Page 4 of Omega's Breed

Damn, it was going to be a long trip.

Chapter Two

Will stroked Annie’s hair with a constant motion that served to both soothe him and give him courage. Holding his daughter, reminding himself of her existence, always centered him. Since the moment he’d felt her move inside his body, he knew that he now lived for someone else. Nothing mattered more in the world than taking care of her, keeping her safe, loving her as he’d loved no one in his relatively short and miserable existence. He prayed to gods he no longer believed in that this beta, Finn, spoke the truth when he said Annie would be welcomed into their new pack. If anything happened to her, he would die, too.

He was comforted by Caleb’s presence. The gamma had always been surprisingly kind to Will, if only because he’d been the one male who’d refused Magnus’ offer to breed him. No doubt that’s why the gamma sat in this truck. Magnus had never been the type of alpha to tolerate any dissention. When the strange shifter had approached the alpha with a request for a pack member, Magnus had seen an opportunity to rid himself of both an inconvenient omega and a gamma who dared to think for himself. Caleb seemed happy with the abrupt change in status. Hopefully he would prove to be an ally and protect Will and Annie in their adopted pack.

Although who was he fooling? If the new alpha forced Will to breed his pups or simply killed Annie outright for any reason, Caleb would be powerless to stop him. It would be worth the gamma’s life to outwardly challenge his alpha even if, as this beta insisted, the alpha wasn’t an “asshole.”

It wouldn’t come to that. He had to believe everything would be fine. After all, if Annie meant nothing to this so-called Rogue Pack, why would the beta be intent on buying a car seat?

Because he doesn’t want trouble with the human cops.

Shit, he needed to chill out. All of this whipsawing himself back and forth trying to anticipate what would happen was only serving to work him up. That wouldn’t help Annie. Who started to squirm. Her sweet face scrunched up in what he recognized as her waking-up-and-about-to-cry expression. He hastily unzipped his bag with one hand and groped around for the bottle of powdered milk he’d packed. Annie’s eyes fluttered open and she stared up at him, cranky, as was her usual mood first thing. Fumbling with the bottle and a canteen of water he’d also brought, he quickly mixed up the drink and managed to get the nipple into her mouth before she got off one good shriek.

His shoulders slumped with relief, and he relaxed completely when his daughter grabbed the bottle with both of her dainty hands and held on. He’d been forced to wean her earlier than he’d wanted because his milk had dried up. Just one more thing that left him feeling useless and a failure. But, Annie liked the dry milk well enough and had a healthy appetite for solid food. All of which he obtained through bartering, doing chores for the breeding females who were better positioned in the pack to obtain such rations. Annie was so small, she didn’t eat much, and she’d adapted readily to taking small bites of his meals. It left him feeling hungry constantly, which of course didn’t matter.

Only Annie did.

“She’s awake?”

Will started at the unexpected sound of the beta’s voice. Whipping his head up, he stared at Finn’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Just for a second their gazes locked before Finn switched his back to the road. Will felt the brief contact right down his spine with a strange feeling that pooled low in his belly. He tightened his hold on Annie.

He swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. She’s having some milk, though, and I brought a few snacks with me, so she’ll be good.”

Caleb turned in his seat and grinned. “I brought some snacks, too. A growing pup needs food. Plus, we can get more at the store.”

Something like a low level growl came out of the beta. “Yes, we will. No one goes hungry in the Rogue Pack.”

Settling back in place, Caleb said. “Yes, sir. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”

Once more, Will’s gaze met the beta’s in the mirror. He wasn’t sure what to make of Finn’s expression. Being used to placating more powerful shifters, Will cocked his head enough to expose more of his neck in submission and offered up a shy smile.

The beta’s face relaxed into a friendlier look. “And, I didn’t mean to be so snappish. Sorry, I’ve been on the road too long.”

Will’s eyes popped open. He didn’t think he’d ever heard a shifter apologize to an inferior pack member before. Maybe his new pack really would be different.

“I’ll be happy to spell you any time driving, Beta. Finn,” Caleb amended.

“Thanks, I’ll take you up on that,” the beta replied with a sigh. “I want to go as far as we can today before we have to stop at a motel.”

“A human one?” Caleb asked.

Finn glanced at him. “Are there any shifter ones?”

The gamma scratched at the back of his head and chuckled. “I guess not. Never stayed at a motel, though.”

“They’re nothing special, but we can’t camp. It’s still gets cold at night, so Annie shouldn’t sleep outside.”

Alarmed at the idea that his daughter would cost the pack even more money, Will found the courage to speak up. “I’ll take care of her, Beta. She’ll be fine.”

The beta didn’t respond right away. His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel enough to turn them noticeably white. “It’s Finn, and our itinerary is not up for debate.”

Chastened, Will ducked his head and focused on Annie. She’d drained the milk and now sucked on air. Pulling the nipple out of her mouth, he put the bottle back in his pack and lifted her up so that she could look around and burp out any bubbles that might cause her pain. As usual, she fisted his braid and tugged on it playfully while she took in the passing scenery.

Caleb pointed at the windshield. “The turn-off for the store is coming up on your right.”

“Got it.”

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