Page 214 of Omega's Heart

Holland stared at the papers in front of him, but Kaden didn’t think that was what he was seeing. “No. They can wait,” he said finally, like he was chewing on broken glass.

The older Jesse looked distressed. “Holland?” he asked.

Holland raised his eyes and met his gaze with an expression that Kaden read both as battle-ready and halfway to broken. “No, Jesse. They aren’t suitable to our purpose.” And to Kaden’s surprise, Holland began to shake. Quick as hunting, Quin got out of his chair to put an arm around Holland’s shoulder and pulled him close, murmuring softly in his ear, then abruptly hustled his mate out the door of the room without a word for the rest of them.

“I should go after them,” older Jesse said, starting to get to his feet.

“No.” Felix shook his head and all the humans turned to look at them. “He needs some time to sort through how he feels. It’s the first time, you see, that he’s ever said no to his father, not directly and in public. It wasn’t allowed. Ever. He knows there are going to be personal consequences.” His mate exchanged a speaking glance with Bax, who looked grave and nodded his head. “Give him some time,” Felix continued. “It’s not as easy to be an omega in Buffalo Gap as it is in Mercy Hills, and right now he’s got a foot in both packs and he’s trying to figure out how not to fall into the river between them.”

The humans put their heads together for a moment, whispering intently, then Ava got to her feet and crossed out Buffalo Gap’s name on the board. “Green Moon it is, then,” she said, as if all that drama had never taken place. “Shall we make the call?”

“I think that would be a good idea,” Kaden said. He leaned over and whispered to Felix, “Do you want to go check on Holland?”

Felix shook his head. “He has Quin right now. Tomorrow, I’ll stop by.” He stood up and leaned over the table to pat Bax’s hand. “I can take your pups tomorrow too if you want.”

Bax gave him a tight, if grateful, smile. “Can I get back to you on that?”

“Sure”

Kaden sent a text to Quin to let him know what Felix was planning, figuring that he was probably too busy to read it right now. He was surprised when his phone chimed again shortly after.

Thank you, little brother.

Kaden pulled out Green Moon’s file, including the contact information for the Alpha. In a burst of inspiration, he turned to the older of the two Jesse’s. “Sir, would you like to be the one to deliver the news?”

The human’s unhappy expression lightened. “Yes. Yes, I think I would. If you would join me? It would set a good precedent going forward. Solidarity and cooperation between our two species.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s their phone number?”

“What the hell was that?” Kaden asked as they walked home at the end of the meeting.

“You were right, you know,” Felix said in a brooding tone. Hunter bounced up to them with some random stick he’d found and Felix threw it for him, then reached for Kaden’s hand. “He flat out told Holland that he owed Buffalo Gap that trust, for everything they’d done to set him up for a good life. For all they’d spent on him, the work they’d put into making sure he’d be successful and high status. Mitchel blamed him for his first mating going wrong and told him he needed to make up for all that cost the pack.”

It took a moment before full understanding hit. Kaden stumbled, his right leg suddenly as numb as his missing left, but Felix was right there to steady him. “How can he blame that on Holland?”

“He’s not an exceptional alpha. Unlike the ones that Holland and I mated.” Felix’s eyes danced briefly, then he sobered. “It’s going to be rough here for the next couple of days.” He took a deep breath and pulled them to a stop, ignoring Hunter at their feet begging for the stick to be thrown again. “Maybe your mother should stay with us. If she’s got me within easy reach, she might not poke at Holland or Bax as much.”

“I thought stress was bad for the baby? No, she can’t stay with us.”

“She can’t stay up there where she can criticize Holland into oblivion, either!”

Kaden shook his head. “We’ll find a place for her, or she can stay in Salma.” Why was his family all crazy? “What about Cas’s place beside us? Can that be made livable in time?” It was a compromise that might just work.

Felix looked thoughtful. “It’s barely more than a shell. I don’t know.” He pulled out his phone and called Raleigh, almost before Kaden realized what he was doing. “Hi,” Felix said when Raleigh answered. “Kaden and I have a question for you.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker.

“Sure.” Raleigh was practically whispering. “I just put the baby down. Let me get out of the room. Did I miss much tonight?”

“Green Moon got the trust, like you wanted. Quin and Kaden and I are worried that Buffalo Gap is going to be difficult.”

Hunter picked the stick up and dropped it on Kaden’s foot, woofing hopefully. Kaden scooped it up and tossed it behind them, then immediately regretted it as Hunter almost ran him over in his excitement.

“I can’t help much there,” Raleigh said regretfully. In the background, Kaden heard the soft clink of dishes and the hiss of running water.

“Veronica is coming for the baby’s birth,” Felix said. “We were going to put her in our old apartment, but after the meeting last night, we want to keep her away from Holland and Bax until things calm down. We just don’t know where to put her.”

“Put her in one of the Enclosure houses,” Raleigh said promptly.

It both frustrated Kaden and amused him that even Raleigh, who stayed as far under his mother’s radar as it was possible to do, knew enough not to suggest she stay with them.

Felix apparently felt it too. The glance he sent Kaden’s way was equally conflicted. “Are there any of them left that are safe?”