by Aiden Bates
“Who wants to have to remember their anniversary in the middle of the holiday mess? That’s like begging for a major blowout every year, like putting it on your calendar.” Austin twirled his hair around his finger. He’d never met an alpha so easy to talk to as Cody.
“Well, yes. But some of them don’t. It works out for them. I mean for you and me, there is no holiday stress.” Cody chuckled. “I mean besides what comes from our jobs, of course.”
Austin laughed. “Well then. Let’s have a delightful Thanksgiving of turkey, period film, football, and really amazing sex. Deal?”
“It’s a promise. Don’t forget about Friday.”
They hung up the phone. Truth be told, Austin didn’t mind not having sex that night. While Cody hadn’t been all that rough when they’d been together, Austin’s nipples were still sore a full week later. In fact, they felt worse now than they had the morning after Cody had toyed with them so delightfully. It probably wasn’t normal, but Austin wasn’t going to worry about it. He’d be turning thirty in a few months. He couldn’t expect his body to recover the way that it had when he was a kid.
He went into the shop and opened up just in time for Dan and Jimmy to get in. They seemed surprised to see him, but they weren’t unhappy about it. They both gave him quizzical looks, though, and Jimmy furrowed his brow. “Um, congratulations? Sir?”
Austin froze. He knew what Jimmy was implying. “No.”
Jimmy hung his head, staring miserably at the ground. “I’m sorry, sir. I, uh. It’s not something I haven’t experienced before.”
Austin didn’t know how to react. Tears sprang to his eyes, but Dan and Jimmy were strangers. He couldn’t cry in front of them, for crying out loud. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run out into traffic. He wanted to open up bottle after bottle until it made sense.
They’d used condoms. There weren’t any other birth-control methods available to omegas. Omegas’ unique anatomy and their scant numbers made it unprofitable to research more effective contraception for them, and alphas tended to object fairly strongly to any suggestion of the sort anyway. But Austin and Cody, they’d been responsible. They’d done what they were supposed to.
Except during the storm. They’d used condoms, but it had been too dark to check the things to make sure they were intact. Damn it.
“I have to be sure.” He logged the new hires into the registers. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He staggered over to the nearest pharmacy, not paying attention to the name. He knew that later on he would be embarrassed about having bought a pregnancy test so close to his place of business. Right then, though, he didn’t care.
He bought the kit and raced back to the shop over icy sidewalks. He scurried into the employee bathroom, filled the little cup, inserted the dipstick and waited. He prayed, to a god he didn’t believe in, that Jimmy was wrong.
When the timer beeped and the dipstick showed that he was emphatically pregnant, he flipped the ceiling off.
He cleaned up after himself and washed his hands. What was he going to do? He didn’t want the baby. He didn’t want any baby. He didn’t like children. He sold wine and cheese, for crying out loud, two things that were strictly forbidden during pregnancy.
Then there was the whole thing with Cody. He loved Cody. He knew that. Cody didn’t want kids any more than Austin did. They were both small business owners. They had work to do, things that required their attention. They couldn’t get called away to change diapers and wave rattles in front of unfocused eyes.
No reputable provider would help an omega obtain an abortion. It wasn’t the same kind of procedure in men that it was in women. In men, abortion—-or cleanup after a miscarriage, for that matter—was a surgical matter. No one would get involved unless the pregnancy would kill the omega involved, and often not even then.
Maybe that was best.
He took a deep breath. He couldn’t let himself think like that. Not yet, anyway. One thing that the embryo currently wriggling away inside of him would do, even now before it had real organs or even an identifiable sex, was to solve the problem of Austin’s brother. Even the wretched Kirby wouldn’t want an omega who was carrying another alpha’s child.
He pulled himself together. Splashing cold water on his face helped.
Neither Dan nor Jimmy approached him, and Austin appreciated that. He probably should have been more conciliatory toward them, but it was the worst day of his life and he didn’t feel up to faking it right then. He busied himself with stocking shelves for about an hour, until the next crisis came through his door.
He knew when the visitor came in that it was bad news. He recognized his brother-in-law’s scent as soon as it wafted toward him. “Are you over your childish little snit yet?” Paul asked in a bored tone. Then he pulled himself up short.
Austin frowned. “I find it hard to believe that Adrian would leave his omega behind while he went back to Texas.” He narrowed his eyes at Paul.
“You went and got yourself pregnant.” Paul pointed at him. “You’re not claimed. You’re a whore!”
Austin rolled his eyes. “Sticks and stones, darling. Sticks and stones. I’m not exactly happy about this, because I think kids are a sexually transmitted disease, but I do appreciate the fact that this will put an end to all of this nonsense about Kirby claiming me.”
All of the color had drained from Paul’s face. “Alpha’s going to be so angry, you have no idea. Not only did you get him arrested, not only did you disobey him, not only did you make it more difficult to get his hands on his money, but now you’re sticking him with an extra mouth to feed?” Paul shook his head. “He’s going to kill you.”
Austin thought about the alien life taking root inside of him, another force taking decisions out of his hands, and wondered if that wasn’t kinder. “He’s going to have a fun time trying to do that from jail.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed nine-one-one.
When the dispatcher answered the phone, he sighed. “Hi. This is Austin Baines at Skaneateles Vine and Rind. My brother has a court order demanding that he leave Onondaga County before today, but his omega is right here in my shop harassing and threatening me on his behalf. I’m in fear for my life.”
“We’ll send someone out right away, Mr. Baines.”
Austin met Paul’s horrified eyes. “Say what you want about me, but your alpha’s going to jail. Your best-case scenario is that you have to stay up here in Syracuse for the next five years. You’re never going back to Texas. You’re never going to see your children again. You’re only going to see your alpha once a month, in a trailer in jail, enough to keep you alive.” Austin leaned forward. “Do you feel good about that? Are you still convinced that Adrian’s right?”
“He’s my alpha. I have to accept that he’s right. That’s all there is—serving your alpha, living for him. If you weren’t such a selfish piece of work you’d know that.” Paul spat in Austin’s face and ran from the store.
The sheriff’s deputies showed up not long afterward. A detective agreed with Austin. There was no way that Paul would still be in town without his alpha. He promised a very thorough search and assigned a uniformed sheriff’s deputy to follow Austin around from place to place and keep him safe.
Austin had to fight the urge, yet again, to scream. It wasn’t some cop’s job to keep him safe, it was Cody’s. That wasn’t true, though. Cody wasn’t going to want him now that there was a baby in the way. He was going to want to run so fast that no one would see him move.
That was unfair of him, and he shook his head at himself. He needed to give Cody more credit. Cody was very capable of stepping up, and Austin knew it. He was the kind of guy who would work with Austin to try to come up with a fair solution for both of them, something that would work for the child.
Austin trusted him, or at least he believed that he trusted Cody. He trusted Cody more than he trusted any other alpha, and that was saying a lot. Given more time, he would probably come to trust him
more. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time.
He needed to call Cody and tell him the news. What was he supposed to say? “Oops?”
He sent a text instead. Something’s come up. We need to talk.
Cody didn’t get back to him for half an hour. That made sense. He was a busy guy, in meetings with clients and stuff. Can it wait? Super swamped right now.
Austin sighed. Yeah, it could wait. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it. Sure. Should talk in person though.
See you Friday.
Friday. It was only two days away. Austin curled up in his office and tried to steel himself for it. He could make it two days.
***
Cody hunkered down in his office. He hoped that Kristi would forgive him for having been so short with her. He’d hoped to get together with Austin on Friday. It was Thursday, almost a week later, and Cody thought he might explode. Couldn’t someone have warned him that love would make him feel everything, including his baser urges, even more?
It didn’t matter. He had Austin in his life, and they were both committed. They’d come up with a schedule that worked for them. Someday down the road they’d move in together, and maybe have a claim, but Cody wasn’t going to rush it. He knew that Austin was gun-shy, and the more that he heard about Austin’s childhood the more he figured that Austin had good reason to be. They’d get there when they got there, and it was going to be on Austin’s schedule. No one else’s.
He closed his eyes and sipped his coffee, a slow smile spreading across his face. Just thinking about his Austin put his tense muscles at ease. He had no idea why Austin had texted him the day before, saying that they needed to talk. Maybe he’d decided that he wanted a claim after all. Wouldn’t that be nice? They could skip the whole, awkward courtship phase and move straight to cohabitation.
Okay, chances were that he wouldn’t have said anything if that was the case. He’d have just brought it up when they got together, biting his lip and hesitating over the words. Maybe his news had something to do with his terrible brother. Maybe the police in Texas had verified his return. Maybe he’d been arrested. Either way, Cody couldn’t wait to hear what it was.
Kristi knocked on the door and pushed it opened it. “Cody?”
Cody waved a hand. “I’m sorry for barking at you, Kristi. It’s been a tough week. Do you think we should maybe bring on some new staff?”
Kristi’s eyes bulged. “Are you kidding? Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think we could use another few people, actually. The books support it, and then maybe we can start moving me into more of an associate role like we talked about.”
Cody winced. “We did talk about that. I have a few ideas about where to find some people. Give me a couple of weeks, and if I don’t have some candidates at least then I’ll let you have a crack at it. Okay?”
Kristi nodded. “Sounds good, Cody. I mean I’m worried that you hit your head, but I’ll take it.” She hid a nervous giggle with one hand. “Anyway, I didn’t come in here to talk about that. You’ve got a visitor. Tall fellow, sounds like he’s from Texas?”
Austin was tall and Texan, but he wouldn’t have come here. Would he? Cody had told him to wait until Friday. Much as Cody wanted to see him now, he didn’t think that Austin would go against him like that unless it was a real emergency. “Did he give his name?”
“Baines.” She frowned. “He’s not a very nice guy. He’s twitchy, and he keeps curling his lip. He doesn’t want to touch anything.”
Well, that couldn’t be Austin. “Be ready to call the cops, Kristi. I’m pretty sure I know who it is.”
Cody walked out into the reception area. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here. You’ve got to know that the cops will be here in a few minutes.”
Adrian sneered at him. If they were photographed under the same circumstances—say, a mug shot—Adrian and Austin were identical twins. They had the same upswept hazel eyes, the same broad mouth, the same long and slender fingers. Adrian kept his hair relatively short, and that familiar broad mouth had a perpetual cruel twist to it. He didn’t carry himself with confidence, but with ego. “I don’t need a lot of time to tell you what I need to pass along, there, Cody.” He gestured toward Cody’s office. “Shall we?”
“You’re joking, right?” Cody crossed his arms over his chest.
Adrian shrugged. The gesture, like so much else, was familiar and alien like so much else. In Austin, it would show true ease and aristocratic indifference. In Adrian, it just displayed contempt. “Fine. I just wanted to let you know that we’re taking off on the next flight out. All of us.”
Cody stuck his hands in his pockets. “Well don’t let the door hit you on the way out, there, Adrian. If you can beat the cops on your way out, maybe you can avoid a pit stop in Jamesville.” He gave his enemy a nasty grin.
“I don’t think you quite understood me, Cody. We’re all leaving. All four of us.”
Cody laughed out loud. “Cute. Very cute. What did you do, claim a second omega? That’s going to be awkward with the whole multiple lawsuits you’ve got going on, but you know what? As long as you’re in Texas, you do what you want.”
Adrian patted him on the shoulder. “Ah, Cody. You went to a state school, didn’t you? We’re only leaving because we got what we came for. I mean sure, it’s a little ass-backwards, but with a defect like Austin you have to go with what you have. Austin’s pregnant.”
Joy welled up inside Cody. It was too much to be contained. He was sure that it was a visible thing, light radiating from his eyes and his mouth. “Pregnant?”
Adrian pinched his cheek. “Slow your roll, there, Papa. Austin is pregnant. By Kirby.” He stepped back. “He wasn’t necessarily enthusiastic, but he didn’t exactly say no if you know what I mean. I wouldn’t say he’s thrilled about the baby now, but he’ll get over it. I mean what choice does he have, right?” He patted Cody on the back. “Kirby will claim him once the baby’s born. It’ll be fine. I mean he’ll have a baby, right? A cute little adorable baby, from his very own alpha.”
Cody’s mouth went dry. “No. This isn’t… you’re full of crap. Austin wouldn’t cheat.”
Adrian rolled his eyes to the sky. “I won’t pretend that it was easy. I mean he preferred you, but you know how omegas are. If you let them out of your sight, for even half a second, they’ll find someone new to open their legs for.” He shook his head. “You have to keep an iron grip on them, Cody. If you have one that you like, claim them fast, and don’t leave them alone for a single night. Otherwise you get what you have here.” He spread his hands wide. “They just can’t help themselves. It’s their natures. They want to be filled, and they don’t care who’s doing it.
“I won’t pretend that I’m upset that it was Kirby.” He walked away for a few steps while Cody stood where he was, shaking. “I mean that was the ultimate goal, to get him together with Kirby. I’m ashamed that it happened like this, obviously, but it is what it is.” He sighed. “I feel bad for you, man. I mean you could have probably had him. Yeah, we’d have tried to take him from you, but you would have had a chance. Now what do you have?”
Adrian turned around and got close to Cody, right up in his face. “You have nothing, because you didn’t move fast enough. You sat on your ass and thought that an omega could tell an alpha what was best.” He huffed out a laugh. “Honestly, I want to see you get tested again. I can’t believe that you’re a real alpha. You were just told that your little boyfriend cheated on you and got pregnant by another man, another alpha, and you’re just standing there. You’re pathetic.” He reached inside his jacket and pulled out some papers. “I’m going to leave this stuff here. It might help you. Then again, there might be no helping you.” He laughed, a high-pitched and affected sound, and walked out the door.
Cody stared after him. He couldn’t move. His feet might as well have been nailed to the floor. His brain couldn’t process what he’d heard. Austin pregnant? How could that be?
Cody didn’t doubt for a mi
nute that the child was Kirby’s. No, Austin had never wanted Kirby, but Cody had absolutely been neglecting his omega. If Cody had become snappish and erratic because he’d lacked the touch of the one he’d loved, how much worse must it have been for Austin?
Austin and Cody had used condoms, every time. If they’d had better contraception available to them, they’d have used it. Condoms were pretty damn effective, though. Cody hadn’t had anyone calling him up to pressure him about a new arrival. The only logical father was someone who wasn’t Cody. The casual way that Adrian had described Austin as “unenthusiastic,” but not terribly resistant, had been chilling but had offered confirmation. If Kirby had shown up during a moment of weakness, he might have given in after a moment of despair.
Cody should have been there. He should have kept his omega safe.
Austin wasn’t his omega. Cody punched the nearest wall, putting a giant hole in the plaster and making Kristi scream. Was that who Cody was? Someone who punched things and made people scream? He had reason to be upset. He didn’t have a right to be upset with Kristi. “I’m sorry.” Cody swallowed hard, panting. “Can you please call the police? The man who was just here is supposed to be arrested if he’s still in town.”
Kristi nodded, staring at Cody. Cody watched her for a moment, and then he retreated to his office.
There was nothing worse.
Maybe Austin had been lonely. Maybe Cody shouldn’t have neglected him. Maybe he should have been firmer with his clients. Maybe he should have made even more of an effort to be with Austin, instead of figuring that he could push it off until later. That was on Cody.
At the same time, it wasn’t like Cody didn’t have sexual needs. It wasn’t like he didn’t have temptations, for crying out loud. If Cody could keep his hands to himself, and only snap at Kristi once in a great while, why was it that Austin got a pass for spreading his legs and getting pregnant by a guy who openly admitted that he didn’t give a good goddamn about Austin’s consent or Austin’s desires?
Cody was furious. If Austin had wanted a child, or if Austin had admitted to wanting a child, Cody would have given him one. Cody would have given him everything he wanted.