Page 13

Chapter Ten

Teal

T eal arrived home from the office one evening in late June to find the house empty. As usual, he was exhausted. In the two months since they’d taken Sorcha to the hospital, every day felt more and more like he was running on fumes.

He loosened his tie and opened the fridge to grab a soda, welcoming the cool air on his face.

The balmy night refused to let go of the day’s heat and his shirt stuck to his back.

Ronan had texted earlier, saying he’d be staying late at the job site, and Niall had taken the boys to the pool.

Teal couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in the house by himself.

Strain from the busy workday stiffened his shoulders. He rolled them slowly to release the tension, and the sound of his neck cracking echoed across the quiet room. It unnerved him.

He’d anticipated the stress at work. But expecting something and experiencing it were two different things. Thankfully, the end was in sight. The initial date for the Bannon case had finally been set, and he’d be arguing in front of High Court within the month.

Pre-tribunal evidence preparation was going well, even if the process drained Teal to the marrow of his bones.

He’d spent countless hours interviewing omegas, listening to their heat services horror stories—being given to violent alphas, unintended pregnancies, forced pregnancies, a pay-for-pleasure scheme where omegas had been made to service dozens of alphas.

It shocked him how much abuse had occurred, and how few options there were for justice.

But if Teal’s firm won this case, it would be an important step toward change. He just had to make it to the end.

As he walked from the kitchen into the living room, picking up toys and loose shoes along the way, the silence enveloped him like a false reality. Their family life was anything but calm these days.

Ronan spent long hours at his job site, often dealing with the anti-omega faction in his industry that had grown more hostile lately, as the Bannon case dominated media coverage.

Ronan had come home a few nights ago with AINO, Alpha In Name Only, painted on his truck.

He and Teal had removed the slur, but it took an hour of hard scrubbing.

Adding to Teal’s distress was that Sorcha had been avoiding them since the night of his hospital visit.

As he’d predicted, the bill had incensed his uncles.

Even after Ronan volunteered to pay the entire amount—fair in Dale and Abe’s minds since Ronan had forced their nephew to take a “pointless” trip to the ER—they were still upset Sorcha had fallen behind on his tasks that weekend.

When Dale had raged about all the money his “idiot omega relative” cost them, Teal had barely held Ronan back.

“Don’t,” Teal said. “He might take it out on Sorcha.”

“We need to do something!”

“I know. But they’re his legal guardians until he gets married or turns twenty-five.” Yet another decree Teal could see himself tackling down the road. Sometimes, the fight to have omegas treated as human beings seemed endless.

Ronan had emitted a low growl, but ultimately let the matter lie.

Since then, neither Ronan nor Teal had had a meaningful conversation with Sorcha. The younger omega had seemed okay the few times Teal had gotten a glimpse of him, but who knew?

Teal sat down and pressed the cool soda can to his overheated neck. He stared at the unit’s central wall, wondering if Sorcha was on the other side.

Wondering if he was in danger.

Teal recalled Sorcha’s alarmed response to Teal figuring out the cause of Sorcha’s weakness , the reason he’d fallen from the ladder. He guessed that was partly reason Sorcha was avoiding them. Because he didn’t want to answer Teal’s questions.

But Sorcha didn’t understand that Teal had spent the last year pouring over testimony about mistreated omegas.

Sorcha could dodge him for a little while, but eventually Teal was going to push the issue.

The protective pull he’d felt toward his beautiful young neighbor hadn’t gone away.

If anything, it had grown stronger, and he knew Ronan felt the same way.

There was no chance either of them would allow Sorcha to be harmed.

Teal sighed as he turned on the TV and opened one of the streaming services, scrolling mindlessly for a few minutes before turning it off and tossing the remote onto the couch.

He rose and paced around the room. On the dining table, he saw the thousand-piece puzzle Niall was working on with the boys.

The scene coming together was a tropical landscape, with a turquoise beach in the foreground and tall palm trees in the back.

Teal picked up a blue piece and fitted it into the ocean.

The picture reminded him they hadn’t taken a real vacation in years. Maybe when High Court ended, he and Ronan could take the boys to the beach. Perhaps Niall would come.

As though he’d willed it, his phone pinged with a text.

NIALL: We’re staying a little later at the pool. The twins want to teach Zayne how to do the small diving board.

TEAL: Is he ready for that?

NIALL: I think so. He’s really taken to the water. I’ll keep a close eye too.

TEAL: I know you will. Okay. Thanks.

NIALL: Of course. You know I’d do anything for the boys.

For the boys. Teal frowned at the awkward qualifier. Niall had been going out of his way lately to convince Teal and Ronan, and perhaps himself, that he was merely an employee.

The beta had been behaving strangely since the day of Sorcha’s injury.

Prior to that, he’d been fun and flirty, even though he’d never crossed any lines with the couple after meeting Jax.

Now, Niall acted buttoned up and reserved.

He was executing his nanny duties as well as always, but something had changed.

Teal didn’t like it. Of course, he missed the sex.

He and Ronan had not revisited the topic of finding a new third, and he knew it was because they were still grieving the loss of what they’d shared with Niall.

But more than that, Teal missed simply interacting with Niall in the easy way they always had.

As the beta had pulled away, Teal felt the loss of that closeness.

He hadn’t been able to put a name on it while they’d been together.

But he’d had ten months to gain perspective.

He now understood that he, Ronan, and Niall had been in a relationship.

He regretted being cavalier about it. In the moment, it had been fun to think of being with Niall as playtime, to dismiss the significance of the bond they’d built.

When Niall had come to him and Ronan about meeting someone, they should have fought harder, should have understood what they were losing.

But that was in the past. And they would always respect Niall’s decision to be with Jax.

Teal just wasn’t sure he could accept the loss of their deeper friendship.

Rolling his shoulders again, Teal groaned into the silence as his stomach gurgled. Between dealing with the Dayson Bannon case at work, and worrying about Ronan, Sorcha, and Niall at home, he’d been forgetting to take care of himself.

He made toast. Although his appetite had been slightly higher these past few months, his heat hadn’t arrived. While having irregular heats after age thirty wasn't unusual, Teal still planned to see his doctor to make sure everything was okay. His stress levels probably weren’t helping.

The sound of the garage door vibrating cut through the suffocating silence. Teal exhaled with relief when Ronan came in.

“Alpha,” he drew out. “I missed you.”

“Hey, baby,” Ronan said, wrapping him in his arms with a concerned frown. “Everything okay?”

“Mostly, yes. Just tired.” Teal squeezed his husband tightly, pressing his cheek into Ronan’s broad chest and breathing in the peppery sage scent.

“It won’t be like this forever.” Ronan kissed him gently on the head. “Lean on me if you need to.”

Teal looked up. “I always need you.”

“I know,” Ronan whispered, pinching a strand of Teal’s hair between his fingers. He held him closely for another minute before asking, “Kids still at the pool?”

“Niall texted a bit ago saying the twins wanted to show Zayne how to do the diving board.”

Ronan stepped away and reached for his phone. “That checks out. Zayne has been a little fish ever since he passed the deep end test.”

“True.” Teal smiled and picked up his plate, putting it in the sink.

“Toast?”

“Yeah. I needed something to tide me over until you all came home for dinner.”

Ronan leaned back against the counter. “Your appetite… Is anything feeling… different ?” he asked carefully.

Teal knew his late-to-arrive heat also concerned Ronan.

They’d agreed not to use condoms, putting the possibility of expanding their family in the hands of fate.

But that was before they’d known the delay would go on for months.

Teal’s heat should have come and gone already, but now there was a real possibility of it disrupting High Court, reminding everyone that omega lawyers occasionally needed accommodations .

That very public reminder would be a win for pro-alpha sentiment.

But Teal didn’t want to take suppressants. Doing so limited the possibility Ronan would breed him, and despite how hectic everything had been lately, he didn’t want to miss the chance for another baby.

“Nothing feels imminent,” Teal answered, before changing the subject quickly. “I’m assuming pizza is okay? No way I’m cooking after the day I’ve had.”

“Pizza sounds great.” Ronan turned his face away, but not before Teal registered the anxiety there.

“Hey. It’s going to be okay,” Teal said, grasping his husband’s hand. “I promise I’ll see the doctor soon and we’ll find out what’s going on.”

“It’s not that.” Ronan shook his head. “At least, not just that. I’m sorry, baby. I know the amount of stress you’ve been under lately, and the last thing I want to do is add to it…”

“What’s wrong?”

Ronan’s expression darkened. “At the site today, I walked in on Al Jasper, the plumbing subcontractor, talking about some pro-alpha groups he’s part of.

I think he was trying to recruit my guys.

He told them one group is focused on finding legal options that would make it harder for omegas to work in the trades.

I wish I could say all my alpha employees are fine working next to omegas, but you already know that’s not the truth. ”

“That’s insane,” Teal asserted. “Omegas gained work rights in all fields years ago. I’d never have been able to go to law school otherwise. Alpha tradesmen need to get over themselves. Omegas give birth. Pretty sure we can hang drywall.”

“I know that. And you know that. But you also know there are alphas out there who refuse to accept it, even decades later.”

Teal shook his head. “That’s so ridiculous. They need to move on.”

“Yes, but for obvious reasons, it made the omegas in my crew uncomfortable. Some betas too. Once I heard, I told Al to knock it off. But it’s troubling.”

“Can you let him go?”

“Not without jeopardizing the project and destroying the budget. That would make the omegas even more of a target.”

“It’s like we can’t win.” Teal threw up his hands.

“Even when we win, we lose.” He thought about how many of those groups had been popping up lately.

The pro-alpha movement that began as a response to the original omega rights campaigns had gained steam recently as omegas made more visible strides.

“Do you think a lot of your crew are interested in those groups?” His mind went to the AINO painted on Ronan’s truck.

“It’s hard to say. They know my stance, so it’s not like anyone would spout that nonsense near me. But for sure this shit goes on when I’m not around. The pro-alpha assholes are everywhere these days.” Ronan breathed out heavily. “And I haven’t even told you the worst part.”

“Worse than having someone recruiting for pro-alpha groups at your work?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Ronan sat down at the table and asked, “How good is Dayson Bannon’s security?”

Teal startled at the question before answering. “Very good. Schulman and Carson have had a team on him since the case went public. Why?”

Dragging a hand over his face, Ronan tilted his chair back.

“After I stopped Al from speaking openly at the site, I guess he took his conversation to the parking lot. One of my omega crew members, a good guy named Arin, overheard him talking to two men he didn’t recognize.

Not my employees, so probably day labor for the plumbing company.

Arin came to talk to me after everyone else left. That’s why I was late.”

Teal’s stomach churned. “What did he say?”

“He couldn’t be certain, because he was crouched down, but he said it sounded like one of the pro-alpha groups is planning to attack Dayson, although he didn’t hear any specifics.

” Ronan shoved the long sleeves of his henley up to his elbows.

“He said it didn’t seem like Al was planning the attack himself.

More like he was bragging about something he’d heard.

Even so, it was enough for Arin to be concerned.

To wait around until they’d left to tell me. ”

Teal reached for his phone.

“What are you doing?” Ronan asked.

“I’m texting Mr. Carson to make sure Dayson’s security is extra tight. What else can I do? You know the cops won’t investigate, not based on the word of an omega.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault things are the way they are.” Teal tapped out the message, receiving a thumbs-up from his boss almost immediately.

“I’m still sorry I can’t do more.”

Teal leaned over and gave his husband a firm peck on the lips.

“You do more than most. Besides, I wouldn’t worry too much.

Harsh words and blustering against Dayson are common.

Just like they are against me. People are loose with their threats behind the safety of a screen or around other close-minded folks.

It’s most likely that whatever Arin heard was just some dick-swinging by an alpha with too much time on his hands. ”

Ronan nodded. “You’re probably right. Sometimes I forget I’m married to the smartest, bravest omega in the state.”

Teal grinned. “Should I order pizza now so it’s here when the boys get home or wait a while?”

“Let’s order now. I can do it.” But before Ronan could open the app, his phone buzzed in his hand. His expression hardened. “On second thought, no pizza.”

“Why not?”

“We need to get to the pool. Niall and the boys are in trouble.”