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Chapter Five

Teal

T eal woke up early the next morning to get in a few hours of work at the office. He hated working Saturdays but knew it would be necessary until the Bannon case went to High Court in a few weeks. If he worked quickly, he might get back home in time to eat lunch with Ronan and the boys.

He stretched his arms above his head, fingers entwined, and felt his shoulders pop.

A few other folks buzzed around the office, but no one bothered him.

Even though he’d made a name for himself as a highly competent lawyer, people in his day-to-day life often treated him like a museum display, something to be stared at, kept apart.

His co-workers were either cordial or hostile, never objectively friendly.

Although he was grateful for everything he’d accomplished, sometimes the industrial-looking gray walls of his corner suite felt like a prison.

Five years ago, he’d been just another low-tier attorney. Stuck doing grunt work and assisting with easy cases. Few omegas went to law school, so merely working for Schulman, Carson & Associates had been a huge win.

But then his bosses saw an opportunity to put their firm on the map.

A case like no other fell into their laps.

Across the state, people had been waking up to the poor treatment of omegas.

Omega rights had become a hot topic. An all-gender rights group approached Mr. Carson to take on a case challenging the existing decree that only alphas and betas could file divorce petitions.

Before that, if an omega wanted to get a divorce, his husband had to agree.

Teal’s firm represented the omega position all the way to High Court, garnering daily media attention.

And to bolster the optics, they’d put their young omega attorney front and center for all of it.

When they’d won the case a year ago, there were celebrations in the streets. Many omegas came forward to tell their stories of being trapped in loveless or even abusive marriages, ecstatic over the prospect of freedom.

Teal McGinn became a household name. His firm gained prestige and recognition.

There had also been detractors. The television commentators who referred to him as an “unnatural” omega, the people who thought omega rights meant the downfall of society.

Teal received threatening emails and letters.

Beyond that, Ronan was subjected to the sneering judgement of other alphas.

Many of them questioned his very alphaness in the face of his support for his husband.

The blustering men on TV couldn’t take it—Ronan had the nerve to be not just tolerant of his omega’s ambitions, but proud of them.

But the blowhards had no effect. Ronan never wavered, steady through it all. Teal could not have asked for a better husband or confidante. It brought them closer together.

At the time, they’d still been involved with Niall.

Teal pulled back after that, terrified his bosses would find out.

Schulman and Carson supported omega rights.

To a point. Discovering their star lawyer was poly and in an open marriage would not have flown.

They were fine with Teal being a well-known member of their firm, but only if he towed the line.

And now, the Bannon case was even higher profile, inviting more scrutiny of Teal and his family.

Omega Dayson Bannon wanted to open a heat service. By decree, only alphas or betas could operate heat services. For single omegas, the current options to get through a heat were to ask an alpha they knew for help or to contract with a heat service.

Over the past twenty years, as people had married later, those services had proliferated.

Because so many new companies had opened in a short span of time, the ability for the state to regulate them had slipped.

Unrepentant alphas and betas had seen the opportunity to make money by cutting corners, improperly vetting heat partners or not addressing omega concerns.

Two years ago, Dayson Bannon had contracted with a heat service that failed to protect him. He’d ended up spending his heat with a rough alpha who didn’t care for him properly through his heat waves. He’d come out of the three-day ordeal dehydrated and sore, taking weeks to fully recover.

Teal shuddered as he read through Dayson’s Low Court testimony.

Dayson only had one opportunity to meet the alpha his local service connected him to before their coupling.

The man had seemed nice enough, but when they’d met for Dayson’s heat, the alpha hadn’t honored the terms of their contract.

Dayson recalled the man grabbing him, pushing him, and using terrible derogatory slurs.

Worst of all, Dayson felt certain that on the second day of his heat, when omegas experienced delirium, the alpha had failed to wear condoms as previously agreed to.

During the tribunal, Dayson broke down describing the stress of wondering if he’d been bred, and his incredible relief at realizing it hadn’t turned out to be a breeding heat.

He’d attempted to hold the heat service accountable, but there weren’t any legal measures available to him.

He hadn’t been bred, and the alpha hadn’t beaten him bad enough to put him in the hospital, so there was no way to get justice for what he’d endured.

The service also refused to blacklist the alpha who’d abused him.

Dayson felt his best course of action was to ensure other omegas didn’t go through what he had. He wanted to open his own heat service, one that could provide more choices.

Besides utilizing a vetted alpha in a traditional manner, he envisioned offering the option of getting through a heat using toys, possibly in conjunction with donor alpha semen, administered by a beta who could penetrate the omega if requested.

Every omega was different, just as every heat was different, and meeting those varying needs drove Dayson in his quest.

During his testimony, he detailed how he could get through his heats without direct contact with alpha semen, using condoms, although that made the experience more uncomfortable.

But not all omegas could endure a heat without alpha semen.

Dayson also told Low Court that he needed to be knotted to get through his heats safely. Not all omegas needed that.

In general, unobstructed ejaculation combined with knotting made heats more manageable and certainly more pleasurable for most omegas.

But not all omegas wanted to share such an intimate experience with an alpha they didn’t know well.

And, obviously, the prospect of being bred existed without condoms, since fifty percent of all heats turned out to be breeding heats, and there was no way to predict them.

For some single omegas, the risk was worth it.

For others, having a more painful heat without the possibility of pregnancy was the better option.

Most alphas who owned heat services didn’t understand these nuances, defining their task as simply connecting needy omegas to willing alphas.

Dayson Bannon imagined a safe heat service that could ensure an omega felt in control of his situation during a very vulnerable time. Because who could put an omega at ease better than another omega?

Teal knew he needed to win this case. The consequences for omega rights, and particularly access to health care, were enormous. He thought of Sorcha next door. Or even little Zayne. He grimaced imagining either of them experiencing what Dayson had.

The case had already worked its way through Low Court, which had declared High Court needed to decide.

Teal felt good about their chances, but since High Court judges turned over every two years, this would be a different panel than the one that had granted omegas divorce rights. So it wasn’t a slam dunk.

Teal continued poring over Low Court testimony.

The musky odor of forest moss pulled him from his task. Teal peered up as Mikel Donahue, an alpha lawyer, appeared in his office doorway.

“Still trying to do a real man’s job?” Mikel scoffed. “Guess you have to work Saturdays because you’re too slow to get the work done during the week.”

Teal squared his shoulders and sniffed the air. He didn’t understand how some alphas could smell so bad. Not like Ronan’s delicious peppery sage scent. “Well, you’re here. Does that mean you’re slow too?”

The alpha’s eyes narrowed. “Some of us actually have to earn our place at this firm.”

Teal pinched the bridge of his nose before exhaling. “Did you come to my office just to be a dick? Go away so I can work.”

Instead of leaving, Mikel advanced toward the desk. “If any other omega spoke to me the way you do, I’d put them on their back and show them just what they’re good for,” he snarled. “You only get away with this shit because Schulman and Carson need you to look good for the cameras.”

Mikel seethed with righteousness. But Teal had been dealing with angry, ignorant alphas for years.

“Never, ever talk casually about forcing yourself on omegas again,” he said levelly.

“I haven’t reported you yet because everything you’ve said to me these past five years has sounded like the ramblings of a butthurt little troll.

But one more word about that , and I’ll file a complaint so fast your head will spin.

” Teal stood up and pointed at his door. “Get. Out.”

Putting his palms up, Mikel backed into the hallway. “Fine. But it isn’t always going to be so easy for you. Someday you’re going to make a mistake. And you won’t be the firm’s darling anymore.” He flipped Teal the bird before heading down the hall.