Page 86 of Omega's Heart

“Something like that.” Harris stroked the top of the dog’s head. “Sit, Hunter. It’s okay.”

So even the human was picking up on Hunter’s unease.

“How did it happen?” Kaden asked. I wished I could read his face, but he’d gone all soldier on me and, while I could smell some irritation and anxiety in his scent, I couldn’t quite figure out where the problem lay. Was it the dog itself? It seemed well-behaved enough.

Panted a lot, though. But maybe it was anxious too?

Harris made a face. “Bomb was pretty well hidden. He found it, but it was a new one and they couldn’t figure out where the trigger was. Anyway, they took to lobbing stuff in the general direction from a safe distance, but the shock waves set off another one on the other side of the trail, in an area they hadn’t scouted. They lost a couple of guys and Hunter got hit with some shrapnel. It was just bad luck that he lost his leg.”

It’s a boy. Well, I supposed that was good to know. Poor fellow.

“That’s too bad,” Holland said smoothly. “Anyone want more coffee? Kaden, what time do you need to leave?”

Harris looked around. “Sorry, I’m keeping you.”

Kaden shook his head. “No, it’s no problem.”

Harris gave him a troubled look, then turned back to Quin. “Saffron tells me that you guys don’t do pets and that this is going to make us look really weird, but I couldn’t leave him. I’ve got another nine months before I’m out and Saffron says they refused to have him there in Salma. We wouldn’t expect you to keep him forever, just until I’m out. Saffron says once the transfer is approved, she can apply to live outside walls and take him with her, so you guys don’t have him in your face all the time.” He licked his lips and glanced over at Quin. “The other thing is that he’s very…particular… about who he accepts and who he doesn’t. If I don’t take him, he’ll likely be put down, because he can’t work and he can’t always be trusted around people. I figured, you were a damn fine Master Sargent—he’d listen to you.”

Quin froze with his toast in his mouth, teeth clamped down on it hard enough to dent the bread but not breaking through. He stared at Harris for a moment in pure surprise—rather like the rest of us— then with a visible effort, he finished biting off the mouthful of toast and chewed, staring at Harris until the man’s cheeks flushed even darker than the rich brown of his skin.

The rest of us sat and watched. I almost said something, but Kaden put a hand on mine and I shut my mouth. This had to be a military thing.

And then Quin swallowed and said, “I have pups, Harris. If he can’t be trusted around adults, he can’t be here. As much as I respect the job he did and the lives he’s saved, I cannot and will not risk their safety. Even now, I can tell he’s on the edge. What would happen if you took your hand off him?”

Harris’ eyes dropped, but he never took his hand off the back of the dog’s neck. “I don’t know what else to do with him, Sarge. And I just think, he should have the same opportunity to muster out the way we did. It’s not like we aren’t all a little warped on the inside, too.”

Kaden’s hand on mine twitched. I glanced over at him, then made a decision.

After all, a dog wasn’t any different from a slightly delayed child, right? I mean, they couldn’t change shape, and I wasn’t sure what his communication skills would be like, but I figured we could work on that. And it would be good practice for Kaden—alphas were always shocked by the amount of work that went into having a pup. “We don’t have pups. Yet,” I qualified. I turned my hand up and clasped what was left of my betrothed’s left hand. “That’s if you’re willing.”

He turned to stare at me, I thought in disbelief. I squeezed his hand gently and tilted my head in an invitation to speak frankly out of earshot. The rest of the table watched us intently, almost as if they were frozen there until we made a decision.

“A dog isn’t like a pup,” Kaden finally said gently. “They’re a lot more work. Not as smart. I won’t have you hurt. I won’t have the packs gossiping about us forgetting what we are and what we owe our ancestors.” He said the last with that fierce push of alpha behind it, and I realized that this was what worried him the most.

“I know,” I said softly. “And if you say no, I won’t do it. I don’t care about the gossip. Only you.”

I waited and watched, but he seemed no closer to making a decision than before.

Harris took his hand off the dog’s neck and stood up, hope and uncertainty shining in his eyes. “Come meet him.”

Kaden tensed, but I bent and kissed the back of his hand. “Let’s meet him,” I suggested. “I’ll be careful.”

With a sigh, Kaden released my hand and rolled his chair back from the table. “All right.” But I noticed he kept himself between me and the dog as Harris brought him around to our end of the table.

I crouched so I could look Hunter in the eye, but he seemed entirely focused on Kaden. My betrothed was annoyed and upset and I was uncomfortably aware that it was me who had annoyed him and created this discomfort. “Hello, Hunter,” I said, keeping my voice calm, like I would in the daycare when the pups were getting into fights.

He made a sound low in his throat, not exactly a threat, but it was enough that Kaden put a hand around Hunter’s muzzle and held it. “No,” he said, his voice dropping deep, how an alpha’s did when they were figuring out who was the more alpha of the group.

Hunter’s ears went back unhappily and his tail wagged in a way that was more about appeasement than friendliness. So, he’d accepted Kaden as alpha. What about me as omega?

“Don’t let him think he’s dominant to you,” Kaden warned. He must have seen me twitch or something; I hadn’t realized I’d moved.

“He’s a pup,” I said evenly and met Kaden’s gaze. “Pups aren’t in charge, even of omegas.”

Kaden narrowed his eyes, but then he slowly took his hand away from the dog’s muzzle. “If he bites you...”

I laughed. “I know.” He’d tear him to shreds—the typical alpha response. I leaned in and kissed my betrothed quickly, then turned back to Hunter. “You can stay with us if you can behave. And by that, I mean behave to our standards. I don’t know what humans expect of you, but if I’m going to be your foster bearer, I won’t have any disobedience. You hear me, Hunter?”