Chapter 4
Chapter four
Angus
Iwas not a happy alpha. I couldn’t have the relationship I wanted with Colt because we both wanted to dominate. And Ben was talking about getting an alpha.
Over my dead body.
The following day, I got Colt alone in my wing of the house.
“What is it?” he asked. “You look upset.”
“I am upset. I overheard Ben say something about wanting an alpha to give him children.”
Colt’s expression hardened from concern to anger. “What? Does he have someone in mind?”
I started to pace. “I don’t know, but it bugs me.”
“Because you want him.”
Stopping, I turned to him. “Is that why it bothers you?”
I could see Colt working the muscle in his jaw, which meant he was upset.
“Look, why don’t we both just admit we want him?” I said. “It’s exhausting to pretend we don’t. He’s the obvious answer to our dilemma.”
Now that I knew Colt felt like I did, all I could think about was being with him, but the fact that we were both alphas was going to throw a serious wrench into our love life.
As if to prove what I was thinking was wrong, Colt came at me and kissed me roughly. I didn’t mind the rough part so much, but when he backed me up and sat me down on my bed, I balked. Stopping him was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn’t help it. Fuck.
I stood up. “Sorry. I—Fuck, Colt, how the hell did you suck me yesterday? You push me down on the bed and I freak out.”
“I hadn’t planned on doing it; it just happened. I guess it didn’t bother me because I was on top of you, not kneeling for you or anything,” Colt reasoned. “I was being the aggressor.”
I guessed that made sense. “And I was able to accept you being the aggressor because, while you were sucking my cock, I felt like the aggressor.” I mentally chewed on that a moment.
“So, what? We have to orchestrate our every move in the bedroom to trick our alpha pride?” I shook my head.
“We’re fucked without Ben, Colt. I’m not saying he’s just something we need to be together, though.
I care about that boy, and I know you do, too. So, what do you say?”
“Are you suggesting we go ask him to mate with us?” Colt said dubiously, scratching the back of his head.
“Well, yeah. But not right this minute. We don’t want to scare him to death. We need to let him know we’re interested first.”
“What are we going to do if the fucking government officials show up to harass David and Ben?” Colt asked.
“I’ve been thinking about it. Whoever is most handy will have to do like Maddox did to David when they came for him—ejaculate on him and rub it into his skin. Then tell the government creeps that you’ll be mated within the month.”
“And then?” Colt asked.
I smirked when I noticed his burgeoning boner at the thought of jacking off on Ben. Thinking of Colt with Ben surprisingly didn’t make me jealous, which was one of the reasons I knew the two of us mating him was right.
“Then we both mate him.”
Privately, I was worried I’d be short-changing Ben in some way because I was so much older. He didn’t deserve to be saddled with an old man. But he’d have Colt, too. We’d be able to work it out. And we could keep him safe.
“You’re sure, Angus?” Colt asked.
“Yeah, but I want you to be just as sure. So, think about it. Okay?”
Colt let out a breath. “I really don’t need to. But you’re right that we can’t just spring this on Ben.”
“What should we do to prepare him?”
“We’ll think of something.”
“We need to do it fast. Laura Turner’s flying in tomorrow and we should probably talk to her about it before we approach Ben. Agreed?”
I watched Colt’s Adam’s apple dip as he swallowed hard. “Agreed,” he said.
I kissed him.
***
An attractive beta in her early forties, Dr. Laura Turner was about 5 foot 5, had thick brown hair that fell just past her shoulders, and big…
er…green eyes. I wouldn’t notice anything beyond that, of course, out of respect for my dear, departed Lucy.
If I were to notice things like that, though, I would also have to say she was a nice view both coming and going.
Do you really think you’re fooling anyone, Angus?
God, Lucy was in my head again. “I’d hoped so,” I mumbled aloud, then clearly heard the tinkle of her laugh I missed so much.
Disconcerted, I stood motionless in the middle of the living room when David walked in holding Ollie.
“You okay?” he asked
“Of course,” I said a little too gruffly, but that had never fazed David.
Giving me a side-hug, he said, “You can always talk to me if you need to. You know that, right?”
“Give me that baby,” I groused, taking Ollie from him. He was a cute little bugger, that was for sure. He was more David than Maddox, with blond hair and pretty features, but he did have Maddox’s olive-green eyes. “Hey there, scout. You trying to eat your fingers? Silly baby.”
“Maddox just pulled in with Laura,” David announced, looking out the window.
He’d gone to pick her up at the airport. David raced into the kitchen to make sure lunch was ready, leaving me holding the baby.
“Good to see you, Angus!” Laura said when she came in. On her tiptoes, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I hoped I wasn’t blushing. “Oh, look at little Ollie! Hello, little man, aren’t you a stunner?” She took him from me, and I picked up her suitcase and carried it to one of the two new guestrooms.
“Hope you’re hungry, Laura, because David’s made a meal,” I said when I got back. Colt had come in and he stood talking to Maddox and Laura.
“Are you kidding? All I got was a pack of peanuts on the plane,” Laura said, smiling.
David called us into the kitchen, and while we ate, we took turns holding little Oliver, who was wide awake but thankfully not fussy.
Colt seemed nervous to talk to Laura later about us and Ben.
I shot him a wink when no one else was looking, hoping to convey that everything would be fine.
For some reason, I wasn’t nervous at all.
As I’d noticed the night before, it all felt right to me.
“David, why don’t you, Maddox, and I go into your bedroom so I can examine you?” Laura suggested after the meal. “Have you been feeling all right?”
“I feel great,” David said as the three of them left the kitchen. Alone at the table with Ben, Colt and I became ridiculously shy for two big alphas.
“Is something wrong?” Ben asked, looking at each of us in turn.
“Wrong? No. What would be wrong?” I asked.
“Do you think Dr. Turner’s going to tell me something bad about not having heats?” Ben’s big brown eyes searched mine.
“Nothing is wrong with you!” Colt said a little too loudly, and I shot him a look.
“Sorry,” Colt said more softly. “I just mean, you’re healthy, Ben. I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be sure?” Ben asked.
I sighed. “Um, as alphas, we can sense problems with omegas.” It was a half-truth. An alpha could sense a problem with his omega. But it made Ben relax, so I was happy I’d said it.
I hadn’t seen much of Ben since Colt and I had made the decision the night before to clue him in on our feelings. What could I do now? Looking around, I spotted a prairie crocus in a glass jar on the windowsill over the kitchen sink. Getting up from the table, I plucked it out and handed it to Ben.
“What’s this for?” he asked, looking up at me.
Damn. I hurried to think of something. “I, uh, it reminded me of your eyes.”
Ben looked down at the flower in his hand. “Purple?” he asked, frowning.
Colt burst out laughing, and I shot him a look as sharp as the steak knife he had in his hand.
Putting it down, he cleared his throat. “I think Angus means your eyes are pretty.”
Ben looked like he didn’t know what to do with that statement. “Oh, uh. Well, they’re just plain brown.”
“They aren’t plain anything,” I said testily, embarrassed that I’d mucked up my romantic overture.
“Angus is right,” Colt said. “They’re lovely. The color of a newborn fawn.”
Ben’s cheeks grew red, along with the tips of his ears. When he looked at me, I nodded once, then started clearing the dishes.
About half an hour later, Laura, David, and Maddox joined us in the living room after having put Ollie to bed.
“Everything okay?” I asked David, concerned that he might have some post-pregnancy issue none of us was aware of. Maddox adored that young man, and so did Ollie. And maybe I was a little fond of him, too.
“Yeah. Dr. Turner says I’m healthy and so is Ollie and she sees no signs of him being an omega.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I said.
“If you all don’t mind, I’m going to take a short nap. Flying always wears me out,” Laura said. “Ben, we’ll talk after dinner, all right?”
Ben nodded, and Laura headed for the guest room.
Maddox and David looked at Ben, Colt, and me. “What are you three up to?”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
Maddox shrugged. “Nothing. You three just seem a little subdued.”
“Well, we’re not. In fact, we have some chores to do, right Colt?”
“Right,” he said, following me to get our coats.
It was dark outside by the time we all settled in the living room after another delicious meal cooked by David, with Ben’s help this time.
Something about him cooking for me turned me on, and I sat trying to deal with the hard-on that gave me while I ate pot roast and listened to Maddox talk about the calves we sold at auction last fall.
After the meal, Maddox and David excused themselves to take the baby on a walk in his stroller, and Colt, Ben, Laura, and I gathered in the living room.
“Okay, Ben, let’s talk about you.” Laura said, sitting down on the couch beside him.
“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said. Gods, he was damned cute. Maybe Colt and I should’ve excused ourselves to let him talk to her alone, but I wanted to be there to make sure he was healthy, and I was sure Colt did, too. We were already beginning to think of him as ours.
“Tell me how you’ve been. Do you feel any different since you ran out of the heat-suppressants I gave you?”