Page 1 of Taming The Omega

Chapter One

“Get out of my way!”

“Sorry, Liam, no can do.” Caleb was careful to keep his tone light and his expression cheerful. He knew it would piss Liam off, which was the whole point. Better for the gamma to keep his focus and irritation on Caleb rather than on what was happening behind the closed door.

Liam made a sudden feint to his right, and Caleb countered the move in a millisecond to continue to block him. They’d been doing this particular dance for the better part of fifteen minutes.

With his fists balled tight, Liam lunged into Caleb’s face, letting his fangs shift into place. He bared his wolf teeth and growled. “That’s my mate in there.”

Caleb flashed a smile in return. “Yup.”

The gamma’s eyes grew wide and a slight sheen showed in the pupils. “He’s in pain.”

Caleb nodded slowly. “Yeah, I hear that labor is the worst kind there is.”

His breezy reply was deliberate. The alpha had commanded him to keep the expectant sire out of the newly-created whelping room at all costs. He figured the best way was to distract Liam by making himself a target. It might help everyone concerned if he and Liam ended up rolling around the back in their wolf form while poor Joey got on with the excruciating task of whelping his and Liam’s pup.

A particularly loud cry caused them both to freeze for a moment before with a roar, Liam rammed into Caleb. Being a little bigger and a lot more cool-headed, Caleb absorbed the blow and held the line. Then, he used his size advantage to herd the other gamma across the hall and up against the opposite wall. Liam was no pushover, however. He resisted with admirable strength, partially shifting to the point where claws raked Caleb’s chest, shoulders and arms with frantic swipes.

He took the attack and the pain that went with it. While he couldn’t truly imagine how hard it would be to hear your mate going through so much agony, a part of him flinched in empathy. It hadn’t been that long ago when he’d stood terrified with his own sire, listening with impotent fear to his dam’s labor cries. He remembered, too, the sorrow at learning that it had ended in bloody death for her and his baby brother. His sire had never recovered from the loss, and Caleb had chosen to bury the feelings as much as possible.

Normally, he stayed far away when a pack member whelped. In the Rogue Pack, though, there was nowhere to go. Everyone had to stick to the daily rotation of chores, and damn him that Joey’s labor had started right as Caleb’s turn on the perimeter had ended. Lorcan had tasked him with this job of containing Liam, and what was he supposed to do—say no to the alpha? Why, because a whelping shifter brought up old pain? Fuck him, he was a gamma. Gammas didn’t flinch from anything.

And, shit, he was still in his probation period with this pack. Even if he were the type of shifter to put himself first or buck orders, he didn’t want to do anything to ruin his chances at staying. He liked this pack and its alpha.

His patience knew limits, however. Fisting Liam’s shirt, he hauled the other man in close and bared his own teeth. “You want to take this outside?”

The gleam in Liam’s eyes was all the answer he needed. But, just as he was about to drag them both down the hall before they shifted and clawed up the nice walls, a squalling sound washed over them. Once again, they both froze. The lusty cry of a pup permeated the miasma of testosterone, and just like that, the fight fled from Liam. The wolf parts disappeared, leaving a man who sagged against Caleb’s chest.

Feeling way out of his depth, Caleb awkwardly patted the new sire and ignored the suspicious wetness now seeping into his collar. He was much better at handling anger than softer emotions. He glanced desperately around the hallway, hoping that someone, anyone, would come to his rescue. Thankfully, the door to the room opened a few seconds later. Liam sent Caleb staggering a step or two in an effort to race over to where Andrea stood. The healer was smiling, so that was a good sign all was well. Relief coursed through Caleb, leaving him drained. He leaned against the wall.

“Joey?” The one word, uttered by Liam in a choked voice, was accompanied by the gamma wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“He’s fine, Gamma,” the healer assured him. She stepped aside. “Come see for yourself and welcome your new son.”

Liam’s face lit up. “It’s a boy?”

Andrea nodded once. “And a big one at that. Poor Joey worked very hard pushing that pup through a very narrow channel, so you’ll need to be extra nice to your mate.”

The gamma straightened and all traces of tears were gone. “I’d give him the world if I could.”

An achy feeling pressed against Caleb’s chest. He rubbed at it absently as he watched Liam push the door all the way open and rush inside. Caleb caught a glimpse of an exhausted-looking Joey lounging against a mound of pillows. A naked pup lay on his chest, chubby legs already kicking. Liam slid to his knees beside the pallet and enveloped both mate and pup in his long arms.

The family moment was too painful and intimate to watch. Caleb turned away to give them privacy. He tried not to envy Liam the joy he was experiencing and reminded himself that he could have all of that, too, if he only had the courage to seek it out. He didn’t want to dwell on that, however, so he didn’t. Instead, he straightened as Lorcan approached.

Lorcan was the kind of alpha who took turning pups for the first time as the sacred duty it should be. It was only one of the reasons that Caleb liked and admired him. The big guy was already stripped naked to shift for the ceremony. There was no mistaking the authority and power he wielded as the alpha, yet Caleb had never seen or heard of him using it to do anything but protect his people.

The alpha stopped in front of Caleb. “Looks like Liam gave you a hard time.”

“Huh?” Caleb looked down at his own chest and saw the shredded remains of his T-shirt. Long, bloody gashes decorated his torso. Now that he saw them, they hurt like a bitch. “Oh, yeah, I guess so.” He gave his alpha a rueful smile. “They’re shallow. No big deal.”

“Go take a run and see if you can mend them with a shift.” Putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, he added, “Thanks for doing such a good job.”

Caleb squared his shoulders. “No need to thank me for doing my duty, sir.” In his old pack, a senior shifter thanking a junior one was unheard of. Even though he’d been on the receiving end of the alpha’s gratitude before, it still made him uncomfortable.

Lorcan smiled. “We’ll just have to disagree on that point.” He jerked his chin. “Go. Take whatever time you need or want.”

“Thank you, sir.”

---