Page 41 of Sanctuary

"All right," Patton said reluctantly, but then his stomach growled, as if it knew that he was wavering about filling it.

Ori laughed at him and pulled him close to press a kiss to his cheek. "Find me a cookie," Ori whispered. "Or an orange. I'd kill for an orange right now."

Patton chuckled. "Will do." He hugged Ori for a moment, then slowly backed away, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away from Ori's. Ori made shooing motions at him until, finally, the curtain fell between them and he could lay his head back and give in to the fatigue dragging his bones down against the mattress, more powerful even than gravity.

The world took on a wavering, watery appearance and his eyelids drooped half closed. He was close to sleep, desperate for rest, but it almost felt as if there was some string or cord stretching between him and Patton, or maybe that was his imagination. He'd always been told that omegas were overly romantic, that they created drama where none existed. But this connection was nice. Soothing. He thought he could tell when Patton found the cafeteria, a deep sense of satisfaction and then anticipation. Ori's mouth began to water frustratingly, although his stomach sent along a message for it to stop that foolishness, because it wasn't ready to deal with food. But it was comforting to think of Patton getting food--good food--while Ori lay here and got better, and that Ori could trust this place to look after his mate.

He pulled the blanket tighter around his body and tangled his fingers through the loops at the waist of his jeans, in case someone did decide to take his clothes off. It would wake him and he could stop them before they saw that telltale line between his hips, something that would betray them as surely as a full change to wolf form would. And then he let himself slip into sleep, down quiet forest paths filled with the smell of moss and prey, and lit by the loving light of the goddess Medeina.

C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - E I G H T

P atton couldn’t decide what he wanted to eat when he got to the cafeteria —the smells were too wonderful. Different from home, and from Ori’s rough cooking on the road, but they promised flavors he couldn’t wait to try. The first thing he did, though, was hunt down an orange for Ori. He picked out the fattest, juiciest one, and, following the example set by a small group of humans ahead of him, he took a tray and placed the orange neatly on one side of it.

The humans lined up in front of a long steel bench-like thing with glass windows protecting various foods. Small black plaques gave names to everything and showed the price of a serving. Very smart. Behind the display, up high on the wall, a chalkboard listed even more food, stunning Patton with the variety of things available for humans. For a moment, he was stabbed with jealousy, because why should humans get to have all this, and he and Ori and their families be forced to scrape and save and eat the same four or five things all the time? What would Ori think, if he had all this to choose from?

Would it be like this in Mercy Hills? He hoped so.

Patton looked over the food and chose something he'd never had before, something called a skewer, with rice and vegetables. He treated himself to a soda as well and bought some milk for Ori, the growing baby never really far from his mind. And his Ma had said that people growing babies had extra need of healthy food and milk, not just to feed themselves, but to feed the babies too. Maybe he'd find something else to bring back when he was done, or he could save some of his skewer to take to Ori.

He watched the humans talk to the people behind the food bench, telling them what they wanted, slowly shuffling along the length of it to receive their food. Patton mimicked them, and received his meal without so much as a batted eye in his direction. The only thing that confused him was the humans paying with a card that they stuck in a machine and he had a moment of panic, thinking there was something he was supposed to have for this and he'd already started eating the food and what would he do if they figured out he was a shifter?

But just as he was on the point of dropping his food and bolting for the door, a man in hospital clothing cut in line in front of Patton. He set a cup of coffee down on the counter and pulled a couple of the familiar dollar bills out of his pocket and paid with them.

Until that moment, Patton hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. The room spun around him for an instant as he started to breathe again, and then it was his turn to trade the crinkled slips of paper from his pocket for the mouthwatering food on his plate.

His hands shook as he carried the tray over to a table in the corner, someplace where he could see a threat coming, and maybe people wouldn't look at him so much. He debated packing the food up and taking it back down to where Ori was, but he hadn't seen or smelled any food down there so it probably wasn't allowed. Eat fast then. And the humans were finding places to sit and eat--he didn't want to make himself stand out any more than he probably already did. It surprised him that no one had noticed he wasn't human yet. Then again, they weren't that different. Maybe they wouldn't notice, wrapped up in their own troubles as he suspected most of them would be. Coming from the enclave, he and Ori didn't have a hospital of their own, but Patton knew what they were--a place for trouble mostly, for shifters anyway. If a shifter was going to the hospital, then they were sick enough to die, though humans often got miracles in them. If he were a human, he'd probably be worrying about the miracles, not the other people eating around them.

Speaking of...

He picked up the skewer and examined it. Chunks of beef, and some vegetables of which the only one he could identify was the onion. It smelled delicious and he slid the first piece of meat off the stick and popped it in his mouth.

The meat was amazing, tender and spiced with something he didn't recognize, but delicious. He had to force himself not to bolt it all down, to take time and chew every bite, but he did it, mostly because he didn't want to get sick and lose it all again. The rice was bland but filling, the vegetables overcooked but edible. He drank his soda when he'd finished and watched the humans around him. Some were obviously hospital workers, wearing versions of the same outfit Ori's nurse had on, but most of them were ordinary human people, families getting food while they waited on something.

One in particular caught his eye, a young man with hair nearly the color of Ori's. He threaded his way between the tables, an overloaded tray in his hands, and two pups--no, children, that's what humans called them--following behind him in fits and starts. Every once in a while the young man would glance over his shoulder and call to one of the dawdling children and they would scurry to catch up. Eventually, he chose a table over by a window and set the tray down, then bent to help first the little boy, then the little girl, up onto the chairs. The children bounced in excitement as their paper plates were placed in front of them--French fries and chicken nuggets, Patton thought. The man, who had to be their father, ripped open little plastic packets and squeezed the contents out for the children, making sure they each had what they wanted before he sat down to his own meal.

Patton could easily picture Ori doing just that, and he tried to imagine what their pup would look like. Would it be dark like him, or have Ori's hair and eyes? He hoped it took after Ori more, especially if it was a girl, or an omega.

An omega baby.

He hadn't considered that possibility before, being mostly concerned with the "Holy shit, I'm gonna be a Da!" that circled through his brain every time the topic came up. No one wanted omega babies; they were extra trouble, extra care. Extra expensive. But what if their baby was an omega? He thought about that as he chewed and surreptitiously watched the father with his children, hid his smile at their wide grins, and pictured his an Ori’s as-yet unborn child with an omega line.

And came to the conclusion that it might be nice for an omega child to have an omega parent, so it would be good for the baby. And Ori would know just what to do, and in Mercy Hills, they didn't seem to want to sell their omegas off, so Ori would never be faced with the inevitable loss of their child to a far away mate.

Yeah, go ahead and be an omega. It's okay. We'll protect you.

He looked down at his plate, unable to hide the smile at the thought of him and Ori working as a team to look after their pups. The desire to be near Ori grew in him again, an urge that was very alpha-like for a beta. He wrapped the feeling around himself as he finished the last of his rice and gathered up the remaining half of his second skewer to take back to Ori, neatly protected by the paper napkin.

As he left, he smiled and nodded at the young father and his children, though they'd never know how much they'd helped him.

C H A P T E R T H I R T Y - N I N E

P atton followed the orange line back toward Ori. With his stomach full and Ori in what seemed to be good hands, the idea of taking a rest began to nudge its way forward in his mind. He was tired, Ori was exhausted. Would there be anyplace they could lie low for a couple of days and gather their resources again?

But then he considered how little money there was left in his pocket, and he grimaced. They couldn't afford to turn this into a long leisurely stroll across the country--not if they wanted to eat all the way there. And it was embarrassing that, here they were, barely two weeks away from Perseguir, and he was already done. Finished. Some mate you are.

He turned a corner, paying as much attention to the people around him as they were paying to him--that is, practically none--but was brought up short by a familiar scent.

Shifter.