Omega's Stepbrother

by Anna Wineheart

  And Wyatt realized that Raph was right. That if they acted as though they were ordinary brothers, maybe they’d leave with Smith none the wiser. He breathed in deep, then breathed out. Things will be okay.

  Behind the desk, Raph caught Wyatt’s hand, holding on to him.

  The next few questions went smoothly. Wyatt told the doctor about his diet, exercise, and work, and declined a refresher course on pregnancy.

  “Very good,” Dr. Smith said. “We’ll save the bloodwork for last. Now, I’ll need you to lie on the exam bed, Wyatt. Would you prefer if Mr. Fleming stayed with you?”

  They exchanged a glance. Raph’s expression was keen, hopeful, and Wyatt... didn’t have the heart to send him away. “Yes, I’d prefer if Raph could stay.”

  Dr. Smith locked the door, settling at the computer next to the exam bed. As she tapped on the keyboard, Wyatt made himself comfortable, pulling his shirt up over his belly. Raph’s gaze roved over him, dark, appreciative. And Wyatt knew that, despite hiding the debt from him, Raph still cared.

  Smith dimmed the lights, hooking her stethoscope to her ears. “I’ll be listening to the fetal heartbeat first.”

  The end of the stethoscope pressed cool against Wyatt’s belly. He held his breath, hoping his own heartbeat didn’t betray him. The doctor set the stethoscope a little lower, and listened again.

  “Heartbeat normal for Week 20,” she said, tapping into the computer. “Now, I’ll be starting the ultrasound.”

  They were silent as she pulled a tube from the warmer, uncapping it. Clear gel oozed onto Wyatt’s abdomen, wet and warm. Then the doctor pressed the ultrasound wand to the gel, and watched the screen.

  It was familiar, doing this again. Back when Wyatt had carried Hazel, he’d visited the clinic, alone, scared, without an alpha. Now... Raph was here. They weren’t holding hands, but Wyatt felt the warm touch of Raph’s gaze on his skin.

  Raph stepped closer, his eyes on the screen. “Is that the baby?”

  “It is.” Dr. Smith tapped on some keys, so the mess of specks on the screen magnified. “The fetus is this shape over here. At twenty weeks, it’s about ten inches in total length, but curled up into six.”

  Six inches was a little smaller than his hand. Wyatt glimpsed Raph looking at his own fingers, then at Wyatt’s belly, wonder on his face.

  Gods, I love him.

  Dr. Smith moved the wand, taking screen captures of their baby from different angles. “Would you like to know the baby’s sex?”

  It didn’t matter, either way. Wyatt glanced at Raph, who shrugged. “No, we’ll wait until birth to find out.”

  “All right.”

  When the doctor was done, she turned to Wyatt, smiling warmly. “It looks like you’re carrying a healthy fetus. Would you like to hold the wand and see for yourself?”

  “Yes, please.” Wyatt took the wand gingerly. He hadn’t dared the previous time, when he’d done Hazel’s ultrasound. With Raph around, he felt braver.

  The image on the screen moved when he adjusted the wand. Dr. Smith zoomed out when he changed the angle, then zoomed in again, so they could see the curled shape of their baby. It was tiny, and amazing, and Wyatt was still awed by the life he carried.

  “Can I...” Raph paused, his hand half-raised. Wyatt looked at him. So did the doctor. Raph’s throat worked, his cheeks darkening.

  And as fond of him as Wyatt was, he didn’t know what he could say. Can my brother look at our baby, too?

  The silence stretched between them. Dr. Smith raised her eyebrows. “Sure,” she said after a pause. “If Wyatt agrees.”

  “Yeah,” Wyatt said. “Go ahead.” His joints felt wooden when he nodded. Dr. Smith watched them; maybe she could see their relationship somehow, invisible lines connecting Raph to Wyatt.

  Raph tried to keep the excitement off his face. Wyatt saw it in the gleam of his eyes, the twitch of his mouth. He stopped by the exam table, broad and towering. And the tension in Wyatt’s shoulders melted away, having his alpha so close.

  Raph wrapped his fingers around both the ultrasound wand, and Wyatt’s hand. Wyatt’s breath snagged in his throat.

  “Do I move it this way?” Raph asked, tipping the wand slightly, pressing its flat end against Wyatt’s belly. The baby slid off the screen, and Raph turned the wand, his touch gentle. Then the baby came into view again, and Raph froze, his eyes bright, a tiny smile spreading across his face.

  He was so very eager. Wyatt didn’t know how he could stop himself from pulling Raph close, kissing the breath out of him.

  “Can we have pictures of it?” Raph asked. And then paused, his eyes flying to Wyatt’s.

  Heart thudding, Wyatt glanced at Dr. Smith. The doctor nodded. “Of course. We offer an image printing service. The prints will be $5 each. How many would you like?”

  Raph looked away, his ears and neck flushed. Wyatt cringed. Gods, we must be so obvious. “Two, please.”

  She keyed it into the computer. “The prints will be ready at the receptionist’s desk in fifteen minutes.”

  “Thank you,” Wyatt said.

  Raph reluctantly released Wyatt, retreating to the other side of the room. They fell back into silence.

  Dr. Smith took the wand back, handing Wyatt a fresh towel to clean the gel off. Wyatt watched her from the corner of his eye. As a doctor, Smith would have to abide by patient confidentiality laws. She had never revealed his location nine years ago, either.

  “The bloodwork tests will take a week to process,” the doctor said. “We’ll email you a report with the details. If there’s a problem, we’ll call you back to the clinic to discuss your options.”

  “Okay.” He squirmed, pulling his shirt over his belly. If they left her office now, Wyatt was sure their secret would be safe. But Smith knew, and that information nagged at him. “About the baby’s parentage...”

  “We don’t do DNA tests unless requested,” Smith said, tilting her head with a smile.

  Could he say Please don’t tell anyone about Raph and me? Or perhaps something a little more vague...

  “Wyatt’s my omega,” Raph said, slipping his arm around Wyatt’s shoulders. Wyatt spluttered. “We’re stepbrothers. D’you think there’ll be a problem with that?”

  Dr. Smith blinked. Then she shook her head, her eyes warm. “No, there shouldn’t be a problem. You’re not related by blood. I’ve seen hundreds of omegas by now—a pregnancy between consenting adults is not at all an issue.”

  Wyatt relaxed into Raph’s side, relief turning his limbs to jelly. That was unexpected. “Thank you.”

  Raph squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks.”

  “Take care,” Smith said. She unlocked the door and shook their hands. “Have a great day.”

  As they headed to the next room, Wyatt stepped away from Raph. They remained silent through the bloodwork, until they returned to the waiting area once more.

  “That went better than I thought,” Raph said.

  “Went better? You fucking told her,” Wyatt hissed. “I almost had a heart attack!”

  “You were going to say it anyway.” Raph met his eyes. “I just told her straight up.”

  “Oh, gods.” Wyatt buried his face in his hands. At least Dr. Smith didn’t judge their relationship. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Sorry.”

  “The conception date, too.” Wyatt’s cheeks prickled. “I didn’t think you remembered!”

  “Damn it, Wy. Of course I remember it. I hadn’t seen you in ages!” Raph brushed their hands together. “But back in the office, I was just excited. If you can believe that.”

  Wyatt swallowed hard, his chest squeezing. “You really were.”

  Raph caught his hand. Then he leaned closer, and murmured, “Am I forgiven?”

  The memory of the debt crashed back into him, foreboding and nerve-wracking. Wyatt’s stomach shrank. How had he forgotten that? “I don’t know. Probably not.”

  “What do I have to do?”

  He felt like a
bit of a jerk, refusing to forgive Raph. But a hundred and fifty grand was a huge whopping sum, and the thought of trying to pay it off anytime soon... Wyatt’s thoughts spun.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said.

  “Am I still staying over tonight?” Raph asked.

  “We’d have to talk about everything else. Figure where we go from here.”

  Raph looked away, his mouth a thin line. “Yeah, I guess we’d have to.”

  This shouldn’t be happening, him and Raph. When all was said and done, they were still stepbrothers. The townsfolk thought of them as blood family. Their dad still didn’t know. If Wyatt wanted to escape it all, he’d have to move Hazel and their home away from Meadowfall, and rebuild their roots somewhere else.

  I can’t believe you never told me about the debt.

  He held on to Raph’s hand, listening to the tinkling lullaby of the clinic.

  24

  Raph

  Much later, when they were both in Wyatt’s bed, stripped down and sweaty, Wyatt said, “Someone has to move. Either you do, or Hazel and I will.”

  Raph sighed. Yeah, there was that. He’d been hoping he didn’t have to discuss the debt—he’d been kicking himself for letting Wy see the text message—but deep down, he knew it wasn’t something they could avoid indefinitely.

  He laced their fingers together, bringing Wyatt’s hand up to kiss his knuckles. “So we aren’t making the hour-long commute every day forever?”

  Wyatt snorted, turning to sink his teeth into Raph’s bicep. The sharp points pressed lightly into Raph’s skin, and Raph wished Wyatt would bring his face closer, bite him on his scent gland.

  But Wyatt never seemed to want to return his end of the bonding, and maybe he knew Raph wasn’t the greatest alpha there was. Wyatt deserved so much better, so much more than an alpha with a debt on his shoulders.

  Their parents had struggled with debt. No reason to put Wyatt through it again. Except Raph didn’t want to let Wy go, either.

  He swallowed. “I could apply for a transfer. See if they’ll let me move operations to Meadowfall.”

  Wyatt smiled wanly, his hair gleaming golden on his pillow. “Somehow, I don’t think regional managers operate out of small towns, Raph.”

  Raph sighed. He’d been turning over the options in his mind: Wyatt and Hazel moving out to Highton with him, or him leaving his job, returning to his hometown. Both would incur expenses. At the back of his mind, Raph wondered if Wyatt would do better with a different alpha, someone who wouldn’t fail him like Raph seemed to keep doing.

  Wyatt leaned in, curling into Raph’s side. The bump of his belly nudged against Raph’s hip, and Raph imagined their baby, already the size of his hand. He couldn’t abandon their child. And Hazel. And especially not his omega.

  If Wyatt even wanted to be his.

  “You’ve never—never bitten me,” Raph said, his heart pattering.

  Wyatt’s gaze slid over to Raph’s neck, where the skin over his scent gland was still unmarked. Then he looked away, running his hand down his belly. “I don’t know. You said I don’t have to.”

  Yeah, well. Right now, Raph almost regretted that. He didn’t want to ask Wyatt, and make it sound like he was pressuring Wyatt into the bonding. But he couldn’t help blurting, “Do you think of me as your alpha?”

  Wyatt looked back at him, the corners of his lips twitching up. He eased his elbow beneath himself, swung his leg over Raph’s hip, and straddled Raph, the damp skin of his ass rubbing down on Raph’s abs.

  He was beautiful like that, his skin creamy, his belly half as round as a basketball, a dark line following the dusting of hair down his belly. The faint silver scar stretched horizontally above his pubic hair, six inches across, and Raph trailed his thumb over it.

  “You have every right to touch me,” Wyatt murmured, holding his hands out. “Doesn’t that make you my alpha?”

  “You haven’t left your mark on me.” Raph stroked the velvety skin of his thighs, the curve of his belly, his heart beating too loud.

  Wyatt leaned in with a rustle of air, his belly pushing up against Raph’s abs, his hands coming up to cradle Raph’s face. “I still don’t believe I deserve you,” Wyatt whispered, kissing Raph’s jaw. “I’m used goods, Raph. I’m not an omega you can have publicly by your side.”

  “I don’t need to be seen in public.” But he had his responsibilities at work, and he’d never once showed up at his office parties with an omega. Except now people at work knew he had a partner, even if they hadn’t asked who Wyatt was. “Do you want to be my omega?”

  Wyatt paused with his mouth half-open. Raph’s heart sank. Whatever they’d built over the past five months... it had been a game. They’d been playing pretend, hoping they didn’t have to make a decision until the baby was born.

  He cupped Wyatt’s belly, holding their baby between them. “You don’t have to answer,” he said, brushing his fingers over the scar. “You had a C-section with Hazel?”

  Wyatt sighed, leaning into Raph. “Yeah. She was taking too long. The doctor wanted me to have a C-section and I... didn’t know better. She had trouble breathing at first because of it. Gods, I should’ve done my research. I mean, I was eighteen at the time, but you’d think...”

  Raph frowned. “Just because the doc wanted it?”

  Wyatt nodded.

  “Were you alone?”

  “For most of it, yeah.”

  I should’ve been there. Raph closed his eyes, hugging Wyatt close. How had Wy gone through all of that by himself? Why had Raph been such a damn coward, staying away instead of reaching out? He buried his nose in Wyatt’s hair, breathing in old sweat and magnolia. “I’ll be there this time,” he said. “If you want me to.”

  Wyatt nodded, pressing his face against Raph’s neck. “I’ve been thinking about a natural birth with the baby. If the doctor allows it.”

  Raph froze. He’d read up on it some. “There’s risks if you go that way. Rupturing and all that.”

  It raised the chances of infant mortality. Raph looked down at the swell of Wyatt’s belly, his heart heavy with dread. I don’t want our baby to die.

  Unlike months ago, when he’d asked if Wyatt would abort the child. Raph shivered, just thinking about that. If Wyatt had gone ahead and tried an abortion, Raph would’ve been kicking himself right now.

  He’d seen the baby on the ultrasound screen, held his palm against Wyatt’s abdomen. When he cradled Wyatt’s belly, he was so very close to touching their baby.

  It was so real. And it was theirs.

  Wyatt sagged against him. “I want to have a choice this time, Raph. I want whatever’s best for our baby.”

  “I’ll be there with you,” Raph whispered, pressing kisses all over his face. “Promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  With all Wyatt had been through... it was selfish of Raph to make him move. He shouldn’t be uprooting Wyatt and his family, when Wyatt would have the birth to recover from, and an infant to nurse. Wyatt’s restaurant was here—the business he’d spent so long building from the ground up.

  “I’ll put in an application for a transfer,” Raph said, kissing Wyatt on the lips. “First thing on Monday.”

  Still didn’t solve the debt, but it was a step forward.

  “I love you,” Wyatt murmured, his eyes warm. “You’re doing too much for me, Raph.”

  “For the baby, too.”

  Wyatt blinked hard. “Yeah, I’d do anything for our baby.”

  “What about yourself?” Raph brushed his fingers over Wyatt’s cheek, leaning up to nuzzle his ear. “Remember that you’re important, Wy. I respect you as my omega. You don’t have to be mine. I just... wanted you to know that’s what I feel.”

  Wyatt sucked in a shaky breath, threading his fingers through Raph’s hair. Then he leaned in, kissing Raph sweetly on the lips.

  Wyatt was his family, and so was Hazel and the baby. Raph swore he wouldn’t disappoint any of them.

  “I�
�m rejecting your transfer application,” Grandma said the following Monday, in front of half the office. “I need you as my regional manager here.”

  Raph’s stomach squeezed. His coffee tipped over the rim of his mug. And a handful of his staff looked up, surprise and curiosity on their faces. I just told Wyatt I’m moving.

  It was eight in the morning, far too early for shit like this. Raph kept his expression calm, breathing in. “Can we discuss this in my office?”

  It was an open secret that he was the company president’s grandson. Sometimes, his staff even joked about it.

  Raph felt the weight of ten pairs of eyes on his back, watching as he led the way to his glass-walled office, his grandmother stalking him like a predator. His heart hammered.

  “I’ve suggested a number of possible replacements,” he said when he’d shut the door behind Grandma. The blinds didn’t need lowering; he didn’t care who witnessed this from the outside. “There are a number of excellent staff who will rise to the position and handle the operations better than I can.”

  Grandma looked down her nose at him, her gold necklace glittering. “That’s not an option, Raphael. You will remain the regional manager for as long as I say.”

  How long until you turn senile? Raph clenched his jaw, his thoughts racing. At 84, Grandma had a chauffeur who sent her to and from Highton every day. She had power over the entire office, and the mansion, and his parents’ lives. And she wanted control over Raph’s, too.

  The only other option was for him to quit his job. He’d been looking at the openings in Meadowfall—the managerial positions back home paid half of what he earned right now. Not enough to cover the monthly payments for his loan. He’d have to take on a second job, work overtime. And it wouldn’t be fair to Wyatt, when Wyatt would be busy with their new baby.

  Grandma’s eyes narrowed, the green eyeshadow on her lids wrinkling. Then she lifted her nose and sniffed, and Raph hoped like hell the scent suppressant worked. “This has to do with that useless brother of yours, doesn’t it?”

  “He’s not useless,” Raph growled, anger snarling through his chest. But even acknowledging Wyatt was a risk. Elizabeth Fleming had the power to run them both deep into debt. She could plant people in Wyatt’s restaurant, riddle him with lawsuits, force him to shut down. And then they’d be forced to move, maybe go into hiding, just to escape from her.