Page 57 of Omega's Faith

"What? You wanted honesty in counseling, right? Here's honest: I think your Pastor is about control. I think you've been brainwashed since birth to accept a narrow worldview that makes you feel safe but keeps you small."

"And I think you use alcohol and sarcasm to avoid feeling anything real," I shoot back. "I think you're so terrified of responsibility that you'd rather live alone than even try to be a husband."

"Maybe I am. But at least I admit it. You can't even admit that your precious Pastor here gets off on controlling people's lives."

"I guide them," Pastor David interjects.

"That’s hilarious,” Alex says but he’s not laughing. He leans forward, pointing a finger at Pastor David. “Tell me, Pastor, what would happen if Jonah decided he wanted to work? Have a career? Make his own money?"

"It’s natural for an omega to be at home. He’ll be happiest as a homemaker."

"See?" Alex spreads his hands. "Control."

"Structure," Pastor David corrects. "Society functions when everyone has what they need."

Alex drains his glass, stands to pour another. The whiskey sloshes as he pours, his hands not quite steady. “You keep telling yourself that. No, not yourself. Everyone else. Don’t let them think for themselves.”

Pastor David frowns. "You have a beautiful, faithful omega who deserves better than this. You need to be a better alpha for him."

"He deserves better?" Alex whirls around, whiskey sloshing."You mean someone who won't corrupt him with evil thoughts about actually enjoying sex. Someone who doesn't make him so wet he can barely stand it just from looking—"

"Alexander!" Pastor David thunders.

But Alex isn't done. "What? We're being honest, right? Your precious innocent omega spent three days of his heat riding my cock like he was training for the Olympics. Is that the kind of truth you want in counseling, Pastor?"

My face burns. Pastor David looks like he might have a stroke.

"You're drunk," I say quietly.

"So what? I'm honest. Something you two wouldn't recognize if it bit you on the ass."

“I am honest. I have never lied to you,” I say. This is going so badly. Maybe I need to ask the pastor to come back another time when Alex has sobered up. If he ever does. “I want to make the marriage work.”

“You don’t want marriage. You want a baby.” Alex turns to Pastor David. "You want to know what's really wrong with our marriage? It's not that I don't believe in God or that I drink or that I don't want kids. It's that we're from completely different worlds and the only thing we have in common is that we want to fuck each other senseless."

"This is precisely the problem," Pastor David interjects. "Lust without foundation. Physical compatibility without spiritual connection. This is why—”

"Oh, shut up," Alex says, not even looking at him. He's staring at me, those gray eyes dark with emotion. "You don't know anything about connection. You've probably never had a hard-on in your entire dried-up existence."

"That's enough," Pastor David stands. "Jonah, we're leaving."

"No," I say quietly. Both men look at me. "I'm not leaving. Not yet."

"Jonah—"

"Pastor, thank you for coming. Thank you for trying. But I need to talk to my husband alone."

Pastor David looks between us—Alex still holding his whiskey, me standing my ground—and shakes his head. "This man will corrupt you."

"I just want to talk to him.”

For a long moment, no one moves. Then Pastor David walks to the door, pauses. "I’ll wait for you outside, Jonah."

After he leaves, silence fills the space. Alex finishes his whiskey, sets the glass down with a sharp click.

"Well," he says finally. "That went well."

I fold my arms. "You were horrible to him."