beers from the refrigerator and collapsed on the sofa. The title of Southeast Unit Alpha came with extended work hours, but if there was one thing Duke could be counted on for, it was endurance. Connor knew that better than anyone.
"I guess so. What really happened in that meeting?"
Duke's expression turned somber, all pretense falling away. "Just confirmation of what we've always known was coming."
"A declaration of war? It's official?"
"Got news of an Alliance raid in Europe this morning," he muttered. "Mitchell's going to call all the units together to make the announcement tomorrow." He reached out, pulling Connor onto his
lap. "I don't want you to worry. We're safe here, and nothing's really changed in practical terms. At least now all the cards are on the table. Politics might be our pack's weak point, but war is what Mountain Ridge does best and our winning streak is pretty much unbroken, unless you count the truce with the Council."
"What did I tell you about gaming metaphors?" Connor teased, leaning in to kiss him.
"Besides," Duke continued, his mouth tilting up in a crooked smile that somehow made him even more irresistible than usual. "This time, we've got a secret weapon on our side."
Connor laughed. "I suppose that's true. A hellhound and an evil genius. We don't make a half-bad team."
"You don't mind staying here at HQ while I handle the field stuff?"
"No," Connor admitted. "I've never been a fighter so much as a planner, and I have to admit, I like having a noble cause. Being a good guy isn't so bad."
"That so?" Duke asked, running his hands underneath Connor's shirt. The slightest touch could still make the omega shudder in need, heat or no heat. It might have taken the couple a while to come together, but Connor knew as surely as he had ever known anything that nothing in the world was ever going to drive them apart. "Maybe you can still be bad once in a while..."
"Oh, yeah?" Connor purred, brushing his lips against his Alpha's as he made quick work of Duke's belt. He shifted up onto his knees, allowing Duke to tug his jeans down over his ass so he could lower himself onto his mate's shaft. There were certain perks to being an omega, and one of them was being able to self-lubricate. With their busy schedules, it was necessary to grab every opportunity they had for intimacy, but even if they'd had all the time in the world, Connor knew it wouldn't have been enough. Not when the taste of Duke's lips and the dizzying satisfaction of taking his knot were the one and only addiction he allowed himself.
"God, you're beautiful," Duke breathed, stroking Connor's jaw all the way down to the dark crimson mark on his neck. "Sometimes I can't believe you're mine."
"I am," Connor murmured against his lips, arching so that his mate could enter him fully, entwining their bodies as close as their souls had become. "Only yours."
Duke moaned his approval into the kiss and the lovers remained bound to each other until well into the night before falling asleep in each other's arms. As Connor lay with his ear pressed to Duke's heart, the steady rhythm inspiring the notes of his next composition, he was overcome with joy so overwhelming it bordered on the sweetest kind of sadness. There were days when he didn't understand how he had found his way to such perfection, and trying to retrace his own steps proved too much for even his logical mind to handle, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was there, Duke was his, and the future was theirs. All the good, all the challenges that lay ahead, nothing was beyond their ability to handle together.
Maybe the king was an underrated piece, after all. Connor certainly couldn't have won without his, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.
THE END.
Meet the next generation of Council wolves in The Mountain Shifters Book 8, coming soon!
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