Page 75 of Omega's Heart

He made a face but didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked over to the big living room window and stared out over the enclave. I followed him and put my hands on his shoulders in a sort of toned down hug—I didn’t want to wrinkle his suit. “You’ll be fine. You’re not going to go back to jail.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know that. Come have some breakfast before you go. You don’t want to be sitting in the courtroom with your stomach grumbling.”

Bax was rooting for him. I hadn’t understood the meaning of that the first couple of times I’d heard it, until Kaden had explained just what kind of True Omega Bax was. If Bax wanted him to be here in Mercy Hills, Julius would be here. We just weren’t sure how it was going to happen, or what it would look like.

I absolutely refused to think about any of the worst case scenarios.

Julius flattened one hand against the glass of the window as if he could touch the enclave itself, then shook himself and let his hand fall. “I don’t think I could eat anything.” But he came, if reluctantly, and let me set a bowl of pork and apple fritters with apple sauce in front of him, accompanied by a side of my fried potatoes that Kaden loved so much.

Someone knocked on the door. I left Julius to pick at his breakfast and opened the door to find Alpha Quin and Holland in the hallway. “Hi, how’s he doing?” Holland whispered.

“Nervous. I made him eat something.”

Holland nodded and I thought that he looked a little less stressed at the news.

“Mind if we come in to wait?” Quin asked.

I blinked. The Alpha didn’t have to ask to enter another shifter’s home. “Of course,” I replied and got out of the way. As I closed the door behind them, I glanced toward Kaden’s apartment, but his door was still closed and I couldn’t tell if the lights were on or not. There weren’t any noises that I could hear without leaning on my wolf harder than was polite. With a sigh, I went back into the apartment.

While I’d been mooning over my betrothed, Holland had taken the chair next to Julius and was coaxing him into eating more of his food, while the Alpha stared out the living room window. He was wearing a suit in a much darker gray than Julius’s. It made him look like the CEO of a company, straight out of the movies. Tall and muscled and ever so slightly dangerous.

Holland, too, was dressed for court, in a black suit with slim lines that suited his frame, his shirt a dark teal that made his eyes shine like sapphires. It made him look like a model, which wasn’t that far a stretch, I guessed, but they were both such a contrast to Julius’s shy, anxious appearance that I couldn’t help wondering if the choice of outfit wasn’t deliberate.

Cale crept down the hallway, quiet as if he was hunting in wolf form. He took one look at his brother at the table with Julius, then past them at the Alpha at the window, and made a face before coming out of hiding to sit at the table. “That smells good,” he said. “Did you make that?”

“Felix,” Julius said unhappily and pushed his fritters around with his fork.

“Any left, Felix?” Cale asked.

“No, but I can make some.” What was he up to?

Cale nodded. “Maybe wait until Julius gets back and you can teach us both how to make them.”

“That’s an idea,” Holland said soothingly. “Eat up, Jules.”

“I feel sick.” Julius pushed the plate away. “You can finish it, Cale.”

I caught Holland’s eyes over Julius’s head and mouthed, “I’ll put together a bag of snack food.”

He nodded at me, gratitude in his eyes even though his face didn’t change, and turned back to Julius. “Well, then, go brush your teeth and make sure you’re all packed. I found a new shirt you can try on while we’re there, I think it’ll look really good on you.”

Another knock on the door interrupted us again. If we ended up with any more of us in the room, we could easily be accused of having a party. But when I opened the door this time, it was my own betrothed who was waiting in the opening. “Morning,” he said, and leaned in for a kiss. “I’m covering for Quin while he’s away, thought I’d come see the pup off. And check on you.”

“Me?” I whispered back. “I’m not the one going on trial.”

“You might as well be, as worried as you are for him.” He kissed me again and then, right into my ear, he said, “I’ve done what I can from my end. It’s not much, but maybe it’ll help. Don’t tell anyone, though. I don’t want anyone disappointed.”

He meant Julius, I thought, but then his eyes flicked to Quin and I realized he was worried about how his brother would feel if Julius was sent back to human prison.

Kaden gave me a little push. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, yeah.” I stepped out of the way. “Sorry. Brain’s busy.”

“I can imagine.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek, then rolled past me on his way into the living room. I heard him greet Holland and Cale with his usual brisk hello, then something more gentle for Julius. By the time I got back to the kitchen to start putting together some easy-on-the-stomach food, Kaden had rolled to a stop beside Quin, both of them looking out the window at the still-dark sky. They were a handsome pair, though I liked Kaden more. To me, he looked more real, less the soldier of legend, more the hero of my dreams. I smiled and thought about his surgery coming up next week and sent a prayer flying moonward as I gathered up some snacks to tempt Julius’s missing appetite.

I’d just packed the last of the dried fruit muffins that had been meant for breakfast when Holland slipped in beside me and quietly said, “It’s time. The truck just came through the gate.”