Page 9

Andreas

I sent a message to the omega so he would have my phone number, but I hadn’t heard from him. Not that he’d said he would call or text, but I had hoped for at least a got it reply. Things were busy at home, with a parents’ event at preschool and a field trip to the local children’s museum. A pediatrician’s appointment and meetings with multiple subcontractors and the architect as well.

Although most of my working hours were at night while the club was closed, all of these things took place during the day, throwing off my whole schedule. And it didn’t help that when I did lie down to try to catnap, the image of that sweet, sweet omega helping the one in trouble bloomed in my mind.

Would it be all right to call him?

We knew one another only from the club, which was a work situation for me, and I’d always followed the adage, don’t shit where you eat. But there was a big difference between dating an employee in an ordinary business and going out with a member, or guest, at a club geared toward interpersonal interactions of the kink kind. Sometimes I thought Cuffed did a better job of matchmaking than any online dating app. And most of my fellow owners had met their mate here in one way or another.

So it was all right to call or text and ask him out.

Right?

Wrong?

I wasn’t even sure anymore.

Especially because I was willing to live alone forever, but I was not willing to deprive my son of an omega father. His own wanted nothing to do with us, and I often felt like he missed out on aspects of parenting with just me.

My wolf might be chanting that he was our true mate, our fated, but Reed was the important person in this equation. And I wanted him to have everything I could give him, including the love of two fathers if I could find the right one. This was something I did not share with others and tried not to think about too much myself because it had sounded like an impossible dream. But the moment I saw that omega, saw Julian, helping the other omega who was in distress, his kindness shone through. He stayed with him while I got him to the healer’s area adjacent to Jabez’ office, concerned and kind and calm.

In comparison to Reed’s dad…well, there was no comparison. He’d run at the first sign of trouble, leaving the hospital after our child’s birth without even waiting for the healer to release him. By the time I found out he’d gone and rushed home to check on him, he’d packed up his clothes and left.

I called him over and over until he finally answered the phone and told me it was all too much for him.

“You are probably tired. And you should still be in the hospital. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come and pick you up.” He’d just given birth and while it was not a C-section, it was also not remotely in the realm of the birth plan he’d spent so many hours working on. That had to be a disappointment.

The ex, as I thought of him now, the omega who had been so into having this child that he’d gone on paternity leave in his fourth month said, “It’s all too real for me. I’ll be in touch.” And he disconnected.

Stunned, confused, and heartbroken, I returned to the hospital to be with our son. Ordinarily, I might have pursued the omega. We lived together, were in a relationship, and he’d never indicated in any way that he didn’t find happiness in our life.

I had been under the impression—one given to me by the omega—that he was on suppressors, so the pregnancy had been a surprise to me, but I’d been swept up in his whole journey of carrying our child.

And now, it was real .

We’d had some rough days and nights, Reed and I, after his birth, so I had to let his other daddy go his own way. On some level, I’d always known he was a very imaginative male, and his whole pregnancy had been a little over the top, but I’d never seen him taking a powder hours after our very tiny baby made his entrance. Maybe it made it easier to say goodbye because my love for Reed was instant, intense, and he needed me.

My personal life went on hold.

And he was still my priority. Julian had real daddy potential, and I hoped that even if my wolf was wrong and he was not my mate, his reaction was due do the fact that he was a perfect fit for our little family.

I called up and asked him out to dinner.

And he said yes.