Page 113 of Omega's Heart

He still hadn’t said a word.

But by the end of the meal, he thought he’d said all of them as he sat through a cross-examination by the Alpha’s Mate that would have done any television crime investigator proud. He answered questions about his family, his brothers’ pups, Felix, how he and Felix had met, Cale and Julius, Julius’s sister, the townhouse they were moving into after the mating, and then she rattled off a list of things with names he didn’t recognize that she recommended he make sure Felix had in his kitchen.

Through it all, the Alpha watched with a fond smile. It was only near the end, when Lucy had gotten up to clear the table and put coffee on, that Kaden realized he had, indeed, just been most thoroughly interrogated. In the nicest way, for sure, but he was suddenly appalled at the amount of information she’d gotten out of him with what seemed like the least amount of effort. He narrowed his eyes at the Alpha, who just grinned and leaned back in his chair.

“We make a good team,” the Alpha said with a satisfied smile. “Not too many people see what’s happening though. You’re sharp. Good. You’ll need to be.” He looked up as Lucy came back with a tray loaded with mugs and a pot of coffee steaming into the still warm air of the room. “Thank you, my love. You’re going over to Rebecca’s for the evening?”

“Yes, she and Carlton are going to have an ‘adult’ evening while the pups and I get up to all sorts of hijinks.” She dimpled in Kaden’s direction. “And it lets the alphas get up to some hijinks of their own, too.” She left again, trailing moonbeam laughter behind her.

The Alpha listened with his head cocked to the side, until the clack of the door closing cut off the sound of his mate’s voice. “If you can cultivate that kind of partnership with your betrothed, it will do you well in the future. Especially dealing with the human political system. You aren’t Alpha, but you’re going into a position where you might as well be, if I’m reading your situation correctly. And Felix comes from a good family. He could be a real asset to you.”

“I don’t doubt it, sir. He’s an asset now.”

The thump of feet on the front porch put an end to anything else the Alpha might have intended to say. He got to his feet and disappeared in the direction of the front door, coming back with three other alphas in tow. “Grab a chair, gentlemen. Kaden here’s got an interesting proposition for us.”

It was too much to hope that Kaden could keep Avery and his advisers busy until it was too late to have to go speak to Honisloonz’ family. Somewhere near nine o’clock, Avery had wrapped up the question and answer session and sent the other alphas home. Once they were alone, he turned to Kaden. “I’ll take you down to the family now.”

Kaden swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and nodded.

He wished Felix had come. Desperately.

The pathways twisted and turned, tight and narrow as was typical of the older parts of an enclave. Night had fallen as the alphas had discussed the future and now golden light shone out of windows. Honisloonz wasn’t rich, but it was less poor than some of them. The windows were clear and while they’d obviously been scavenged from work sites and demolitions, they’d been fitted into their new homes with skill and care. He took note of this, knitting it into the web of information he’d already gleaned about the place.

Avery turned them down a narrow alley, counted six doors, then stopped and knocked at the seventh. Kaden wiped suddenly damp palms on his thighs and straightened his shoulders, falling automatically into parade rest.

The door opened, leaking warmth along with the light. “Alpha! What brings you to our door? We could have come to you, we know you’re busy. Come in!” The scent of a delta female drifted out with the light. Kaden caught a glimpse of an older woman, worn and tired-looking but wearing a smile of welcome for her unexpected guests.

“Thank you, Lyse. I’ve brought someone for you to greet,” Avery said gravely and gestured toward Kaden.

“Salma Wood,” she whispered and reached out to draw him inside. “Come, sit, and be welcome in our home.”

“I don’t wish to be a bother, ma’am,” he said, but he couldn’t deny the need in her eyes.

“No bother at all. Lysoon bless you.” She ushered them inside and closed the door, calling out, “Brandon, the Alpha is here and he brought the Salma soldier with him.”

Kaden winced, but the Alpha’s hand on his shoulder made him straighten his back and remember.

An older gamma limped out of the back of the house. “Welcome, I am so pleased to finally meet you.” He tipped his head to the side and offered scent to the Alpha, and then Kaden, who accepted it as was polite, though it felt awkward, and he thought he was something of a fake.

“I’ll get some beer,” Lyse said in a bright tone and disappeared down the hallway.

“Please,” Brandon said, gesturing at the furniture scattered about the room. “Come and sit down. We can’t thank you enough for what you did for our boy.”

That didn’t make it any better.

Avery led them into the living room and took a seat in a lopsided armchair by the fireplace at the far end. Brandon took the other chair, equally lopsided on the other side of the fireplace.

Kaden followed him, taking a seat on the couch next to the Alpha. The arms were shiny where hands and fingers had rubbed the nap off the fabric and the couch creaked ominously beneath his weight as it sagged beneath him. He wondered how foolish he was going to look trying to get out of it at the end of the night with the one leg, then put that thought aside. At least he had a leg.

Lyse came in at that moment with a tray, dark brown bottles clinking gently against each other as she set it on the wooden crate in the middle of the room that seemed to be playing the part of a low table. “I can get glasses for anyone who wants one,” she said brightly. “Brandon doesn’t bother with them, but it’s certainly no trouble.” She glanced around the room, beaming as she handed out the bottles.

Human-made beer, so expensive. He felt a flash of guilt until the Alpha caught his eye and accepted his own bottle with a word of thanks and a compliment for the pair. Following in Avery’s pawprints, Kaden lifted the bottle in a toast to Lyse and said, “I’m just a simple soldier, ma’am. Bottle is fine for me.” He took a swig to emphasize the point and smiled at her.

She smiled back and perched on a wooden stool beside her mate with her own beer in her hand. “I know you can’t tell us anything about why you were over there, or even where you were. But...” Her words stumbled to a halt and she chewed the corner of her bottom lip in a moment’s indecision before taking a breath and continuing. “I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about... him. Just whatever won’t get you in trouble.”

Kaden stared down at the dark opening of the bottle, his brain working furiously. This was what he’d been afraid of. Well, after the guilt of having failed their son so badly. He hadn’t known Honislooz that well, they’d only been together that seven weeks before it all went to hell.

But the smell of decent beer rose to his nose, waking a memory from before they’d shipped out together, and he took another drink and stared at the bottle. He squinted up at her, trying to guess if Honisloonz had been one of those boys who hid their mischief from their mothers. He thought not, considering the beer in his mother’s hand. “Well, there was this one time, before we flew out,” he began. “Your son was a bit of a genius with plumbing when properly motivated. And someone got the bright idea to make whiskey in one of the back warehouses.”