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Chapter Thirty-Three

Teal

“ N o offense, Brinn, but your co-worker looks at you the way the protesters outside the courthouse look at me.”

“Percy? Nah. He’s grumpy to be sure, but essentially harmless. I know his parents pretty well, since they’re my bosses, and they’re mild-mannered.”

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t raise an alphahole.”

“Maybe.” Brinn shrugged, passing Teal his bagel. Since the other omega didn’t seem concerned, Teal didn’t push it.

“Thanks.”

“How many witnesses do you think the state will call today?” Brinn asked.

“They only had five on their list total. I’m not sure how many they’ll get through. At least a few, I hope. It would be nice to get to closing proses by Wednesday.”

Teal rubbed his fist against the persistent dull pain in his stomach.

It had been wonderful to be intimate with his partners last night.

He’d certainly slept well. But although he felt better, he was still at only about half his usual energy level.

He’d tried not to let it show too much, because he needed to keep his attention on the tribunal.

But he desperately wanted it to be over so he could focus on his health.

He was terrified the doctors would tell him the problems had something to do with his heat.

And even when his logical brain told him Sorcha’s babies meant they could still expand their family, he dreamed of sharing one more breeding heat with Ronan.

He remembered the ecstasy when they’d made Zayne.

He wanted it again. And he wanted to include all his partners in the experience.

Brinn noticed Teal’s pained grimace. “Stomach still bothering you?”

“It improved over the weekend but now it seems to be getting bad again.”

“Just in time for High Court? Must be the stress.”

Percy kept looking over at them, narrowing his eyes at Brinn. Teal gave the young alpha a hard stare. Percy responded by throwing a towel down on the glass counter and shoving his way angrily through the door leading to the kitchen. Brinn watched his co-worker’s display and rolled his eyes.

***

The state got through all their witnesses on Monday, leaving no doubt that they did not intend to mount a staunch defense.

Teal’s stomach cramps grew more intense.

Twice during the afternoon, he had to excuse himself from the courtroom to go into the bathroom to writhe in pain.

Thankfully, there was a private restroom for lawyers, petitioners, and judges, so Teal didn’t need to worry about nosy journalists or members of the public following him.

And it would have been easy enough for Schulman or Carson to handle the cross-examination of the state’s witnesses if Teal needed a longer break. Luckily, he hadn’t.

But whether Teal’s illness would affect the outcome of the tribunal had little bearing on how his obvious infirmity was perceived. The cameras in the courtroom captured both his aggrieved facial expressions and his requests to break.

The talking heads on TV were hypothesizing as to why Teal appeared so ill.

They questioned if he was experiencing symptoms of impending heat.

Teal’s behavior gave fuel to the blowhards on the pro-alpha channels, who used the speculation to emphasize their point that omegas weren’t fit for certain professions.

Such as being a lawyer. Or running a heat service.

Schulman and Carson took Teal at his word that he was merely experiencing some stress-induced intestinal symptoms. They all hoped Teal would be able to conduct the closing prose.

Dayson would likely win no matter what, but for the sake of history, the older alphas felt like Teal should be the one to deliver the last word on the case.

The third time Teal excused himself to the bathroom, Mikel muscled his way in after him.

“What are you doing, Mikel!?” Teal cried, clutching his stomach. “Get out of here.”

Mikel’s features maintained their grumpy aloofness, but Teal saw the change in his eyes. This wasn’t the gruff alpha who had been his rival for years. This was his long-term colleague, who seemed to have finally developed a grudging respect for Teal’s capabilities.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Teal,” Mikel insisted. “Let me help you.”

Teal gnashed his teeth together as the pain hit him just below his belly button. He sank down into a squat, face contorted in agony as he pointed wanly at the messenger bag he’d dropped on the floor. “My…bag.”

“Stars, Teal. You’re really in pain. You need to get to a hospital.” Mikel ran a hand through his hair.

“No. The antacids help…for a while.” Teal reached into the bag and opened the nearly empty bottle, taking out six and chewing them down.

The relief that came wasn’t enough where he could honestly say he felt okay, but he’d be able to function until High Court ended for the day.

He uncapped his water bottle, taking several healthy sips.

Then he unzipped a banana and brought it to his mouth.

“You’re okay to eat?” Mikel asked, grabbing the bottle from Teal’s hand and assisting him to a standing position.

“Yeah. Whatever this is, it doesn’t seem to affect me that way. For the first few days, I tried to starve it out of my system, but that seemed to make it worse.”

“It’s not what they say on TV? Heat stuff?”

If Teal could have managed it, he would have snorted. Mikel was typical of younger alphas, so confounded by omegas and their heats.

“No. It’s just regular old illness, I think. Maybe flu or something. I’ll go to the doctor after High Court. For now, I’m just trying to make it through.”

Mikel nodded, helping Teal dampen a wad of paper towels from the dispenser and wipe off his flushed skin.

It was bizarre for Teal, accepting help from Mikel.

But he had a fundamental belief that people could change, and it didn’t surprise him that falling for a strong omega like Dayson had given Mikel a better worldview.

Teal wondered if he could finally have a true friend at work.

Or at least less of an adversary. He’d settle for that.

Stars knew he would have enough trouble after High Court dealing with the type of alphas who painted AINO on trucks and threw bricks with no regard for Teal’s children.

More enlightened alphas in his life would be welcome.

“Thank you, Mikel. I appreciate that you came in after me.”

The state’s last witness was a current heat service owner whose major objection to having omegas own them was that he “worried omegas would be better at it and put the alpha-owned services out of business.”

Good grief. The state wasn’t even trying.

As High Court wrapped up for the day, Teal chomped two more antacids. He’d asked Dayson to have dinner with his family that night, so they left the courthouse together.

The crowd of alphas on the steps seemed to have dwindled since the first week of the tribunal, although Teal guessed the others would be back later in the week, when the judges issued their decision.

But the protestors who remained, the ones who had attended each day without fail, seemed to be the most vicious.

One of them spat at Dayson’s feet as the two omegas walked to the waiting car, followed by their security teams. As usual, Teal kept his head high and didn’t dignify their vitriol with a response.

“Why do you keep excusing yourself from court, you omega fucker?” an incredibly large alpha shouted at Teal. He cupped his groin lewdly. “Do you need a good stuffing from a real alpha cock to make you right?”

Teal’s lips curled in disgust.

Dayson tapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t let it get to you. He’s just mad they’re gonna lose.”

Teal nodded, but after getting into the car, he peered back at the alpha. The man looked sideways to make sure the police officers nearby weren’t watching before he glared at Teal and made a slit-across-the-throat-motion with his index finger.