Page 25 of Omega's Breed

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“Look at the pretty flowers, Annie.” Holding both her hands, Will helped his pup toddle over to a cropping of something pink growing near the stream that ran through the pack lands.

Finn had been pleased with his mate’s approval over how he’d dressed the girl. She wore sneakers almost the same shade as the flowers, sturdy pull-up jeans and a white, long-sleeved T-shirt. The forest being cooler, Finn carried a light jacket for the pup, just in case Will decided she needed it.

Will let Annie lean forward to smell the flowers. “Can you say ‘flower’ Annie? Fl-ow-er,” he repeated slowly.

The pup giggled as she rubbed her nose against the petals. “Da!”

Will sighed and glanced at Finn. “I guess it’s too much to ask her to leap into a two-syllable word.”

Finn cocked his hip and shook his head. “I wouldn’t sweat it. Shifter pups are slow to language. She’s obviously a smart girl.”

“You think so?” The hope lacing his mate’s tone made Finn’s heart ache. The poor omega was so worried all the time. Not surprising given his past.

“Absolutely. Lorcan was right when he said she had the look of a beta.”

She did, too, her brightness showing through even at this young age. Although he didn’t say it, his real concern was her lack of physical development. Most shifter pups could at least toddle around on their own two feet at Annie’s age. In that regard, she lagged behind. He made a mental note to ask Andrea about it. His experience with pups was limited, but he remembered his son careening around the house. The memory made his heartbeat hitch, except this time, he opened himself up to the past instead of immediately shutting it down. If he allowed the horror of his old family’s ending to scare him into not remembering, then it would kill the joy that he’d known as well. That gave the bad parts too much power. He was strong enough now to handle it. Somehow taking on this new family gave him more emotional strength.

“We’ll know for sure, of course, once she has her first shift,” he added, bringing himself back to the present.

A look of misery clouded Will’s face, and grabbing Annie up, he held her tightly. Finn recognized the gesture as his mate’s go-to way of comforting himself. It reminded him disturbingly of a pup hugging a stuffed toy. Shit, Will was way too young to be a father, and Finn was making him one yet again.

He closed the gap between them. “What’s wrong?” When the boy shook his head in denial, Finn pulled rank. “Will!”

Tears swam in the omega’s eyes as he pressed a kiss to Annie’s temple. “Magnus never changed her.” His voice was so low, Finn had to call up his wolf ears to hear it.

Finn furrowed his brows. “What?” His mind couldn’t quite grasp what his mate said.

“When she was born, Magnus didn’t come near her. He never brought on her first shift.”

Finn still wasn’t comprehending. “Was he away for something? He must have returned soon enough to do it.”

Ideally, pups were changed within hours of their birth, if not minutes, by their alpha. But, of course, sometimes he wasn’t around for one reason or another and the event would be delayed by days. Sometimes weeks went by, yet nothing longer. Annie was almost a year old. At this point, it might be too late, and if she didn’t shift in infancy, she would never be able to when she hit puberty. He was pretty certain of that. His animosity toward Magnus increased a thousand-fold. What was wrong with that guy? Who neglected a member of his pack in such an extreme way?

He reached out to embrace both Will and Annie. Unaware of the tension, the pup gleefully grabbed a fistful of Finn’s shirt. The omega, however, trembled, although whether it was from fear or sadness, Finn didn’t know. Not that the cause mattered. He hated his mate being upset.

“It’s okay,” he crooned and ran a soothing palm down Will’s braid. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s go back and speak with Andrea. She’ll know what to do. Don’t worry,” he added with a quick peck to the top of Will’s head, even though Finn was all kinds of worried at the moment. He feared this was one problem he wouldn’t be able to fix for his mate.

They hustled back to the compound and made a beeline for Andrea’s room. They found the healer mixing up a batch of some potion or other. The moment they entered, she gave them a reassuring smile and bade them to sit and wait for her to finish. It didn’t take long, and after she put aside her concoction, she came over to where they sat in her sitting room area.

“So, you’re breeding again, Will.”

“Yes, ma’am.” When he went to stand, she waved him down.

“Let me look at you.” She scrutinized the boy enough to make him blush. “You look good. Any morning sickness?”

“No, ma’am.” Pink tinged his cheeks. “I didn’t have any with Annie, either.”

Finn had stood because he wasn’t comfortable sitting in the presence of an elder even if she said it was okay. “Is that a problem?” He remembered what had happened with Joey, and the thought of Will losing their pup made his stomach churn.

Andrea turned her kind eyes on him. “It’s fine. Many pregnant shifters have no morning sickness. It doesn’t mean anything’s wrong.”

Finn heaved a sigh of relief. It was as if the wise old woman could see into his mind. “That’s good to hear. Thanks.” He grimaced. “But, we do have a problem we need your guidance on. It’s about Annie.”

“She seems fine.”

“She is, except…” He told her the story and as the import of his words sank in, the healer’s expression changed.

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