Chapter 3
3
I t wasn’t until this moment that Tanner realized how few real shocks he’d had in his life.
He supposed it made sense.
For all that he owned a bar, his life had been steady and predictable.
He’d lived in this town all his days.
He got along with his family.
He’d had only a few lasting relationships, and those had been even-keeled, the decision to end things mutual and amicable.
But Bracken had just turned Tanner’s whole world upside down, and it had only taken five little words.
I’m pregnant.
And it’s yours.
Tanner had long gotten accustomed to the idea that biological children were out of the picture for him.
Human men didn’t have omega designations, and the fertility of other species’ omegas tended to be limited to others of their kind.
Bracken seemed to be giving Tanner a moment to come to terms with it.
Tanner ran a hand over his beard thoughtfully.
“I didn’t know fae omegas could get pregnant from sex with human men.”
“It’s very rare,” Bracken said breezily, waving a hand.
“It speaks to some freakish compatibility.”
And Tanner’s face must have been doing the smug thing again, because Bracken immediately scowled at him.
“I said freakish .”
Tanner laughed.
Holy shit.
He was going to be a father.
He was going to be a father .
He should buy everyone in here a round.
On the house.
Except the two other patrons had already left, and it was just Tanner and Bracken.
Bracken, who was looking increasingly irritated, his lovely face pinched with annoyance.
“You’re not even going to ask if I’m sure?”
“I trust you,” Tanner told him.
And why wouldn’t he?
The sex had definitely happened, and they hadn’t used a condom.
Tanner wasn’t going to try to twist out of the facts.
Bracken narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Gods, he was cute.
“You know, fae can lie. It’s a myth that we can’t. It’s just a little…uncomfortable.”
“I know.”
If anything, Bracken’s suspicion seemed to grow.
“Why aren’t you having a fit right now?”
Tanner shrugged.
“I like kids.”
“Yes. Well…” For once, Bracken seemed at a loss for words.
Tanner cocked his head.
“Is that why you didn’t tell me earlier? You thought I’d be angry with you?”
He’d have to be a complete asshole to blame Bracken for any of it.
Tanner might not have been completely up to speed with fae omegas, but he knew the deal in general.
And it had been two of them there that night, fucking like there was no tomorrow.
There was no one person at fault.
Bracken shook his head, toying with the handle of his teacup.
“I had complications to attend to. There was an arranged betrothal and this…” He cleared his throat.
“Well, it was dissolved.”
“You were engaged,” Tanner repeated dully.
There was the shock again—twice in one night; who would have thought?
—and this time anger was swift to follow.
Never mind that Tanner had become the unwilling accomplice to an affair, but the thought of Bracken with some tall, elegant alpha fae…
Betrothed.
Tanner didn’t like it.
Bracken was too tender under all that sharpness.
Whoever this fiancé was, they wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to handle him properly.
And you do?
Tanner ignored the skeptical thought.
He was good at being stubborn when he wanted to be.
He had a feeling that was about to come in handy.
Tanner was prepared to be incredibly stubborn when it came to Bracken and their unborn babe.
Bracken pointed an accusing finger in Tanner’s face.
“Hey! No scowling. It was a Court betrothal—a political alliance. We’d never even been on a date. And premarital dalliances are both accepted and encouraged in my culture.” He shook his finger like a weapon.
“I will not be shamed by a promiscuous barkeep.”
Right.
Different species, different social practices.
Tanner relaxed his face as best he could.
He’d ignore the “promiscuous barkeep” jab.
For now.
And he was slightly mollified that the fiancé had been only a figurehead.
Bracken cleared his throat delicately again, shifting in his seat.
“That said, omegas are under a different set of rules, generally. And a premarital pregnancy…” He trailed off, letting the rest go unsaid.
“Well, it’s all over now.”
“No more betrothal.” Tanner kept his voice as bland as he could, making sure he wasn’t looking smug.
But Bracken’s face was still pinched, so maybe Tanner hadn’t been successful.
“No more Court ,” he said acidly.
“No more fae realm.”
Tanner read between the lines.
“You’ve been kicked out.”
“Yes.” Bracken straightened in his seat, looking as regal as Tanner had ever seen him.
He placed a slender hand on what appeared to be a completely flat belly.
“You and your common human seed have put me in this position. So you will, of course, take responsibility.”
“Of course,” Tanner told him, without an ounce of hesitation.
Bracken blinked at him, the wind taken out of his sails.
Like maybe he hadn’t expected Tanner to concede.
He shook off his surprise quickly.
“Yes, as I said,” he repeated snippily.
“Of course.”
“You’ll stay with me. I have an extra room.”
Again, it seemed to take a second for Bracken’s brain to catch up with Tanner’s words.
“If it meets my standards,” he eventually said, although his voice had lost some of its sharpness.
“Which it probably won’t.”
Tanner walked around the bar.
Bracken whirled on his stool, following Tanner with his gaze.
“What are you doing?”
Tanner stopped in front of him.
This close, he could breathe in Bracken’s natural honeysuckle scent.
It was mellower than Tanner remembered, with less spice to it.
Maybe that was an effect of the pregnancy.
“Can I…?” Tanner gestured to Bracken’s belly.
“I’d like to see.”
“There isn’t much to see yet.”
Despite his words, Bracken began unlacing his waistcoat, revealing the silken shirt underneath.
And yes, without the covering, there it was—the slightest, smallest swell of his lower belly.
The tiniest beginning of a bump.
Their child.
Tanner reached out a palm, splaying his hand over the evidence of what was to come.
The movement clearly startled Bracken.
He jumped, jostling Tanner’s hand off his belly.
Tanner pulled his arm back immediately.
“Shit. Sorry.”
“That’s all right.” But Bracken was already quickly tying the laces back in place.
Gods.
Tanner had fucked up already.
Here Bracken had been kicked out of his home, pregnant and alone and now relying completely on Tanner being a halfway decent person.
In short, the fae was too vulnerable by half, and Tanner had just scared him.
Tanner tucked his hands into his pockets to resist any further temptation to touch.
“I can show you upstairs right now, if you like,” he offered.
Bracken gave him a look.
“I’ve been there before, if you remember.”
“But it’s your home now,” Tanner countered.
“It’s different.” He looked past Bracken toward the door.
“Bags?”
Bracken shook his head mutely.
Was it just the light, or were his pretty jewel-green eyes watering?
“From here on out, I’ll get you anything you need,” Tanner soothed.
Bracken sniffed, standing from his barstool.
“If it’s up to my standards,” he said again.
“The room and—and everything.”
“If it’s up to your standards,” Tanner repeated.
And Tanner would make sure it was.
The room.
The life.
All of it.
He was going to make up for the upset he’d created in Bracken’s world, even if it took a lifetime.
Tanner had already let Bracken slip away once, and now the fae Tanner hadn’t been able to forget was back, and he was carrying Tanner’s child.
Tanner wasn’t losing him again.