Chapter 2
Mason
Hudson agreed to come over to talk. We’re hoping the house – and the omega quarters – will help seal the deal.
Alex and Desmond make another sweep, checking every room, fluffing pillows, stocking snacks.
Our nerves are on edge.
He’s not the first omega we’ve approached, but the first to actually say yes to a meeting. He said he has a few questions and thought it best if we all meet in person to ensure that at least our scents are compatible before we let it go any further.
While my mates check, double check, and triple check everything, I pace the length of the living room, the hallway, to the foyer, then back. Every lap past a window, I look for an approaching vehicle.
I already gave the guard a heads up that we’re expecting company and included the make and model of the vehicle. A 2010 Honda Accord.
If – hopefully when – he accepts our deal, first thing we’ll change is the car. Anyone who could end up carrying our future child needs to be in a safe and reliable vehicle.
All three of us showered and made sure the nest is devoid of the scent of any member of our staff. We want the house to smell of us only, to make sure Hudson’s omega instincts don’t think we’re entertaining others in the area that’s designated solely for him.
For us.
At least for us if he chooses to spend his heat with our pack.
Alex and Desmond agree with me and hope Hudson will agree to stay with us through the duration of trying to conceive and through the pregnancy. It’d be easier to dote on him and protect him if he’s under our roof.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Hudson has questions and we have to make sure to put him at ease and get him to trust us.
By the fiftieth pass through the house, my eyes catch on a flash of silver as the Honda enters the open gate and slowly makes its way toward the house.
I know I should wait until he parks and comes to the door, but I’m too fucking impatient. I need to meet him face to face, catch his scent, and hope mine appeals to him.
The door smacks the wall as I throw it open and barely restrain myself from sprinting down the stairs and to his vehicle.
His smile is a little shaky and unsure as he steps out of his sedan and swings the door shut.
My hand is extended within a few feet of him, and I inhale deeply, trying to catch his scent on the wind.
The moment our hands touch and the breeze dies down, it’s as if the world stops turning and time has frozen in place. Little shocks work from his fingers up my arm, my heart begins to thunder, and his pupils blow wide as his nostrils flare.
The petite omega smells of warm tonka bean. There had been no picture with his ad, but he described himself to me over the phone – and underplayed his absolute beauty.
He’s around five foot four or five. His body is toned, his dark hair hangs around his shoulders, and his brown eyes are closer to a honey color with the sun shining in them.
And fuck…his lips are so full and pillowy and a fantasy of them wrapped around my cock flashes through my mind before I push it away.
He is…son of a bitch, this omega is absolute physical perfection.
I have a moment where I realize I’m standing here simply staring at him. But hey, he’s doing the same, his honey-colored eyes running over me from head to toe.
If he likes what he sees now, I can’t wait for him to get a look at my packmates. And I’m not biased – Des and Alex get checked out and hit on everywhere we go.
Since it’s super uncommon for three alphas to be bonded packmates without a beta or omega in the mix, most people tend to bat their lashes or put a little more sway in their hips around us.
Twelve years together, and not once have we strayed.
That’s technically what we’re doing now. Or hoping to do. But it’s the only way the three of us can grow our family. Even the adoption agencies we contacted acted as though we were some outcasts because there isn’t someone of the less aggressive designation in our pack.
Seriously. That’s the most common statement we hear. None of the three of us are remotely aggressive.
Protective of each other, our family, and our friends? Abso-fucking-lutely.
But who isn’t?
Swallowing hard, I reluctantly pull my hand from his. “I’m Mason. I’m so happy you agreed to at least meet us and hear us out. I promise we’ll answer any and every question you have. Nothing is off limits.”
“Good to know,” he says with the sexiest quirk of his lips.
Of the three of us, I tend to be the more…
strait laced alpha, I guess you can say.
I was raised by nannies and boarding schools while my packmates were raised in loud, raucous packs surrounded by several siblings each.
I had two fathers and one mother where Des grew up with six fathers and his mom and Alex had five fathers and two mothers.
I don’t think I could have handled having two mothers like mine.
Although, if I’d been raised by parents like either of my packmate’s, I might have a different opinion.
I want to give any children we have the same kind of upbringing my mates had. I want them to grow up in a house full of love and laughter. I want them to see affection is normal and not every family needs to fall into a specific mold.
Offering my elbow, I smile down at Hudson when he slips his hand through the crook of my elbow and lets me escort him up the stairs and into the house where Desmond and Alex are damn near bouncing on their toes as they wait not so patiently.
When they both rush forward with their hands outstretched, a growl builds in my chest. I swallow it down before it escapes when a burst of perfume fills the space around us.
That’s when I catch it – beneath the tonka bean is a note of sweet plum. He perfumed for my mates.
Great sign.
I bet he’s as sweet and juicy as his scent.
“I’m Desmond, but everyone calls me Des. You can literally call me anything you want.”
Alex snorts and elbows Des playfully. “I’m sure he’ll pass out if you call him Big Daddy.” He steps forward and offers his hand next. “I’m Alex. Everyone calls me Alex.”
Hudson chuckles softly, the smile bringing out twin dimples in his cheeks.
For a heartbeat, the three of us just stare at him. I’m pretty sure we all have the same matching hearts in our eyes at this moment. And not simply because we found the very first person to entertain the possibility of carrying a child for us.
No. This omega is so beautiful, petite yet not fragile, male but not so masculine that my inner alpha feels challenged. That’s one of those super fun quirks my fathers instilled in me.
His lashes flutter as he looks from one of us to the other before I finally snap out of it. “Shall we sit?”
He nods and lets me guide him to the living room where my packmates have everything set out and waiting.
“Before you ask, yes, he does tend to be that formal on most occasions. The only time he really lets loose is –”
“We don’t need to discuss that right now,” I say, cutting Alex off and widening my eyes at him.
I’m pretty sure my face is a dark pink at the mere thought Alex was less than a second away from telling Hudson how I tend to spew some filthy shit when one of my packmates is balls deep in my ass or when I’m fucking their throats.
If we’re lucky, he’ll find out on his own soon enough.
“Can I get you something?” I ask as he lowers onto a cushion. The center cushion. That will leave room for two of us to sit directly beside him so I can soak up some more of his scent.
I lower directly beside him, grabbing a tray of fruit, cheese, and crackers to offer him.
“I’m okay. Thank you, though.”
I barely glance at Des in time to see his pout. He put so much time into making sure there were plenty of snacks and enough variety to appeal to any preferences.
It’s still early. Hudson has literally been sitting for all of five seconds. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly say that to my mate without making the omega uncomfortable.
“Your home is…um…beautiful.”
“It’s huge. We know,” Alex says playfully. “We thought we would have ten kids by now and wanted to have enough room.”
I don’t know if Hudson can see the sadness in Alex’s pretty hazel eyes, but it’s there, even as he forces a smile at the beautiful omega.
He raises a brow at my mate and smiles. “I’m going to go ahead and say I’m not prepared to birth ten kids.”
I don’t know why that simple sentence makes my heart race.
Actually, yes, I do. Because it’s the closest we’ve come to anyone even remotely agreeing to be a surrogate for us.
Of course, that wasn’t a full offer, but it at least tells me he’s considering our offer. After all, he’s here to ask questions and get to know us better.
“Hey, it’s still big enough for one kid to roller skate through the halls,” Alex says in his never-ending glass is half full, life through rosy glasses tone. It’s rare for my mate to take anything too seriously.
When I’m too stuffy and too serious, his playfulness always keeps me grounded. Desmond is the gentlest of the three of us, always ensuring we’re happy, always making sure those he loves are happy and have everything they need.
We balance each other perfectly – serious, playful, gentle. Any omega would be safe with us. At no point would Hudson have to worry about us losing ourselves to rut or going all feral alpha simply because another spoke to him.
Though I suppose we wouldn’t really have that right unless there was a risk to him or our child. He wouldn’t belong to us if he agrees to this. He would merely be a vessel to the child we’ve wanted for so long.
Hudson’s eyes move around the room and a slow smile stretches across his face. “There’s definitely more than enough room to roller skate. A kid could have some fun here.”
“There’s a pool and we’re open to allowing our child to have any kind of pet he or she wants,” Desmond says in his soft, even tone.
“Have you three thought about what you’ll do if your child presents as an omega or even a beta?” Hudson asks.
That question alone makes me wonder about his family pack. Otherwise, why would he bring that up?
I’ve heard of parents being disappointed when their son presented as an omega or their daughter presented as an alpha. That never made sense to me.
“It doesn’t matter to us any more than the gender,” Desmond answers. Alex and I nod our agreement.
The next few questions are fairly mundane, such as how long we’ve worked in law, how long we’ve been bonded, and how long we’ve lived here.
It’s the next question that has the three of us shifting uncomfortably in our seats.
“Why haven’t you added an omega or beta if you want a family?” Hudson asks.
I appreciate his candor, and I promised him we would be open with him. But that question has been aimed at us in some not-so-kind ways through the years.
“I fell in love with two incredible men, and no one has appealed to me the same way since,” Alex answers after a few seconds.
I smile at him on the couch across from us and wink.
“Who met who first?” Hudson asks, looking to each of us in turn.
“Des and I met in law school. We were roommates,” I answer.
“It was more than that. I knew from the moment he walked into our dorm room he was meant to be mine,” Desmond answers from the other side of Hudson.
Damn my mate and his sweet words.
“I came along later. What was it…two years later?” Alex asks me.
“One year and six months after Des and I bonded each other. We met him while vying for an internship at a big firm downtown,” I say to Hudson.
We’re trying to be natural while including him in the conversation. Poor omega has to keep turning his head back and forth to listen to each of us. It might have been easier if the three of us had sat on one couch so he could see us all in a line and watch how we interact with each other.
What can I say? I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be close to him, to huff hits of the pheromones practically pouring from him as he sits in such close proximity to three alphas.
That has to mean we’re compatible. Right?