Page 13 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Thirteen

T here was a long silence before I head shuffling on the other end. The fridge door opened and closed as well as the kettle being filled and the burner turning on. I waited before I heard him set down a mug or glass on the counter.

“Marcus…that’s harsh.”

“It was. However, with the mix between being upset that I wouldn’t see you today and the fact that we had already talked about him not dropping off the kids without telling me...” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I am just so frustrated with him right now. The kids don’t deserve this. They woke up here. Without even knowing they were coming. He can’t keep doing whatever he wants like this. He takes being Alpha of the pack seriously but everything else he still acts like a teenager.”

Colton sighed on the other end. “You can’t fix him, Marcus. Threatening to take his kids isn’t going to make it better. He’s already had that happen. Doesn’t he have another one on the way? He’s under a lot of stress.”

“I’m sorry. I know…I know this hits home for you. That it was what you were originally worried about with me. I just…these are my kids too. I reluctantly gave them back to Keith because he had changed. He wanted to be better and he was. He really was an excellent father. He knew he had been in the wrong and he did everything he could to fix it.”

“Was?”

He caught my word choice and I closed my eyes for a moment. “After Audrey was born, he just…slid back. It wasn’t like he hadn’t dealt with a little one before. His attitude and demeanor toward them changed. He started abandoning them at everyone doorsteps. Getting mad they were growing up but refusing to help teach them. Keith’s been on a destructive path and now Queen is pregnant again. Mom and Dad had the kids the last two weekends. I had them three weeks ago. Now again this weekend? This is getting to be too much. They need stability.”

“He’s your family though. Wouldn’t you want to support him? Not tear his family apart?”

Sighing, I rubbed my forehead. “Yes, thank you, Colt. I was in the wrong. Still. If he doesn’t pick them up by seven in the evening that’s what is happening.”

“How about you bring the kids, we meet at the mall, and we just enjoy the day? Not worry about it right now? Yeah?”

I snorted. “Nice try. How about I’ll pick you up and we got to the mall together?”

“Because it’s in the completely opposite direction! I can take the bus.”

“Colton.”

“Marcus.”

We both were silent for a while before I growled. “Fine. Tell me when you leave though and when you get to the mall. Make sure Mike is tracking you. I don’t want you alone for too long.”

Colton chuckled. “Are you and Mike friends now?”

“Friends? Absolutely not. However, we do share the common goal of keeping you safe.”

His exasperated sigh made me smile. “What time?”

“The kids are eating right now and the mall doesn’t open until eleven.”

“We can meet for lunch then.”

My dragon wasn’t happy about not seeing him earlier but having a plan helped. “Sounds good. Message me.”

“I will.” There was a pause. “Thank you…for yesterday. I don’t think I could have snapped out of it without you.”

“Always, Colt. I will aways be there for you.”

He snorted. “Whether I want you to or not. Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

Hanging up the phone, I looked at it. It was on the tip of my tongue. I’d nearly let it slip out too. I love you. My heart raced just thinking about it and I tried to shake it off. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I headed back down. The kids were deep into their waffles and I joined them, grabbing two off the stack.

“Was Daddy?” Audrey as soon as she finished chewing her food.

“No.” I narrowed my eyes for a moment. “Do you guys remember the shifter who helped Ellen pick out her witch outfit?”

Audrey raised her hand first. “Horsey!”

A snort slipped out and I chuckled. Mason shook his head.

“Not horsey . His name was Colt. Like a horse but he isn’t a horse. He’s a wolf shifter, right?”

I nodded. “He was the one I was planning on seeing this morning. He is going to meet us at the mall for lunch and go shopping with us. If that’s okay.”

“Of course! He was really nice, I liked him. He knew a lot of things.”

Mason was watching me as I ate. I raised an eyebrow at him but I didn’t ask with my mouth full of waffle.

“Are you seeing him?”

Audrey let off a single laugh. “We see him! He coming with!”

“No…ugh. Not what I meant, Rey. I mean, is Colt your boyfriend?”

Sitting back in the chair, I looked at all three of my nieces and nephew. “So, only your Aunt Beatrice and Aunt Lauren know. I want to keep it that way for a little while because we are still figuring things out.”

“We know secret!” Audrey eyes widened.

Ellen looked absolutely thrilled. “Are you serious? Like…is this a mate thing? Are you getting a mate, Uncle Mar?”

“I did provide a courting gift.”

The sound of squeals filled my house and even Mason was smiling wide. “It’s about time.”

I looked at Mason before punching his arm softly.

“What? It’s true. I liked Colt though. He seemed…down to earth. Nice and willing to help. He also thought about us first when there was danger.” Mason looked down at plate. “I’m not sure even Dad would do that.”

Ellen must have kicked him under the table because he glared at her after hissing. This was an absolute mess. A day at the mall was apparently much needed. My parents would probably be flying in to give me an earful after Keith would complain without giving any context to the conversation. That was going to be fun.

“Alright. Let’s finish up. We can have some time running around outside and then head to the mall for lunch. Sound good?”

“Sounds good!” Ellen and Audrey said together.

Looking over at Mason, he was still staring at his waffles. I reached out and rubbed his back. His eyes caught mine and I could see anger but most of all, I saw the frustrated tears. Giving him a smile, I passed some of the whipped cream over to him and he rubbed his eyes until the tears were gone. We really needed to have a sit-down as a family. Otherwise, there would be some explosions.

Pulling the double doors open, the kids raced into the mall to get out of the freezing cold. Next week there was supposed to be a snowstorm, but the temperature had already dropped considerably. We were estimated to get some snow during the week but it hadn’t snowed quite yet. I stepped in after holding the door open for a couple leaving.

“Colt!”

I smiled as I saw Colton down at eye level with the kids, talking with them. He looked up at me and there was a softness to his expression. Turning back, he gave the kids his best smile.

“How have you guys been? I feel like it’s been ages! Did you guys grow taller? Next thing I know, you’ll be taller than me!”

Mason chuckled. “That’s not very hard.”

Colton clutched the front of his jacket. “My heart. It can’t take such a burn.”

Laughing, I shook my head and messed up Mason’s hair. “Be nice. Colt is just snack-sized.”

“No want snack size! I want family size!” Aubrey innocently yelled.

I knew she was talking about candy bars but Colton and I both blushed. Mason chuckled and I saw the twinkle in Ellen’s eyes. She turned and put both her hands on Colton’s cheeks, very seriously.

“Are you okay? You don’t look to good.”

Covering her hands, he pressed into her right hand. ‘Thank you, El. I’ve been a little sick but I’m getting better.”

She nodded and then kissed his forehead. “Good. Uncle Mar would worry about you if you were. We can’t have that.”

He looked up at me and I put my hands up. “They know…our secret.”

Colton stood up and cocked his head to the side. “Secret? I thought you were planning on telling your family?”

“I was. Well, I was going to surprise them at Thanksgiving but we ended up not going. It just never came up again. I’ll get an earful from my parents tomorrow.”

He frowned and shook his head. “Alright. What are we here for? New clothes? Magical items? Maybe some lemonade?”

“All of the above!” Ellen smiled brightly.

Reaching out, I pulled Colton to me. Since I didn’t need to pretend in front of the kids, I leaned down and kissed him. His hands pressed against my chest to try and push me away, but there wasn’t any resistance. Instead, he melted into me.

“Gross.”

“I don’t know, I think they are cute.”

“You would say.”

“What? That I believe in love? Not all of us can be…what’s the word?”

“Why would I insult myself?”

“Mas!”

It was Audrey who broke me. “Love! Kissy!”

I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh and so did Colton. He looked up at me and I was happy to see a little light back in his eyes. A far cry from yesterday.

“Come on. Let’s go tire these rascals out.”

“If they don’t tire us out first.” Colton made an excellent point.

Audrey came up and held out her hands to Colton, he got back down on her level to speak to her. “I’m sorry, little one. I can’t lift you today. I wish I could, but I don’t want to drop you.”

Her face fell but I reached down and picked her up, setting her on my shoulder. “You’ll just have to deal with ducking through doorways with me.”

“Fine.”

The sass and the exasperated sigh that came out of her made us all laugh. Ellen took Colt’s hand while Mason walked surprisingly close to Colton with his hands shoved in his pockets. I walked with Audrey on my shoulder for about a minute before we entered the first clothing store. Ellen took Audrey and Mason wandered off to boys clothes.

Colton was looking at some of the clothes when I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and let my chin rest on his head. “What are you thinking about?”

“Are…are there any traditions I need to know about? Like…do you get them specific first presents or…something?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Not really. I think the first big milestone for us, after birth, is when we first fully shift. Taking our full form means we find out what kind of dragon we are as well. That dictates our middle names.”

His head cocked to the side. “So you don’t get middle names until then?”

“Correct.”

“And the middle name…coincides with the type of dragon.”

I nodded into his head. “Like mine is Blaze. Keith’s is Firestorm. Dad’s is Inferno.”

“What about Beau and your Mom? Aren’t they ice dragons?”

“So Mom’s middle name is Snow and Beau’s is Crystal.”

He chuckled. “That makes sense. When I first met her, she made a crystal the exact color of my eyes.”

“What about wolves? Do they?”

Shrugging, I could feel his shoulders slum a bit more. “I don’t actually know. I was the youngest. So there wasn’t much precedent. I was the last one in our generation. Though, I don’t think anyone would predict I would be the first one having the next generation.” This made him chuckle and I smiled.

Turning him around, I stole another kiss before I looked him over. “Then we will make our own.”

“Sounds good.” His brow furrowed for a moment. “Wait…that would mean…a tradition…would happen…more than one time.”

The blush splashed across his face made me laugh and I kissed his head before walking off to the girls. They already had a pile accumulating to try on. Glancing back, Colton was staring at me but rooted in his spot in complete shock. Mason pulled him out of it by asking him something and he tore his eyes away from me before speaking to my nephew.

He was so easy to rile up. I turned back to my nieces and followed as Ellen dragged Audrey with her into the dressing room. Standing out front, I crossed my arms over my chest as I waited. There was giggling and hushing as they tried on a few things. Though, they only came out twice to ask my opinion. Colton and Mason joined us, after Mason picked out a couple items. We walked out of the store with three bags and continued into the next store.

It was after five stores that even I was getting tired. Colton had somehow convinced Ellen and Audrey to play at the playground while we leaned against a pillar. Mason, obviously too old to play, sat on the edge of a planter reading his new book. Suddenly, Colton turned into me and his body pressed against mine.

The look on his face didn’t show that it was him trying to be cute. It reflected panic and worry. Putting my hands on his hips, I pulled out his bun so that his hair fell and I tucked it behind his ear. He looked up at me and it was actually a little shocking. Colton rarely had his hair down but it completely changed the way his face looked.

My heart beat fast and before I realized it, my dragon stepped forward. He kissed Colton and pulled him even closer. A voice floated through the air as a group of shifters passed us. I didn’t catch what they were saying but it was a voice I knew. Pulling away from Colton, I glanced to the side.

Sure enough, his sister was with a group of girls. They all were dressed up and I saw a crown on his sisters head. Colton leaned his forehead against my chest.

“I guess she finally chose a mate.”

“Or your parents did for her.”

He giggled. “I hope so. I hope they chose the closest pack. All she wanted was to get out of the country and be pampered like a princess. No one was going to do that in the states, according to her.”

I let out a sigh. “Well, at the very least, one of your family members can be happy with the person they mate.”

As soon as I said it, I realized I had made an assumption about Colton. Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. Colton laughed pushing up against me, now that his sister was gone.

“I’d probably be the first one in the history of the entire Fisher name. Not just my immediate family.”

My heart soared and I let out a sigh of relief. Reaching out, I brushed his cheek. He leaned into my touch much like he had with Ellen earlier. I knew he still wasn’t feeling well. There were moments I could see him fighting tears but the kids would distract him and he’d pull himself back together.

“You’re so strong, little wolf. I can only hope to make you happy for as long as you let me. You bring so much joy and fulfillment to mine.”

Colton nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Uncle Mar! We are hungry!” Ellen gave me a jump scare and I put my hand behind my head.

“Alright. What would you like?”

All three of them gave me a different answer and I rolled my eyes.

“To the food court we go.”

Slipping my hand into Colton’s, I laced my fingers between his. We gathered up the mess of purchases and headed back in the direction of the food court. Ellen walked next to me before she pulled on my jeans. I let Colton go and he took Audrey’s hand, hip checking Mason as he walked. Mason tried to do the same but missed and I laughed. Turning my attention to Ellen, I went down on one knee for her.

“What’s up, sweetheart?”

“I like Colt.”

Smiling, holding back my laughter, I nodded. “I do too.”

“I approve.”

Kissing her forehead, I rubbed my kiss away before standing back up and taking her hand. “I’m so glad you approve. I guess that means we can mate.”

“Exactly. Before my birthday.”

My eyebrow rose. “Oh, and why’s that?”

“I want Colt to come to my birthday and I want to introduce him as my Uncle.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I’ll see what I can do.”