Page 128 of Omega's Flight

"I didn't have to tell her anything, remember?” I whispered. “And this isn't the place to have this talk."

"Hmph." But the next wave of pups was coming out of the building and he had enough awareness to be reluctant to make a public scene. "All right. But we need to fix this."

I didn't say anything, because I was too angry not to say something I'd regret. "Let's go get Henry and we'll show the pups their rooms at your house."

"Da, are you going to live here too?" Ann cried in excitement.

"For a little while," he said.

I took Pip's hand and we headed in the direction of the daycare, leaving Degan to follow. Ann sang puppy songs as we walked and Degan sang along. I'd forgotten how good his voice was. He used to sing to me, in the beginning. When had that stopped? Not long ago, maybe after the pups had come, because he'd started singing to them instead.

Strange how parenthood had changed us.

Henry looked up when I came in, stared at his Da for a moment, then went back to playing. I laughed and shook my head, but when I went to tell Henry it was time to go home, Degan grabbed my arm and squeezed.

I opened my mouth to tell him to let go of me, but Pip was faster. And, to be honest, she said the things I wouldn't have, for the sake of public decency and my reputation.

"You leave Papa alone!" She hit him with her little fists and kicked his shins.

I grabbed for her and pulled her away. "Pip, we don't hit!"

"He does!" she yelled, tears tumbling down her cheeks and her little hands still balled up in fists. "I hate you!" She lunged for him again, but I turned her toward the door.

"Go wait in the hallway."

Degan reached for her, his lips curled in a snarl, but I got between them and pushed her out of the room. "Stay there!"

Degan's hand on my shoulder made me flinch and I readied myself for a slap on the slide of the head or a punch in the back.

"What on earth is going on here?" Becca stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips, and her close cousinship to Quin and Abel practically glowing off her. "We do not hit," she said, slowly and deliberately.

I watched Degan look around the room, as if he truly thought that Becca was talking to someone else, then stared at her in shock. "No one's hitting anyone."

She didn't say anything, just stood there like a tiny mountain, staring at him. In a fight between the two of them, I'd have put my credits on her, no question. I slipped out from underneath his hand and went to Henry. "Home time, Henry-boy," I murmured, and helped him put his toys away.

He hung off my hand and stuck a finger in his mouth, eyeing his Da uncertainly. Degan was still locked in some silent battle of alphas with Becca. I edged past her, to where Pip was sitting in the hallway, folding and unfolding the hem of her t-shirt. "Hey, my little Tasmanian devil," I said, and crouched down beside her. "You okay?"

"Why'd he have to come?" she said in a thick voice. "I don't want him here."

"He misses you." Though I was rethinking this agreement already and wondering if I could talk Holland into just bribing the pack and I could pay him back out of my book money when it came. If it came.

"I don't miss him," she said, avoiding my eyes.

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I know this is all very hard. We need to find some path that lets us be happy. It's probably going to take some experiments to figure out what works and what doesn't. Do you want to sit and plan them with me? Or with Cas? I bet he can come up with a pretty good experiment."

"Cas would just hook a bucket up over his door to dump water on him," she complained, but it won a little smile out of me.

"Come on then. We'll go see Da's new house and have dinner, and then we'll figure out our first plan of attack." As soon as I said the words I regretted them, because she looked up at me with a glint in her eyes and I realized that plan of attack could have another meaning too.

Then I glanced around to see Degan stepping out through the door, dragging poor Ann behind him, and decided that maybe the full force of our little whirlwind was just what he needed to experience if he was going to co-parent with me.

C H A P T E R 8 9

C as had waited until it was dark to come calling at Raleigh's, in case his sweetheart's mate was still there. He knocked on the door, his heart beating as fast as if he'd been on a hunt, and waited for it to open.

The light bloomed out of the opening and Raleigh appeared. "I'm so glad to see you," he said, and walked into Cas's arms before Cas even made it inside.

Cas hugged him and bent his head to breathe in Raleigh's scent. "He's not here, is he?"