His Manny Omega

by Harper B. Cole

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Oliver

  Wyatt

  About the Author

  Also by Harper B. Cole

  His Manny Omega

  M/M Non-Shifter Alpha/Omega MPREG

  Harper B. Cole

  Frost & Hazel

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Oliver

  2. Wyatt

  3. Oliver

  4. Wyatt

  5. Oliver

  6. Wyatt

  7. Oliver

  8. Wyatt

  9. Oliver

  10. Wyatt

  11. Oliver

  12. Wyatt

  13. Oliver

  14. Wyatt

  15. Oliver

  16. Wyatt

  17. Oliver

  18. Wyatt

  19. Oliver

  20. Wyatt

  21. Oliver

  22. Wyatt

  23. Oliver

  24. Wyatt

  25. Oliver

  26. Wyatt

  27. Oliver

  28. Wyatt

  29. Oliver

  30. Wyatt

  31. Oliver

  32. Wyatt

  33. Oliver

  34. Wyatt

  35. Oliver

  36. Wyatt

  37. Oliver

  38. Wyatt

  39. Oliver

  40. Wyatt

  41. Oliver

  42. Wyatt

  43. Oliver

  44. Wyatt

  About the Author

  Also by Harper B. Cole

  Prologue

  There's a blur on the screen, and then the image focuses on a woman. Her brown curls frame a round face with a sweet smile, but her eyes are tired.

  Is it on?

  Someone must have said something off camera because she nods. Her hands smooth over her stomach. She's pregnant, very pregnant, and looks like she could give birth at any time.

  Hi, Chloe. I'm your mommy. If you're seeing this, well, it means I don't get to see you grow up. When I found out I was pregnant with you, the doctors told me I was very sick. I have a bad disease called cancer, and they told me I had two choices: I could start trying to fight the cancer, or I could have you. It wasn't a hard choice for me, baby girl. I have wanted you since I was a little girl. I didn't know what your name would be or what you would look like, but I've dreamed about you for years. And already, I know you're perfect. You're beautiful.

  I hope you never see this video. I want to see you grow up. I want to see you start school, and be in the school play, and get married and have babies of your own. And there are going to be those moments when you realize I'm not there, and you will feel sad. That's okay, sweetie. But make sure you smile for me, too. I want you to be happy.

  And Chloe...your daddy is going to need your help. He and mommy love each other a lot, and he's going to miss me. Make him smile. Can you do that, sweetie? The most important thing in the world is to love and be loved. Your daddy is going to take such good care of you, and I know you'll take good care of him. And someday, he'll find someone to help him take care of you. They won't be me, and they won't take my place. They'll build a new place in your heart and daddy's. I already have a place for them in my heart because I know they will love you both as much as I love you.

  I do love you, Chloe. I miss you.

  The woman takes a moment to dry her tears and clear her throat.

  I'm going to sing a song for you, Chloe. You can play it when you're happy or when you're sad, or when you're trying to fall asleep.

  Baby mine, don't you cry.

  Baby mine, dry your eyes.

  Rest your head, close to my heart,

  Never too far, baby of mine.

  The woman sings four verses and finishes on a tearful smile before the screen goes blank.

  1

  Oliver

  “I see here that you have been unemployed for the last couple of years.” Marge, the woman interviewing me, squinted her eyes at the paper in an attempt to not look like she was calling me out for my lack of work experience. At least in recent years.

  “Yes, ma’am. I was a stay at home omega.” It still hurt to even divulge that much, but this was only the third interview I lined up so far and the first two were in a field I was not at all interested in, making this position number one on my short list.

  “But you are no longer?” This time she at least met my eyes, and I thought I could decipher a bit of sympathy in them. She had run into a lot of omegas here at Omega House who were shattered and abused. I was none of those things. I was simply unable to have children.

  I knew going in that my alpha was in the relationship for a family, which was a major draw for me. He never hid his intentions; in fact, he wouldn’t mate me until his first child was born. My mom reassured me he was simply feeling the alpha need to procreate more heavily than most and I should give him a chance. It was easy for her to say. She was a happily married beta living in the retirement community of her dreams. She meant well, but was always a bit more self-centered than my siblings and I would’ve liked. But I’d been young and in love, and willing to let my misgivings slide.

  “No, ma’am. I’m no longer with my alpha.” I crossed my fingers she wouldn’t pry more. If her mood changed to such deep sympathy just from hearing I was no longer a house omega, I couldn’t fathom what she would say or do if I told her that I couldn’t conceive. There’d be no way I could hold in the tears if she went that route. Thankfully, she perked up and began to babble on and on about the position I was interviewing for: Omega House Child Care Provider.

  It sounded lame, I know. But it was a chance for me to give back to the community by helping the omegas in the shelter as they tried to rebuild their lives while also allowing me to surround myself with children. I have always loved children and even completed the first two years of teacher college before falling for my alpha.

  I soared at the possibility of becoming a dad, carrying my child in my womb and watching them grow into adulthood. In hindsight, that was probably why I latched onto Ivan as quickly as I did. Sure he was hot and had a decent job, but it was his focus on and the promise of a family, a large one, that had me moving in while red flags were waving all over the place.

  “I noticed that you haven’t listed a mailing address.” Unlike her initial assessment of my work history, this time she didn’t sound as if she were on the attack, looking for something wrong with me. This time she sounded understanding.

  “I’m currently between places, ma’am.” And by that I meant I was living in a rat-infested by-the-week motel that had a leak in the ceiling and a huge brown stain on the carpet that I suspected was blood.

  “Would you stop with the ma’am already?” She tapped her fingers in amusement. “I’m not even close to old enough for that crap.” It was official, I loved Marge. She was kind, funny, and from the first half of our interview, I gathered she took shit from no one.

  “Sorry, Marge.” She tilted her head slightly to indicate I continue, which was the last thing I wanted to do. Everyone knew how awful the place I was staying at was if for no other reason than it was constantly on the news as a crime scene. “I’m currently paying week to week at Sunshine Valley.”

  “That’s an expensive and dangerous dump.” She thought higher of it than I did. I held in a chuckle. This was not the time to be laughing at my potential boss.

  “It is, but my moving out was less than expected.” That sounded a bit better than “I was told to get the fuck out because you’re a useless excuse for an omega.”

  “I see.” She opened a drawer to her desk, rifling through some piles before pulling out two folders and slapping them on the desk.

  “I plan to save mone
y for my first and last months and move out once I get settled into my new job.” I hoped I could salvage the interview. One moment I thought I was a shoe-in with my education background, and the next I was sure I blew it. This interviewing stuff stunk.

  “Which you would like to be here.”

  “Very much so.” I sounded over-hungry, which was against one of the many interviewing rules I discovered while researching how best to get a job. “You do great work here and your child care facility is doing far more than most. You are giving these kids hope and love while allowing their omega parents to grow and thrive so they can leave their past behind.”

  Omega House offered so much more than a cot and a hot like so many shelters. They were there for the omegas first and foremost. It would be an honor to work here, even if it meant living on ramen, because the pay was pathetic. My next interview was scheduled for Café Om. It had a reputation for treating omegas well and paying a living wage, but customer service just wasn’t my thing.

  “I need to ask you a question, and I know it is personal, but I think it needs putting out there.”

  And that could never lead anywhere good.

  “Okay.” I squeaked because there was no choice to it.

  “Why did you and your alpha part?” My stomach sunk. It was inevitable, but I still wasn’t ready to go there. “I wouldn’t ask, but if there are any safety concerns for the residents I need to know before agreeing to hire you on. Not that it would exclude you, mind you. It just might take some more creativity on our end.”

  “Ivan is no danger.” He wasn’t either. And frankly, even if he was the type to abuse his omega, I was of no consequence to him anymore. There was zero chance he would ever call me again, much less look for me. “He and I parted because I was unable to conceive.” I was proud of myself as I held my tears.

  “And being around children will not add to your hurt?”

  The question was legit, and one I had asked myself over and over again the past couple of days. In many cases, I’m sure it would be hurtful, but for me it was the opposite. It was a shining beacon of hope. I could touch the lives of children who needed love and security so very badly. What omega could ask for more than that?

  “No. If anything, I think it will be a balm.”

  “Well, if that is the case, I have an offer for you.” She leaned forward, resting her face in her hands and her elbows on her desk, more relaxed than I had seen her in the short time I had known her. “We pay spit. I kid you not.” This I knew. It sucked, but sometimes it wasn’t about the money. “This is your starting salary.”

  She slid a paper forward and the number she pointed too had me floored. I mean, I knew it was going to suck being non-profit and childcare, two industries notorious for sucky pay, but this was minimum wage.

  “But, we have a dormitory for staff, if they so choose. In exchange, you agree to be on call one week a month in case we have an emergency intake with children involved. Is that something you might be interested in?”

  That changed things. “That sounds like a dream come true.” I could live here, work with children, and save money for a future. It was a dream.

  “So let’s get to the fun part then, shall we?”

  “Which is?”

  “You get to fill out all of this.” She shoved a pile of papers my way that had to be a half an inch thick. Was a new life worth four thousand hours of paperwork? Absolutely.

  2

  Wyatt

  Three years later.

  I greeted Abrar with a hug. "This is a nice place you have here," I complimented my old college friend. "If I didn't hate the city so much, I'd come here more often!"

  Abrar laughed and we sat down in two arm chairs next to an unlit fireplace at one end of the cafe. Spring was moving into summer and we certainly didn't need the heat right now. "You do realize this is a chain, now, right? And I do have a Cafe Om out there in Norville." He waved over a waiter. Or whatever they called them at these coffee places. A server.

  I squinted my eyes as I tried to think where it might be. Had I seen a new cafe going up? "Surely you're just poking at me. Where is it?"

  "Right on Main, two streets past your clinic. If you stepped outside for more than work or Chloe, you would have seen it."

  That was...I wanted to say ridiculous, but Abrar had a point. If something didn't involve my veterinary practice or my daughter Chloe, I was a little out of it. "No shit. How long has it been there?"

  "About a year," he said, not bothering to hide his amusement. The server reached us and we placed our orders.

  I shook my head. "Okay, hit me. What else have I missed out on?"

  "You realize my brother-in-law got hitched, right?"

  We lost ourselves in the news of our friends and family. Abrar and I had roomed on the same floor in college. From the outside, we had little in common. I was a biology major, aiming for veterinary school, he was a business major with a million ideas on how to turn a buck. But we'd both participated on the debate team, and though we often as not held the same personal values, we preferred practicing against each other. No one else quite matched our depth and intensity. I took first and he took second in our regional competition, but when we reached nationals, we both placed in the middle of the pack, though he ranked higher than I did. And he never let me forget it.

  "So what does bring you into town?"

  I sighed. I couldn't really afford the time away from my practice. I had a couple vet techs who worked with me, but I was the only full veterinarian. At the same time, I couldn't afford not to take this trip. "I'm looking for a manny," I said. I had specified male on my applications. I had no interest in looking at anyone who might seem like a replacement for Jen in any way, shape, or form. But at this point in my search, I was really going to have to take what I could get. "My neighbor, Helen, has been looking after Chloe since, well, since. But she's moving to Florida next month to be near her daughter and grandchildren. Selfishly, I want her to stay. She's become family. But I understand. Blood is blood."

  "Are you having difficulty finding someone local?"

  "A little. It's easy to find people who are willing to work consistent day hours, but I need someone who is willing to be on-call. I never know when I'm going to be called in on an emergency, and even though the clinic is literally out my back door, I can't leave Chloe alone, as little as she is. Honestly, I'm hoping I can find someone who would be willing to live in the house with us. There's plenty of room." Too much room. Jen and I had planned on having a whole bundle of children. Now... it was just Chloe and me.

  "So are you talking to someone in town, then?"

  "I'm talking with a couple different agencies right now. One of the problems, though, is they're not sure if they can find anyone who meets my qualifications in my time frame. Helen is in the process of selling her house, and once it's sold, she wants to be gone. Most of her stuff is already at her new place in Florida. I might be able to convince her to stay with us for a couple more weeks, but not beyond that."

  Abar scratched at his beard. "You know what, let me talk to Naheed. You never know who is staying at Omega House that might just fit the bill perfectly."

  Huh. I hadn't thought of that possibility. "Would you? If something like that worked out, it would be a huge weight off my mind."

  Abrar was already texting on his phone. "Already on it. What time are you headed back home?"

  "Well, my first meeting is at two, and the second one is at three-thirty, so I'm hoping to be headed back out before rush hour."

  "I'll call him in an hour if I don't get any response," Abrar responded. "If you can at least start something, whether it's a conversation with Naheed or an interview with a possible candidate, that would cut down on you needing to take another trip out here this week."

  I refused to get my hopes up, but that sounded glorious.

  "Thank you so much, Abrar."

  He waved off my thanks. "Seriously, it's not a bother. Now if you wanted me to nanny Chloe, th
at would be different."

  I laughed. "I don't know. With those five kids at home, I'm sure you've got some major skills up those sleeves."

  "True, but there's a reason my wife chose to stay home with the kids and sends me off to work every day, and it's not because of finances or need. Those kids have me wrapped around their every finger. We'd be eating cake for breakfast and skipping school to play in creeks if I were home all day."

  I smiled at the image of Abrar soaking wet and piled with children. It was a bittersweet smile. That had been my dream, once upon a time.

  "Well thanks anyway. I have to get to that first meeting, but I'll talk to you later?"

  Abrar shook my hand. "You bet.”

  3

  Oliver

  “Oliver, Oliver, Oliver.” Little Suzy pulled on my sleeve, a habit I had long since stopped trying to break her of.

  “Yes, Suzy.” I squatted down to her eye level. Technically, I was off for the day, but I always had a hard time leaving until I saw all the new caretakers settled in. Plus, going back to the staff dorms was boring. I was grateful for the job and all of the money I’d been able to save because of it, but I was getting restless. Change was in the air.