Chapter 7 #2
“And…If I give you that, through some miracle, you’ll really honor this agreement? I’ll be free to go?”
Never.
“Of course.” Some lies were necessary. “But you go without the child.”
Thorn started chewing on his bottom lip again, not seeming to notice when he broke skin and started bleeding.
Baal reached out and pulled his lip from his teeth, keeping his thumb pressed there so the omega couldn’t start up again.
Then he set a stern look on him, silently commanding him not to do it again.
When he felt like the message had been received, he finally released him so they could continue their conversation.
“What’s wrong?” he taunted. “Don’t think you could abandon your child?”
“According to this,” Thorn held up the holopad, “it would be your child. I’d have no obligation to it one way or the other.”
He’d admittedly expected more pushback there, had hoped for it even, but he held his tongue and let Thorn feel like they were setting terms they both agreed to.
“I’m staying here,” the omega announced after another pensive moment.
“This is my home, and it’s where Aster will expect me to be.
I’ll stay until he’s better. If we’re successful before then, there won’t be a need for me to move anyway.
And if we aren’t, I’ll give him the house and come to Fae Manor then. ”
At least this was still going to plan. Baal had anticipated as much.
The omega didn’t know him well enough yet to trust moving in with him.
Honestly, forcing Thorn to relocate wouldn’t be beneficial to Baal anyway.
He’d meant what he’d said. A content omega, one who felt safe and cared for, was better than one who was on edge and afraid.
Baal aimed for a partnership, not a pet.
Not a broodmare either.
“Practice is non-negotiable,” Baal said. “If I allow you to live separately, you have to abide by certain rules.”
“Which are?”
“No seeing anyone else. If I find out you’ve let another alpha touch you—”
Thorn held up a hand. “That won’t be a problem. There’s no need to bother with threats. I understand what this is.”
“Oh?” He cocked his head. “Enlighten me.”
“You want a readily available bedpartner,” he replied, “one who can provide the possibility of strong offspring. I may not be spectacular in any other part of life, but I know my physical worth.”
Thorn’s brother’s illness wasn’t genetic, and all of his personal medical files consistently gave him a clean bill of health.
He was nimble and strong, which he’d proven during the hunt, and clever.
His stature was a bit shorter than Baal’s, but he was still rather tall for an omega on Synastry, appearing more like one of their healthier neighbors from Glyph.
He’d make for the perfect mate. If not for his father’s debts and Baal’s vigilance, there was no doubt Thorn would be claimed ten times over by now.
“Quit your jobs,” Baal moved on to the next rule. “I don’t want you working.”
“But—”
“With your current schedule, how do you expect to be readily available, as you put it?” He snorted. “You barely have time to eat a sandwich as it is. No. Quit. I’ll support you.”
“Until you decide you’re tired of trying for a baby and end our contract?
” Thorn glared. “What then? I’m just supposed to go back to the job market and pray I find something?
Even you don’t know how long it’ll be before that happens.
Before you lose interest. I can’t have nothing to fall back on, alpha, that isn’t—”
“Put the money in the bank.” He motioned to the bag on the floor. “I’m paying your brother’s medical expenses, so you don’t need to use that right now anyway. Put it away, call it a nest egg or an emergency fund or whatever you want. There’s enough there you won’t have to work for years.”
He’d make sure Thorn never had to touch that money.
“Quit your jobs.”
“I’ll quit two,” the omega negotiated.
“Quit all of them,” he insisted, “and enroll at the local university instead.”
Thorn’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“You were planning on majoring in finances, weren’t you?
” Baal knew he wouldn’t accept a full ride to a fancier school, but surely he’d be able to convince Thorn to take the offer of community college.
“I’ll enroll you in online classes. Just enough to see if it’s something you still want to pursue.
If it turns out you don’t, you can drop out any time.
If by the end of the semester you want to continue, we can discuss how to proceed. ”
“You’re already buying my body,” Thorn reminded. “I don’t have anything else to trade. Especially not anything worth tuition fees.” His gaze pinged around the room. “You can’t take my house.”
He grunted. “This tiny place? What use would I have for this?”
Aside from being able to evict Thorn and force him to move to the manor, of course. That wasn’t currently on the table, however.
“If it comes down to it, we’ll think of something. Don’t worry about that right now,” Baal said, but Thorn wasn’t listening, his mind already running through a list of his possessions.
It made sense that he didn’t trust him.
But it still pissed Baal off.
Suddenly, Thorn’s anger returned tenfold. “You can’t touch Aster.”
“I don’t need more than one omega,” Baal reassured.
“You have alphas who work for you. That one who was here. Espen? I’ll never sell my brother, so—”
Baal released soothing pheromones into the air, shushing him in the process.
He waited until some of the tension eased from Thorn’s shoulders and then said in a soft voice, “I will never mess with your family, omega. Your brother is free to do as he pleases, with my protection and my financial backing. That’s part of our arrangement. ”
“Don’t ever ask for him.”
“I won’t.”
It was clear Thorn wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him, but there weren’t any other options but to take Baal at his word. He sighed. “Any other rules?”
“You come when I call,” Baal smirked, “and when I tell you to.”
Thorn rolled his eyes.
“We practice whenever I say we do. Is that understood, frosty omega?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“I’ll give you a day to end things with anyone else you’re seeing.” He wasn’t seeing anyone, but Baal wanted to come off understanding.
“That’s not necessary,” Thorn unsurprisingly said. “I wouldn’t have entered the White Hunt if I was dating someone. That wouldn’t be fair to them.” He held his gaze pointedly. “I’m loyal.”
“Good.” Baal brushed a strand of platinum blond hair off Thorn’s forehead. “For what it’s worth, I have no intentions of sleeping with anyone else either. I return every ounce of respect that’s given me, omega.” He tapped the holopad. “Sign the contract.”
“Make the discussed adjustments first.”
“No need,” he grinned and slipped his hands into his front pockets, lifting a single shoulder when Thorn frowned. “What? It’s not my fault you’re a slow reader. Everything we just discussed was already included in the second contract.”
“Second?” Thorn started flipping through the digital pages.
“I had another version drawn up just in case,” he affirmed. “A backup plan, so to speak. Everything we talked about is already included in it.”
“You…” He found it and skimmed through the first couple of pages. “How could you have possibly predicted everything I’d ask for?”
“Given your situation, it wasn’t difficult.
” Perhaps that was a cruel thing to point out, but it was the truth, and Thorn had to realize that.
“Your father left you two with nothing but this place. You spend your entire youth working to help keep the lights on, and then later for your brother’s medical expenses.
It wasn’t hard to guess what you’d want from me, Thorn. ”
Maybe he shouldn’t have referred to him by name so soon, because as soon as he did, something odd flashed within the omega’s eyes. Baal tried to place it, but it was gone almost as quickly as it came, and he was left staring back at that same determined expression he was used to Thorn wearing.
That was who Thorn was. He’d weather any storm to get to the other side.
“It’s admirable,” Baal found himself saying without meaning to. “How you’ve sacrificed for your family. Have they ever thanked you?”
The omega glanced away, then cleared his throat. “I’ll sign.”
Thorn removed the stylus and scrawled his name at the end of the contract, right below where Baal’s signature was already visible.
Baal didn’t waste another second. He had the omega pinned to the wall next to the window in a heartbeat, the holopad dropping to the ground at their feet. His mouth latched onto that full bottom lip Thorn had been nibbling on all evening, desperate for a taste of his own.
He devoured him, all that pent-up frustration from having to wait and do this stupid dance pouring off him in waves. His pheromones filled the air next, a mixture of coaxing and lust that had the omega mewling for him.
“Wait!” Thorn tore his mouth away, hands tightening in the material of Baal’s shirt when he growled in response. “You’re moving too fast!”
“Not fast enough.” He took him by the jaw and forced his head back, spearing his tongue through Thorn’s lips when the omega gasped. He tasted like pure seduction and honey. Smelled like roses and frost. Baal’s hips ground forward, securing Thorn to the wall even more as arousal raged through him.
“Please!” Thorn managed to escape again, turning his face away and then burying it against Baal’s chest. “You can’t seriously want to start right now! I just signed it!”
“Exactly,” he said. “You signed it. We can begin.”
“No,” he shook his head. “I need a minute!”
“All right.” Baal felt Thorn’s body start to relax some, until he added, “Sixty seconds. Starting now.”
Thorn shoved Baal and then darted beneath his arm while he was caught off guard. He zipped across the living room but ran straight past the front door before disappearing down the opposite hall.
The one leading to the bedrooms.
Baal smirked and decided to reward him with that precious moment alone he seemed to so desperately want, taking his time to type out a message to Espen, dismissing them all for the night.
He waited until he heard the sound of their engines revving down the street where they’d parked before heading after his omega.