Page 50

Chapter Thirty-One

Teal

B y Thursday morning, the cramping in Teal’s belly was so bad he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get dressed.

Ronan had already left for work. Teal had been able to sleep in a little due to a bomb threat which had pushed the morning’s court proceedings back a few hours.

But the extra rest didn’t seem to have helped much, accompanied as it was by so much pain.

Teal hobbled out of bed and into the bathroom, chewing six antacids in quick succession. After a few minutes, he could breathe again and drink half a glass of water. Moving gingerly about the room, he dressed, doing his best not to alert Niall, Sorcha, or Jax to how much trouble he was having.

Deep breathing helped a little, but not always.

His symptoms frustrated him, since they appeared to have no pattern or consistent effect.

Sometimes he felt like he needed to throw up or use the bathroom.

But most of the time it was just pain. Usually stabbing, occasionally more of a debilitating dull ache.

On Monday, he’d woken up feeling better, and Tuesday had been okay, but yesterday he’d gone downhill.

Sorcha sleeping in the bed with them helped.

They were too exhausted to do anything remotely sexy, but being surrounded by his partners made him feel better.

It also made him feel better knowing Niall and Jax were downstairs, and he admitted to himself he wished they were closer.

The strength he drew from his family was the only thing that soothed him.

Other than the fact that the tribunal was going exceedingly well.

Teal had presented more witnesses than the state, and the testimony had gone great, even though Teal had to use a lot of his energy to keep from keeling over.

If needed, he knew he could have Schulman or Carson lead the day’s proceedings. But after a year of preparation, Teal really wanted to see it through.

After his opening prose, he’d questioned witness after witness. Omegas telling horror stories about unscrupulous alphas running heat services. Omegas who’d been roughed up, those who’d had their heats mismanaged, and most disturbingly, several who’d been forced into breeding and pregnancy.

But High Court wasn’t deciding whether these terrible things had happened or would continue to happen. The question before them was whether giving omegas the right to own and operate heat service facilities was part of the solution to the problem.

Based on the judges’ empathetic responses to the witnesses, along with the state’s lackluster cross-examination and seeming reluctance to provide a vigorous defense of the status quo, it appeared the initial signs that this tribunal would go Teal’s way were correct.

Dayson would testify today, outlining how he would run a heat service differently. He was a compelling person, and Teal looked forward to helping him make the case for himself.

Teal also hoped those ignorant alphaholes shouting outside the courthouse would be able to accept the decision when it came, assuming they ruled in the omegas’ favor as Teal suspected they would.

As the antacids kicked in, he felt much better. He mustered smiles and kisses for the boys and Sorcha, along with goodbye hugs for Niall and Jax, before meeting Barden and his guard at the curb.

Even with his stomach pains, Teal still had an appetite, so he kept up the ritual of stopping at Fontaine’s.

Brinn was there, as he’d been every day of High Court. Teal smiled fondly at the bubbly omega barista, asking, “How was your weekend?”

“Great. Mostly on shift here.”

Brinn motioned to his co-worker to grab Teal’s bagel while he started making his latte.

From speaking with Brinn, Teal knew the other barista—a gruff alpha—was the owners’ son, Percy.

Apparently, there was a bit of rivalry between Brinn and Percy since Percy’s family adored Brinn, their best employee.

Brinn also hinted that Percy once made a pass at him and got upset when the omega turned him down.

Percy shoved Teal’s bagel in front of him, making a derisive grunting noise. Without a word, he disappeared back into the kitchen.

“I see Percy is his usual charming self,” Teal said.

Brinn shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t mind him. He’s mad because his parents are talking about making me the day manager.”

“Day manager. Impressive.” Teal grinned.

“Hopefully, you win the tribunal,” Brinn said wistfully.

“I can see myself building a career here, carving out a life for myself on my own terms. I’m grateful my parents emancipated me when I graduated high school, but knowing I could also manage my heats, that I had more options than asking an alpha friend for help, would really ease my mind. ”

***

Brinn’s earnest hope that Teal would prevail fueled him through the rest of his day.

The tense knots grinding in his stomach seemed to ease, and Teal didn’t rush past the protesters in front of the courthouse.

Sandwiched between two security officers, he ignored their taunts as he walked up the steps in a dignified manner.

Dayson would be his only witness for the day.

When Teal arrived in the courtroom, his bosses and Dayson were already seated behind the table.

Mikel sat at a smaller console table behind them.

Teal caught the young alpha’s eyes narrowing at Dayson, something that had happened several times the previous week.

He wondered again if Mikel was involved with the threats to Dayson or the brick-throwing incident at the McGinn house.

Teal conceded that Mikel had been diligent about cataloging their evidence and witness statements, certainly appearing to do his part to help the firm win the case.

And he’d been solicitous in his dealings with Dayson, especially since Dayson’s attack.

Teal just didn’t know if it was genuine or an elaborate ruse.

As Dayson walked to stand behind the witness podium, Teal took a deep breath, steadying his nerves and willing the crunching pains in his stomach to remain light enough for him to function.

After preliminary questioning where Dayson explained to the court how his scientific background and field of study made him both qualified for and interested in running a heat service, Teal gave him several opportunities to elaborate.

“Why do you think it’s important for omegas to have the ability to run heat services?”

Dayson cleared his throat and straightened his spine.

“There are so many reasons beyond just the potential for horror stories that we hear about. Even when conscientious alphas run heat services, there are still omegas who are uncomfortable speaking honestly with alphas about what they need. Meaning even well-intentioned alphas might get it wrong, simply because they don’t have the information. ”

“Can you expand on that?”

“Of course. Since I began my quest to open a heat service, I’ve spoken with many omegas who used reputable heat services but still had less-than-desirable experiences.

For example, some omegas don’t enjoy using toys.

Others have an aversion to being kissed.

More than a few told me the alphas they were matched with treated them too delicately, that their instincts were demanding something rougher. ”

“But these omegas didn’t feel like they could ask for these things?”

“No. They were uncomfortable going into specifics with the alpha doing the intake at the service. Then, of course, once they were in process with the alphas they’d been paired with, asking for what they wanted became even more difficult. So they didn’t.”

“Instead, they suffered through unsatisfying heats?”

The lawyer for the state issued a half-hearted protest that Teal was leading the witness.

“I retract the question,” Teal said. He turned back to Dayson. “Okay. These omegas didn’t ask for what they needed. Wouldn’t the simple solution be to encourage them to do so? And to tell alpha heat services owners to make more of an effort?”

“That would certainly be desirable. There’s no such thing as too much pre-work when it comes to matching a vulnerable omega with a virtual stranger.

But as I said, a lot of omegas don’t feel comfortable asking for what they need from alphas they don’t know.

We all live in the same society and understand that for decades upon decades, omegas were taught that their principal duty was to bend to the will of alphas.

It’s only recently that school of thought has come into question.

Many omegas are still timid. And, as a biologist, I can attest to the fact that omegas are more hard-wired than alphas to be docile. It’s in our nature to play peacemaker.”

“But you don’t think the same thing would happen with an omega heat service coordinator?”

“No. The natural pheromone compatibility omegas have—what folks generally refer to as the ‘omega bond’—makes it more likely that they can have an honest conversation.”

As Dayson went into detail about how omegas tended to relate to one another more authentically than they did with alphas, other than with their alpha family and friends, Teal thought about the pheromones.

He made a mental note to ask Dayson later how it was possible he could scent Sorcha, and vice versa.

“Do you think there is other harm caused by well-meaning alphas running heat services? We just talked about omegas who have difficulty speaking up for themselves. But earlier, you mentioned there were more reasons.”