Page 26 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Twenty-Six

W e were eating at the table when Marcus’ phone started to ring. I was already into my third pancake after finishing all my fruit, as was the rule laid out by him. He looked at it, frowned and then silenced it. It rang again almost immediately and Marcus sighed.

“Take it. I don’t mind. I’m almost done anyways.” I’d already talked myself out of taking a fourth pancake, not wanting to push it.

“I’m sorry. It’s Dad. He knows you’re still here too. So it must be something.”

He stood up, taking his phone and plate with him into the kitchen. Answering it, he walked into a door I hadn’t explored yet. I assumed it was an office or another guest room. Finishing off my pancake, I padded into the kitchen and started washing the dishes.

I nearly dropped a plate I was putting into the cabinet when Marcus roared from inside the room. Freezing for a moment, I looked back at the room but he hadn’t come out yet. Setting the plate down, I continued to finish the dishes and clear off the table as I glanced at the door every so often. Finishing, I walked over to the fireplace and picked up a few logs.

“Colt! Let me take care of that.”

My yelp was louder than I wished it was. “It’s not a big deal.”

Marcus sighed and came over, grabbing the logs out of my hands. He placed them in the fireplace, completely ignoring that it still had to be ridiculously hot. Clicking his tongue, he reignited the fire and made sure the logs caught before closing the glass.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. It’s fine. I just need to go somewhere right now.”

My head turned slowly to look outside. It was probably at the height of the snowstorm. The wind was so strong that sometimes it would shake the windows. Looking back at Marcus, the frown on his face was deep.

“Are you sure you have to go now? Can’t you wait for the storm to pass?”

He shook his head. “I need to go now. Don’t worry though. I heat my core and so I only get a little wet. If it touches my scales, it will just evaporate.”

Nodding, I looked down. “Can I help?”

Coming up to me, he kissed my head and smiled. “Make sure if you are still hungry, snack. I might be gone through lunch so you need to make sure you eat. Did you want me to prep something before I go?”

“I’m not a child.” I puffed out my cheeks and realized that probably made it worse.

“Okay. I’m taking my phone. I won’t have it while shifted but message me, alright? Call me if something happens. If you can’t get ahold of me and there is an emergency call Beau.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I’ll be fine .”

“The generator will continue to run but it will automatically turn off if the power comes back. Just as a head up. Also, I’ll make sure to clear the water pipes before I leave to make sure they aren’t freezing. I can bring back something if you need it as well…”

“Marcus.” I took his head in my hands. “I will be fine. I’m safer here than anywhere. Go. Come back safe. Don’t eat the yellow snow.”

He chuckled but there was still worry written all over his face. “Fine. I’m bringing something back though.”

There was no use telling him no. Marcus swept through the house with a righteous fury grabbing clothes, his phone, laptop and a couple other things. He gave me a peck on the cheek as I held the back door open for him. After he pulled back, he thought better of it and swept me up into another one of his all-consuming kisses before walking with his bag through the snow.

Except the snow never touched him. His feet hit the deck as the snow melted around him like a fiery forcefield. Tossing his bag into the middle of the clearing, Marcus jumped off the deck and shifted, lifting into the air. Even in the blizzard, his red scales were bright and I watched as he melted the snow around the house.

Swooping down, Marcus picked up the bag that was sitting on the snow and flew over the house. Stepping back inside, I shivered as I closed the door. I stood in front of the fireplace for a moment, looking at the empty house. It really did seem unbelievably bigger without him in it. Even in human form, he filled the space. Now, it all felt too big.

Grabbing my phone off the counter, I snuggled into the couch and dialed Mike’s number.

“Well, he didn’t eat you at least.”

I snorted.

“Ew. I didn’t need to know that.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled the blanket that had been tossed over the back of the couch on top of me. “How are you holding up? Is the city still out of power?”

“Most of it. The school is good. They employ witches to keep the generators and stuff going. Everything else is a mess. Not that anyone can get around. Even the snow plows have given up.”

“I hope everyone at the apartment got out and to a place that does have power.” I frowned, wondering if the Lawrence kids were able to find a place with having five of them and not a lot of disposable income.

Mike sighed. “You and your bleeding heart. Speaking of, why are you calling? I thought you would be getting to know our dear Professor Dreamboat intimately .”

“I hate you.”

“I love you. Seriously, though, what’s up?”

I shook my head. “Marcus got a call from his dad and then needed to take off.”

“In the middle of a blizzard?”

“I thought it was odd as well. He also seemed really agitated about it. More than just having to fly through a snowstorm.”

Mike’s keyboard was so loud I had to move my ear way from the phone. I never understood why he needed to get the loudest mechanical keyboard in existence but he built it himself. Everything in his three screen, two computer, mouse, controller, split keyboard, setup he put together himself.

“Anything else?”

“Do female Omegas shift while pregnant?”

The sound of his typing stopped. “You don’t shift while pregnant.”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I laid down on the couch after swapping the phone on speaker. “Obviously, dumbass. I mean like partially shifting. Losing control of their emotions and their ability to hold back their wolf.”

Mike was quiet for a moment and I could hear the smirk in his tone. “Colton, have you been partially shifting when the professor gets you excited?”

“Mike!” I yelled at him, burying my face in the blankets. “Yes.”

“That is adorable! Your little black ears are such a stark contrast to your hair. Plus, you are way softer than any shifter I have ever come across. You are like a stuffed animal.”

I tucked the blanket in behind me, fully becoming a Colton burrito. “Tail too.”

“Tail too?” His voice rose. “Usually your tail stays put! Wow. I mean, I’ll look it up. See if that’s something that happens. I’ll be honestly, I haven’t seen it myself.”

“I was going to talk to Dr. Cardiff about it next week. So it’s not a big deal if you can’t find anything. It’s just becoming a problem.”

Mike chortled. “Oh, that’s the problem? Not that you’re the first Omega-10 in the last three thousand years or that you are literally half-dragon. None of that strikes you as odd. Just a little partial shifting when you get excited, that’s the issue here.”

Groaning, I curled up tighter. “What can I do about it? It’s not like I’m going to call my mother and ask her where she got some thousand year old semen and why she even bothered to have me. How do you think that conversation would go?”

“I mean, it sounds like it was a pack thing, not a Fisher family thing. If it was the previous Alpha who wanted to try and get an Omega…then they would have chosen your mother simply because she was a level ten.”

“It doesn’t make sense. My mom wasn’t an Alpha.”

Mike chuckled. “Sure. It also isn’t supposed to work with a male omega getting a female pregnant, but here we are. Plus, I’m sure they just took an egg and messed around with it before putting completing the process. Who knows what they tried to trick the sperm into thinking it’s an Alpha. Or…”

“Can we not? Please. I’m here. I’m a level ten. I am fucked. These are all facts that I can’t change. It doesn’t matter freaking out about them because I can’t do anything about it!” My voice rose and I swallowed hard.

“Then why are you crying?”

I scoffed. “I’m not…”

“You know that Professor Dreamboat has security cameras set up, right?”

Reaching up, I touched my cheeks and realized I was. Ducking under the blankets and taking a deep breath, I growled at Mike.

“Fuck you.”

He chortled. “I love you too. Now…let’s see…oh…” His voice dropped and I popped my head out of the blankets.

“What? Partial shifting isn’t a thing?”

“No. The Panther pack, Dark Night, submitted a review to the council.”

I cocked my head to the side. “What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“They are citing Marcus Alford and the Alford family as the opposition.”

Sitting up, I grabbed the phone and looked down at it. “What do you mean?”

“They are…let’s see…the Council recognizes the request…blah blah…from Ebony Kristen Blackfell, that Marcus wrongfully led Miss Blackfell on…blah blah…doctor’s have confirmed that Miss Blackfell suffers from imprinting due to Mr. Alford’s action.”

“ Imprinting ? What the hell is imprinting?”

Mike sighed. “Imprinting is just a way of saying someone fell in love with another person. Usually one-sided.”

“Mike, I don’t want the dumbed down version this time. Marcus told me he loved me too. That doesn’t mean he imprinted on me.”

I head him chuckling before typing a bit. “I mean, he actually might have, Colt. He might have imprinted on you back in the bar for all we know. If anything it would explain why his dragon is the way it is around you. Imprinting is something that happens only to our animalistic side. There isn’t a real way of diagnosing it though, which is why saying that a doctor confirmed it is bull. It’s like a mental marking. You’ve imprinted on someone then it supposedly means that your animalistic soul has accepted the other as their mate already and will refuse anyone else.”

“What…what does it mean to bring it before the Council?”

“It means they want to force Marcus to take responsibility and mark her. Take her as his mate.”

My world suddenly tilted and I jumped off the couch. I wasn’t going to make it to the bathroom and so the kitchen sink was the closest I could manage. Throwing up, I held onto the edge of the sink because my legs felt like jelly. I’d managed to go a few days without throwing up. Now, I felt everything from breakfast leave me.

Leaning my forehead against the faucet, I let the cold water run before sinking to the floor. Had I lost him before even getting the chance? I started to laugh. Miss Ebony just outplayed me. Originally, I’d felt a little jealous of her. The way Mike, Beau, and Marcus spoke about the incident with her made it seem silly. It turned out that it was so much of a bigger deal than that.

“Colt…” I heard Mike on the speaker and I continued to laugh.

Turning around, I leaned my back against the kitchen cabinets with my feet pressed against the other side. Leaning my head back, I shook it.

“How…how likely is the Council to agree to this?”

Mike was still on couch, but I could hear him hum. “Honestly, the whole thing shouldn’t have been accepted to be in front of the Council at all. I think there must have been some money exchanged behind the scenes.”

“Great.” I snorted.

“Colt, they did this in a middle of a snow storm on purpose. They were hoping to show negligence with Professor Alford not showing up. He’s there, as well as his parents and even your history professor is there as well.”

My brow furrowed as I stared up at the ceiling. “Professor Davidson?”

“Yeah, him and two other school advisors. They were brought in by the Alfords.”

“Well, yeah. If anything, Professor Davidson has had the most contact with the both of them. He would be able to testify whether or not Marcus did lead Miss Ebony on.”

Mike grumbled something low that I couldn’t understand. I felt so sick. How did I compete against having an imprint, money behind the scenes, and the resourcefulness to do it in the middle of a blizzard? Did I even want Marcus if Miss Ebony was willing to put the effort in like this?

“Colton Fisher, whatever you are thinking, stop it.”

Chuckling, I turned my head toward the couch. “I hate that you know me so well.”

He laughed as well. “You love me. Stop lying. You should stop lying to yourself that you don’t love the professor too.”

“Don’t start.” I blinked slowly, looking back up at the ceiling. “I-I like him. I know I like him. I just… love Mike? Love is so…big. It’s so final. If I tell Marcus I love him…I’m basically…”

“You are committing to him? Considering you’ve never committed to anything in your life.”

Looked at the couch, surprised with the amount of venom behind his tone. “Mike…that’s not…”

“No. It is true. The only thing you can commit to is school because that isn’t personal. That’s not a relationship. Every single relationship you have had you could easily discard at the drop of a hat.”

“Mike! That’s not true! I have you and Sabrina!”

He blew out a breath. “I had to nail you to the fucking floor. Even then, it wasn’t what I originally had wanted from you. You are best friend and that will not change. At the time I took over your finances and things on the back end because I knew if I didn’t, I’d never see you again. You’d decide to up and leave and you wouldn’t exist anymore.”

“But…”

“Look…I’m not angry with you about it. You’ve never had someone like that in your life previously. You never had anyone you could trust and so you would have to be willing to drop them the moment they turned on you. You excepted everyone to turn on you and you protected your heart. Fine. I get it. Now, though….now you have someone. Are you really willing to throw him away? I mean seriously Colt…he knows everything and he still flew out there to fight against the panthers. To not allow the Council to rule based on the fact that money was slid their way.”

I was quiet for a long time. Mike’s hard truths sucked. Apparently, Sabrina wasn’t in because partway through he might have been punched. Still, it didn’t make him wrong. I’d never committed to anyone because I was afraid one day they would turn me in. The thought of being betrayed by someone I loved hurt to even think about.

“Not everyone feels the same way about Omegas as your pack. Don’t let them poison you any more than they already have. Don’t let them win and rule your life based on fear. People don’t randomly decide to turn you in after they say the love you. Me, Sabrina, or Marcus Alford. So don’t be an idiot about this and let someone you actually care about go.”

The clacking of his keyboard stopped and I knew he hung up. He got a front row seat to how noncommittal I was.

“I hate you. Still .”

A ding sounded on my phone and I laughed. Apparently, there were more than just cameras in this place. I knew for a fact that Mike couldn’t read lips. After a few more minutes of allowing myself to wallow on the floor, I got up. All I could do at this point would be trust Marcus to fight against Ebony’s demands.