Abel's Omega(Gay Paranomal MM Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 2)

by Ann-Katrin Byrde

  “Mr. Mercy Hills, I hope we’re not disturbing you.” Dale opened his hand toward the cart in a ta-da motion. “I talked to chef, and told him how it was your honeymoon and he was annoyed, so he sent this up for you and your, uh, husband.”

  “It’s mate. But thank you. Should I pay for it now, or does it go on our bill?”

  “Oh, no charge,” Dale said airily as he pushed the cart inside the room. He stopped dead when he saw Mac. “Holy crap, are you all this big?”

  Bax’s laughter pealed out from the other end of the room. “That’s what the redhead’s mate said when he first met them.” He came around the corner, his gorgeous smile playing around his lips. “But really, we should pay for this.”

  Dale shook his head. “No, chef said. But, if you don’t mind…” He turned bright red and looked down at his feet, practically squirming. “Could I have an autograph?” he asked in a rush, barely audible. His awkward glance bounced between the two of them like Fan on full moon night.

  Mac turned away to pick up his jacket. “I’ll leave you three alone,” he said, but his voice was strained with suppressed laughter.

  Bax came over to peek inside the covers on the cart. “Oh,” he said, and breathed deeply. “That smells amazing.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell chef,” Dale said, obviously pleased.

  “Dale wants an autograph,” Abel reminded Bax in his primmest tone.

  “I’m sure I can find a pen for you,” Bax said, grinning, and turned to rummage in the desk at the side of the room. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Mac.”

  “As soon as curfew’s over,” Mac returned and saluted as he went out the door.

  Bax came back with a pen and Dale pulled out a rolled up copy of the magazine with the latest story in it—which he handed to Bax. “Please?” he said in a pleading tone.

  Abel froze in shock, then the ridiculousness of the situation hit him and he started to laugh. Bax frowned at him, but he took the pen with a baffled smile and signed the picture Dale indicated.

  Bax pointedly passed the pen and the magazine over to Abel. Abel looked at the picture with Bax’s signature on it—it was a good one, showing off Bax’s lean figure and the sweetness of his smile. They were walking underneath the trees, hand in hand, with Noah on Abel’s hip and Beatrice hanging from Bax’s hand. The other two pups galloped ahead in wolf form, mouths wide and tongues lolling. He remembered that day; Abel had spent the entire walk telling Bax jokes, and stories from when he was young. The photographer had caught them in mid-laugh, heads turned toward each other, while the pups looked as happy as pups could look. “Wow,” he said.

  “Yeah, you guys look great,” Dale enthused, then went red and glanced awkwardly at Bax.

  Abel wondered a moment why he wasn’t even a little jealous, but then he realized that Bax was amused by the young waiter, but not particularly flattered. “We should probably eat,” Abel said. “Before it gets cold.”

  “Oh, yes, I’m so sorry. I hope you like it, and you have a great stay here.” Dale went from crimson to scarlet. “I mean, better now, anyway. Chef left a note that you’re to get breakfast too. We can bring it up here if you want.”

  Abel glanced over at Bax in bemused indecision. What the hell was going on?

  Bax eyed Dale cautiously. “Thank you. Can I think about it? It’ll depend on what the pups are like.”

  “Oh, you have pups? We aren’t a pet friendly hotel, but I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Children, Dale. We call them pups.” Bax started crowding him toward the door. “If you’re around tomorrow, I’ll introduce you.” He had Dale out in the hallway now, and he stood in the door saying goodbye until the young human had rounded the corner. And not a moment too soon—they hardly had the cart wheeled into the living room before the heavy thunk of the magnetic locks sounded from the door. They were locked in now.

  But they were locked in together, which wasn’t a bad place to be.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

  We ate, and it was as delicious as it smelled. Abel drank wine, but—keeping Adelaide’s counsel in mind—I stuck to water.

  There was dessert as well, berries on a rich cookie-like base, with whipped cream and some sweet sauce. I scraped the bowl clean, then wiped the last traces up with my fingers, sucking them clean to the tune of Abel’s laughter.

  “I’ve never had anything so good,” I told him. “Certainly not anything I’ve ever made.”

  “Here then.” He swiped one of his fingers around his bowl and held it out to me.

  My breath caught and I leaned forward to take his finger into my mouth, the sauce all the sweeter for the warmth of his body. He watched me the way a hunter watches prey, and a shiver of delight ran over my skin.

  “Let’s dance,” he suggested when I’d licked his finger clean, and pulled me to my feet. I was hoping he meant bedroom dancing, but instead, he turned on the television and flicked through the channels until he found one playing slow, romantic music. “Come here.” He put one arm around my waist, took my hand in his free one, and began to slowly guide me around the room in time to the music.

  I’d danced pack dances, and I’d danced the unstructured wiggling that went with rock music, but I’d never danced like this. It was amazingly intimate, like sex, only to music. It took me a few steps to figure out how to follow him around the room, but once I stopped thinking so hard about it, all I needed to concentrate on was the warm brown of his eyes, and the way he smelled, and how I could feel him even though we only touched where his hands were on me.

  “Fun?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you might like it,” he said, whirling me around him in a dizzying spin.

  It made me laugh and lose my balance. I fell against him, and then decided I liked this easily as much as I liked the dancing. “There’s other things we could do, since we’re locked in for the night.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?”

  His arms closed around me and I shut my eyes for pure joy. “Yes, but you’re overdressed.”

  “I’ll fix that.” He scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the bedroom. “Fix your overdressed problem too.” He laid me on the bed, and I stole a kiss before he stood up again.

  Abel grinned and stepped back, the jacket of his suit slipping down his arms as he went. I got up to my knees to watch, the baby turning slow somersaults in my belly, reminding me of all that Abel had given me.

  He folded the jacket and laid it carefully on the dresser. It might have been care for the suit, new and not inexpensive, but to me it looked like a slow, teasing strip, and it made blood rush to my groin in anticipation. I ran my hands over my chest, undoing the buttons of my shirt, one in return for every one that Abel undid. A sexy tit-for-tat. He soon noticed what I was doing, and his grin took on a predatory slant that drew an answering one from me.

  It wasn’t so long ago that an expression like that would have made me cringe; not anymore.

  Our shirts came off at the same time, and he leaned in for a kiss. I reached for the fastening of his pants, and he opened mine. We helped each other out of our clothes, no less careful of them now than before, but it only added to my rising arousal. I could barely wait.

  Abel reached for me, his bare skin like a drug against mine. I moaned and pulled him close, my hands splayed over his upper back while he kissed along my neck. He knew my body almost better than I did now, and every touch set off an inferno that spread out like a wildfire gone mad. Slowly, he pressed forward, his arm behind my back guiding me down onto the mattress. He laid down beside me—the baby was too big now for him to stretch out between my legs, but I didn’t see it as a negative. This way, he was free to roam over my body, his touch waking my nerves like lightning beneath my skin. I moaned and pawed at him, spreading my legs in a desperate plea for his attention.

  His breath shuddered out of him and his hand clenched momentarily into a fist before he spread it over the center of my chest and ran it firmly the
length of my body, claiming me as surely now as he had the night of our mating. He cupped my balls, handling them gently as teased me with pleasure and promise. I raised my mouth for another kiss and buried my fingers in his short-cropped hair. His beard tickled against my lips and the hand on my balls moved to knee, silently urging me to roll up on my side.

  Oh, yes. I did as he urged, putting my back to him, his cock burning against the backs of my thighs. He reached between us, the brush of his hand along my flank making me moan and shove my hips back at him, and then he was pushing inside and I cried out in welcome.

  “I love you, Bax,” he whispered against my ear and thrust home.

  This was slower, gentler, than we usually were. He loved me thoroughly and forever, carrying me to the brink, then slowing down to make it last, taking care that I lacked for nothing. His hand spread protectively over our baby and I put mine over his, both of us together, our hands, our baby. Our love and devotion and sheer luck in finding each other.

  That swirl of power inside me reached for his. He started when they first touched, then relaxed as they danced together. I could feel his pleasure as I felt mine, his desire, the need to protect, the delight he took in my growing belly. My mate and my home.

  Abel brought me close to that joyful edge again. I thought he might pull me back again, like he had already three or four times, but through that strange connection, I felt his need to complete this expression of love. He thrust harder, holding me tight against him, and I cried out as his cock pressed over and over against the heaviness of my womb, and that place inside that brought me nearly as much pleasure as Abel himself did. His breath was hot as he buried his face against my neck and cried out in his own pleasure, the swelling of his joy inside me triggering my own orgasm, and I clutched at his protective arm as the ecstasy of it all bent me double.

  Abel laid his cheek against the back of my neck as we rested in the afterglow. The baby stretched, as if he too had taken some enjoyment in our lovemaking. Abel chuckled behind me.

  “Busy little fellow.”

  “Mmm. Takes after Pap.” I pulled his arm closer around me and smiled as my eyes drifted closed. “I’m glad we came.”

  “Even after the restaurant?”

  “Even then.”

  “Good.” He yawned and wrapped himself around me, his limbs going heavy with sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

  At Montana Border, I stayed with the pups in the cheap hotel room we’d rented while the rest of our group went to the enclave. Small mercies, it didn’t seem like Roland had let Orvin know about me and the nearly four-month pup in my belly. I wasn’t sure what would have happened if he had known, but Abel was ready to negotiate a higher price for Jason if Orvin complained.

  The solar panels went up quickly, and soon Orvin was the proud owner of a house run entirely by solar—at least, during the summer months. He’d have to turn his regular power back on for the winter, but even this small bit, plus the money from the judgment, would help, and I truly wished them luck.

  Before they left, he and Mac signed the mating contract, and Jason officially became Jason Mercy Hills in the eyes of the pack.

  Orvin invited us all back to the enclave that evening to celebrate Jason’s official mating. I dressed nicely and got the pups into their good clothes, then waited for everyone else to get ready and worried about going. I didn’t trust these people after hearing about Jason’s experience, and the swell of my belly proclaimed me a part of his group, this strange thing called True Omega. But Abel was right—they would know eventually, and it was perhaps easier to beg forgiveness in person.

  Before we left for the enclave, Mac stopped at the local government office to register the mating, and sent the contract home to Jason by courier, to ensure Orvin couldn’t change his mind and make some attempt to retrieve it by force. Then we all got in our vehicles and made our way along the rutted road that led to Montana Border.

  The noisy roar of a partying crowd filled the air. That was, until our presence—or rather, mine—sent a wave of silence rippling out from our tiny group. Then the voices rose again, this time in wonder and curiosity and anger.

  They knew what I was, what I had to be, and I supposed they knew what Mercy Hills had just taken from them. I clutched Noah to me, and put a hand down to rest it on Fan’s little head. Bert had Beatrice, and Mac had Teca. I glanced quickly around to check on their reactions, only to find Mac wordlessly handing Teca to Bert and stepping in front of him.

  Orvin strode out of the crowd. From the look on his face, word had gotten to him before we did. I placed my hands protectively over my belly, as if that could hide my baby from view, or keep him from injury if the crowd got ugly.

  Abel moved slightly in front of me, a little to one side, Mac just behind and to the other side. “Alpha Montana Border, greetings,” he said mildly.

  “What the fuck is this, Mercy Hills?” Orvin tried to step around Abel to get a better look at me, but Abel put out a hand to stop him.

  “That’s my mate, Montana Border. You were there at our mating, remember?”

  “When did you know?”

  Abel’s face tightened, but there were too many people who knew when I’d come into heat to hide a lie. “Two days before the ceremony.”

  Orvin’s expression darkened. “And it never occurred to you to let the rest of us know, to give us a chance at him?”

  “We were already betrothed—”

  “He’s True Omega! That could be our chance!” Orvin took a step forward, until he was nose to nose with Abel. “You greedy son-of-a-bitch, don’t you have enough already?”

  I moved closer to Abel, twisting my hands in the back of his t-shirt while I peered anxiously over his shoulder. He’d told me to expect this, I’d known to expect this, but I couldn’t help playing all the ways this could go wrong over and over in my head.

  “I didn’t know when I fell in love with him. And why should he be treated like a chattel, to be bought and sold for whatever it is you think makes him special, with no say in his future? Omegas weren’t always treated like this. What happened to change it?”

  “Omegas are weak and can’t control themselves when their hormones are on them.”

  “And that should define them?” Abel shook his head. “Bax is my equal in so many ways, and my complement in all others.”

  “I revoke the mating of Jason to your wolf!”

  “Too late,” Mac said. “I’ve already sent it back to Mercy Hills. It’s registered federally. He’s mine.”

  A ripple of violence spread through the crowd, and I began tugging on Abel’s shirt to get him to come away. He put a hand back to calm me and stood his ground. “Are we going to go to war over this, Montana Border? The humans already think we’re no better than animals, violent and dangerous. Are you going to prove it to them?”

  His words seemed to strike home. Orvin stiffened, then snarled with a primal rage. “Of course you’d hide behind the humans. You’re just a little lap dog, aren’t you? Does your leg twitch when they scratch you just right?”

  “I’m doing what I can to make things better for our people. I sacrifice my privacy to show the humans that we are not the beasts they believe us to be. I encourage them to know us as more than monsters. How many of you can say the same thing? How many of you have taken any of these steps, the beginning of the path outside the enclaves?” He glared around at the group. I was relieved to see some guilty expressions and bowed heads. But only some. The rest still seethed with resentment over their perceived loss of omega luck. “I was lucky, yes. I found a fellow shifter who fits me, who bolsters my weaknesses and makes me more than I might have been. I wish that luck on all of you, but that’s all it is. Luck. You cannot force it with negotiations and mating contracts. Do you think a True Omega would give their gifts to someone who didn’t appreciate them?” He turned to Orvin. “Why did you not have better luck during the time Jason was here? You had possession of him.”

  “He wasn
’t mated. All the old tales say they must be mated.”

  I started. That was news to me. But then…

  My mate was ahead of me. “Then why did Jackson-Jellystone not have the luck you say they bring? Bax was mated there for four years. But Patrick had no respect for him, and made no use of his talents. And so he suffered for it, because the True Omega only exists where we value it.” Abel twisted to put a hand behind my back and bring me forward. “I do respect this man, who brings me laughter, and ideas, and pups to brighten my day. Who keeps my office running on schedule, and has a genius for working with human government. I don’t know if he brings luck; I don’t really care. I do know that he brings strength, and intelligence, and wisdom, and that’s enough for me.” He glanced around the crowd again, then nodded to our group. “Let’s go. I don’t think I’m in the mood for a party now.” He nodded to Mac, who hung behind us as we walked away.

  I assumed Mac’s slower pace was for protection from attack, but when he caught up to us a few minutes later, he nodded to Abel. “He threw it in my face.”

  “Threw what?” I asked.

  “Penance,” Abel said. “An offer to have one of his shifters come to Mercy Hills, to house them and cover their tuition at the university.” He glanced down at me. “Education is a civilizing force.”

  Mac broke in. “Jason says that no one in Montana Border has ever gone to university. The odd person goes to take a short course in a trade, but they’ve never had the money or influence to send someone away to get a degree.”

  I wanted to ask if we could afford it, but that was a bit more than an omega had a right to ask. It seemed to be a moot point now, anyway.

  Abel seemed to sense my worry. “Yes, it would have been expensive.” He opened the van door so we could start loading the pups. “But it would be more expensive not to at least try. We need to see to the health of all our people.” He paused in buckling Beatrice into her seat. “I’m also hoping this will keep the council more on my side when he goes to them. I’m fairly certain he will, especially since he didn’t take the offer. He can’t not make a complaint.” Abel checked Teca’s buckles to make sure they were solid, then handed me into my seat.