Vale leaned forward to grip 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 smiled and turned to Jason. “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, his voice strained with emotion and thwarted need to caretake. Vale wasn’t cold, but he said nothing and let Jason grab a throw blanket from the leather sofa. It was important Jason be allowed to care for him now to soothe their mutual fears, and so he smiled lovingly as Jason carefully draped the blanket over Vale, taking his time to wrap him up and tuck the blanket in carefully.
Zephyr slipped into the room. Her silvery fur was clean and fluffy, and she meowed as she trotted toward them and leapt onto Vale’s lap. Freeing his hand from the blanket’s wrap, Vale slipped his fingers into her fur.
“I’ll be right back,” Jason whispered, and then turned to Xan, his expression wrecked and yearning. “Thanks for coming. I’ll walk you out.”
Vale watched them go, hoping that Xan would be able to give Jason what he needed now: a friend to lean on, a strong heart to confide in. At least he knew Xan loved Jason. If there were a friend among the bunch who would be there for Jason if the worst occurred, it would be Xan.
Yes, their friends had taken the news of Vale’s pregnancy better than Vale had thought they would. There’d been palpable fear and concern, but in the end, they’d all leant their support. And Vale was grateful to Xan who still loved Jason, had far too much of a crush on Urho and basically envied Vale his entire life.
Even this. Vale put his hand over his stomach, pondering the child inside. Yes, Xan would have wanted even this baby, at even the potentially-high cost Vale faced for it.
And that, surprisingly, gave Vale a sense of peace. It would be all right. He was sure of it.
Jason was not going to budge about Vale continuing his work as a teacher on a campus full of alphas. Not while he was pregnant, anyway. Vale knew that. If Jason would be more positive in general about this entire pregnancy, then it was a concession Vale would happily make. Staying home to grow their child, eating Jason’s food, enduring his pampering. Napping. Reading. Writing. He’d happily do all of that if Jason supported him.
He’d call the headmaster of Mont Nessadare tomorrow and let him know the situation. They’d find someone to cover his classes easily enough. There had long been a list of alphas waiting for his job to come open. This was, perhaps, their chance because Vale couldn’t say if he would want to go back to teaching after the baby came. He never thought he’d be able to have a child, and the miracle of it seemed like something he didn’t want to miss even a single second of. And yet, he’d never considered himself the kind of man to walk away from an interesting career.
When Jason returned, he apologized for the delay by saying Urho had waylaid him on the sidewalk. He didn’t tell Vale what they’d talked about, but it seemed clear that whatever Urho had said finally made Jason understand that, despite his fears, this was going to happen, and he’d better start acting as an alpha should.
Because with only a bit of the strain leaking through his strong demeanor, Jason did just that.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After that day,Jason was an exemplary alpha. There were no more tears or pleading speeches. Instead, he helped Vale impart the news of his sabbatical to his boss, and then went with him to campus to clear out his office. Jason insisted on carrying every box, and indulging Vale’s every whim, including stopping by his favorite grilled cheese food stall on their way back home.
Vale could almost pretend that they had planned this pregnancy. He could almost convince himself that Jason was happy. But there were cracks in which the fear slipped through, despite his baby alpha’s best efforts.
And that, Vale believed, was only human.
One afternoon, Jason started a casserole in the oven, played with Zephyr, and then went out to his garden to putter around, cleaning up fallen autumn leaves and babying the winter-ready flowers he’d already planted. He sang softly under his breath—a ballad from the latest musical they’d attended at the theater.
Vale listened to him through the partly open window that let in a cool breeze. Urho had closed it during his last visit, claiming the dampness might harm him, but Vale knew that was an old omega’s tale. He felt better with the air circulating, the scent of autumn in the air, dispelling a bit of the heat from the banked fire. He lounged on the sofa, watching Jason move through the garden and admiring his alpha’s fine form.
“Come here,” Jason said from outside the window. He pushed the sash up all the way and ducked down to stick his head in the room. “Come on. Now.”
Vale chewed on the inside of his lower lip to keep from smiling. Once, forever ago now, Jason had come to him at that very window and dared to break courting protocols for just a few minutes of Vale’s time and his words. Oh, Jason had been so young then. And Vale had been the one who’d been afraid.
He rose from the sofa and went to the window, his heart fluttering. “Yes?”
“Kneel,” Jason said in a very no-nonsense way. All command but no cruelty to it.
Vale’s nipples rose beneath his loose t-shirt, and his cock began to stiffen. This, too, brought back some fond memories from their early days. Filthy and fond as fuck. “Now what?” he asked, breathlessly.
“Open your mouth.”
Vale complied, his heart trip-hammering, and blood rushing to his prick. If this was what Jason needed to feel in control, to step into his alphaness, then Vale would give it eagerly.
Jason produced a brown fig, broken open and ripe. He placed some of the gooey center on Vale’s tongue. Its sweet flavor burst in his mouth, and he let it sit there, waiting for Jason to tell him what to do next.
“Well, eat it,” Jason said with a laugh. His eyes, which had looked so sad before, twinkled for the first time since their mountain trip. “Were you expecting something else on your tongue? Something bigger?”
Vale chewed and swallowed, narrowing his eyes. “Brat. You know I was.”
