“Yeah?” His mouth curled into a smile and he pulled me close, or as close as Little Mac would let him. “You’ve decided I’m worth it?”
“Oh, I knew that from the beginning. I just had stuff of my own to work through.” He hadn’t said it. What did I do? Had I—
He kissed me. “I love you too,” he whispered against my lips when the kiss ended. “Let’s go see your surprise.”
I didn’t care about the surprise anymore, but I wanted him to be happy. “I love surprises. Your surprises, anyway.” Little Mac punched me, and I looked down. “Yes, I know you like them too. That doesn’t mean you have to break anything in there.”
“If he’s that insistent, we’d better go.”
Mac insisted I go everywhere in the truck now, especially if I was going to be working in the garden. I didn’t argue so much—to be honest, I was starting to develop some aches and pains in my back and my hips that made me uncomfortable when I did too much exercise. So I enjoyed my ride over, pestering Mac with guesses about the surprise, and watching his delighted grin get wider and wider as my guesses wandered farther and farther afield.
We pulled up next to the new plot and I was pleased to see the long stretch of dark brown soil, freshly tilled, and the small pile of lettuce stems ready to compost. Bram was about two-thirds of the way down the fourth row, working away with the garden fork, bending occasionally to toss a rock to the side of the patch. I was only a little bit jealous of the sixteen-year-old, with his beautiful auburn hair and the way he was muscled just right. He didn’t have to work at it either. But he was a sweet kid, and his only real bad point was a tendency to flirt with every alpha that walked by. And they loved it, which didn’t help.
Bram waved as we got out and stuck the fork into the soil. “I got it done!” He jogged up to us. “Wow, you can really see the baby now!” I might have been offended by it, if it wasn’t for the hungry look in his eyes as he spoke. Like most omegas, he had a driving need to have children, and it made him overwhelmingly interested in my pregnancy. “Can I touch it?” We’d had some trouble teaching him he couldn’t just grab for my belly—again, as the only omega in the pack for years, he’d been a little spoiled.
I also envied him that experience.
“Sure. He’s a little sleepy right now. We just had breakfast.” I put his hand over the most likely place to feel something and gave Little Mac a small poke. A few seconds later, I felt the weird pressure as he shoved back with a foot or a hand or whatever, right under Bram’s fingers.
“Cool,” he breathed, his eyes alight.
I glanced up at Mac, who watched the two of us with contented possessiveness. And that was the other part of why I let Bram manhandle me as much as I did. Because it made Mac happy to see Bram so excited.
Bram waited intently for another kick, but Little Mac was sleepy and I could see a long list of things that still needed to be done before he got so big I became useless out here. “Let’s go see what you’ve gotten done,” I said, gently removing his hands from my belly. “He might be more awake later, after I’ve done some work.”
“Oh, Mac wants you to see his surprise first,” Bram said blithely. He kept sneaking peeks at my belly and I noticed him surreptitiously rubbing at his own, as if he was wondering what it felt like. Someday. I just hoped he’d be as happy as I was.
“Then let’s go look at it. I want to check the broccoli for worms.” I’d planned it for half of the plot to be stuff that produced all year long, like my tomatoes and my peas, and the other half would be things we could harvest quickly, then compost and put back into the soil again, like the lettuce and broccoli. Later, I’d mix complimentary crops together across the whole thing, but for this year I was taking it easy on myself.
Mac put his arm across my shoulders and led me down toward the other end of the garden. There was something there, that hadn’t been before. It was—
“Oh, you got chairs!” What did I need chairs out in a garden for?
He shrugged and beamed proudly at them. “When the gardening gets too hard for you,” he reached down to palm my belly briefly. “I thought you could sit and work on baby things and supervise.”
I could use more time to work on baby things. I had one blanket made, and only a couple of little outfits. Shifter enclaves often couldn’t afford store bought, except for a few things that could be bought in bulk, like jeans and t-shirts. Mercy Hills was wealthier than that, but it was hard to shake my upbringing. “It’s wonderful.” I turned and hugged him, then ran over and sat in one of the chairs. “Who’s the other one for?”
“Me,” Bram said, and plopped down in the other one.
“Whoever he wants in it,” Mac said firmly, and crooked a finger at him. “Get back to work.” As soon as Bram reluctantly hauled himself out of the chair to trudge back up to his fork, Mac took his seat. “Duke made them. I traded him for a shift, so you’re going to miss me an extra evening this week.”
“I always miss you when you work.” I glanced up to where Bram was turning over another patch of soil. “I suppose Bram could come over for a while. He can help me pin together a few more outfits, and I’ll work with him on his sewing.”
“You know, you don’t have to make everything. We can buy some.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to be a burden. And I don’t mind. It gives me something to keep my hands busy when my bossy alpha mate tells me to sit down and rest.”
“Your bossy alpha mate loves you and he wants you to be healthy.”
“I am. And I love you to.”
Little Mac woke up and stretched. Mac laughed and put a hand on my belly, letting Little Mac shove and pummel his palm.
I put my hand over his, and looked up. “Bram, he’s awake! Did you want to feel?”
Okay, maybe I wasn’t so jealous after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I finished packing what I thought I might need while we were in the city. It wasn’t much—Laine said he expected it would only take a day to show Montana Border that their suit was pointless. But just in case, I packed enough for both of us for two days.
“Ready to go?” Mac asked, padding sock-footed into the bedroom.
“Yeah, I think so.” I put a hand to my back and stretched. The timing of the court date was all wrong. Technically, I was due tomorrow, and we’d asked for an extension for that as well, but my old pack had refused. The only thing I could hope for was that I’d go over, like Adelaide said first time bearers often did.
“I’ll get that.” Mac picked up the suitcase and headed downstairs and I followed him.
Abel was on the phone in the kitchen, talking to Laine, as it turned out. “We’re about ready to leave.” He paused to listen, then said, “Courthouse doors as soon as we get there. See you then.” He ended the call and looked up at me. “You look nice.”
“Thanks.” I’d used the last of the money I had from the gardening to buy material to have clothes made that looked like they belonged in a courtroom, but still left room for the baby inside me. The baby in question stretched, but there wasn’t much he could do—he’d outgrown his rooms and if he wanted to get any bigger, he was going to have be born. I buttoned the tidy jacket I wore over the loose suit, and looked for Mac.
“He’s out packing the car. I’m bringing Duke with us, just in case.”
“So there’ll be six of us in the room.” Laine had booked a hotel room for us, guessing that I’d be tired after a day stuck in a courtroom. He was right—I was already tired, stretched thin, and ready to have this baby. My womb tightened and I hissed out a breath, waiting for the cramp to pass.
“Jason? Are you all right? He’s not coming now, is he?” Abel asked.
I shook my head and took a deep breath. “I don’t think so. I think it’s just those weird practice contractions. I’m not sore—” I broke off and flushed. I was hard enough to talk about my Omega line with Mac. Doing it with the Alpha, my almost-mate, was really awkward.
Luckily h
e didn’t push. “Let me know if you think it’s starting.”
“I will.” Everything settled down, except for Little Mac, who did his best to show me how displeased he was with his recent squeezing. I grunted and put a hand to my ribs, then shook my head at the Alpha. “He’s just cranky. He probably wants out right now as much I want him to be out.”
Mac came in the door. “We’re ready.” He walked up and took my hands. “Are you ready?”
“I’m good as long as I have you.” We shared a kiss, and he led me out to the car.
Duke drove, with the Alpha in the front seat, and Mac and myself in the back. Dad and Garrick had gone up yesterday with Laine.
They were ready for us at the gate. Our papers were briefly inspected, and my watermelon of a stomach was goggled at by the guards. But that was as far as it went, and then we were on the road.
I let myself drift during the trip. Mac put his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, not thinking, just enjoying the way it felt to be held by my mate, my pup growing and squirming inside me, getting ready to be born.
But all too soon, we had passed the city limits and were weaving through traffic. Duke pulled up in front of a large building made of red brick, pierced by dark tinted windows. “This is it.” He looked over at the Alpha. “I’ll find a parking garage and meet you inside.”
Abel nodded, and we stepped out onto the crowded sidewalk.
I pulled my coat closer around me. People walked past, some paying us no attention at all, some taking note of the bright yellow tabs on our collars and giving us a wide berth. I’d never felt as unsafe in human company as I did that day. I huddled closer to Mac, who put his arm around me again.
Abel started walking toward the building, and Mac led me after him. I avoided eye contact with everyone around us, but watched carefully for my old pack, just in case. The humans around us whispered and pointed, the three shifters walking into the courthouse, and I heard a child ask, “Why is he so fat?” I just put my head down and hurried along in Abel’s wake, practically dragging Mac with me. Seven months ago, I’d walked among them, unnoticed, pretending to be human. But I was glad to trade my anonymity if it meant I got to keep Mac.
Inside the building was quieter and more crowded. People walked through the corridors with purpose, carrying briefcases or folders full of papers. Abel stopped just inside the doors, scanning the space for any sign of Laine.
“There you are.” Laine came in the doors behind us, looking sharply professional in a suit that probably cost more than our house did. Abel turned around with a jerk, and Mac pushed me behind him as if to protect me. I don’t know if the humans around us understood what was going on, but the two alphas were close to shifting. In my own discomfort, I hadn’t noticed how on edge the two of them were, and I wanted them to not be so badly.
I put my hand on Mac’s back and thought calm at him and the Alpha, wanting it so hard I shook. Sometimes, when I really wanted something, I could make people feel calm, or happy, or make them like me. It was beyond the way people just seemed to like omegas, almost like I could influence their feelings.
They settled slowly and I was able to relax. Mac wrapped his arm around me again and the four of us huddled just inside the door. No one mentioned the near disaster.
Laine spoke first. “We’ve drawn a male judge, but he’s got grandkids, so it could go either way for us. I know their lawyer—he’s good. Not as good as I am, but that’s only to be expected. Abel, you’ll sit with me and Garrick, the rest of you will sit in the seats behind the bar and you’ll be called up when we need you to answer questions. I’m surprised they didn’t ask for you all to be sequestered, but it could be good. They might not be as sure of this case as they appear.”
We already knew this. Maybe Laine was nervous too? I tried to perform my little trick on him as well, but I don’t know if it worked or not.
“I don’t think Jason should have to testify,” Mac rumbled. He was still on edge and I rubbed my chin against his shoulder, pretending to scent mark him. He smiled down at me, but his eyes were still serious.
I sighed. “I want to. This is all about me, and if Orvin sees me going up to talk to the judge, he’ll flip his lid.” Laine and I had planned this all out yesterday, while Mac was working and I was making a last tour of my gardens to check on the harvest. The idea of losing those gardens didn’t bother me nearly as much as the thought of losing Mac did, but it still stung. If I didn’t want give all this up, I was going to have to play my part exactly right.
Duke came in then, and we headed for the courtroom in a group. Just in case, I grabbed Laine’s arm and pulled his head down to mine. “Promise me, even if it goes against us, you’ll get me time to have the baby before they take me. Do you understand?” And I let a little of my own wolf creep out, a low growl and a sense of invisible fur brushing against his skin.
He shivered, but looked me dead in the eye. “My word of honor.” He smiled fiercely and if I hadn’t known he was human, I would have thought he was a shifter.
But he was a hunter, and this was his game.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“All rise. The Honorable Mitchell Wilson presiding.” Everyone in the room stood as the judge entered.
“Be seated,” he said, and began to read off a whole bunch of information that I wasn’t the least bit interested in. Instead, I studied him, trying to get a feel for the man that would soon decide my fate. If he’d been a shifter it would have been easy, but he wasn’t, so it was harder for me to decide what kind of person he was. Definitely alpha, or the human version of it, but there was a hint of kindness in the way his features came together on his face. I could only hope that his appearance reflected his personality.
Orvin sat at the other little table, next to his lawyer, a narrow-faced man with dark hair in almost a brush cut. He wore a nice suit, though, so he must have been a decent lawyer. Orvin had turned to stare at me when we first came in, but after that, he’d completely ignored me. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“It’ll be fine,” Mac whispered to me.
I hoped so. Little Mac twitched, and I ran my hands over my belly, soothing him.
The judge looked down at the two lawyers, nodding to Orvin’s, then focusing on Laine. “Mr. Montague, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m surprised to see you in my courtroom—you know this isn’t a criminal trial.”
Laine stood and nodded. “I was curious. And I wouldn’t discount a criminal element just yet.”
Wilson raised his eyebrows and gave Laine a measuring look. “I’d be interested to see how you make that work.”
The two lawyers gave their opening speeches. I wasn’t terribly impressed with Orvin’s lawyer, who could have made an action movie sound boring. Laine, on the other hand, was brilliant, though I worried a bit when the judge reminded him that there was no jury to impress, so he could cut out his criminal court theatrics.
They called Orvin up to the stand first. He walked up, straight-backed, looking every inch the Alpha in his expensive suit with shiny new tabs on his collar. His eyes met mine when he sat down and I froze as memory overwhelmed me. I huddled against Mac, and knew in that moment that I’d rather die than go back to Orvin. Not after everything I’d had and learned in Mercy Hills.
The story he told was that same as the one I’d tell, in the general events. But it was in the details where it changed. I don’t remember hearing about my parents asking for money for me, or demanding that they be supported by whoever I was mated to.
My confusion and anger must have communicated itself to Mac, because he put his arm around me and hugged me gently. It was hard to sit there and watch Orvin shred my father’s reputation, until Mac pointed out that Laine was making notes on a pad of paper, which reassured me.
Finally, it was Laine’s turn to ask Orvin questions. His smile was genial as he approached Orvin’s seat, and his body language was so relaxed for a moment I worried that we’d been had, that Garrick had some
how found a lawyer that would argue for Orvin’s side.
I should have known better.
“Alpha Montana Border, could you please describe to the court what, exactly, an omega is?”
“I already explained that.”
“Just go over it again for me please. I’m curious about what it is that’s different about an omega, compared to other shifters.”
Orvin looked surprised. “Well, they’re pretty easy to bully. You can’t leave them on their own or they get into all sorts of trouble.”
“And other wolves never get into trouble?”
The Montana Border Alpha now looked uncomfortable. I could have clapped with happiness.
Orvin glanced at his lawyer, who looked frustrated, but nodded.
“Well, with other wolves, it’s just hijinks, you know? Like any teenager. Getting up to pranks, testing limits. It’s not the same.”
“Why is it not the same?”
“Well, they just don’t think before they do things, or they go along with everything their friends talk about. They just aren’t bright enough to stay out of trouble.”
Laine turned back to the courtroom, then glanced at the judge. “So, what you’re saying is, omega teenagers get into trouble like regular teenagers, but it’s different for them, because…”
“Because they can’t stand up for themselves!”
Laine barked a laugh.
The judge raised his eyebrows. “May I ask what’s so funny, counsel?”
“Just that I’ve never seen anyone so accustomed to getting his way as the omega in question. Even I—and I pride myself on being a hard-nosed and stubborn man—I’ve found myself changing my plans to accommodate Mr. Jason Mercy Hills’ wishes, against my better judgment. I’m not sure easily bullied is the correct term here.”
“And what would you call the correct term, Counsel?” Wilson asked.
Mating the Omega (MM Gay Shifter Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 1) Page 13