Chapter 35
Was it truly that? Dash wondered. Or did his imminent omega status bother Emerson more than he was letting on?
Concern made Dash’s blood pump a bit faster, doubts circling in his mind.
The only reason he was willing to reclassify was Emerson’s safety—and his own.
He didn’t want either of them ending up locked away for the rest of their lives.
Not when being free and together was an option.
“Why does it bother you so much? It changes nothing between us. We know what I am. Right?”
“You shouldn’t have to live a lie just for us to be together,” Emerson snapped. He set a scrap of paper on the narrow table beside Dash’s front door. “You’ll have to stand in front of a judge and tell the entire world you’re an omega and I know that’s not going to be easy for you.”
“No, but I’ll get more from reclassifying than I’ll lose. I’ll be able to hold your hand and tell you that I love you without fearing who might be watching. One day, I might be able to mate with the man I love in front of his family—and perhaps mine—and live with him legally. Don’t you want that?”
“Of course I do. I’m ready to take you to the courthouse right now and make it official, if we could.
But I realize what you’re sacrificing here, too.
Your whole identity. And there may be unforeseen consequences to that, as well.
Things we haven’t bothered to consider.” Emerson growled. “And what have I sacrificed for you?”
“Is that it? You feel like you’ll owe me something if I reclassify?” Dash snapped.
“No!” Emerson said before releasing a shaky breath. “It just doesn’t seem fair. We’re partners in this life, Dash. And you’re paying a big price for both of us. What have I done to ensure we can be together?”
“You saved my life, Em. I might not be here to make this sacrifice had you not been there,” Dash said. He spread his palms over Emerson’s chest. “And if there are challenges we didn’t foresee, we can face those things together. As partners.”
Emerson smiled down at him. “As partners.”
Dash rose on his toes to press his lips to Emerson’s.
“Do you want to finish that nap now?” Emerson asked.
Dash shook his head. “I’d rather snuggle with you on the couch and watch the news. I’m curious if anything’s been leaked about Crenshaw.”
Emerson’s eyes glistened as he smiled down at Dash. “Sounds like a plan.”
After they walked into the living room and he crawled onto the sofa, Dash glanced around. “Have you seen my phone?”
“You don’t need it,” Emerson said, one brow elevated.
Dash scooted to the edge. “I want to keep it close in case there’s any updates about Jaye.”
“Stay right there. Don’t move another muscle.” Emerson left, returning a few minutes later, phone in hand. “Bayley supposedly texted you earlier, too. Not sure what that’s about.”
“I didn’t know he had my number.” Dash unlocked his phone.
“Tanner, probably,” Emerson said, walking out of the room again.
Dash found he’d been included in a group chat with Tanner and two numbers he didn’t recognize.
Unknown Number 1
Hey Dash! It’s Emerson’s brother, Bayley.
Since you’re laid up for a while, you and Em might want to binge a show that Tanner, Harley, and I have been obsessed with lately.
Wickedly Ever After. It’s streaming on Omegawood Studios+.
I’m sending Dad with my password so you can log into my account since I don’t know if you have one.
I know it might not be your thing but promise me you’ll watch AT LEAST the first two episodes of S1.
If you don’t like it, you can stop after that. Enjoy!
Tanner
Watch the show, Dash. Trust me. You and Emerson NEED to watch this ASAP
Unknown Number 2
This is Harley! We’re dying to know how you like it
Great. I’ve been added to the Walker Family omega chat group.
He knew he should be happy to be included, but he doubted he had much in common with them.
Emerson returned and handed over the scrap of paper he’d set on the table in the foyer, one brow cocked.
“This has something to do with the text, supposedly. I’m not sure what my brother’s cooking up, so tread carefully. ”
Dash showed Emerson the group chat. “I’m one of them now, it seems.”
Emerson read over it and snickered as he sat down beside Dash. “You don’t seem like a binge-watching kind of guy.”
“I’m usually too busy to watch more than the news. I can’t remember the last time I watched anything for simple entertainment.” He snuggled closer to Emerson. “Since I’m being forced to relax, I suppose we could give an episode a try.”
“Up to you,” Emerson said, shrugging. “It’s not the worst way to spend a few hours, cuddled up on the couch with you.”
After downloading the app onto his television, Dash logged in and searched for the show.
“Season One: Snow and the Seven Alphas,” Dash read out loud before eyeing Emerson with hesitance.
Emerson grimaced. “Definitely not something I’d choose to watch. But it’s up to you.”
Dash cringed, yet his future brothers-in-law were attempting to include him. “I suppose we can suffer through a couple of episodes.”
Emerson shrugged and Dash hit play. He snuggled against Emerson’s warmth as the opening scene played out.
The old fairy tale was a familiar one. Beautiful, fragile, omega Snow seemed oblivious to his wicked stepfather’s cruelty until the hunky huntsman tried to murder him in the woods.
While the scenes were beautifully shot, the story was clichéd.
Dash’s interest piqued when Snow came across the seven hunky shirtless lumberjacks hard at work, though.
The sweaty, bare-chested, muscular alphas were all eye candy, but when it became apparent their focus was solely on the tiny omega, it left him rolling his eyes.
As if one omega could handle all seven of them at once.
After the alphas had taken poor, defenseless Snow back to the house they shared, it quickly turned heated.
The alphas fought over whose bed their pretty houseguest would sleep in, and Snow quieted the argument with a kiss to the biggest, strongest alpha.
The seven men soon crowded Snow, tugging off his clothes until he was wearing only a tiny pair of white lace panties and they caressed his bare body.
“Why did you brothers recommend this?” Dash asked, in shock. “It’s practically porn.”
He turned to Emerson, who wore a wide-eyed, repulsed look. Emerson held up a hand, at a loss for words. “I have no idea.”
“Do they not get that we’re not into alpha-omega couples?”
“We can turn it off at any time,” Emerson whispered.
It wasn’t as if Dash was completely unaffected.
There was a tiny part of him which was omega and seeing seven strapping alphas tend to one was a bit intriguing, but he looked nothing like Snow.
The logistics were going to be insane—how the hell was Snow going to manage all seven alphas at once? It was comical to imagine.
Dash lifted the remote and hit Exit as two of the alphas broke off. Before the screen went black, the pair of alphas kissed one another.
Dash’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t just seen two alphas kissing on the screen.
“Umm… you mind turning that back on for a second?” Emerson asked, his voice gruff.
“Yeah, sure,” Dash murmured.
He restarted the show and it picked up right where it had left off. Two alphas kissed passionately onscreen, clinging to one another. Dash’s body tingled all over watching the pair, his breathing growing rapid. The episode ended seconds later, leaving Dash desperate to see what happened next.
Silence fell as a countdown ticked down the seconds before the next episode played.
“We watching episode two?” Emerson asked, sounding a bit flustered himself.
Dash turned to eye Emerson, noting his mate’s pink cheeks and perhaps a hint of a bigger bulge pressing against the front of his pants.
“Yup,” Dash said, snuggling even closer before hitting the remote to queue up the next episode.
He’d halfway expected the alpha scene to be a quick blip of the alphas and then gone, but it wasn’t.
The scene moved between Snow and the other five alphas and the pair doing their own thing in the corner.
After it was over, Dash’s cock was aching.
As another countdown started, he nibbled on Emerson’s neck.
“Dash… we shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Your heart,” Emerson whispered, his lids lowering.
“I’m stronger than you give me credit for.” Dash rose on his knees beside Emerson and captured his mate’s lips. Emerson didn’t fight him further, especially after he lowered his hand to massage his mate’s hard cock hidden behind his sweatpants.
After dragging Emerson’s waistband down, he reached in and grasped the root of him.
Caressing the length, he plundered Emerson’s mouth, warring with his tongue.
Not to be outdone, Emerson reached into Dash’s pajama pants and offered the same pleasure, stroking the length and using the precum leaking to lubricate the path.
It took neither of them long to come, erupting into one another’s hands, before collapsing against one another. Dash panted, his heart pounding in his chest. A sheen of sweat cooled on his body after a few minutes and he grinned. “See? I told you I’d survive.”
Emerson chuckled. “That, you did.”
Dash kissed his alpha, his limbs weak but his heart strong.
After cleaning themselves up and returning to the couch, they restarted the episode they’d ignored in the race for pleasure.
They remained on the couch all evening, binging the rest of the season, only leaving to pee or open the door for the takeout they’d ordered.
After the last episode, Dash growled. “There’s no next season? ”
“Probably for the best. We’ve been sitting here for eight hours, Dash.”
Dash growled at Emerson.
Emerson lifted his hands in surrender. “Sorry.”
Dash clicked off the television. “I wonder if there will be more.”
Emerson checked his phone. “Seems season two is in production as we speak. Cinder.”
“I sensed other seasons might be different fairy tales. Hopefully there will be other alpha-alpha threads in the next one.”
“It would be nice. I’ve never seen guys like us shown positively like that. They’re usually villains—or victims.” Emerson smiled. “Seeing a romantic pair of alphas get a happy ending for once is…”
Dash eyed his mate and noticed a shine to his eyes.
“It’s almost therapeutic in a weird way,” Emerson said.
“If a storyline like this exists, maybe that’s a sign that opinions on men like us might be changing.” Dash hugged his mate. “Maybe we’ll see less pushback than we’re imagining.”
“Hopefully,” Emerson whispered before stealing a kiss. The kiss grew heated and Dash leaned into it, still hungry. Emerson dragged his mouth away too soon. “No more of that.”
Dash frowned. “No more?”
“You’re recovering,” Emerson said. “We’ve already pushed it once tonight.”
“Cock blocker,” Dash growled, hitting Emerson with a throw pillow.
“Promise me one thing.”
“You refuse to fuck me and want me to reward you for that?” Dash asked.
Emerson chuckled. “We do not tell my brothers we watched the entire season. If they ask, we watched a little, but it really wasn’t for us.”
“Oh, hell no. We can never admit to this,” Dash agreed.
“I don’t need them to know we got off on their fairy tale porn,” Emerson said, trailing a hand absently over Dash’s thigh.
“Don’t call it that. There was a story,” Dash replied. “Some romance. And the cinematography was gorgeous in the outdoor scenes.”
“Cinematography, hmm? It mostly fucking and you know it,” Emerson said, grinning.
“A lot of fucking. Your brothers are clearly horn dogs.”
Emerson squeezed his eyes tight. “Let’s stop bringing them into this or I might not be able to watch another season.”
“Noted,” Dash said with a grin.
Emerson rose, holding out a hand. “Ready for bed?”
Dash slid his hand into Emerson’s. “Can we role play as two spicy lumberjacks? I’ve got some flannel shirts somewhere.”
“No,” Emerson said. “You’re recovering, remember? I probably shouldn’t have let you watch the show as it is.”
“Let me?” Dash asked, lifting a brow.
Emerson winced. “You know what I meant.”
“Just for that, we are roleplaying. I’m going to make you wear little lace panties and I’ll be the big, burly lumberjack.”
Emerson chuckled, pinching his ass. “Fine. I’ll be Snow. You be the Big Bad Lumberjack. After you’re feeling better.”
“Don’t mix up the fairy tales. Big Bad is a wolf. Maybe that’ll be a different season,” Dash said with a grin. “Oh! A threesome with the hunter who tries to save Red who’s an alpha. He and the wolf get into a vicious fight, but it ends up with them hate-fucking while the omega sits back, watching.”
“Maybe you should send the writers a suggestion,” Emerson said, pulling Dash closer for a kiss.