Page 39 of Taming The Omega

He glanced away. “Sure, that sounds fine. Thanks,” he added and stared at the floor until Caleb eased him off the table.

“Thanks, Andrea. I’m going to get Seth settled in the communal bedroom before I leave.”

“You’re very welcome. I’ll have that diet drawn up and give it to the sigmas in the kitchen. All right, Seth?”

He nodded absently and gave no resistance as Caleb led him out and down the hall to where the unmated males slept. Kyle was putting the finishing touches on a pallet over in the far corner. Seth’s clothing, such as it was, and other sundries had been brought in from the shed and stacked in a cubby.

“Thanks, Kyle. This looks great.” Caleb’s cheery voice sounded forced. Or, perhaps that’s what Seth wanted to hear. “Doesn’t it, Seth?”

He made himself smile at the alpha mate. “Yes, thank you for going to the trouble.”

Kyle returned the look. “It was nothing. We help each other out here. I’ll leave you to your good-byes.”

So soon? Yes, of course. He was being a ninny with selective memory. Caleb had said he needed to leave right away. Seth shuffled over to the pallet and sat down. It was only then that he remembered he and Caleb were both buck-naked still. Given that the gamma was taking off, dressing would have been a waste of time. Feeling shy, though, Seth pulled a blanket onto his lap.

“I think I’ll take a nap.” He didn’t feel tired, not really, but he didn’t want to fuss about Caleb leaving. He was trying to be casual even though he felt his heart squeezing painfully.

The gamma crouched down. “That’s a great idea. Then you should take a shower before lunch. It will make you feel better.”

No, your staying here will make me feel better.

He forced a smile to his lips and made himself look his mate in the eye. “Thanks. I will. Have a safe trip. Be careful,” he blurted, hating how needy it made him sound.

“I always am.” They’d been through this call and response before, yet it didn’t cause Seth’s worry to flee. Leaning over, Caleb kissed him. It was tender and sweet.

Seth’s eyes closed involuntarily as his mouth was softly ravaged. Then it was over, and still he kept his eyes shut, listening. Human footsteps turned to paws clicking on the floor. He didn’t open up again until he heard nothing at all.

The room was empty. Caleb was gone. And, Seth felt more alone than he had running feral.

Chapter Fifteen

“Here you go,” Joey said with a bright smile. “One vanilla cupcake and a big glass of milk to wash it all down.”

Seth wrinkled his nose. “Thanks, but I don’t really like milk. Can I please have water or juice instead?” Even as he asked the question, he knew what the answer was going to be.

“Sorry.” Joey flitted back to the stove where he had big pots of stew simmering away. “Andrea has two servings of dairy every day on your diet. Milk is a good source of that. We don’t want your mate returning to find that you didn’t follow instructions. Let me be your object lesson about what happens when omegas go off script.”

“Yeah,” Will said around his own mouthful of cupcake. “Joey’s lucky Liam has let him out of his cabin finally. We all benefit from his cooking, too. These are awesome,” he added, before stuffing the rest of his treat into his mouth.

Joey grunted. “I’m glad you like them, but really, they’re my way of showing my overprotective mate that being a new father doesn’t make me an invalid. I’m happy to be back in the kitchen, although I can’t leave the longhouse without Liam by my side.”

Seth forced some milk down before chasing the taste away with the more tongue-pleasing frosting. “It’s not fair.”

Both of the other omegas barked out laughter. Then Will waddled over and sat opposite him at the kitchen table.

He gave Seth a sympathetic look. “You can’t think about it that way. Sure, being mated to a high-ranked pack member means you have to put up with their domineering ways. And, all of us here know what it’s like when those kinds of guys abuse their power. Our mates aren’t like that.”

“Right,” Joey added. With a final stir of one of the pots, he went to check on his pup who lay sleeping in a bassinette. “Everything they do comes from a need to take care of us. Isn’t that right, Little Craig,” he whispered.

Straightening, the omega grabbed a cupcake off the counter. “They’re irritating as shit, but they love us and we love them.” So saying, he stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.

Will nodded. “They do, and we do.” He sighed. “Even when we want to smack them in their smug beta faces. Or gamma faces, as the case may be.”

“Don’t forget the alpha’s.” Kyle strolled in carrying a sleeping Hope in one arm. “Sometimes Lorcan makes me so mad… Then he does something really sweet that makes up for it.

“Mabel has Annie,” he shot at Will before homing in on the cupcakes. “Are these up for grabs?”

Joey nodded. “Yup, I made plenty for after dinner. We broke into them early to help fatten up Seth.”

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