Chapter 24
Michael looked good with a baby in his arms.
Anthony wrenched his gaze away, disconcerted by how difficult it was.
He tried to focus on the other guests at the birthday party—mostly family and friends—but his gaze kept returning to Michael holding Jules’s youngest child in his arms as he talked to Liam.
Anthony couldn’t seem to look away from the way Michael’s strong, elegant hand was supporting the baby’s back, from the way the baby’s cheek was pressed against the crook of Michael’s neck. He looked so good like this.
The sight should have been adorable—and all right, it was. But it shouldn’t have given him ideas. It most definitely shouldn’t have made him think about breeding his friend, shouldn’t have made him imagine Michael full with his child.
Fuck, he’d never had thoughts like this. He’d always scoffed at the idea that all alphas were fixated on breeding omegas. It had never been something that aroused him.
But now he couldn’t stop looking, his insides warm with the idea of doing that to Michael.
Which was completely inane—and insane. He definitely wouldn’t be breeding Michael when as far as the rest of the world was concerned, Michael was an alpha.
“What’s with the long face, brother mine?
” Jules said, pushing into his personal space and rubbing his cheek against Anthony’s scent gland affectionately.
Anthony patted his head and gently pushed him away, suppressing a grimace at Devlin’s scent clinging to his brother.
He liked his brother-in-law, but he wasn’t fond of his tendency to rub his scent all over Jules.
Then again, Xeus alphas tended to be more territorial than most.
“It’s my resting face,” Anthony said. “Not all of us can be sunshines for no reason.”
Snorting, Jules pulled him toward Liam and Michael. “I’ve got the perfect cure for those grumps!” Approaching Michael, he took the baby from him and dumped her into Anthony’s arms. “Say hello to your Uncle Grumps, love!”
Liam snickered at Anthony’s unamused face. Michael’s lips were twitching too.
“Good thing there aren’t any unmated omegas around, or their ovaries would have exploded,” Jules said, chuckling. “A handsome, unmated alpha with a cute baby is practically biological warfare.”
Liam laughed.
Michael didn’t. He wet his lips, his dark eyes lingering on Anthony’s hands before shifting to his face. “Stop frowning so much, you’ll scare the baby,” he said with a smile.
As if on cue, the baby made an unhappy noise, trying to squirm out of Anthony’s grip and reaching back for Michael.
“Aww, look at that, she loves you,” Jules said, beaming at Michael. “She normally doesn’t like alphas—other alphas besides her daddy.”
Michael’s smile became a little wooden. His eyes locked with Anthony’s for a moment. He quickly looked away, smiling more genuinely as he took the baby back.
“The princess simply has very discerning taste,” Michael said, kissing her on the nose. “Don’t you, Lili?”
Lilian babbled something in baby talk, and Michael watched her with an utterly enamored expression.
Anthony tried hard not to stare.
“So,” Liam said. “When are you getting one of your own? You aren’t getting younger, Ant.”
Anthony shot him a flat look. “I’m still young. Alphas hardly have an expiration date.”
“Pfft,” Jules said. “You might still be able to sire kids in fifty years, but no one wants an old dad. That’s no fun for the kids! Come on, there has to be an omega you’d want to settle down and start a family with!”
Anthony carefully didn’t look at Michael. He wondered what his brothers would say if they knew just how much his thoughts were fixated on breeding a certain someone right now.
“That’s none of your business, Juli,” he said.
“So there is someone!” Jules said triumphantly.
In his peripheral vision, Michael turned his head to him.
Anthony’s neck felt hot. Would Michael judge him if he found out? Would he be disgusted? Offended?
“There’s no one,” Michael cut in, his voice a little sharp. When the brothers looked at him, Michael flushed. “I mean, as far as I know.”
Anthony stared at him. Was that disgust… or jealousy?
Laying a hand on Michael’s shoulder, he said, “I need to talk to you, come on.”
Michael gave the baby back to Jules and allowed Anthony to steer him away. Quashing the urge to move his hand to Michael’s nape, Anthony guided him to the guest room he used whenever he stayed at the palace.
“What is it?” Michael said as they entered the room.
Anthony steered him toward the bed and pushed him down.
“Ant,” Michael said, his face becoming rather red as Anthony climbed on top of him. “Seriously? No—not here. Come on, dinner will be served soon and everyone will be looking for us.”
Anthony ignored him, burying his face in his neck while his hands worked on getting Michael’s pants off.
He inhaled deeply, trying to catch a whiff of Michael’s real scent.
Fuck, he wanted to bite at his scent gland, but he couldn’t.
It was too risky now. Michael was an omega now; the bite might take.
The thought made his canines itch as Anthony sucked and licked the scent gland, encouraging Michael’s real scent.
He groaned when he could finally smell it.
Michael smelled of arousal. No matter what he said, he wanted this as badly as Anthony did.
“I haven’t been inside you in days,” he said, throwing Michael’s pants aside and tugging off his plain boxers. He wondered how Michael would look in sexy omega underwear. Would he want to wear it? For him?
“You shouldn’t be inside me at all,” Michael said breathlessly. “Normal friends don’t fuck as much as we do, you know.”
“Who cares,” Anthony said, yanking his fly open. “I love fucking you, and I know you need it. You need a hard, alpha cock in you.” He touched Michael’s hole and found it as wet as he’d expected.
Michael moaned, spreading his legs like the cock slut he was. “All right, let’s make it quick though. We don’t have much time.”
Anthony chuckled. “You’re always quick.”
Michael smacked him on the back in retaliation, but let out another moan as Anthony guided his cock into his slick cunt.
“Fuck, I love how drenched you get for me,” Anthony said, wrapping his hand around Michael’s throat. “Such a good bitch.”
Michael glared at him, but he couldn’t hide the way his scent sweetened with arousal. He secretly loved being humiliated and slut-shamed. Anthony wondered if it was weird that he found it so arousing and endearing.
He stared at Michael’s face, transfixed, as his hips hammered into him, the wet sound and the slaps of their bodies obscene.
Michael was panting. “Stop looking at me—ahh—it’s weird.”
“You’re gorgeous,” Anthony said, slipping his free hand under Michael’s shirt and fondling his pecs. “Your tits are so sensitive now.”
Michael flushed. “Shut up,” he said, hips moving wantonly to meet Anthony’s thrusts.
“They’d become even more sensitive if you got knocked up.”
Gasping, Michael squeezed his eyes shut. “Shut up.”
“Would you like that?” Anthony crooned, leaning down and folding Michael in half to press their foreheads together. “I could knock you up so good. Breed you like you deserve.”
“Ahh,” Michael moaned, his eyes glassy with desire.
Anthony licked into his mouth. “You like it,” he said hoarsely, fucking him harder and harder. “You can wear alpha implants and pretend to be an alpha all you want, but deep down, it’s all you really want: to be knotted and bred like the wet bitch you are.”
Michael cried out and came, his cunt squeezing Anthony’s cock like it was trying to milk it. “Knot me knot me knot me,” he begged, sounding drunk.
It took every ounce of Anthony’s self-control not to comply. He yanked his cock out before his knot could form, coming all over Michael’s thighs and hole.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he found himself murmuring, nuzzling and kissing Michael’s face and then his pretty lips. “You know we don’t have time for that.”
Michael sighed but pulled him into a deeper kiss, his scent exuding contentedness and need as he turned them onto their sides and wrapped an arm around Anthony tightly. “Hold me,” he demanded.
Anthony obliged, smiling into his neck. Michael had become increasingly needy after sex lately, wanting to be kissed, held, and calmed—it was actually the biggest difference Anthony had noticed since the transformation.
Anthony didn’t exactly mind, which surprised him.
He’d always been called cold by his flings, not one to indulge his lovers’ need for comfort.
But with Michael… it was different, somehow.
With Michael, his every needy gesture felt like a win, pleasing something in his alpha hindbrain, his instincts all but purring.
He wanted to hold Michael after sex, wanted to kiss him and comfort him with gentle touches and endearments.
It actually worried him a little.
More than a little.
Sex was just sex, no matter how amazing it was. This warmth, this need and contentedness, was a different thing altogether.
His phone went off—as did Michael’s.
“They must be looking for us,” Michael said with a sigh. “We need to go back before they come looking for us.”
Anthony scowled, his arm around the other man tightening. He didn’t want to let go. Not yet.
Not ever.
The thought made him go still.
But it didn’t entirely surprise him, either.
He’d known for a while that he hated how careful and discreet they had to be all the time.
These stolen moments away from other people’s eyes weren’t enough—hadn’t been enough for a while.
He resented having to hide their relationship, resented calling it mere friendship, resented having no public claim on Michael.
He wanted to have one.
He wanted everyone to know he was the alpha who made Michael wail on his knot.
He wanted to see his mark on Michael’s pretty neck.
He wanted everyone to know who Michael belonged to.
The mere thought of Michael marrying an omega or beta and pretending to be their mate made something ugly and vicious twist Anthony’s stomach in knots. No. He wouldn’t allow it.
“Marry me.”
Michael froze.
“W-what?” he stammered at last, his face flushing pink, his dark eyes wide.
He looked so lovely Anthony wanted to swallow him whole.
“Marry me,” he repeated firmly.
“You’re crazy.” Michael was looking at him as though he’d grown a second head. He sat up, pulling away from him and reaching for his pants. “You—you can’t just say things like that! I’m—”
“An omega,” Anthony said, tucking his spent cock in and zipping his fly. “You’re an omega, Michael.”
Michael glared at him, yanking his pants up and fixing his own fly. “As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I’m an alpha.”
“But you are not.” Anthony eyed him carefully before saying softly, “And you don’t want to be.”
“Thanks for informing me,” Michael bit off, but there was uncertainty in his eyes as he got to his feet. “You’re crazy.”
Anthony stepped forward and laid his hands on Michael’s face, cradling it gently.
He wasn’t a gentle man. But with Michael, gentleness came easily.
“Am I? Just think about it. If we get married, we won’t have to hide anymore.
” He was pretty sure he wasn’t imagining the longing in Michael’s eyes.
“We could live together, see each other all the time without people side-eyeing our unusual closeness. I could bite you, I could put my mark on you, I could breed you.” Michael flushed at that.
Anthony’s grip tightened, his voice dropping to a husky whisper.
“You’d look so good with my child in you.
You looked so good with little Lili in your arms. I could give you your own. Our own.”
“You’re mad,” Michael whispered. “It would be social suicide, Anthony.”
“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want it, and we’ll never talk about it again.”
Michael’s throat moved.
The silence stretched.
Anthony’s phone broke it again.
“You should answer that,” Michael said, stepping away.
“Michael—”
“Tell your brother I needed to leave because of an emergency,” Michael said, without looking at him, and then he was gone.
Anthony swore under his breath, barely resisting the urge to run after him and force him to see reason.
No.
He couldn’t pressure him like that. Not about this.
It had to be Michael’s decision. He would respect it, no matter what it was.
Would you? a nasty little voice said at the back of his head. You promised you’d stay away from him if he recovered after his transformation, and yet you were back to fucking him a few days later.
Anthony’s jaw clenched, loathing churning in his gut. The truth was, he couldn’t trust himself when it came to Michael. Every promise, every good intention burned away the moment he laid eyes on him.
He looked at him and wanted.