Page 22 of Such a Sweet Omega

“Sure. Both of my neighbors are shifters so we won’t have any human prying eyes. What a great idea.”

We went outside, and he was right. His yard was big enough for us to play together as our animals. In the far right corner was a hammock and a firepit. I imagined one day, we would enjoy some of those things together.

“Wanna go first?” my alpha asked.

“Sure.”

I took off my pants, and although he had seen all of me the night before and then again in the shower, he licked his lips. I submitted to my wolf, letting him take over our shared form. One second, I was on two legs, and the next, I stood on four. Fur emerged from my skin. My human teeth were replaced with wolf ones, including fangs.

“Oh, omega. Look at you. How beautiful you are, little wolf.” Jabez got down on one knee and ran his fingers through my fur. My wolf soaked up his praise and his touch, but he wanted to see his counterpart, his mate’s wolf. We let out a yelp, a gentle nudge, and our alpha got the message right away.

“All right, impatient mate.”

In seconds, Jabez shifted into his wolf. His wolf was not gray like mine but a black so dark that the sun made some of his fur seem to shimmer in dark purples. He was gorgeous and all mine.

While we couldn’t run together in the confined space, we lay in the sun for a while and played. Bouncing and nipping at each other. It was almost noon by the time we shifted back. Our animals had bonded now.

“I have to go.” I broke the news to him as I gathered my clothes from the night before. It felt weird to put my club clothes on if I was only going home, but I didn’t plan to spend the night.

“Here.” He reached into a dresser drawer and pulled out a shirt and tossed it to me. “Do you have to go? You don’t even like the coffee there.”

I laughed, and it warmed my heart to hear that he wanted me to stay. “I do. I have bills to pay, Jabez. I’m sure you have patients and club business as well.”

Nodding, he came over, wrapping me up in a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I kind of miss you already.”

“Kind of?” I teased.

“No, omega. Not kind of. I already really miss you.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jabez

My wolf had wanted him closer to us from the first day, insisting he belonged in our den, but I had still been stuck in the idea that I would never want another omega in my life, that I did not deserve someone.

Treating myself like a child who is the reason a family cannot have nice things.

Overall, if I wanted to make a good life with my omega, I was going to have to forgive myself for the past, accept what my mentor and others close to me insisted, and recognize that there was nothing I could have done to save him.

And if I was going to treat my omega as my partner, I needed to show him the respect he deserved. I absolutely should have shared more about my past before we mated, but he had not wanted that, and he did know that I was widowed.

But we’d come so close now and I wanted him under my roof. I needed to be sure we could be completely open with one another. I could not survive otherwise.

So, I invited him over for dinner, hoping to clear the air of the few things that I felt needed to be said. I knew many shifters, once they met their fated, would just leap, and we kind of had done that, but as a widower, I was carrying some baggage. Even in forgiving myself, that experience had affected me and my world view.

“This is great. I never would have barbecued so early in the year, but the weather is perfect, isn’t it?” Beale was sitting on a lounge chair on my patio, looking so relaxed and at home, my wolf had never been happier.

“I always enjoy grilling.” I flipped the steaks and came to sit in the chair next to his. “Did you have a good day?”

“Not bad.” He grinned. “I got a big tip for remembering the twenty things that went into this guy’s latte.”

“Was it really twenty?” My mind reeled, trying to think of what twenty things could fit in one cup of coffee. “Or just a lot.”

“Twenty.” He shook his head. “Although a few of them were literally a drop or two because it is not a gallon jar.”

“Oh, that’s so funny. You deserved that tip.”

We talked a little more about our days. I’d had a patient who hadn’t been expected to do well make a turn for the better, and I was glad to share that before we settled in with our plates and the sunset.

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