Page 91 of Omega's Heart

Kaden cupped his hand around Felix’s jaw. “No, I know what you mean. You’ve got a heart as big as the Moonlands and you try to stuff everyone into it.”

“Oh, well.” Felix blushed and looked away, making as if to stand up until Kaden stopped him.

“I think that’s why I fell in love with you,” he said simply, then wiped a thumb over Felix’s cheekbone. No tears, but close, he thought. “I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

“He won’t hurt me,” Felix assured him.

“Not here,” Kaden told him, moving his hand to Felix’s shoulder. “Here.” He put his palm over Felix’s heart, the thump-thump strong and steady and peaceful. Like Felix.

“I’m a grown omega, Kaden,” Felix replied, but he put his own hand over Kaden’s. “I can handle a little hurt if it does the world some good.”

Kaden studied him for a moment, caught once more in amazement that this glorious creature hadn’t been long-since snapped up by some other alpha. “Damn, but your birth pack are fools.”

Felix stood up, wearing an amused frown. “Don’t you dare say that at the mating!”

“You want me to lie?” Kaden demanded and hit the button for the elevator.

“I’d like you to be polite,” Felix said, then he looked thoughtful. “But if you really want, I can point out a few alphas to you…”

“Bring it on, gorgeous,” Kaden said as the elevator doors opened.

We waved Kaden off to work, but I could tell Hunter wasn’t going to be able to be a good boy until he’d run off some of that puppy energy. “We’ll have to play some games, I guess.” Yesterday, he’d gotten to play with Pip, which had worked out a lot better than any of us had anticipated, the two of them becoming as thick as thieves in no time at all.

I’d worried that Raleigh wouldn’t want his pups around Hunter, our adopted pup not being a true shifter, but I should have had more faith. After a few minutes to get used to him and see that he wasn’t that much different than a pup with some intellectual issues, Raleigh gave his permission for his oldest two to take Hunter outside to play in the back courtyard. Of course we went with them to supervise, but surprisingly we weren’t really needed. Pip had very quickly discovered that Hunter loved tug-of-war and they spent at least an hour dragging each other around the yard by some pieces of cloth hastily braided into a rope.

I didn’t have the rope with me today, but we had lots of small trees and shrubs around the building. Pups loved to run around with sticks, playing keep-away with friends or parents. And dogs liked to chase things if I remembered correctly. So I broke off a branch and stripped all the side-branches and bumps until I had something not too big and unlikely to hurt him. “Come here, Hunter. Want to hunt?”

He tilted his head at me and I shook the branch, then tossed it out onto the grass. His ears came up, but he kept glancing back and forth between me and the branch.

“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting him to have those kinds of manners. “Go get it!”

He was off like a rocket, almost somersaulting over the branch as he grabbed it, then came racing back across the lawn to hand it to me.

“You like playing this, don’t you?” I asked him, not really expecting an answer, but he barked and bowed to invite me to play some more. I threw the branch farther this time, wanting to be certain that he would be tired out and ready for some quiet time before we went back inside. He ran off with a joyful yelp, ears and tail flying high, cornered like a professional on the branch and came trotting back with his tail wagging and the happiest look on his face.

He didn’t seem to miss the leg at all, except for the occasional awkwardness and that hitch in his step that never quite went away. I sent a silent prayer skyward that Holland could find out where Hunter’s leg had come from, and that I could get one made in time for our mating.

We played like this for about half an hour, until the first of the young packmembers living in the barracks floors started to wander out of the building to go to work. They gave us a wide berth, having already been on the wrong side of Kaden’s Army training. Oh, he hadn’t gotten physical with them when they’d gotten fractious about the dog, but by the end of it, I rather thought they wished he had. He certainly hadn’t spared their feelings, and if they’d been in their wolf forms they would have run off with ears flattened and tails between their legs. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they were still saying unpleasant things about us behind our backs, but they certainly weren’t doing it to our faces. Which, as my betrothed had reminded me, was likely the best we could hope for.

“Probably time to go back in anyway, right?” I asked Hunter. He wasn’t worn out, but I’d definitely taken the edge off him. He’d probably be glad of a drink of water and a chance to relax. “Come on, we’re going to Holland’s for a bit. You behave around the babies, you hear me?”

He flicked an ear curiously but fell into step with me readily enough as I headed back inside.

“Felix!”

It was Ori, running up the path, or trying to, with Willie Rose in his arms and a bag over his shoulder. I turned and jogged to meet him, reaching out to take the bag from him.

Hunter growled and danced a little in place, not quite sure of this newcomer.

Ori pulled Rose a little closer and edged away. “Raleigh told me you had adopted a dog. Are you sure he’s safe?”

“I won’t let him do anything. We’re still figuring out what he understands.” I raised my voice and turned to pin my adopted son with my omega glare. “He should understand that we don’t growl at friends.” I stared at him until he dropped his eyes and tucked his tail, creeping forward to lick at my hand. “I’ll accept your apology,” I told him. “But it’s Ori you really need to convince.”

Ori watched him warily and for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the half-wild warrior omega I’d met in the hospital in Denver when he’d still been on the run. There was no doubt in my mind that Ori would absolutely finish anyone who even thought about hurting Rose. Which, given all he’d gone through to have her and to claim his beta mate for his own, I guessed I couldn’t blame him. But still, Hunter was my responsibility. I couldn’t let him hurt other people, but I also wasn’t going to sit by and risk Hunter getting hurt.

With that in mind, I buried my fingers in Hunter’s ruff and made him come over and apologize to Ori. “This is Ori. He’s my friend. He’s kind of like an uncle to you, on my side of the family.” Ori gave me a strange look, but let me take Rose so he could crouch down to let Hunter sniff him and make his apologies.

“I’m sorry,” I said when Ori stood up. “We’re working on it.”