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Chapter Fourteen

Ronan

D ale stared at Ronan with beady eyes.

“You know, we were living just fine in the beta neighborhoods until my older brother died and Sorcha came to live with us. We had to move someplace else. The little omega disrupted our lives, so why shouldn’t he have to earn his keep?”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t ask him to help you.” Ronan tried very hard not to shout. He’d caught Dale by chance in their driveway and decided to speak with him about Sorcha. The conversation had gone downhill immediately. “But you are responsible for his health. Omegas need to have their heats!”

Ronan felt sick to his stomach that the man cared so little for his nephew.

Lots of betas lived in the beta neighborhoods—there was an entire movement around beta pride—but those betas weren’t usually hostile toward other genders.

They typically lived there because they wanted to escape the hoopla that came with heats and breeding.

Ronan could understand how Dale and Abe’s lives had been upended by having to move. But Sorcha hadn’t asked for his parents to perish, and Dale was his only family.

His blood boiled, but Ronan didn’t think yelling would help. He tried a different approach. “Look, Teal has done a lot of research on heat services because of his case. I’m sure he could recommend a reputable one for Sorcha.”

Dale spat on the ground. “Oh, I’ll just bet your husband knows all about which heat services to use. Everyone knows about the great Teal McGinn and the upcoming High Court tribunal.”

Ronan ignored the beta’s mocking tone and focused only on the substance of his words. “Great. So you know Teal can put you in touch with—”

“What’s it to you, anyway?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you coming over here, telling me how to deal with my own kin? I know you’re our landlord and all, but last time I checked, just because we’re your tenants don’t give you the right to mess in our personal lives.”

Ronan took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to overstep. But Sorcha is our neighbor too. And Teal and I care about him, especially since we had to take him to the hospital. We can’t just sit by and watch while you neglect him.”

Dale’s face soured. “Those are strong words. We’ve given him suppressants. Legal ones that we got from a doctor.”

Ronan recalled their visit to the hospital and the horrible Dr. Braswell. “Well, just because a doctor will prescribe it doesn’t make it right. Not all doctors are good at treating omegas, or act in their best interests.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s really your business. You have your own omega to worry about, a right lofty one.” He spat again. “Seems like handling omegas isn’t exactly your specialty, considering the way your husband struts around.”

“Watch it,” Ronan snarled. “I came over here intending to be civil, but if you say one more derogatory thing about Teal, you and I are going to have problems. And you won’t be questioning the way I handle things when you’re on the ground.”

“You threatening me?”

“Nope. Just having a friendly conversation with my tenant. A friendly conversation I hope you take very, very seriously.”

Dale hmphed. “I’ll take it under advisement. But so you know, Abe and I have been thinking about moving out, so I’m not sure how much I care about what you have to say. Best you mind your own business.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. Not wanting to make the situation worse, Ronan turned and walked back to his unit, contemplating Dale’s words. If the betas moved, he and Teal might never see Sorcha again.

At the thought, the little omega’s blueberry jasmine scent manifested in his brain. His nostrils flared. They couldn’t take Sorcha away. Ronan needed to protect him.

***

When Ronan came inside , he found Teal upstairs, supervising the boys while they splashed in the tub. The cozy scene eased some of his irritation.

“Kino, it’s wonderful that your reading has gotten so good,” Teal said gently, “but you don’t need to read the labels on all the product bottles just to annoy your brothers. There are waterproof books in the toy net.”

“Yeah, but you need to read them in your mind,” Garin grumped. “Not out loud like a big, brainy know-it-all.”

“I can’t wait to learn to read,” Zayne chirped to no one in particular, making rivers in the water with his hands.

Teal sat on a stool near the tub. He bent to pick up a plastic whale that had gone over the edge. Zayne squealed when Teal squeezed the toy to release a stream of water across the tiny omega’s shoulders.

“When did you get home?” Ronan asked his husband from the doorway.

“Twenty minutes ago. My eyes were crossing looking at paperwork and Mikel was getting on my last nerve, so I left early.” Teal tugged on his shirtsleeves. “I’ll probably need to get back on my computer after the boys go to bed, but it’s nice not to miss bathtime for a change.”

Ronan pulled Teal up into his arms. The boys made gagging motions but otherwise ignored their parents.

Tension radiated from Teal’s body. “I know you’re tired, baby,” Ronan consoled him. “At least the tribunal will be over soon.”

Teal released a tired breath. “That’s what I keep telling myself.”

“Did Niall go home?”

“Yeah. I let him off since I was here.”

“Good. He deserves it.”

“Definitely.” Teal angled his head back. “By the way, has he mentioned anything to you about a barbeque?”

“Barbeque? No?”

“He said he thought it might be nice if we could get together on the weekend with him and Jax. Have a barbeque in the backyard. Play some games with the kids and whatnot.”

Ronan gave Teal a questioning look. “I mean, I’m always happy to have Niall come over and I’m sure the boys would love to see him on a weekend, but did he have a reason for suggesting a meet-up?”

“It sounded like he wanted to have Jax get to know us better, something about not having separate lives. ” Teal curled his fingers. “I guess it’s really serious between the two of them.”

“Clearly,” Ronan said. “Since they live together now. And Niall’s here so often, I suppose it makes sense he’d want Jax to know our family.”

“That was my thou—” Teal looked sternly toward the tub. “Garin, please share that bubble wand with your brothers.”

“Sorry, Daddy.”

“It’s okay, sweetie.” He lowered his voice again for Ronan.

“Like I was saying, that was my thought as well. Niall also hinted that he’d told Jax about his history with us—the bedroom history—so I’m guessing he thinks it would be good for Jax to see for himself we’re not a threat to their relationship. ”

“We’re not a threat to Jax’s relationship in the sense that we’d never try to entice his boyfriend back into our bed," Ronan said "But there’s obvious chemistry between the three of us. The kind you can’t hide. We can do our best, but I’m only so good of an actor.”

“Niall is a smart man,” Teal responded sagely. “I’m sure he’s thought this through, weighed the pros and cons. If he thinks it’s a good move, we should trust him.”

“You’re right.” Ronan leaned into Teal’s neck and inhaled the delicious scent of honey and lavender. “Let’s ask them over for next Saturday. It’ll still be more than a week until High Court, and you’ll need the distraction.”

Teal nodded tiredly, and Ronan detected a hint of uncertainty in his features. “Baby, is everything okay?” he asked. “Something else on your mind besides work and potentially awkward barbeques?”

The omega glanced down at the oblivious boys splashing in the tub. “I want to talk to you about something else, not an emergency, but we should probably do it away from the kids. Meet me in our room in thirty?”

“Of course.” Ronan felt his heart contract but didn’t push. If Teal said it could wait a few minutes, then it could. He went into their bedroom to change into sweats. Half an hour later, Teal joined him.

“The boys are in the family room watching TV,” Teal said. “I’ll get dinner going in a sec.”

“Alright.” Ronan fell onto the bed.

Teal sat next to him, pulling off the shirt that had gotten soaked from the boys’ bath. Ronan’s mouth watered at the sight of his husband’s sleekly muscled torso.

“I went to the doctor on my lunch break today.”

That sentence ended Ronan’s horny thoughts. “About your heat?”

“Yes. He couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with me. He reminded me that heats are irregular after thirty, and he agreed that stress could be causing the delay.”

“That’s good news, right?” Ronan asked tentatively.

“It certainly could be worse. My immediate concern is keeping my fingers crossed that my heat waits until after High Court.”

“There’s nothing you can do about that. It’ll come when it comes.”

“I’m sure Mr. Schulman and Mr. Carson would prefer I not take the chance.

That I use suppressants. Those two might be heads of a firm that champions omega rights, but deep down, they’re also the type of alphas who believe having heats makes omegas weaker, biologically.

They’d think me having to step away from the tribunal for three or four days to deal with my heat would undermine our position. ”

“Well, luckily, your bosses aren’t in charge of our family. So they don’t get a vote. Besides, using suppressants now, on the verge of heat, could affect it, right? Make it harder to breed?”

Teal nodded gravely. “Even if it affects it only a little, I want to give myself the best chance to get pregnant. You’re still on board with that plan, right?”

“Absolutely. And if it happens during High Court, then we’ll deal with it.”

“Good. Because I want another one of your babies, alpha. One more little Ronan to run around and love for the rest of my life.”

“Make that one more little Teal, and you’ve got a deal.” Ronan kissed his husband’s nose.

***