Page 10 of One Wild Omega

“Areyou getting a place of your own?” Fitz asked him.

“I spend most of my time at the station, so it’s not like Ineeda place, you know? And when I’m off,” Emerson paused, grinning. “I usually land in someone else’s bed…” Emerson paused to wink. “So I sometimes wonder what’s the point of getting my own place? Saves me money.”

“You aresucha slut,” Harrison griped.

“You’re just jealous,” Emerson tossed back. “You’re all domesticated now that you moved that beta in with you.”

Fitz frowned, a little shocked. “Cass moved in?”

“You have a problem with that?” Harrison asked, lifting a brow. The smile faded on his face. “Cassidy and I have a very good relationship, filled with mutual respect. There’s nothing wrong with that. And to answer your question… yes, he moved in. Two weeks ago.”

Emerson yawned. Loudly. “He’s a beta. He can only be a placeholder and you know it.”

Harrison’s jaw clenched, and Fitz could see the comment got to him. After a few seconds of silence, Harrison turned to Emerson. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that—for both our well-beings.”

Emerson stretched his long body out under the table and eyed Harrison, a devilish glimmer in his eyes. Before Emerson could poke the bear, Fitz gave the younger twin a kick in the shin. Emerson winced and glared at Fitz, but seemed to get the message. He closed his mouth before lifting his bottle and taking another drink.

“We all know there are more alphas than there are omegas in this province. There aren’t enough to go around—and I’m getting to an age that if there was an omega out there for me, I would’ve met him by now. I don’t want to spend my life alone. Maybe whoring it up works for you,” Harrison said, eyeing Emerson. “But it’s not for me. I’m the settling down kinda guy.” He was quiet for a moment, looking between them before continuing. “Cassidy makes me happy.Reallyhappy. And if either of you were smart, you’d settle on happiness instead of waiting around for some omega who might not be there.”

“We get it,” Emerson said, his voice low. “You’re happy. I won’t beat you up for it anymore.”

“Yeah,” Fitz added, nodding his head toward Harrison. “Sorry I brought it up.”

Their brother was quiet a moment before speaking again. “As I was saying—before the conversation went off the rails—if Captain Tremaine won’t allow you to do what Captain Bingam did, the Victoria Highlands might be your only other way out. Bingam’s over there now. Call him. So they’re rich over there. Envy’s gonna get you nowhere in this world, Fitz. You need to let go of that shit, man.”

“I’mnotjealous. I’m just tired of seeing people like that who have it sogodsdamnedeasy. Doors open for them. They get opportunities we would never dream of getting. What makes them better than us?Nothing.” Fitz shook his head. “That’s not jealousy. That’s a desire to see the world become a little fairer and more equal. Am I wrong?”

“He does gotta point there,” Emerson said. “How many times do we see violations at the fires we go to. Non-working detectors or alarms? Blocked or locked fire exits? Cheaply made buildings not up to code? And who owns most of them? Assholes over in the Victoria Highlands. They think less about the safety of those living and working in their buildings than they do therenosin their bank accounts.”

Harrison sighed. “True. I’ll give you that. But to hate every person living on that side of town only because they might have a little more than we do? That’s not right, either. And hating them won’t serve any purpose. Someday soon, those people are going to be your clients. Rich men build things, bro. Might as well learn to kiss ass now.” Harrison took the last drag on his bottle before handing it to a passing waiter. “Bring us the check, eh?”

The waiter nodded. “Be right back.”

“Making it an early night?” Fitz asked, lifting a brow. Fitz felt amped up and wasn’t in the mood to go home yet.

Harrison laughed. “It’s nearly one.”

Fitz drained the last of his beer. “Captain Tremaine has been putting me on graveyard watch the last few weeks. I sleep all day and stay up all night now.” They worked twenty-four-hour shifts, but someone always had to stay up to keep watch over the house. He’d been stuck on the overnight watch duty for nearly two months.

“You’re supposed to swap out,” Harrison said.

“Just one more wonderful thing about my current situation,” Fitz growled.

“I like the graveyard watch. Freaks come out at night,” Emerson offered.

The waiter sauntered back over. “Someone paid for your drinks, fellas. They said thanks for your service to the community.”

They all turned to see an older couple Fitz vaguely knew waving their way. They all waved back with smiles. Harrison bowed his head to them. They smiled… until they looked at Fitz. Their smiles faded. Fitz knew full well why he was getting that look. His mind drifted to his green-haired alien, and a wave of remorse hit him.

“Yeah, Fitz… service to our community.” Emerson said, pulling him from his reverie. “That’swhat we do. Soon, you’re going to be buying your own drinks, buddy.”

Fitz chuckled. He still had a couple more years before he’d walk up that stage and get his degree. Part-time classes worked around a firefighter’s schedule meant lots of online classes and others tucked in here and there, as he could. “Yeah, but I’ll be able to afford all the drinks I want when my bank account’s nice and fat.”

“And you’ll be buying rounds for your favorite brother, then,” Emerson said.

“Thankfully, Harry doesn’t drink that much.”

Harrison barked with laughter while Emerson scowled.

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