by Aiden Bates
Lagunov stepped aside, eyes on Kirby, and radioed the tip in. Austin didn’t move. He could feel Cody’s eyes on him, and he didn’t know how to react. The air around him, between them, was too charged.
“What exactly did Adrian do?” the deputy asked once he’d completed his call. “Backup’s on its way, of course.”
“Of course. Procedure and all.” Kirby looked down. “Paul told Adrian that Austin was in a family way. He smashed a bunch of stuff, of course, and then he went over to Howell’s office next day. He told Howell here that I was the father, and that Austin was going to come home with us because I would claim him after the baby was born. I guess he believed it, which I still don’t quite get.” Kirby snorted. “Austin wouldn’t let me live for ten seconds after I touched him. He’s been pretty clear about that.”
Cody flinched and looked down. Austin’s hurt, warring with relief and desire, surged forward. “True. Why would you help him now?”
“Because whatever Adrian had in mind—and what Adrian had in mind was bad, I know that—I’ve only ever wanted what was best for you, Austin. I thought I knew what that was, before.” Kirby bit the inside of his cheek and blinked a few times. “This whole trip, talking to you even if it was hostile, seeing you and Cody together, that’s taught me what was actually best for you. It’s taught me who knows what’s best for you, and it’s not an alpha. It’s you. I’m sorry for ever putting you in fear.
“I’ve got a lot to unlearn, and I’m hoping jail will help with that. It’s going to suck, don’t get me wrong, and I’m not looking forward to it, but I want to come out the other side a better person.” Kirby turned to Lagunov. “I’m not even going to fight you.”
Lagunov nodded and put the cuffs on Kirby’s outstretched hands, reciting his Miranda rights from memory. Austin couldn’t look at Cody while they waited for backup to arrive and take Kirby away, but Cody’s campfire scent hammered away at his brain.
Another squad car arrived, and Kirby got into the back without a fight. Cody actually embraced the other alpha and thanked him, and Austin couldn’t decide if that was repulsive or one of the more touching displays he’d seen in a long time. Then Cody turned to him. “Please talk to me, Austin. I’ve signed the papers. There’s a cop right here, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”
Austin turned his head away. “Fine.” He walked back into the house. What else was he going to do, with that scent weaving a caul around his brain?
Lagunov followed them back into the TV room, and Austin tended to the fire. It was easier than looking at Cody’s earnest, sad face. “Austin.”
“Still me. It’s just an embryo, it doesn’t even really have a brain yet, so it’s only me.” Austin clenched his fists. “You signed the papers. I’m giving it up; you don’t get to interfere.”
“Okay. That’s fine. But you’re giving it up under false assumptions.” Cody sat down on one of the chairs. “Adrian can be a very persuasive speaker, when he wants to be.”
“I guess.” Austin still wouldn’t look.
“I should have listened. I know that. I should have given you a chance to say, ‘Hey, dumbass, remember that time we had no lights and couldn’t check to see if there might be a hole in the condom?’ I mean the timing was right. Because the thing is, before Adrian said that the baby was Kirby’s, I was happy.”
“Why?” Now Austin turned around to look at his former alpha. “I don’t even like kids, Cody.”
“You don’t know any to like or not. You’re an amazing man, and you take care of everyone around you. You just don’t realize you’re doing it. I was happy because it was something we’d made, together. It wasn’t yours, it wasn’t mine, it was ours. Maybe it was early in our relationship to talk about kids, but most alpha-omega couples move faster than that.” He stuck his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “We loved each other, and that was enough for me. Then I believed Adrian. I guess I was still hung up on old-fashioned ideas more than I thought.”
“I guess.” Austin’s lip curled, but his hands shook. “I trusted you.”
“I know. And I let you down. I’m human. I can do better. I want to do better. If Kirby Lloyd, who grew up in that cult your brother got involved with, can choose to improve and choose to do better, then I probably can too. I need help to do that, I think. It’s not something that I think anyone can do, without being reminded. I think we’d need to be together, to come home to each other, in order to make it work, but we can do that. I mean with a kid on the way we’d have to.” He swallowed hard. “If you’d let me.”
“I want to believe.” Austin whispered the words, but he couldn’t look at Cody when he said them. “I do. But you didn’t even think before you took Adrian’s word over mine.”
“I did. He did have to work to convince me. It was the condom thing that got me.” Cody got up and approached Austin, campfire scent mixing with the smoke from the very real fire in front of him.
“Cody.” Tears stood out in Austin’s eyes, frozen in place only by his fierce determination not to let Cody see him cry. “It can’t work.”
“It can.” Cody put a hand on his shoulder. “I screwed up. I’m not pretending that I didn’t. Austin, don’t turn your back on everything that we could be and everything that we’ve had because of my screw up. We made each other happy. We can do it again. I know you’re worried about giving up control of yourself, but Austin, that’s where the baby helps you out. I can’t claim you until after the baby’s born anyway.” He squeezed the shoulder, gently. “It gives you time to learn to trust again. If I can’t be trusted, then I go back to my condo. I signed the papers. The choice will always be yours.”
Austin knew, intellectually, that he should say no. He should chase Cody out of the house like any other lying alpha. The way that his heart fluttered in his chest told him that he wouldn’t. “Don’t screw this up again.”
Cody caught him up in a bear hug, catching Austin’s lips in a gentle but passionate kiss that was hotter than any fire his fireplace could accommodate. Austin caught Cody’s face in his hands and traced the tear tracks with his thumbs, needing to feel them for himself.
Lagunov cleared his throat. “I’m going to be out in my squad car. If you want to toss me your keys, there, cowboy, I’ll straighten out your car so I can get out once my shift is over.”
Austin buried his face in Cody’s shoulder as Cody dug for his keys. Cody tossed them to the deputy who chuckled as he walked out of the house.
Once the house was empty, Cody killed the lights and returned to Austin. “We can’t exactly leave the fire, can we?” he asked.
Austin just shrugged and stripped off his shirt.
Cody blushed. “Austin! Oh my God! What if that cop comes back?”
Austin rolled his eyes. “He knows what we’re doing, for crying out loud.”
Cody, still blushing, tore his own shirt off and got to work on his pants. “Is there still stuff down here?”
It was Austin’s turn to blush. “Yeah, I never got around to moving it.”
Cody pulled him close, and Austin let him. Once he’d decided to give Cody another chance, his body was entirely on board with the prospect of sex again. If anything, the hormones of early pregnancy combined with his separation from his alpha made him even more responsive than he had been before. Every brush of Cody’s skin, even the lightest touch of his lips, made him break out in a sweat.
Cody seemed to want to map out every inch of Austin’s body anew. He ran his fingertips, and his tongue, over Austin’s wiry biceps and the abs that were still so well defined. He traced the solid and dimpled globes of Austin’s ass, and licked his way over his balls and his cock. They hadn’t been apart long enough for Cody to forget what Austin’s body felt or tasted like, but Austin wasn’t about to complain. Not when it felt like that.
Cody grabbed the lube from the side table where he’d hidden it. He reached for a condom, too, but Austin stopped him. “That ship’s already sailed, hasn’t it?”
Cody dropped the strip of condoms, like his brain had just short-circuited. “Wha—?”
Austin swallowed. “I’m clean, I’m faithful, and so are you. And since I’m already pregnant, I want the benefit of knowing what you feel like without that.”
Cody’s eyes darkened. “Oh god.”
“If that’s okay with you.”
Cody tossed the strip of condoms to the side and brought the lube over to Austin. His hand was shaking when he started to open Austin up, but he got Austin ready without flinching or drawing back. “This is going to be the best sex you’ve ever had.”
Austin didn’t comment. He wasn’t much of a talker during sex anyway.
It felt like Cody was taking an eternity to get him ready. Cody did like to take his time about that sort of thing, which Austin appreciated as a general rule, and he knew that right then he was perceiving things differently because of anticipation.
When Cody finally moved into him, taking him with one smooth, slow thrust, Austin cried out. The thin latex condom was only a small barrier, and it didn’t dampen much sensation. Austin knew that, and he’d never balked at using them. This was different. This was Cody, all of Cody, and every micrometer was a revelation. “Oh god,” he whispered, closing his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Cody held himself still, face going red with the effort.
“Perfect.”
Cody moved, and the whole house moved with him. Austin wrapped his legs around Cody’s waist and held on, meeting his lover’s thrusts, and praying that the night would never end. His alpha was home, and all was right with the world.
***
Cody moved his things into Austin’s house the very next day. It was the move that made the most sense. Austin’s house was big enough to hold a small army, and the Skaneateles schools were a damn sight better than the ones in the City. After some discussion, the pair agreed that they would hold onto the condo in Franklin Square until after Cody claimed Austin, if that happened, or until they both felt confident that the relationship was going to be stable and last.
Cody had no doubts.
Adrian and Paul had been arrested the same night that Kirby sold them out. They were right where Kirby had said they would be, doing exactly what he’d said they would be doing: complaining about the accommodations. The Sleep-Tite motel was a definite step or two down from the five-star hotels and resorts that Adrian Baines had stayed in for his entire life, and Cody guessed that he could see where it might be a shock to a privileged guy like him to live with stains on the ceiling and a prostitute operating out of the next room.
It was a definite step up from his next accommodations, which would be prison.
All three defendants had separate hearings. Paul was also charged with aiding in the escape of a convict, which Cody privately thought was a little harsh. Sure, Paul had helped. He’d been unconscionably nasty toward Austin. At the same time, he’d also met Adrian through the same cult that had turned him into the monster he’d become. Paul probably didn’t think that he’d had a choice about what he’d done.
The court disagreed and sentenced Paul to three months. He wasn’t just being punished for helping his alpha to escape, the judge explained. Paul was being punished for helping his alpha to harass, bully, and torment Austin. It didn’t matter that they were bound as a pair. Paul still had free will, and he still made his choices. As a result, he was still going to be confined to the omega wing at Jamesville, and only permitted to see his alpha once per month. He would return, of course, once his sentence had been served in order to continue to visit his alpha.
Adrian’s court case was next. Austin and Cody didn’t bother leaving the room between sessions. They sat on the bench and held hands, openly instead of in secret.
Adrian was brought in, sneering and defiant. His only statement before his sentence was imposed was to declare that laws intended to control betas had no control over an alpha. Austin, and what belonged to Austin, was his.
Larry Wilde was there, still in his place as an assistant to the prosecutor. He revealed then that Austin had put measures in place to ensure that Adrian never got a dime of Austin’s money. Even if Adrian’s plan to get Kirby to force himself on Austin had succeeded, Adrian would still lose every dime he had to his creditors.
Adrian howled as he was led away. Cody shook his head. Even he believed that an alpha should have a certain dignity to him. Adrian couldn’t muster that dignity, not even when it mattered most. He thought that Adrian would recognize that once he was alone in his cell. Cody hoped the memory haunted him at night.
Kirby came next. The judge asked for his statement, and Kirby looked her in the eye and declared himself to be ready to accept his fate. He repeated his earlier sentiment—he believed, in the past, that he and Adrian had known what was best for Austin. He knew better now, he knew that he had a lot to unlearn, and he was ready to work on doing exactly that.
Larry asked to be allowed to address the court. “I’m aware, your honor, that this is highly unusual, but so is Mr. Lloyd’s case. I would like to point out to your honor that Mr. Lloyd, upon learning of Adrian Baines’ last dastardly act, made an immediate decision to act to undo the effects of that act. He would have been able to escape to freedom, but he revealed himself and surrendered both himself and Mr. Baines’ location to help undo what Adrian did.”
The judge looked over at Austin. “Mr. Austin Baines, is this true?”
Austin rose to his feet. “Yes, your honor. No one could have been more surprised than I was, but everything Mr. Wilde said is exactly true. He showed up and sacrificed his chance for freedom so that Mr. Howell and I could get through my brother’s attempts at sabotage.” He squeezed Cody’s hand. “If I had a choice—and I know the law only has so much leeway—I’d like to see that reflected in his sentence.”
The judge fell silent for a long moment. “Mr. Lloyd, what you did was terrible. I cannot suspend your sentence again, when you absconded the first time.” Cody’s heart dropped. He’d never admit it, but he’d been hoping. “At the same time, your selfless act on behalf of your rival and of Austin Baines shows that you are already on the path to rehabilitation. Your sentences for the crimes you committed are to be served concurrently, rather than consecutively. If you continue to show good behavior and progress toward rehabilitation, you should be eligible for parole in two years.” She banged her gavel. “Court is adjourned.”
Both Cody and Austin approached Kirby before the bailiff led him away. “Tough break, man.” Cody put a hand on his arm.
“I think I need it.” Kirby grinned, shaking his head. “Like I said before, I have a lot to unlearn. I don’t think I can do it on the outside. I need a lot of help, and I think I need a new perspective on things.”
Austin gave him a small, shy smile. “Would it be okay if we came out to visit you once in a while?”
Kirby’s answering smile was huge, and a lot less rueful. “I’d like that.”
Austin’s pregnancy progressed normally, with no complications. His only real food craving was for the soft cheeses he was supposed to be avoiding during pregnancy, so he ignored them and ate healthily for the duration. Cody pretended that Austin was having late-night ice cream cravings so he had an excuse to go out and get the ice cream that he himself wanted. He shared with Austin whenever he got a flavor that Austin liked.
Austin was due in August. In the middle of April, they walked into the doctor’s office for a routine sonogram and came out with shaking hands, a roll of printouts, and the sudden knowledge that they were actually going to be parents, for real. They were going to be parents to a baby girl.
Austin called down to the Omega Shelter for candidates that would be good at childcare and Cody asked him to talk to them about staff for Blue Bells Weddings, too.
Paul, upon his release from Jamesville, had to find an apartment in the area. The only problem was that he had no assets left. Larry had gleefully added Austin’s name to the list of people suing Adrian,
and the bank had fired both him and Kirby following their imprisonment. Paul was homeless.
Austin wasn’t about to let him stay with them, and Cody didn’t think that was a great idea either. “There is another option,” he said. “He doesn’t have to go to the Omega Shelter yet. I’ve got this big old condo downtown, see. His kids aren’t old enough for school yet, so the state of the schools isn’t an issue.”
Austin had kissed him. “You’re incredibly generous.”
“Well I’m not letting him stay there once Adrian’s released.” Cody kissed his omega.
It was clear that incarceration hadn’t been easy on Paul. He wasn’t the same. He flinched at every sound, and he didn’t leave the condo. Austin visited him when he could, and found that Paul wasn’t taking care of himself at all. He wasn’t grooming himself, he wasn’t eating, and he wasn’t leaving the guest bedroom in the condo.
They got him a psychiatrist, who was able to make some progress with him. “I understand he has children?”
“Two.” Cody nodded. “They’re staying with his alpha’s parents in Texas.”
“Can they be brought up? They might interest him in life again. This isn’t depression, although depression probably plays a role. This is something deeper. I honestly can’t promise that he’ll ever be able to effectively parent his children again, but it’s worth seeing if he even recognizes them.”
The psychiatrist ultimately called the Baines himself. No one thought having Austin reach out to them was a great idea. Cody would have expected them to object, to push back, but they were more than happy to ship their grandchildren north. They put them into the arms of their youngest daughter, seventeen-year-old Amelia, and gave her the instructions to return immediately and alone.
The youngest, by then a child of eight months, seemed relatively stable for a baby. She had round cheeks and a ready enough smile. The older one, a boy of around two, didn’t respond to much. His aunt, in complete contradiction of her parents’ orders, asked a lot of questions about where the children would be staying and who would have custody of them. It was apparent that she wasn’t a fan of her brother-in-law’s parenting style.