Niall slowly unwound Teal’s fingers from his wrist. “Thank you,” he mumbled.
The air grew thick between them as Niall seated himself at the table. Teal figured he'd discomfited the beta with his awkwardly earnest sentiment, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation he’d had with Ronan last night.
Had they been blind and cavalier letting Niall go? Should they have fought for him? What would that have meant? A permanent triad? A public declaration?
That never could have happened. Not unless he wanted to undo all the progress he’d made at work.
As much as Teal missed being with Niall, it would have been impossible to have a more official relationship. While there were certainly betas who joined alpha/omega pairs, those situations were considered unconventional at best. No way would his bosses have accepted it. Let alone the rest of the state.
Part of the reason Teal had achieved so much at work was because he was a model omega. Married, with three beautiful children. Nothing controversial about him other than his career ambitions. Supporting those ambitions made his firm appear progressive, sensitive to the changes in societal attitudes toward omegas.
But for Teal to have an official relationship with a beta, to be part of a publicly acknowledged polyamorous relationship, would be unsupportable.
Since he’d taken on the Bannon case, Teal knew other omegas were watching and cheering him on. Whispering in colleges and law schools across the country. If an omega could try cases in High Court, what came next? A judgeship? An omega on the state council? Who knew? As his star rose, many people looked to Teal as a leader.
Niall steadfastly supported Teal’s dreams and understood the necessity of keeping their intimate relationship private. Over the years, he’d become not only a lover, but a loyal and trusted friend.
That friend looked at Teal now.
“It won’t always be this hard, you know,” Niall said. “Your work life, not to mention Ronan’s, will calm down eventually.”
“And you’ll still be here?”
“As long as you want me.”
“We’ll always want you,” Teal said, holding Niall’s gaze, uncaring that his double meaning was about as subtle as a brick.
Niall’s cheeks flushed. He stood quickly and busied himself at the sink, scrubbing the already sparkling white porcelain. “The boys should be up soon. Can you hang out, or do you want me to wake them now so you can say goodbye?”
Teal felt a bubble of rebellion in his gut. He’d already worked over fifty hours this week. “Let them sleep. I’m going to enjoy this wonderful breakfast.” He dug into the eggs, which Niall always cooked with peppers and cheese. “Mmm.”
Niall smiled and sat down to eat with him.
They shared a companionable silence as Teal sated his appetite. He’d been eating more lately, a signal that his heat could arrive soon. The prospect gave him pause. The last thing he needed was to go into heat during High Court. If the judge had to issue a tribunal pause, it would prove all the doubters correct.
On the other hand, his heats had been more irregular the past few years, and now that he’d turned thirty, he didn’t know how many more breeding heats he’d have. Taking suppressants could make the situation worse. It was something he needed to discuss with Ronan. Soon.
A suddenthumpstartled Teal from his thoughts.
Muffled shouting came through the shared wall from the next-door unit. The grumpy betas next door, Dale and Abe, sounded irate.
Anotherthudshook the cabinets. This time, the yelling grew loud enough for Teal to catch some of it.
“…should have been done…what the fuck were you thinking…lazy good-for-nothing omega!”
Teal winced at the last words, spoken with such disgust. Niall’s mouth turned down in a deep frown. If the words were this loud through the wall, Teal could only imagine how they sounded on the other side.
“Do you think Sorcha’s okay?” Teal asked, knowing Niall shared his and Ronan’s concern for their neighbor.
“Hard to say.” Niall lifted his shoulders. “Dale and Abe are total assholes, but I don’t think they’ve ever been violent. Families fight. The noise could have been something falling by accident.”
The shouting stopped, and Teal and Niall remained silent, waiting to see if it would start back up again. A few minutes later, they saw Sorcha from the side window. He appeared to be setting up a workstation in the family’s garage.
Teal released a relieved breath.
“He was out there yesterday,” Niall said. “In the garage and the driveway. When Ronan got home, Dale bitched Sorcha out about not being cleaned up. Ronan stood up for him, of course, but it sucks that his uncles are such jerks.”
Teal felt oddly protective of the younger omega and wished he knew more about his situation. “Maybe I should go talk to him. Omega to omega. Make sure he’s okay.”
