His first day in two weeks not going home for lunch had Morris on edge throughout the morning—not because he didn’t trust Jaysan to handle Aeron for eight-plus hours. He’d tried to reassure Jaysan of that when Jaysan showed up for work, and he thought he’d succeeded. Jaysan was in a brilliant mood, and Aeron was excited to see him.

No, Morris was on edge because he wanted to share lunch with his mate and child. Plain and simple, that was the reason for his anxiety. He knew in his bones that his family wasn’t close by, and while a veil of grief still hung over Morris’s world—and would for a long time to come—it was tempered by knowing his mate and son were safe.

Even if Jaysan wasn’t technically his mate and didn’t want to be.

Morris and Yosef were in the conference room working on a brief for a future court case, and Morris was having the same issues concentrating that had sent him home for lunch the first time. That wasn’t an option today, so he forced himself to focus on his work. The office line rang at the reception desk in the next room, and Jaycee answered it in his signature deep-bass voice.

“Ronin Cross’s office,” Jaycee said. “Yes, of course, I’ll transfer you right away. One moment…Mr. Cross? Constable Bloom is on the line.”

Morris perked up. It could be a social call, but why not use their mobiles? Ronin’s office was across the hall, the door shut, so he couldn’t hear anything other than the muffled sound of his boss’s voice. The call didn’t last long, maybe a few minutes, before Ronin opened his office door.

“Morris, a moment?” Ronin said.

“Sure, boss,” Morris replied. The only thing keeping him from assuming bad news was Ronin’s shining eyes and barely suppressed smile. He crossed the hall to Ronin’s office; Ronin shut the door. “I heard Jaycee say Constable Bloom was on the line.”

“He was.” Instead of circling the desk to sit, Ronin stood in front of him with a smug look. “The constabulary finally has solid evidence tying Pat Rajel to Dent and Udall’s fight ring. He’s already been picked up and the arraignment is in a few hours.”

Morris’s mouth fell open as shock rolled through him. Pat Rajel was the plastic surgeon who had damaged the vocal chords of all the fight ring omegas. The constabulary had brought him in for questioning last year, but all the paperwork recovered from the fight ring site had been considered circumstantial, Rajel had alibis for the omega kidnappings, and because of a technical error, the witness statements made the omegas were thrown out.

While Morris had been on the outside of it at the time, he knew how devastated everyone was about the lack of indictment for Rajel. And now they had him.

“They can finally prosecute the bastard?” Morris asked.

“Yes,” Ronin replied, allowing that smile to shine through. “Tarek didn’t give me all the details, because he can’t, but he’s confident Prosecutor Awless has an airtight case this time. That fucker is going away.”

“Finally. Do the omegas know?” Jaysan had to be over the moon with joy.

“Some of them do. I’m sure Liam and Jax know by now, and Tarek said he was going to call Braun right after he hung up with me, so after that you know they’ll all know.”

“But Brogan and Jaysan don’t know as of now?”

“Not yet, and I wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to take an extended lunch break so you can tell Jaysan yourself.”

“Unless someone calls him before I get there.” Morris nearly vibrated with joy at the idea of seeing his family—no, stop, of seeing Aeron and Jaysan so soon. “Thank you so much.”

“Not a problem at all. I’m sure I’ll be fielding at least one call from Kell before lunch.”

Morris laughed, then shook Ronin’s hand, both of them happy for what this meant for the men who’d been abused by Rajel. Then he went to collect his keys and give his omega the good news.

Aeron was a bit droopy and had a slight fever, so after giving him a dose of baby ibrospirin, Jaysan put him down for a nap. He wasn’t used to sick babies, though, so he stayed upstairs and read on the floor of the master bedroom, his back against the side of the bed. This room was directly across the hall from the nursery, but he still had the baby monitor nearby.

Couldn’t be too careful. And if Aeron was still feverish in a few hours, he’d call Morris for Aeron’s pediatrician information. See what they suggested he do.

The front door opening and closing scared him into letting out a startled yelp—not that he had much volume on the yelp, but he felt the fright in his bones. He’d locked the door, so the only person who could get in was Morris, and he’d promised not to check on Jaysan today.

Irritated by Morris breaking his word, Jaysan stomped down the stairs just as Morris called out his name.

“The baby’s napping,” Jaysan said as loudly—and with as much annoyance—as he could. Morris stood in the middle of the living room with a big, satisfied grin. “You said you wouldn’t come home.”

“This has nothing to do with that, I promise,” Morris said. “I—where’s Aeron?”

“He’s napping.” Might as well be honest, since the uncle was here now. “He had a slight fever and was a bit drowsy, so I gave him some medicine and he’s asleep. Pretty sure I already said the last part. Twice.”

“Sorry, I missed it. Aeron’s sick?”

“It’s a degree-and-a-half fever. If he isn’t feeling better by this afternoon, I was going to call you for his pediatrician info. I’ve got this, Morris.”

“I know.” He cast a concerned look at the stairs.

Jaysan flapped a hand in the air. “Go check on him if you must, but I promise, he’s just sleeping. Kids get fevers.”

Morris seemed to debate going upstairs, and in the end, he kept smiling at Jaysan. “I have good news, and Ronin was kind enough to let me tell you in person, since I’m sure everyone else is finding out or knows.”

“Good news about what?” Jaysan crossed his arms defensively. This had better be something spectacular for breaking his promise.

“Tarek says they finally have enough evidence to prosecute Pat Rajel for his part in the fight ring. For taking your voices away.”

Jaysan stared, the words not quite sinking in. He understood them, but they also confused him. He had long since resigned himself to the fact that Rajel had gotten away with mutilating their throats and leaving them half-silent, and now Rajel was going to pay? Had the universe finally decided to play fair and punish another dangerous man?

“Did you hear me?” Morris asked. “Jaysan?”

“Yeah, I heard you. I just…it seems so unbelievable.” He shivered. “I mean, they had him once before and let him go, even after we all identified him.”

“I know, but they have new evidence, and even though they can’t use your identification at the arraignment, you guys can still testify during the trial. Bring the hammer down on this fucker. This is a great thing, Jaysan.”

“I know.” He shook himself all over, allowing the good news to penetrate his haze of disbelief, and he laughed. “Oh goddess, this is fantastic!” Jaysan launched himself at Morris, who lifted him up in a strong, joyful hug.

Still laughing, he didn’t immediately pull away from Morris when he put Jaysan down. They stayed like that, arms around each other, grinning and happy. And it struck Jaysan that this was the first genuine smile he’d seen from Morris since they met. The news had finally broken through his grief and given him something to be joyful about—and it wasn’t even Morris’s news. It was Jaysan’s.

This close, the addictive scent of the man combined with Jaysan’s happiness and a tiny part of him wanted more. Wanted to stay wrapped up tight in his alpha’s arms, to climb his taller body for a kiss.

No, that way lay danger, and he needed to stop sending Morris mixed signals. Still excited by the news, Jaysan gently extricated himself from the hug and took a step back. “Thank you for telling me,” he said. “I mean it. We all felt so guilty when Constable Higgs told us our identifications had been thrown out, even though he swore up and down it was his fault. We wanted Rajel prosecuted so badly and it didn’t happen, and I got so mad. I was mad at everyone, especially the constables for fucking up, but also at Liam and Brogan and Laine for being so morose about it when I was mad. For being the last of our quartet to find a foster family. Then I said cruel things to Brogan and felt shitty about that for a long time.”

Jaysan let out a long, cleansing breath and with it went the last of that clinging guilt. “Thank you. I’ll have to send the constabulary a fruit basket or something.”

“They did their job,” Morris said with a charming grin. “Now it’s up to the prosecutor’s office not to fuck anything up.”

“You know, this is the first time I’ve heard you say fuck, and now you’ve said it twice in five minutes.”

“That’s because I’ve only really been around you with the baby, and I try hard not to swear in front of him.”

“Good policy. I’ve caught myself a few times. I stepped barefoot on one of Aeron’s blocks last week, and you should have heard the words I was screaming in my head.”

“I can’t imagine you swearing.”

Jaysan rolled his eyes. “Fuck, shit, damn, hell, piss, ass, um…”

“Okay, point taken.” Morris bit his lower lip in an adorable way. “Ronin gave me an extended lunch, and since it’s only eleven now, do you want to watch TV while Aeron’s asleep?”

He really, really ought to say no, but Jaysan was flying high on the good news, and he liked the idea of sharing that high with a friend. All he had to do was keep the designation “Friend” at the forefront of his mind and not sit too close on the couch. His senses were attuned to the alpha in front of him, and that worried him as much as it fueled his good mood. He could relax with Morris, let his guard down, without fear of being taken advantage of.

“Sure, let’s watch something,” Jaysan replied. “Are you hungry? I can make us sandwiches.”

“How about I order delivery? Are you feeling noodles or pizza?”

“Pizza.” He was always in the mood for pizza.

“Excellent.”

Morris went into the kitchen for the phone book, while Jaysan searched for a program they could watch. He found a daytime story about a frat house full of beta students and their continued dating antics that he enjoyed when he caught it. He loved that the show had recently brought on a new character: an omega best friend for one of the main beta characters who did not want an alpha mate. Jaysan loved the character, not only because they shared that viewpoint, but because it had never been shown on TV before. Until Kell’s murder trial, portraying an anti-mate omega on TV had been taboo.

They settled down together to watch and, less than thirty minutes later, their pizza arrived. With the box on the coffee table, Morris gave him a paper plate and Jaysan snagged a steaming slice. His waistline wasn’t liking all this pizza lately, but Jaysan didn’t care. He had no one to be attractive for and pizza was his favorite food.

If this bondmate thing is real, Morris won’t care if I’m a little chubby.

And that particular thought could fuck right off.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this show before,” Morris said after the hour-long program ended. “I like it.”

“If you’re working during the regular week, you’re going to miss it if you don’t record it. Papa used to do that, and then we’d sit down and watch the video at night.”

“Oh. Well, maybe I’ll start recording it.”

Jaysan grinned. “I’m glad you like it. Most alphas don’t enjoy shows like this, because it isn’t centered on their point-of-view.”

“I like learning new points-of-view. New perspectives make you a more compassionate person.”

“Agreed.”

Aeron’s wail over the baby monitor sent them both heading for the stairs. Morris deferred the lead to Jaysan, which he silently appreciated. Aeron was sitting up in the crib, his face red with upset, and he rubbed at one ear. He reached for Jaysan with a screeched, “Omi!” Jaysan scooped him right up. Morris pressed the back of one hand to the baby’s forehead.

“He definitely has a fever,” Morris said. He got the mercury thermometer from its holder on the changing table, shook it out, and then tucked it into Aeron’s armpit. Aeron cried harder, and Jaysan did his best to shush him. He couldn’t see the rising mercury from his angle, but Morris’s eyebrows shot up, and he put the thermometer down. “One-oh-one-point-eight. Let’s take him to emergency, I don’t like that fever.”

Panic shot through Jaysan like a winter wind. “Emergency?”

“Yup.”

Oh goddess. Emergency was bad, but it was better than hoping the regular pediatrician could fit them in. They went downstairs and Jaysan handed Aeron over only long enough to get his shoes on. He sat in the backseat with Aeron, patting his stomach and talking to him while he fussed in his carrier. Aeron kept rubbing his ear, which gave Jaysan a small measure of hope that it was a simple ear infection and nothing more serious.

On the drive that seemed to take forever, Morris called Ronin to take the rest of the day off, briefly explaining why. “Thanks, boss,” he said, then hung up.

Jaysan truly hated the hospital grounds, but he had no choice. And apparently, a sick, screaming baby got seen quickly, because they didn’t have to wait at all before being whisked into a cubicle. Jaysan refused to put Aeron down during all the intake stuff, which Morris handled—not until a nurse expressed the need to examine him. Aeron did not like that and he wailed louder.

Seeing his baby so upset and unable to fix it broke Jaysan’s heart. Frustrated tears stung his eyes, and he held Aeron’s small hand so they had some point of contact. A beta man named Dr. Snow introduced himself as the emergency pediatrician on duty. Apparently sick kids responded better to betas than to alphas—probably the same reason all obstetricians were also beta.

Not to mention the fact that any mated alpha would have a huge problem with another alpha, physician or not, getting up close and personal with his omega’s junk.

Dr. Snow was gentle with Aeron, who shrieked while the doctor took a look at his right ear. “As I suspected,” the man said. “Looks like a bad ear infection. We’ll give him some ear drops and antibiotics while he’s here, and then I’ll write a prescription for him to continue taking at home. Should clear up in a few days.”

“Will the medicine help his pain?” Jaysan asked.

“It will help make him more comfortable, yes.”

“And you’re sure that’s all this is? Nothing else is wrong with him?”

Dr. Snow glanced between him and Morris. “First child?”

“Yes,” he and Morris said in stereo.

“Ear infections are not uncommon and they’re easily treatable. Now, if he continues to run a fever and shows discomfort after the antibiotics run their course, bring him back in and we’ll look again, but in most cases, the medication will kill the infection. Just be careful when he’s bathed, so no water gets into his ears.”

“Of course,” Jaysan said. He shot an annoyed look at Morris, because Aeron had been in Morris’s care for the last two days. How had he let Aeron get sick?

“Thank you very much,” Morris said to the doctor.

Dr. Snow smiled at them both. “Not a problem. You two take care of your son. I’ll have your paperwork written up shortly.” He departed before either of them could correct the man.

Betas didn’t have the strong sense of smell that alphas and omegas did, so he had no reason not to assume they were a mated couple, and that Aeron was biologically theirs. Anyone with two eyes could tell he was Jaysan’s, but Aeron had none of Morris’s fair, freckled skin or fiery red hair.

What would our biological son look like?

Not going there.

A nurse arrived with the first doses of meds and eardrops. Aeron resisted the eardrops like crazy, but once they were in, he did quiet down a bit. The nurse also gave them the prescription slips and home care sheet, which Morris took. Now that Aeron was settling, Jaysan waited with him in the seating area, while Morris went up one floor to fill the prescriptions while they were here.

It was late afternoon by the time they got home, and Aeron looked ready for another nap, so Jaysan took him upstairs. Rocked him and read a storybook until Aeron’s eyelids drooped. Jaysan watched him sleep for several minutes before pulling the nursery door half-shut and going back downstairs.

Morris was in the kitchen drinking a beer, and he seemed even paler than usual. “You okay?” Jaysan asked as he helped himself to a cola.

“Not really.” Morris leaned against the counter and rubbed a hand over his face. “This is the first time I’ve been around when Aeron’s sick. It kind of got to me, being so powerless to make things better for him. Every alpha instinct in my body was screaming to fix him so you weren’t scared anymore, and so he wasn’t in pain, but all I could do was stand there.” He sounded so miserable that he woke up Jaysan’s own instincts.

Jaysan put his soda down and took Morris’s free hand in his. “You did exactly what I needed you to do. You stayed calm, you got us there, and you got us home. Aeron is going to be fine. I expect to have a minor meltdown at any moment, because I hated not being able to fix him, too, but he’s fine.”

Morris put his beer down and pulled him into a hug. Jaysan should have resisted, but he didn’t. He enjoyed being in Morris’s arms too damned much to break free, not when it felt so amazing. Not when it was exactly where he needed to be while his brain processed everything that had happened in the last few hours. He didn’t cry, he didn’t shake, he simply stood there and soaked in Morris’s quiet strength.

Why am I resisting him again? Why?

Would Morris be this tender and protective in bed? Would he take care with Jaysan during sex? Go slow and make it amazing? Would he give Jaysan the kind of sex he’d never had, because he didn’t think he deserved it? Because Jaysan was used up, broken, and not worth gentle touches and warm kisses? Because all Jaysan saw when he looked in the mirror was a hole to fuck?

Did Morris really see more? Did he see Jaysan?

He deserves better. If I tell him how many other alphas I’ve slept with, the things I’ve let them do to me, he’ll see me how I see me. He won’t want me then.

With a grief-stricken cry, Jayan ripped away from Morris and strode toward the front door. Grabbed his light jacket off the hook.

“Wait, Jaysan, where are you going?” Morris chased after him, and Jaysan braced for a hand to grab him. Yank him. Hurt him. Morris put his hand on the front door instead. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to go,” Jaysan said, not daring to look the older man in the eyes. He couldn’t stand to see the worry and disappointment he was likely to find there. “Please, let me go for the day.”

Morris stood there a moment longer, simply breathing, before removing his hand and taking a step back.

“Thank you,” Jaysan said.

“Please call me if you need anything.”

Jaysan nodded, but had no intention of calling Morris tonight. He needed to stay away from the man, and he needed a distraction from everything that had happened today. His heart was breaking as he opened the door and left, and he cursed himself a fool for purposely trying to destroy the best thing in his life.

Morris stared at the shut door, utterly confused by the last two minutes.

Holding Jaysan in his arms, offering comfort and being comforted, had been a perfect moment. He’d never felt more real, more complete in his life. His son was upstairs resting, his omega was in his arms, and all was right with the world.

Until Jaysan ripped away with a mournful sound that had sent chills down Morris’s spine. And then Jaysan ran. For the door. Morris couldn’t let him leave without knowing what was wrong, but even though Jaysan wouldn’t look him in the eyes, Morris had seen the fear flash across his face when he put his hand on the door.

He’d made his omega afraid of him. And he’d been ashamed of himself, but more than that, he was confused. He didn’t understand why Jaysan fled like that. Everything inside him insisted he chase after Jaysan and make it better. After a brief internal debate, he opened the door and scanned the street.

Jaysan was already gone. Probably a block or two over to call a cab.

Maybe Morris couldn’t chase him, but he could take steps to ensure Jaysan was cared for when he got home.

He fetched his phone so he could call Alec Jensen.