That evening, Karter had one of the oddest experiences of his adult life—he sat around an apartment with other couples, laughing and sharing a meal, like they’d all known each other forever. The small dinette set only had four seats, so they’d spread out around the living room with chairs and lap trays for their bowls of pot roast and vegetables. Dex shared a twelve-pack of beer. Karter had grown up in a big family, but this was different than a meal with his siblings.

These men were—or at least were becoming—his friends.

Bloo—no, Tarek. He’d asked Karter to use his first name. Tarek and Dex shared a few funny stories from their academy days, and Karter shared one of his own. A prank involving whipped cream and ants. Braun arrived late to dinner because of work, but he easily settled in next to Tarek.

Karter was sticking close to Jax out of need. Too many other alphas were in the room with his omega, and Jax was still adapting to his new surroundings. He made a few written comments that Karter read out loud for him, so Jax didn’t withdraw from the conversation. Jax did, however, keep Karson close to him at all times, while Branson was lovingly passed around the room until he fell asleep. With Jax’s permission, Kell put him to bed in the crib.

It made Karter wonder, and not for the first time, if Jax would actually use the crib, or if he’d sleep with Karson tucked up next to him, like he had for the past month. And Karter still hadn’t gotten a good sniff of the baby—he hadn’t thought to earlier at the station—so they were all in the dark about Karson’s gender. It seemed an odd thing for Jax to be so protective of, but maybe it was simply a reaction to his captivity and living as a vagrant.

Serge arrived home around ten, and he was delighted to meet Jax and Karson. After a brief chat with Dex, a somewhat annoyed Serge made the adoption announcement to Braun and Ronin, and another round of hugs and congratulations went around. By the end of it, the beta couple was beaming, and Dex appeared to have been forgiven for his loose lips.

The mini-celebration also clued everyone in to how late it was getting. And it wasn’t until Tarek, Braun, Kell and Ronin had all left that Karter realized something: his car was still in the hospital parking garage.

“Well, hell,” Karter said. Jax gave him a curious look from where he was feeding Karson on the couch. “I don’t have my car.” He explained his day of being shuttled around to Dex and Serge.

“I can drive you to your car,” Dex said.

“Forget it,” Serge replied. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how badly you’re limping. You don’t need to take those stairs again. Have you called your doctor?”

Dex flinched. “Not yet. It’s not so bad.”

“It’s been swollen every night for the past week. If you don’t make an appointment tomorrow, I’m doing it, and don’t think I won’t embarrass the hell out of you.”

Karter watched the bickering, fascinated by this beta couple’s dynamic. For all that Dex was bigger and more muscled, Serge seemed to be the ‘alpha’ of the pair. “I don’t want to put either of you out,” Karter said. “I can take a bus, it isn’t a problem.”

“You want to take a bus this time of night?” Serge asked.

“I’m an alpha constable. Who’s going to bother me?”

“Fair point.”

Karter patted down his pockets, suddenly alarmed at what he wasn’t feeling. “Ugh, damn it. I think I left my keys at the office.”

Dex snickered. “What is it about meeting their omega that turns alphas upside down?”

He wanted to snap that this wasn’t Jax’s fault, but that also wasn’t what Dex meant. Karter had been in a bit of haze this afternoon, spending time with Jax and Karson, and he’d basically done what Tarek and Constable Higgs told him to do. Karter shrugged. “Pheromones make us stupid, I guess.”

Serge hooted laughter. “Finally, one of them admits it.”

“Stay the night then,” Dex said. “You can ride in with me in the morning. Do you keep a spare uniform in your locker?”

“Of course,” Karter replied.

“Good, you can clean up at the station, and someone can take you to get your car later. Unless you’ve got plants at home that desperately need watering?”

“No.” Spending the night closer to his omega held a lot of appeal. “Yeah, okay. I appreciate this.”

“Not a problem.” Dex glanced at Jax, and Karter noticed he looked a little wild-eyed. “I’ll get sheets for the couch.”

Jax visibly relaxed at that statement. Karter sat next to him and tucked a wild lock of hair behind his ear. “I know you aren’t ready to share a bed with me, my omega. The couch is fine.”

“It’s not that I’m afraid of you. It’s this whole situation.”

“I know, and I don’t take it personally. Plus, I like knowing I’ll be nearby for your first night off the streets, in a safe place. In case you or Karson need me.” Every time Karter said the baby’s name, his heart trilled. He couldn’t wait until Jax let him hold his namesake again.

“Thank you for being you, alpha.”

Karter grinned, then took a chance on a second, gentle kiss. Jax smiled against his lips.

“Goddess, they’re adorable,” Serge said.

Jax blushed, but most of his embarrassment was hidden by his beard. A beard Karter found incredibly attractive. Maybe Jax would want to keep it later, after he no longer needed it for a disguise.

“And I’m exhausted,” Dex said. He put sheets and a pillow on a side chair.

“Go to bed,” Serge replied. “I’ll bring an ice pack for your knee.”

“Thanks, love.”

Karter watched Dex leave the living room, concerned at how much he really was limping and leaning on that cane. He’d had the limp for as long as Karter had known the man, and he’d never asked what happened. They hadn’t been friends before.

Serge went to fetch an ice pack from the freezer. “Help yourselves to the kitchen,” he said. “There are spare toothbrushes under the bathroom sink. For some reason, our dentist gives us a new one after every cleaning.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s an unsubtle hint to change your toothbrush every six months,” Karter teased.

“Whatever. You two keep being adorable, I’m heading for bed.”

Jax handed Karter a note. “Jax says thank you again for everything, and for the room.”

“You’re welcome, Jax. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Karson let out a gurgly snore, as if also saying goodnight while still asleep. The kid could sleep through pretty much anything, including eight grown adults chatting and laughing in a relatively small apartment. Jax lifted the flap of the sling covering Karson’s face, then smiled down at the infant. Karter couldn’t see the baby from his angle, and he hesitated to lean in and invade Jax’s personal space.

“Are you tired?” Karter asked.

Jax nodded absently; he’d had an incredibly busy day.

“You two should go to bed, then. I’ll be out here if you need me.”

Jax looked up, his expression difficult to discern. Then he grabbed his pen.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me today. I know things won’t get easier for a while, but I’m glad you have my back. I’m glad to have met you.”

Karter’s chest burned with so many things, and he barely found his voice to say, “I’m glad to have met you, too.”

Jax graced him with a third chaste kiss before rising from the sofa. He went to the bathroom first, and a few moments later, disappeared into the bedroom. Karter went around and turned off lights, then sat on the couch and stared out the window, unable to sleep for a long, long time.

* * *

The bed was the most comfortable thing Jax had rested on in months, but even though the front door was locked, and his very own bonded alpha was outside the shut bedroom door, Jax couldn’t relax. He watched Karson sleep in the dim light from the window, feeling guilty for not using the crib, and flabbergasted by how their lives had changed in only twelve hours. From criminal vagrant to instant family, and if he fell asleep, he half-expected to wake up either still imprisoned, or back in that cold house.

But as fatigue overtook him, Jax surrendered to it. If this beautiful new existence was all a dream, he’d enjoy it for a while and gather strength for tomorrow’s battle. He dozed and dreamed of Karter, smiling at him from a distance while Jax toddled toward him, heavily pregnant with their child. Little Karson raced past Jax to be scooped up by Karter and swung gently in the air. Jax kept walking, trying to reach his son and mate, but the distance grew wider and wider, and Jax couldn’t walk any faster—

Familiar squalling shocked Jax out of the dream. Karson squirmed and cried. Jax checked his diaper first, which seemed okay. Bottle then. He got them both out of bed and nearly fell over when he opened the bedroom door. Karter was already in the kitchen, beginning bottle prep.

Karter gave him a sleepy smile over his shoulder. “Hey, I was still awake anyway.”

Jax tried to sooth Karson so he didn’t wake their hosts, but Karson wouldn’t be soothed until he had his warm bottle. Jax mouthed, “Thank you.”

“Happy to do it. I want to look out for both of you, and that means helping with his feedings.”

These tender moments when Jax’s hands were full made him hate his captors even more for taking his voice. For making it impossible for Jax to simply say what he felt in any given moment. So he did his best to put those emotions into his eyes and smile while Karson ate.

Karson woke again an hour later for a diaper change, which Jax managed by himself before collapsing into bed again. A second feeding occurred in the dead of morning. Jax wasn’t used to this, feeding Karson this frequently, because he’d had to ration the formula he managed to steal. But Karson seemed aware that they were safe, and that the formula would come when he demanded it, so he demanded.

At dawn, when his son wanted to eat again, Jax blearily allowed Karter to take the baby on his own and manage the bottle. Karter beamed, so happy to hold the child again that Jax allowed himself to fall back asleep, intuitively certain his son was safe in Karter’s very capable hands.

Karter silently cheered when he got his hands on little Karson again. The child was tiny in Karter’s big hands, and he felt so incredibly fragile that Karter second-guessed his decision. But Karson settled against him without too much fuss, and he mouthed at Karter’s neck while he prepared the bottle. The little guy was ravenous. Yeah, sure, infants ate frequently but this seemed a little over the top.

He’s got six weeks to make up for.

Not trusting himself to stand and do it, Karter settled in one of the armchairs to feed Karson, keeping the baby tucked neatly into the crook of his elbow. He’d never burped a baby before, but he’d watched Jax. How hard could it be?

This close, he could see the strong resemblance to Jax in the baby’s face-shape and dark hair. He had an adorable button nose that scrunched as he sucked, and those ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes? Too precious for words. Karson was strong to have survived such a violent pregnancy, and then four weeks as a vagrant, eating whatever Jax managed to steal.

Karter’s stomach flipped. He still didn’t know what would happen with those charges yet, and it bothered him. Having your home broken into was traumatic, but surely they’d hear Jax’s story and understand? They had to. His omega could not go to jail.

Karson finished the bottle, and Karter put it aside. He studied the doe-eyed infant, who seemed to study him in return. And then, beneath the stronger odors of formula and baby powder, Karter caught a new scent.

He’s an omega. No wonder Jax is so protective.

“I’ll protect you, little one,” Karter whispered. “Only the very best, kindest alpha for you one day.”

The world was changing slowly regarding omega rights, and the Iverson case last month had opened a lot of eyes and hearts to those issues. Karter had to believe that by the time Karson went into his first heat, he’d have ten times as many choices and freedoms as his omegin. And goddess help him, then and there Karter decided he’d do whatever he could to create that better world for his stepson.

Stepson. Yes. I want to mate Jax and make him mine. I want this family so badly.

Twenty-four hours ago, Karter had been obsessed with his work and fixing Sloan’s issue with their father, and now Karter had a mate and child.

Omegin will be thrilled. Not so sure about Father.

Father was blindly conservative, and he might not agree with Karter’s choice to mate with an omega who’d had one mate already. But what did it matter, really? Ronin Cross chose an omega with a child. Why couldn’t Karter? Jax made him happy in ways Karter never imagined, brought light where he’d never noticed darkness.

Jax was his future, no matter what Father thought. As an alpha, Karter did not need his father’s permission to mate. Approval would be nice, but even if it was withheld, Karter wanted Jax.

He held Karson until the baby fell asleep, then dutifully returned him to Jax’s room. Karson didn’t wake when Karter put him in the crib and tucked a blanket around him. Behind him, Jax shifted and grunted something in his sleep. Was he calling for his baby? Karter stepped closer to the bed.

Jax rolled toward him, a hand reaching out blindly in the night. Karter’s heart kicked hard. He took a chance on what Jax couldn’t ask for out loud, even in sleep, and he slid beneath the covers. A little awkward in his work slacks, but he didn’t dare take them off. Jax scooted closer, turning so his broad body was tucked close to Karter’s, head pillowed on Karter’s shoulder. He never seemed to wake up, only shift until he was comfortable.

Karter closed his eyes and reveled in this wonderful gift—being able to cuddle his omega and keep him safe.

Mine.

* * *

Jax woke slowly. The room was still dark but something had changed. Instead of a small body squirming nearby, a big one was curled protectively around him, and Jax was surrounded by intense heat and a maddening springtime scent. Karter was there, in his bed, holding him. Jax didn’t remember when that happened, but he wasn’t afraid.

He wasn’t afraid because this felt so right.

Another dream, this one scarier than the first, had eased into something peaceful instead, and now he suspected why. His alpha had sensed Jax’s distress and comforted him. Jax fell back asleep in the safety of his alpha’s arms, and when he woke to sunlight streaming in through the part in the curtains, he was alone.

Completely alone. Karson wasn’t in bed with him, and a quick check of the crib showed it empty. Swallowing against a rising tide of panic, Jax threw open the bedroom door and stormed the kitchen.

Karter stood at the counter with Karson in his arms, chatting with Serge as the man cooked something on the stove. Jax made a frustrated sound and glared.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Karter said, immediately contrite. “He got fussy and you were dead asleep, so I got up and fed him.”

Jax vaguely recalled Karter doing that a few hours ago, too, and his panic shifted. Karter holding Karson that close meant he could tell Karson was omega. Omegas were the least valued of the three genders, and what if Karter disliked having an omega stepson? What if Karter changed his mind about everything?

But Karter was walking toward him, a gentle smile teasing his lips. He handed Karson over, then brushed his mouth over Jax’s. “I’m sorry I made you worry. Forgive me?”

Jax’s fear drained away. He nod-blinked.

“Good. Now go sit while we finish breakfast. Coffee?”

Jax made a face.

Karter chuckled. “Okay, orange juice?” Nod-blink. “I’ll get it for you.”

Curious as to this little role-reversal—the omega typically cooked for and served the alpha—Jax sat at the kitchenette and adjusted Karson to a more comfortable position. Karter brought him a glass of juice, then finished helping Serge plate food. It smelled amazing, and Jax started drooling over the plate of bacon and waffles Karter deposited in front of him a moment later. Karter fetched Jax’s paper and pen, then reached for Karson so Jax could freely eat his meal.

“You aren’t eating?”

“I had a waffle a bit ago, so I’m fine.”

“Is Dex joining us?”

“He was still getting dressed when I came out,” Serge replied. “Dex isn’t a morning person.”

Jax nodded his understanding, then reached for the syrup to drown his waffles in. Plus bacon dipped in syrup? Yum. And as he watched Karter play with Karson, it hit him what this whole breakfast thing was about: Karter was trying to woo him. To do kind things and pamper him, so he’d win Jax over. Jax bit back a smile, because that was such an alpha thing to do.

And incredibly endearing, as well.

Breakfast was heavenly, and Jax only stopped eating long enough to pass Dex—who was still leaning hard on his cane as he joined them—a note asking how his leg felt.

“Tender,” Dex replied as he gave Serge a side-eye. “I’m calling the doctor to see if I can get an appointment.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, how did you injure yourself?” Karter asked.

“It’s not a state secret or anything. And it was kind of stupid. A bolt came loose on the obstacle course we trained on at the academy. Equipment broke right as I tried to climb it, and I fell. Tore the ligament up good. I couldn’t become a patrolman anymore, so I went to work for the constabulary instead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It is what it is. I still work where I want to work, it’s just a different job than I’d had in mind.”

“Which I personally don’t mind,” Serge said, “because it means he’s not out there waving a badge, potentially getting shot like Tarek was.”

Jax startled.

“It was a month ago,” Karter said. “Not a serious wound, but it definitely shook up the division.”

It hit Jax hard then, that Karter was in the same position as Tarek to get shot while on the job. He could be taken away from Jax and Karson by a single bullet, and then what would happen to them?

Karter must have seen something of those worries in Jax’s face, because he reached out to squeeze Jax’s shoulder. “Officers getting shot on the job is actually quite rare. The odds are in my favor, I promise.”

“I don’t know,” Dex said. “Tarek got shot protecting an omega with a target on his back, just like you are.”

Jax’s fork scraped across his plate.

Serge smacked Dex across the back of the head. “That is not going to make Jax feel better, you idiot.”

“Hey.” Karter’s hand slid up to cup the back of Jax’s neck in a warm, grounding touch. “I will take every precaution with you. We aren’t going to be separated when we’ve just found each other.”

Jax peeled that hand off his neck so he could hold it over his heart. He wanted to believe Karter’s words, but Dex was right. If anyone involved in the fighting ring found out Jax was working with the constabulary, he’d have a target on his back. No, the moment Senior Iverson was brought in for a lineup, they’d wonder if Jax had been found alive. They’d have to.

This was going to become such a mess, and he’d put his new friends in danger.

I can take Karson and disappear. Go to another province, find someone else to take care of me. Leave Karter and his friends in peace.

Except his heart ached at the idea of leaving Karter. They’d bonded, and Jax would be forever tied to him. He could live without Karter—they hadn’t mated, after all—but he would always feel an emptiness inside. He’d never be whole again.

No, he couldn’t leave. He wasn’t going to be chased away. This time, Jax was going to stay. He was going to fight because he chose to, not because he was being forced. He’d fight for his son, and he’d fight for his mate.

No matter what.