Chapter XXIX
Knox’s betrayal hasn’t escaped me. I’m already planning on creating my own legacy with my Omega operators once they get fired. I’m sick of compromise. I don’t want him to find some sort of petty loophole in which they demote my Omegas to cleaners or something.
They’re capable of more and I’m going to make sure that they secure successful roles in science. Even if I have to create those roles from scratch.
But right now, the baby comes first.
“Hey,” I announce my arrival to Knox as he plays with Luna in the living room.
“Looking good,” he comments, standing with a smile.
I showered and dressed nice in a knitted sweater and navy-blue pants. It’s great having a flat stomach again, allowing me to see my own zipper.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask, unsure what he had planned for us when he told me to get ready.
“Date night.”
“Knox.”
“What? It’ll be good for us.”
“It’s going to take a lot more than a nice dinner to make up for what you’ve done.”
He looks hesitant for a second, like he wants to say something but is deciding to wait.
“Just trust me, will you?” he begs, leaning down for a kiss that I hardly accept.
If only he knew how much of a challenge it is being mad at him. With each passing day confined in this house together, I just want to ravish him until I’m pregnant again. Cheeks growing warm, slick begins to pool down below as he leans in and nibbles beneath my ear, catching the scent.
The doorbell saves me and I snap out of it. Hands on his chest, I push myself away to answer it.
“Arius!” my mom cheers. “Hi, honey! Where’s that precious baby?!” She invites herself inside, scoping out the living room and gasping when she sees Luna in the baby swing.
“Are you here to watch her?” I ask, grabbing my rain jacket from the entryway. The light pitter-patter against the tall windows sets the mood for a dreary, indoor evening.
“I sure am! You two go have fun. Me and Luna are going to read some books and play with blocks!”
I smile softly, recognizing some of my childhood books in her arms as she settles on the sofa. As moody as I am about this “date,” it’s nice to have someone else watch the baby for a minute and set aside all my irrational fears as a new parent.
“We might be back sooner than expected, but thanks for coming over,” I warn her as Knox guides me to the door with a scoff.
“I told you I would handle things, baby. You’re being hard on me,” he complains as we step outside where a chauffeur is already waiting in Knox’s car.
“Maybe I don’t want you to handle it! Maybe I don’t want to be fucked over by Alphas to begin with!”
I climb in the backseat with our argument, meeting the driver’s concerned eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Let’s just get to the restaurant and then hear me out.
Please. I know you’re…” Knox pauses as if he were about to reveal something but changes course, “already planning to handle things yourself, but I want you to trust me as your Alpha that I can provide for you. Stop doubting that I have your best interest in mind. You know I always have.”
“Except for when you signed that plan,” I grumble, crossing my arms and facing the city lights through the rain-splattered window.
Knox gives up with a sigh and remains quiet, squeezing my thigh with his strong hand and leaving it there until we get to the restaurant. I only allow it because it’s chilly tonight and he’s warm. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
The restaurant is a chic, inner city spot that probably takes months to get a reservation for. The driver drops us off at the door where a few workers take our coats.
With his hand drifting far too close to my ass, Knox leads me inside with chivalry.
The host brings us to a private section in the dark romantic space that smells like cilantro and smoked red meats.
My steps falter when I spy two familiar faces sitting across from two empty seats that we appear to be heading toward.
“Knox,” I whisper through gritted teeth. “Did you know Chet and Jaimie were going to be here?”
“That’s part of the surprise! It’s a double date,” he confirms naively. “I thought it would be fun since we don’t get to see our work friends for a while and I know you miss them.”
If he’s trying to make me stop being mad as fuck at him, he’s doing a terrible job.
“Jaimie and I aren’t exactly friends, Knox. He fucking hates me, and I certainly didn’t miss him.”
My oblivious mate blinks down at me like he truly had no clue.
“Hey, guys!” Chet smiles wide as we approach, “Glad you could make it!”
Pulling my politest fake smile, I slide into the booth while Knox shakes his hand and the two of them catch up.
“Hi, Jaimie. How are you?” I try to be social and make the best of this.
The Omega smiles lightly at me, a little less snotty than I expected, but it drops when his eyes land on my sleeve. There’s a hole in my sweater. Great. Of course, the universe would never let me look like I have my shit together in front of him, but for once, he doesn’t comment on it.
“I’m well, thank you, Arius,” he mutters into a glass of water.
I guess he’s in a good mood today. Avoiding conversation, I study the menu while the Alphas gush about baby talk.
Knox is very proud of being correct about the gender reveal.
Eventually, our waitress arrives, ready to collect our orders without a pen and paper it seems. Very classy, though I find myself hiding the hole in my sleeve out of shame.
“I’ll have the ribeye cooked medium-well, please. Garlic sauce on the side,” I order.
“Oh, that sounds good,” Jaimie’s voice has my eyes snapping to him with surprise. “I’ll have that, too,” he says while handing off his menu.
I’m not sure why, but this feels like a truce of sorts. Is it just because I’m a new parent that he’s being nice?
“Okay,” Knox blows out a breath after our orders are in. “Now that we’re here, a few of us have some exciting news, and we wanted to wait until this dinner to share it.”
Both Chet and I share a look of confusion.
“I’ll go first,” Knox continues, turning to face me beside him. “Baby, I know I fucked up, but I told you I would fix it. And I did.”
“Knox,” my shoulders sag with depletion, tired of this argument, but he has the audacity to bring his finger to my lips to silence me. My eyes become as dangerous as an owl spotting a mouse while I listen to what he thinks he can possibly say to fix what he did.
“I spoke with my colleagues, and they not only agreed to keep your Omegas, but we’re going to train them on the new production software instead of hiring Alphas.”
My jaw drops fast and my back straightens as he finally spills the news. The information is like a bucket of cold water falling on my head, washing away my sizzling anger at him.
“But how would they… It’s only for Alphas, right?”
“Not anymore. I told them they’re going to give you guys a chance to prove yourselves first. But only under the condition that they start with one Omega, someone very smart, and intelligent to learn the new software fast and then teach the others if they succeed.”
I stare into Knox’s deep, genuine eyes, sharp enough to cut through steak. Biting my lip, I think hard about it. I haven’t seen my operators in a while to know who the best choice for this would be.
“Maybe Mateo? He’s caught on pretty fast, but also Mai might have the same potential even though she’s just a cleaner.”
Knox tilts my chin up with his finger while shaking his head.
“No, I’m talking about you, Ari. They’re going to train you on the new system and you’re going to show them that Omegas can do anything.”
A slow smile spreads across my lips. I doubted him heavily, not trusting that he’d come up with a legitimate solution, but this sounds amazing.
“I’m basically getting a promotion,” I whisper with amazement, tongue tingling on the words.
Knox convinced Comet XI to hire Omegas to do an Alpha’s job?!
Check-fucking-mate!
“Am I allowed to kiss you now?” Knox asks, feeling my ecstatic energy through our bond.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him in and kiss him hard.
I’m glad I don’t need to be angry at him anymore.
I missed these lips on mine. It goes on far too long to be appropriate, even at a date-night restaurant.
Pulling back, we find Jaimie and Chet sporting cheeky grins at us, which reminds me.
“You said someone else has news?” I ask around the table, pulling back from Knox. “What else is going on?”
Jaimie clears his throat, sitting a little taller with a blush across his cheeks.
“Well…as much as I’d love to share a bottle of wine to celebrate us Omegas dominating the workplace… I can’t because I’m pregnant!”
My mouth drops with a stunned gasp. Chet’s eyes pop and glow with awestruck amazement. Knox chuckles and raises his glass, proud for his friend.
“Oh my gosh, how exciting!” I squeal, “You should’ve led with that, Jaimie, that’s a thousand times more important than my little promotion! Congratulations!”
“We’re having a baby?” Chet whispers in disbelief.
“Yes!” Jaimie grabs his hand, clutching it tightly in his own. “I stopped my suppressants a while ago. It was challenging to break my routine, but in a good way. I figured if I could push myself to do that, and survive the messiness of a heat with you, then maybe I’d be ready to handle this, too.”
My eyes water for them, and I lean into Knox with an empathetic sniffle. What a positive outcome to this dinner I had dreaded moments ago.
“And you feel ready?” Chet asks, “You’ll keep it?”
“Of course! I’ll be working with a therapist throughout my term for my perfectionism and compulsions, and she’s really great. But honestly, when we connected for the first time, it just felt natural, Chet. It felt right. It’s like my love for you overturns my obsessiveness.”
“I love you too, Cookie.”
On the verge of tears, they share a passionate kiss as I lean in for a few more from Knox as well. The love is so potent in the air that I can taste it.
“To family,” my mate raises his water glass, and the four of us clink them together just as the food arrives.