And now, the Bannon case was even higher profile, inviting more scrutiny of Teal and his family.
Omega Dayson Bannon wanted to open a heat service. By decree, only alphas or betas could operate heat services. For single omegas, the current options to get through a heat were to ask an alpha they knew for help or to contract with a heat service.
Over the past twenty years, as people had married later, those services had proliferated. Because so many new companies had opened in a short span of time, the ability for the state to regulate them had slipped. Unrepentant alphas and betas had seen the opportunity to make money by cutting corners, improperly vetting heat partners or not addressing omega concerns.
Two years ago, Dayson Bannon had contracted with a heat service that failed to protect him. He’d ended up spending his heat with a rough alpha who didn’t care for him properly through his heat waves. He’d come out of the three-day ordeal dehydrated and sore, taking weeks to fully recover.
Teal shuddered as he read through Dayson’s Low Court testimony. Dayson only had one opportunity to meet the alpha his local service connected him to before their coupling. The man had seemed nice enough, but when they’d met for Dayson’s heat, the alpha hadn’t honored the terms of their contract. Dayson recalled the man grabbing him, pushing him, and using terrible derogatory slurs. Worst of all, Dayson felt certain that on the second day of his heat, when omegas experienced delirium, the alpha had failed to wear condoms as previously agreed to. During the tribunal, Dayson broke down describing the stress ofwondering if he’d been bred, and his incredible relief at realizing it hadn’t turned out to be a breeding heat.
He’d attempted to hold the heat service accountable, but there weren’t any legal measures available to him. He hadn’t been bred, and the alpha hadn’t beaten him bad enough to put him in the hospital, so there was no way to get justice for what he’d endured. The service also refused to blacklist the alpha who’d abused him.
Dayson felt his best course of action was to ensure other omegas didn’t go through what he had. He wanted to open his own heat service, one that could provide more choices.
Besides utilizing a vetted alpha in a traditional manner, he envisioned offering the option of getting through a heat using toys, possibly in conjunction with donor alpha semen, administered by a beta who could penetrate the omega if requested. Every omega was different, just as every heat was different, and meeting those varying needs drove Dayson in his quest.
During his testimony, he detailed how he could get through his heats without direct contact with alpha semen, using condoms, although that made the experience more uncomfortable. But not all omegas could endure a heat without alpha semen. Dayson also told Low Court that he needed to be knotted to get through his heats safely. Not all omegas needed that.
In general, unobstructed ejaculation combined with knotting made heats more manageable and certainly more pleasurable for most omegas. But not all omegas wanted to share such an intimate experience with an alpha they didn’t know well. And, obviously, the prospect of being bred existed without condoms, since fifty percent of all heats turned out to be breeding heats, and there was no way to predict them. For some single omegas, the risk was worth it. For others, having a more painful heat without the possibility of pregnancy was the better option.Most alphas who owned heat services didn’t understand these nuances, defining their task as simply connecting needy omegas to willing alphas.
Dayson Bannon imagined a safe heat service that could ensure an omega felt in control of his situation during a very vulnerable time. Because who could put an omega at ease better than another omega?
Teal knew he needed to win this case. The consequences for omega rights, and particularly access to health care, were enormous. He thought of Sorcha next door. Or even little Zayne. He grimaced imagining either of them experiencing what Dayson had.
The case had already worked its way through Low Court, which had declared High Court needed to decide. Teal felt good about their chances, but since High Court judges turned over every two years, this would be a different panel than the one that had granted omegas divorce rights. So it wasn’t a slam dunk.
Teal continued poring over Low Court testimony.
The musky odor of forest moss pulled him from his task. Teal peered up as Mikel Donahue, an alpha lawyer, appeared in his office doorway.
“Still trying to do a real man’s job?” Mikel scoffed. “Guess you have to work Saturdays because you’re too slow to get the work done during the week.”
Teal squared his shoulders and sniffed the air. He didn’t understand how some alphas could smell so bad. Not like Ronan’s delicious peppery sage scent. “Well, you’re here. Does that mean you’re slow too?”
The alpha’s eyes narrowed. “Some of us actually have to earn our place at this firm.”
Teal pinched the bridge of his nose before exhaling. “Did you come to my office just to be a dick? Go away so I can work.”
Instead of leaving, Mikel advanced toward the desk. “If any other omega spoke to me the way you do, I’d put them on their back and show them just what they’re good for,” he snarled. “You only get away with this shit because Schulman and Carson need you to look good for the cameras.”
Mikel seethed with righteousness. But Teal had been dealing with angry, ignorant alphas for years.
“Never, ever talk casually about forcing yourself on omegas again,” he said levelly. “I haven’t reported you yet because everything you’ve said to me these past five years has sounded like the ramblings of a butthurt little troll. But one more word aboutthat, and I’ll file a complaint so fast your head will spin.” Teal stood up and pointed at his door. “Get. Out.”
Putting his palms up, Mikel backed into the hallway. “Fine. But it isn’t always going to be so easy for you. Someday you’re going to make a mistake. And you won’t be the firm’s darling anymore.” He flipped Teal the bird before heading down the hall.
Teal eased his shoulders and willed himself to relax. He wasn’t afraid of Mikel. The alpha had always been more talk than walk. They’d been hired within months of each other, and Mikel had been jealous of Teal ever since. Even when they’d both been assigned menial tasks those first few years, it had been obvious Teal was the better lawyer.
But Mikel was right about one thing. Teal couldn’t afford to make a mistake.
***
When Teal returned homebefore lunch, he found Ronan and the boys engaged in a fierce water gun fight. Fill station buckets were placed strategically at several locations around the backyard and folding picnic tables had been turned on theirsides to create hiding places. Zayne and Ronan faced off against the twins. Classic rock blared from a soundbar on the back patio.
“Who’s winning?” Teal called out. Four pairs of eyes turned to him as he walked onto the grass.
“Get Daddy!” Ronan ordered.
Within seconds, Teal found himself soaked. Good thing his weekend office wear consisted of track pants and an old T-shirt.
