Urho’s shoulders snapped back. “Your mouth will get you in trouble one day, pup. You’re talking to an alpha almost twenty years your senior with military history and a license to practice medicine. I’d say I have a good deal more authority than a fringe spiritualist living on the ill-gotten profits of spit-gummed hope and lies.”
Xan rolled his eyes.
“If you were an omega, I’d take you over my knee,” Urho whispered, glancing toward Jason and Vale. “I’d do it even now, alpha or not, if I weren’t concerned about upsetting Vale.”
Xan’s cock stirred and his heartbeat quickened. An urge to get in Urho’s face gripped him. Perhaps Urho wasn’t beyond alpha aggression after all. But now wasn’t the time for Xan to indulge in his fantasies or push an older, more powerful alpha’s buttons. Urho was right about that much, at least.
“You called me over to insult me?” Urho raised a brow, dark eyes sharpening.
Xan shook his head. “I wanted your unguarded opinion.”
“You already have it.” Urho’s mouth drew into a flat line. The air between them grew heavy and thick. Xan held Urho’s gaze until Urho jerked it away. Urho’s cheeks darkened and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed before stalking off to rejoin the others.
Xan’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t know why he sabotaged every conversation he had with Urho, and yet he did. Unbidden, the memory of similar exchanges over the last four years—Urho intoning an opinion and Xan stupidly challenging it—came to mind, going all the way back to the vacation by the sea their small group of friends had taken the summer after Vale and Jason had imprinted, and long before Xan had chosen to contract with Caleb.
Dissatisfied and itching for something he’d never have, Xan frowned as Urho offered to walk Rosen and Yosef out to catch their taxi. Xan waved his goodbyes to the betas and caught another one of Urho’s scowls before the little group left the study to head out into the damp autumn afternoon.
Alone with Jason and Vale now, Xan approached them. Jason stood by Vale’s leather wingback chair, a young, stormy sentinel guarding his beloved. Xan summoned a sympathetic smile and knew the moment it slid away from him, revealing his discombobulated confusion.
Vale gripped Xan’s hand. “Don’t look like that. Jason will need your strength.”
Xan huffed. “Not half as much as he needs you period. But I’ll do what I can.”
Vale’s smile was wry, but he turned to Jason and said sweetly, “Why don’t you walk Xan out? If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay here and get comfy by the fire.”
“Are you cold?” Jason asked. He grabbed a throw blanket from the leather sofa and carefully draped it over Vale. Vale didn’t look cold to Xan, but Jason took his time wrapping him up and tucking the blanket in carefully.
Xan knew his own omega, Caleb, enjoyed being taken care of in these small ways—truly any human did, no matter their gender. But betweenErosgapé, the caretaking dance was instinctual, uncontrollable, and a testament to their bond. It was touching to see Jason and Vale engaging in it. Xan wished, not for the first time, that he was an omega and had a loving alpha to take care of him.
Zephyr, the gray cat that Vale had owned long before Jason had come along, slipped into the room. Her silvery fur was clean and fluffy, and she meowed conversationally as she trotted toward them.
When she leapt onto Vale’s lap, his fingers slipped into her fur, and Xan wondered how soft she must be. He’d never had the honor of petting her. Like with Urho, she tended to hiss at him and lunge as though to bite whenever he drew close. She adored Jason, though.
Jason leaned down to whisper something to Vale and then turned his attention to Xan, a wrecked, pitiful smile on his lips. “Thanks for coming. I’ll walk you out.”
“I’m parked just out front,” Xan said, stepping through into the hall.
Urho passed them on his way back from seeing off Rosen and Yosef. Xan’s gut tightened, but Urho just nodded to him, offering no true goodbye or good wishes.
“What were you talking to Urho about?” Jason asked as they exited into the cool, damp, fall afternoon. The trees were starting to lose their green and turn lovely shades of orange, yellow, red, and rust.
“Just an honesty check. I wanted to see if he changed his story about Vale’s chances when it was only the two of us.”
“And?” Jason’s body tensed, his gaze raking over Xan’s face, looking for the truth.
For once, Xan wasn’t even sure what answer Jason hoped for more. “Urho would never put Vale in jeopardy. He’s half in love with him still.”
It stung to even say it. What had Vale done to earn both Jason and Urho’s affections? Aside from being born an omega with all the right scents and lures, all the appeal and seduction of his pheromones, and the promise of a delicious heat mating? His personality was so-so, his face handsome enough, but old. Why did he get everything Xan had ever wanted?
He clamped down on his jealousy and forced himself to admit the truth:Vale’s a good man. Charming, funny, talented, devoted, and worthy in many ways. Any alpha would want him.
Why didn’t that admission make him feel any better?
As they approached his new lime-green car, Xan changed the topic. “What did your parents say about all this when you told them?”
“My parents agree with Vale,” Jason whispered bitterly. His eyes flashed and he shook his head. “I couldn’t believe it when Father said he thought Vale was making the right choice. After all he’s been through with Pater in the past! But somehow he agrees that Vale is different. I think he feels it’s worth the risk this time because it’s not his omega. And because this is their only hope of a grandchild.” Jason’s eyes grew wet again. “This awful, horrible mistake.”
Xan knew Jason’s parents, especially his father, longed for a grandchild, but he couldn’t imagine Miner Hoff encouraging Vale to risk his life for one. He didn’t say that, though, and instead asked what he’d wanted to know from the moment he heard of Vale’s pregnancy. “How did it happen?”
