10. Moving

Moving

Larken

W hen I'd been asked to help out Roan with his move, I didn't realize it would be me working with the omegas, and not Roan. Instead, my friend went into the office, leaving me to care for his mate and former mate.

So I didn't get to spend any time with my friend, to work on the cracks in our friendship. I got to babysit his fated mate instead. His pregnant mate.

The universe, The Luna, had to be laughing at me by this point. What had I done to deserve this?

Hiroshi was adorably sweet. Not my taste at all. Too willing to please, not enough of a bite about him to catch my interest. Not that I would want to steal Roan's mate, even if fated mates were able to see others. They literally couldn't cheat, but Hiroshi was… I just knew I had this drive to take care of him, even if he wasn't mine .

Maybe it was because if anything happened to Hiroshi, then Roan was likely to fade away. Fated mates didn't do well without their other half. So many died within weeks of the other, unable to go on without their connected soul. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

An upside of being asked to help with the move was the opportunity to get to know both the omegas without their alphas looming over them. Asher was a scary guy. The extra aggression he had since the change in designation was still to abate. It might never be calm enough for him to be around other alphas. Hence my task of looking after Tate and Hiroshi.

Their new home was roomy. The contractors had done an amazing job on it and our Alpha's new place. Having separate houses was better security wise, by splitting the targets up. Tate's baby was sure to be at risk.

I knew from our brief conversations that Roan was struggling to be the alpha Tate needed, while Asher was trying to get his shit in order. The pressure of looking after one omega carrying twins was a lot, adding in another who had only been an omega for a short time was likely more than most could stand. Not Roan, though. He was keeping everything under control at home and in the office .

Kade was another of Roan's priorities. I thought by helping with the move, he would finally ask about my life, about things with Dalton, and maybe we could get over this rough patch. Things had been great during the beta sickness, only because Kade was tucked away for his safety. It was ridiculous to be jealous of an omega, the Alpha Mate, at that. I just couldn't help the way I felt.

I wanted my friend back. I wanted to tell him about the growing, complicated friendship I had with Dalton.

Whispers caught my ears as the other alphas carried in furniture and boxes into the new house. It had been decorated stylishly, though it was almost bland. I thought Roan had left it to Hiroshi to do, but the omega was also a busy healer, and likely had forgotten homey details. Tate, well, he was too new to the pack, to being an omega, to understand the finer points of making a house a home.

Omegas treated their houses like their nests, or at least, they had in my birth pack. My mother had made every room in our house like something out of a magazine. I'd never got to see her nest, since they weren't blessed with another child after me, but I imagined it a lot. Before I went to my aunt, I would spend school vacations at home dreaming up little siblings. I always thought my parents would keep me home from boarding school if there were more children, other Komodo Dragons, in our family.

The things the other alphas were saying began to reach my ears. Things like Roan wasn't alpha enough to have a fated mate, let alone bed Tate, too. They doubted Tate's pregnancy when it was apparent once you used your nose. His scent was the sweetness of an omega, with something extra, a quality I didn't have the word to explain, which told my alter Tate was carrying young.

Babies fascinated my alter. If he had the chance, he would protect our clutch and watch over them as the omega would traditionally do. He was not a proud alpha. He wanted to cherish a mate and bear many clutches of eggs to a happy mate. It was the man side, me, who wasn't ready for all that just yet, especially if it meant my time with Dalton had to end.

I saw both Tate and Hiroshi bristle at the comments the other alphas were making. None of them were being particularly quiet, despite this being Roan's home and mate. Anger rose inside me at the omegas' expressions. Neither of them deserved to be treated that way.

When I heard one making a comment about trying Hiroshi out, since his bond with Roan couldn't be real, I knew I needed to step in .

My footsteps paused, though. Roan was the alpha they needed. I fired off a text to him before I herded the omegas away from the rest of them.

Larken: You need to come home. Now. These alphas and even some betas are saying some stuff. Hiroshi looks like he wants to hide. Tate looks scared.

It didn't work. The alphas followed us through the house still saying shit.

I was ready to take them outside to get them to Roan when one of them really let loose.

"You can't seriously be happy living like this?" Trevor demanded of Hiroshi. The guy was a real meathead. His curiosity over the omegas had to be the driving force for him helping with the move, because this idiot was not a team player. I was shocked he was still an enforcer.

"Roan is a pariah in the pack. Look what he's done to you!" He gestured at Hiroshi up and down. "Are those babies even his?" I heard Tate give a gasp of horror. Hiroshi visibly flinched. "He's not strong enough to be your alpha." Trevor, brute that he was, paced back and forth, getting too close to the omegas. Once again, Hiroshi shied when he got too close.

"You should break the bond. There are plenty of alphas here in the pack that would accept you. Maybe not if those are his, though." He directed his sneer at Hiroshi's rounded stomach. The omega was trembling. I didn't know him well enough to know if that was from anger or fear. Likely a mix of both.

Doubting the parentage of Hiroshi's babies was the last straw for me. I didn't know if Roan was on his way; he was keeping the pack bond locked down tight, but I couldn't stand there while the omegas were abused, complicated feelings or not. "Hey!" I yelled as I gently guided Hiroshi behind me. "What's your problem, Trevor? You're supposed to be helping, not hassling the omegas."

I was about to really lay into them when I caught sight of Roan and Deke walking up the path, faces both murderous. They had clearly just caught that last exchange.

"I'll sort this out. You get the omegas into a room and help them calm down. Tate looks faint." Deke took charge of the situation as he tied his hair back, ready to swoop in and sort the mess out.

Roan spared a glance for Tate, then dashed forward into the house. He caught Tate before he could hit the floor.

"Move!" he roared at the cluster of shifters who were blocking the entryway.

"Is he okay?" Hiroshi asked, worried and scared for his other mate. I still didn't get how that worked. Probably never would. He went to Roan, looking for comfort. I noticed he slipped a hand up the back of Roan's shirt. Then watched him calm as he got the skin to skin contact he needed after such a spike in anxiety.

"He'll be fine. The stress was too much for him. Just in case, I'll call Aldrin and see what he says, once I lay him down." Roan was so gentle and steady for his omega. He was a good mate.

"We made the bed already. Larken helped." Hiroshi gave me a sweet smile as I hovered behind them, guarding their backs from any more trouble. Deke seemed to have it in hand.

"Me and Tate made it," I couldn't help but tease, trying to lighten the mood some. "Hiro just oversaw the process."

I shared a grin with Hiroshi, feeling that last barrier to being friends with him drop. It wasn't his fault he got the man I had feelings for. I never took the chance with Roan, and I'd likely have damaged our friendship forever if I had.

Now I had to ease into this new chapter, find a place for myself in Roan's changing priorities. He wouldn't be the man I fell in love with if he didn't put his mate and their children first. He was being an alpha, creating a family, and I had to either accept that, or just fade into the distance, be a memory.

Getting into their bedroom first, I turned down the bedding for Roan to place Tate comfortably in bed. Once the omega was settled, Roan asked me to watch over Hiroshi and Tate while he went to call Aldrin.

"You're in good hands," I told Hiro.

He smiled wistfully, looking at the doorway to the nursery where Roan was on the phone. "I know. Coming to Sweetwater has changed our lives for the better, well," he looked down on Tate, "mostly. I think Tate is accepting things more."

"I can't imagine what he's been going through, changing, then being pregnant."

"Me neither."

We didn't get to speak alone for long. Tate roused, looking groggy.

"Hiro?"

"Hey, you're in bed because you passed out. I'll go get you some water, okay?"

I followed Hiro out of the room, catching the end of the conversation with Aldrin. The healer would be with us soon enough.

"Hey, you okay?" I knew Roan needed the comfort of touch. Wolves needed it more than any other shifter. I squeezed his shoulder.

He looked so downtrodden. "Yeah, I think so. I knew that our mating wasn't popular within the pack, but that was just—"

"I know. A couple of them have been saying shit like that all day. Most of it, the omegas didn't hear." I was so grateful for that. "Then he started getting inappropriate with Hiroshi, then you heard what he said."

"Inappropriate?" Roan looked ready to murder Trevor and any of the other enforcers who were harassing his mate.

I tried to downplay it. Everything would be reported to Deke, not Roan, because I didn't want my friend getting into more trouble with his pack mates by getting his revenge. "Just touches that lingered. Saying that Hiroshi deserved more than this. More than being hidden away for most of your mating."

I caught his flinch. "Hey, we know why you had to do that. The pack has shown that some don't get it."

"What 'bout you?" His voice was gruff, his body tense as he waited for my response.

So here it was, my chance to clear the air some.

"At first I didn't get it." Needing to move, I put distance between us and paced. "I always knew that one day an omega would come and turn your head, but two betas as well? It was a lot."

Without meaning to, my eyes met his. "I see how you care about them. This thing with Asher has you tied in knots, but you still bend over backwards for a pack that attacked you."

I wanted him to understand just how good he was! "You deserve better than that, Roan. You're the best person I know." Aside from Dalton, but now wasn't the time to be discussing the beta or my growing feelings for him, even as my crush on Roan waned.

Roan pulled me into a rib-crushing hug. "I'm so glad I have you."

"You're never getting rid of me."

Tate was safely in bed, a plate of delicious looking food was being prepared for him by James. I had no idea the healer's assistant and Dakota's omega father was such a fantastic cook! I was practically drooling over the thought of getting to eat some of it. James had assured me a plate had my name on it for protecting the omegas so well.

"Roan, I need to head out," Deke called, rounding the corner into the kitchen from the living room. His body language was tense. Okay, so he was always on guard. This was just extra.

"Everything okay?" Roan asked. He hadn't even finished dealing with the last crisis before he was asking about another one. He needed to relax with his family rather than getting involved with something else .

"Blake just called. The coven has called us. They need our help." Deke was always concise. I liked that about the other alpha. He hadn't been the pack Alpha when I came to Sweetwater. Blake had taken over just recently, so I only ever knew him as the Head Enforcer. Dalton had plenty of stories from Deke's time in charge of the pack.

His words instantly set the room on edge. "Help? Do they need a healer?" James looked at his mate, who nodded.

"Not sure. Probably not. We are going on a witch hunt." Deke was pretty nonchalant about it.

Fuck. I shared a look with Roan. We both seemed to agree on this without words. This could be really dangerous.

"Witch hunt? Need a hand?" I moved from my place near the door to join them at the breakfast bar. If Deke was heading into a situation, I wanted to be there to guard his back.

"Sure. Roan, you're needed here. Keep your phone on you in case we need any more support. Blake and a couple of other enforcers are coming." Deke was already heading for the door, barely pausing to let me ask James to save me some food. I was not missing out on whatever was cooking!

"Blake is going? What about Kade and the babies?" Roan was frowning in concern .

Deke probably expected the question. After Hiroshi and Tate, Kade was his biggest concern. "They are protected. We've put more elves on it. Basil has a demon, and we need to rescue him."

Just hearing we were rescuing a demon had me rushing for the door. I was still angry over the enforcers and the treatment of the omegas. Hopefully, I could find something to take it out on, and find the demon, of course!