CHAPTER TWO
Urho watched Jason stir the fire with the poker. His shoulders were still slumped, and the misery that had radiated from him ever since he and Vale had returned from being snowed in at the Amans’ old cabin continued to seep from him like a poison.
He’d have to pull Jason aside later and tell him how important it was that he find a way to be happy, support Vale, and keep Vale’s confidence and attitude buoyed despite his own fears.
“My biggest concern right now, in the early stages, is keeping Vale calm,” Urho said. “Later, say, in a few weeks, my concern will change to the upcoming flu season. It’s already begun, which is a bad sign, and there have already been several flu-related deaths in the poorer districts. They say the strain doesn’t respond to the usual tonics and medicines. A move out of the city proper might be worth considering then.”
“As I said earlier, Vale will take another leave of absence from his work,” Jason said firmly. “There’ll be no argument about that, do you understand?”
Vale shrugged. “It hasn’t been as enjoyable teaching there this year without you on campus. It’s no skin off my nose to let you pamper me here at home.” Though Urho knew Vale well enough to see that he was trying to appease Jason more than truly looking forward to months of putting his feet up.
“Good. Should I hire beta servants to care for him while I’m at the office?” Jason asked.
“I’m pregnant, not infirm. For wolf-god’s sake, don’t go overboard here.”
“He’s right. No need to make him a pallet on the first floor of the house quite yet,” Urho teased. “He can get up and down the stairs by himself. So long as that demon beast doesn’t try to trip him.”
Jason’s eyes zeroed in on Zephyr where she sat on Vale’s wide desk, cleaning her asshole with her scratchy tongue, oblivious to all their attention being focused on her. “Maybe we should move the bed down to this room. If I keep the fire going, it’ll stay plenty warm for us.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Vale murmured, and then yawned.
“You need to nap,” Jason said, leaving his poking at the fire to come and pull Vale up to standing, as though he were already heavy with child. He led him toward the leather sofa and urged him to stretch out.
Vale met Urho’s gaze and rolled his eyes, but did as Jason demanded.
“I could use some chamomile tea,” Vale said once he was settled. “Would you bring me some?”
Jason kissed Vale’s face half a dozen times and tasked Urho with making sure Vale rested until he returned.
“I have a few more notes I’d like to take,” Urho said, waving him off. “As well as some measurements.”
Jason hesitated. He always insisted on being in the room when Urho examined Vale’s asshole, passage, and womb. Like most alphas it was hard for him to allow his Érosgápe to be touched by another alpha in those intimate areas, but unlike most he preferred to be present rather than heading to a bar in order to get drunk and pretend it wasn’t happening.
In that way, he was like his father. Urho remembered well how Yule Sabel had cared so personally and intimately for Miner after his brutal miscarriage and the subsequent removal of Miner’s womb.
“I’m just going to listen to his heart, take his pulse, measure his stomach, and make note of his pallor. I might palpitate his abdomen externally. Nothing that will require fully disrobing.”
Jason nodded stiffly, and then left to fetch the tea as Vale had asked.
“He’s such a sweet baby alpha, isn’t he?” Vale mooned, unbuttoning his shirt to give Urho access to his chest and stomach.
“I suppose.” Urho thought of his Erosgapé, Riki, who’d often said such things about him in their early life together. The ache for his lost love remained to this day.
“I was surprised when Xan was one of the last to leave,” Vale commented, tilting his head to catch Urho’s eye when he knelt down to press the cold stethoscope to Vale’s skin.
Urho smiled to hear his friend’s heart booming steadily, and then he dropped the device lower, listening hard for the tiny fetus’s heartbeat. Sighing with emotion when he heard it, he sat back on his heels.
Vale added, “He normally leaves earlier than anyone else.”
“He’s usually eager to get back to his new omega, I imagine.” Urho made note of the rates of both Vale and the baby’s hearts in the leather-bound casebook he carried in his bag. “Today was an obvious shock to him. He probably lingered only to make sure Jason was going to be all right.”
Vale was quiet as Urho pressed the measuring tape over his stomach. The growth was barely visible now. Within a few weeks, the child would start to expand against Vale’s middle and force his muscled, trim abdomen to begin to protrude.
Vale asked, “Do you still think he’s handsome?”
Urho wished he’d never drunkenly admitted to Vale that he found Xan’s eyes pretty, and wished even more that he’d never once mentioned the roundness of the boy’s ass. He always drank too much at their little soirées; it was a problem that used to irritate Vale when Jason first came along and Urho, inebriated, couldn’t resist the temptation to poke at him. But now it was a problem only to himself, for he found himself confessing things to Vale that he shouldn’t.
Ignoring Vale’s query, he said, “Your heart and the child’s sound fine.”
“Jason will be glad.” Vale nudged Urho with his foot and raised a brow. “You didn’t answer my question about Xan.”
A vision of Xan’s plump mouth sneering about fortunetellers popped into Urho’s mind, and he gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to admit to the arousal Xan sometimes sparked in him—not while he was sober, at any rate. Vale should know him better than that. “How do you stand that boy’s insolence?” He held Vale’s wrist gently to take his pulse one more time.
“Xan isn’t insolent,” Vale said, though his left brow rose, making it clear he knew Xan was exactly that. “Nor is he a boy.”
Urho shook his head irritably.
“He might be young, like Jason, but they’re twenty-four now. He’s contracted to an omega. That’s a large responsibility, and he’s been placed in charge of a very profitable division within his father’s company.”
“As a figurehead. Everyone knows his beta brother truly oversees the work.”
“Perhaps. But he’s well on his way to being a man. He’s the same age I was when I first met you.”
“A lifetime ago.”
Vale’s lips tilted up with a smile. “Why are you so hard on him? You don’t mind when other alphas behave as their nature commands.”
Urho sat back on his heels. “And how, exactly, is that?”
“Demanding, assertive, and with little respect for the fact that some other alpha might hold the floor or know more than they do.” Vale buttoned his shirt again and sat back on the sofa with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.
Urho packed away his measuring tape, stethoscope, and notebook. He rose to standing, his knees aching slightly after kneeling on the polished brick floor, reminding him that he wasn’t quite as young as he used to be. But his heart was, as always, tender toward Vale. “You think so little of alphas, do you?”
“I think alphas are accustomed to having their own way and to being heard.”
“Jason does plenty of listening.”
“Because he’s young and respects me as a person.”
Urho snorted. “No doubt. But you’ve just admitted that his youth plays a role.”
“He’s not a pushover, you realize.”
“Of course not.” He gazed out the study’s wide windows to the garden Jason had planted to court Vale and saw the evidence of Jason’s determination in the way it thrived even as the cold of autumn descended.
Yes, he’d seen how Jason went after things. A dog with a bone, even if he was softer than many alphas tended to be. He also knew Vale had no complaints about Jason’s prowess in bed. Urho had heard Vale’s pleasured wailing often enough on their vacations together by the seaside. It was one reason he’d rented his own house this past summer, just to escape the reminder of what he’d lost.
Vale gazed up at him wickedly. “And, if I’m being completely frank, my dear, you like it when Xan reveals how little unconditional respect he grants you. It stirs you.”
Urho grimaced. “Not in any way that’s admirable.”
“And that’s what’s so intriguing about it.” Vale leaned forward. “Little alpha Xan rousing staid, admirable Urho. It’s remarkable really.”
“He doesn’t ‘rouse’ me.” Irritation burned beneath his skin.
Vale clucked his tongue and dropped back against the sofa as though disappointed.
Urho remembered well the first time he’d met Xan, wide-eyed and red-cheeked. There’d been something even then that thrilled in him at the boy’s presence, and it hadn’t been proper. It’d been primal and raw, a surge of alpha expression like he’d never felt before. The urge to show the boy just who was in charge, to command him, and force him down to his—
He inhaled deeply and busied himself repacking his equipment.
It was disturbing.
Alpha expression was something he rarely experienced. Yes, he’d faced it when Jason turned up on the scene, but he’d squelched it quickly, lest the boy’s overwrought hormones set them on a destructive path from which they’d never return. But any urges toward alpha expression in others generally unsettled him, and they left him ashamed when, inexplicably, they cropped up.
Which they did again and again in Xan’s presence.
He’d never been able to make sense of it. Even today, when Xan had spouted off in his usual way, Urho had wanted to push the boy to his knees, grip his dark curls in one hand, force his mouth open with the other, and shut him the wolf-hell up with his dick.
He shook his head hard, hoping to dislodge those titillating thoughts for good. “The boy is annoying.”
Vale’s chin tilted up and he held Urho’s gaze. “The ‘boy’ is braver than you know.”
“He’s got a strong stomach, I’ll give him that.” He remembered how Xan hadn’t even flinched when he’d walked into the room where Miner was bleeding out after a brutal miscarriage, and how he’d rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and offered his Wolf 3 blood to help like it was nothing to him. He’d even watched the blood transfer from his own body into Miner’s without turning green.
“I said braver than you know.”
“It’s almost like you want me to take your word on his personal heroism without providing the details of it.”
“You should. Have I ever lied to you?”
Urho rolled his eyes at that. Vale wasn’t a liar, but he’d been known to withhold information if it worked to his advantage. “Have you ever been completely honest with anyone?”
“I don’t keep anything from Jason now.”
“Anyone who isn’t Jason?”
“You. Almost entirely.”
“I’m honored.”
“You should be.” Vale smiled tiredly. “And you should give Xan more latitude. I do.”
Urho sat next to him on the sofa, leaning in close to say softly, “Speaking of the latitude you give him, I fear it’s too much. He doesn’t treat you with the respect you deserve.”
Vale waved his hand, shooing off his words. “Xan deals with a lot.”
“I’m surprised Jason allows it.”
“There’s nothing Xan could say or do that would bother me. Jason knows that’s how I feel and, besides, he doesn’t let Xan go too far.”
“By whose definition?”
“I assure you, there’s no tone or snotty comment from Xan that could ever get under my skin. He’s been burdened unfairly in this life.”
“Oh, yes, being the son and heir of a ridiculously wealthy alpha of impeccable name and long-standing heritage sounds incredibly trying.”
“If you knew what I know…” Vale’s eyes flashed. “Let’s put it this way: Riki would be ashamed of you for saying something as unkind as that.”
Vale almost never brought up Urho’s dearly departed Erosgapé omega, knowing the wound of Riki’s loss still ran deep. If he was willing to shame him with Riki’s blessed memory, Urho must truly owe Xan an apology.
Urho sighed. “I shouldn’t talk about things I don’t understand.”
“You shouldn’t, and yet you so often do.”
“I’m sorry.”
Vale’s smile was a wonderful reward. Urho missed the days when it was aimed at him alone, usually before they spent a rowdy and raunchy evening wearing nothing but their smiles. Jason imprinting on Vale in the library four years earlier had put an end to that side of their relationship, and Urho still missed it.
Not that he’d been celibate in the intervening years. Far from it.
He was often enlisted to help in the heat of uncontracted omegas or the occasional nymphomaniac—an omega suffering from insatiable lust. Interminable heat was the new name for the disorder, but Urho preferred the old-fashioned term since it allowed for a broader interpretation. The distinction was something he and Vale had vehemently disagreed on in the past, and probably would again in the future.
Regardless, he had ways of getting his physical needs met, but it didn’t mean he didn’t miss their old camaraderie and sexual connection. He smoothed a hand through his hair and said, “You’re in good health. Jason’s cooking has done you well.”
“He spoils me.”
Urho had to agree with that. It wasn’t common for an alpha to cook or clean, the home being the purview of omegas since the time after the Great Death. But Jason’s alpha father had been more egalitarian with his omega than most. Jason had adopted his father’s ways and taken them to the extreme—doing most of the cooking or cleaning himself, and letting Vale idle in spoiled splendor.
Jason’s footsteps entered the room and the woody, comforting scent of chamomile filled the air. He balanced a teapot and three mugs on a tray, the epitome of a doting alpha waiting on his ailing omega.
A prick of envy was followed quickly by a well of bittersweet longing. Urho remembered the days he’d nursed Riki through seasonal colds and the occasional stomach virus. Holding his sweet, young love’s body close—heedless of contagion or fear and only desiring to impart comfort—had been a gift he hadn’t known to cherish at the time.
The loss of Riki burned him deeply, a pain he couldn’t always ignore. His nerve endings endlessly sought the man who’d been their completion, the man who’d died trying to birth Urho’s only son—the same son who’d died with his pater during that horrible, late-term miscarriage. Even loving Vale had only dampened the pain so much.
Urho’s throat clogged with emotion, watching as Jason smoothed fingers over Vale’s cheek before he turned to offer Urho a mug of tea.
“Thank you, but I should be on my way,” he said gruffly.
“But what about Vale?”
“Would you like me to stand over him and watch him night and day for any signs of trouble?” Urho chuckled.
Jason’s eyes flared dangerously. “No, but I thought you’d be here if we need you.”
“I’m just a quick car ride away. There’s no reason to expect any problems at this juncture.”
“When should we expect problems?” Jason asked, sitting down at Vale’s side, his own mug of tea steaming, unsipped, in his hand.
“I’d say things might grow more difficult for Vale in the mid months, as his body struggles to cope with the child’s growth. It’s a large stressor on every omega, no matter their health. Despite our ancestors’ best efforts to design omega bodies to bear children, there is a limit to the changes they were able to bring about. Omega hips are narrower and their womb less robust than those of the human females in the days before the Great Death.”
As Jason grew pale again, Urho left off the reiteration of dangers facing even healthy omegas, and decided to discuss the potential discomfort ahead instead. “Vale’s scar tissue might prove painful during the high-growth months. Jason, you’ll need to continue to stretch him internally. Regular, daily massage with your fingers and even your fist, if he can bear it, will be key to making this pregnancy and birth as easy as possible.”
“And you’ll induce him when?”
“When the time is right.” Urho was going to have to wing that aspect of it. He wanted to allow the child as much time as possible to grow strong in hopes of sparing Jason and Vale the pain of a stillbirth, but he wasn’t going to allow it to grow large enough that Vale wouldn’t survive. His scar tissue was more flexible now, but it only had so much give, and if he were to tear…
“I promise not to let it go too long.”
Jason’s jaw tightened, and he darted a glance at Vale before whispering, “We could still abort.”
Vale huffed.
“Yes, but I think your omega has made his wishes known,” Urho said.
“What about my wishes? As his alpha? As his Erosgapé?”
“You’ve made those wishes known as well. Your priority is Vale. So is mine. We’re all on the same page.” Urho infused his voice with warning.
Jason put the mug aside and stood. “I’ll walk you out.”
Urho pushed aside the urge to kiss Vale’s temple as he might have done if they were alone, knowing Jason wouldn’t take kindly to the friendly gesture. Vale’s “baby alpha” had long ago made peace with the fact that Urho and Vale had been lovers, but he still didn’t like them to be openly physically affectionate.
Instead, Urho smiled warmly down at Vale, cozy and coddled on the sofa, and said, “I’ll be back next week. If you need me before that, just ring.”
As he and Jason stepped outside, the orange leaves of the great oak in front of the house sifting down around them, Urho spoke sternly. “If you allow your doubts to infect him, his outcome could be compromised.”
“Maybe if he understands my fear, he’ll change his mind.”
“He does understand and he won’t,” Urho said, gripping Jason’s arm and forcing the young man to face him. “But even if he did, do you really want him to abort the child because you made him? Wouldn’t he hold that against you?”
Jason’s jaw tightened and released, but he nodded sharply once. “You know him too well.”
“And so do you.”
“Yes.” Jason’s resignation was clear. “How do I shake this, though? How do I move on like I don’t think that every second that child grows inside of him is one more second closer to me losing him?”
“First, you must stop calling it ‘that child’ and think of it as your son. As the son you made together in love.”
Jason wiped a hand over his face.
“Second, do you have so little trust in me? If I didn’t believe he could make it through this, I’d advise an abortion immediately, illegal as it may be, and at considerable risk to all of us. And you know if I gave that advice, he’d go through with it.”
Jason’s cheeks flushed. “And how should I feel about that? I’m his alpha but he trusts your opinion over mine.”
“My medical opinion, yes. He doesn’t trust my love over yours. He doesn’t share himself with anyone else the way he does with you. Surely you know that.”
Jason crossed his arms over his chest, a stubborn flash in his eyes, but he said nothing.
“Consider what I’m saying, Jason. You must find a way to get past this, to find joy with him in this miracle. Make him believe that you believe.” Urho sighed, trying to find the right words. “If you don’t have faith in him, should there come a bad turn, he won’t have faith in himself to pull through it.”
Jason chewed on his bottom lip, brow lowered in thought.
“Omegas always believe in their alphas more than anyone else, especially during the trials of birth. How many times have I seen an omega turn to his alpha for encouragement in the delivery process and gain strength from his faith? Give Vale every reason to believe he will live, and that you want him and this child as much as he does.”
Jason took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right.”
Urho almost laughed. He knew what it cost Jason to admit that, but he only put his hand on Jason’s shoulder and squeezed, trying to impart all the paternal affection he rather surprisingly felt for the young alpha who’d stolen his lover.
“Wolf-god be with you both,” Urho said solemnly before turning to walk down the sidewalk to where he’d parked his car away from the falling leaves of Vale’s old oak tree.
It wasn’t a long drive home, but he was eager to get there. He planned to listen to some music on the radio and sip a nice glass of wine. Perhaps he’d read a book, one of Riki’s old favorite fairy tales. Something fantastical that would sweep him away from his worry for Jason and Vale.
And, more importantly, stamp out all thoughts of that annoying alpha pup Xan Heelies and his beautiful, impertinent mouth.