NIALL:We’re staying a little later at the pool. The twins want to teach Zayne how to do the small diving board.
TEAL:Is he ready for that?
NIALL:I think so. He’s really taken to the water. I’ll keep a close eye too.
TEAL:I know you will. Okay. Thanks.
NIALL:Of course. You know I’d do anything for the boys.
For the boys.Teal frowned at the awkward qualifier. Niall had been going out of his way lately to convince Teal and Ronan, and perhaps himself, that he was merely an employee.
The beta had been behaving strangely since the day of Sorcha’s injury. Prior to that, he’d been fun and flirty, even though he’d never crossed any lines with the couple after meeting Jax. Now, Niall acted buttoned up and reserved. He was executing his nanny duties as well as always, but something had changed.
Teal didn’t like it. Of course, he missed the sex. He and Ronan had not revisited the topic of finding a new third, and he knew it was because they were still grieving the loss of what they’d shared with Niall. But more than that, Teal missed simply interacting with Niall in the easy way they always had. As the beta had pulled away, Teal felt the loss of that closeness. He hadn’t been able to put a name on it while they’d been together. But he’d had ten months to gain perspective. He now understood that he, Ronan, and Niall had been in a relationship.
He regretted being cavalier about it. In the moment, it had been fun to think of being with Niall as playtime, to dismiss the significance of the bond they’d built. When Niall had come to him and Ronan about meeting someone, they should havefought harder, should have understood what they were losing. But that was in the past. And they would always respect Niall’s decision to be with Jax. Teal just wasn’t sure he could accept the loss of their deeper friendship.
Rolling his shoulders again, Teal groaned into the silence as his stomach gurgled. Between dealing with the Dayson Bannon case at work, and worrying about Ronan, Sorcha, and Niall at home, he’d been forgetting to take care of himself.
He made toast. Although his appetite had been slightly higher these past few months, his heat hadn’t arrived. While having irregular heats after age thirty wasn't unusual, Teal still planned to see his doctor to make sure everything was okay. His stress levels probably weren’t helping.
The sound of the garage door vibrating cut through the suffocating silence. Teal exhaled with relief when Ronan came in.
“Alpha,” he drew out. “I missed you.”
“Hey, baby,” Ronan said, wrapping him in his arms with a concerned frown. “Everything okay?”
“Mostly, yes. Just tired.” Teal squeezed his husband tightly, pressing his cheek into Ronan’s broad chest and breathing in the peppery sage scent.
“It won’t be like this forever.” Ronan kissed him gently on the head. “Lean on me if you need to.”
Teal looked up. “I always need you.”
“I know,” Ronan whispered, pinching a strand of Teal’s hair between his fingers. He held him closely for another minute before asking, “Kids still at the pool?”
“Niall texted a bit ago saying the twins wanted to show Zayne how to do the diving board.”
Ronan stepped away and reached for his phone. “That checks out. Zayne has been a little fish ever since he passed the deep end test.”
“True.” Teal smiled and picked up his plate, putting it in the sink.
“Toast?”
“Yeah. I needed something to tide me over until you all came home for dinner.”
Ronan leaned back against the counter. “Your appetite… Is anything feeling…different?” he asked carefully.
Teal knew his late-to-arrive heat also concerned Ronan. They’d agreed not to use condoms, putting the possibility of expanding their family in the hands of fate. But that was before they’d known the delay would go on for months. Teal’s heat should have come and gone already, but now there was a real possibility of it disrupting High Court, reminding everyone that omega lawyers occasionally neededaccommodations. That very public reminder would be a win for pro-alpha sentiment.
But Teal didn’t want to take suppressants. Doing so limited the possibility Ronan would breed him, and despite how hectic everything had been lately, he didn’t want to miss the chance for another baby.
“Nothing feels imminent,” Teal answered, before changing the subject quickly. “I’m assuming pizza is okay? No way I’m cooking after the day I’ve had.”
“Pizza sounds great.” Ronan turned his face away, but not before Teal registered the anxiety there.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay,” Teal said, grasping his husband’s hand. “I promise I’ll see the doctor soon and we’ll find out what’s going on.”
“It’s not that.” Ronan shook his head. “At least, notjustthat. I’m sorry, baby. I know the amount of stress you’ve been under lately, and the last thing I want to do is add to it…”
