Page 24 of Nanny Omega

“Tell me, Ersa… please.” Jun’s voice wavered on the edge of a sob.

“Okay… okay… don’t cry. I’ll tell you.” Ersa rattled out the address he’d heard the agent give to the operator the day he came for his interview. “Don’t come unannounced, Jun. Let me know beforehand. This is not my house.”

“I know,” Jun said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“That’s too soon,” Ersa said, the words slipping out before he could stop them. The moment Jun’s sharp gasp cut through the line, he knew he’d made a mistake.

“Too soon? What do you mean?” Jun screamed in Ersa’s ear. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

“No, Jun… wait,” Ersa said, but the connection went silent.

“Arggg…” Ersa grumbled as he picked up his plate and dropped it in the sink to wash tomorrow. He might as well get some rest, he decided, heading to his room. He was going to need all his strength to deal with Jun tomorrow.

He made a detour to Benjn’s room. As he walked into the room, Ersa looked up at the twinkling lights on the ceiling, which glowed from blue to orange, the sight soothing. Ersa stared at them for a second before he tiptoed to the crib in the middle of the room. Unable to resist, he ran the back of his fingers along Benjn’s cheek.

“You’ve been a good little alpha today, haven’t you? My little alpha, thank you.” Ersa leaned down and kissed Benjn’s cheek. “Good night,” he whispered, retreating.

In his room, Ersa dropped the connector on the bedside table, and a deep yawn overtook him, stretching his jaw until his eyes watered. Getting under the covers, he fluffed the pillow and tucked it beneath his head. The holo image device glowed golden as it displayed Mason’s and Mika’s images one after the other. Ersa stared at them, tracing their delicate features as though to imprint them in his mind forever, until his eyes felt heavy, and he couldn’t keep them open anymore.

“Good night,” Ersa mumbled, drifting into oblivion.

Seconds later, he jolted awake. His heart pounded frantically, and his eyes darted wildly around the dimly lit room as he tried to figure out what had woken him. As if on cue, Benjn’s wail ripped through the night. Ersa waited for a few minutes to see if Benjn would fall back to sleep without any help, but the cub cried even harder.

Ersa stumbled out of bed and ran to Benjn’s room. Ersa was about to pick Benjn up when Master Quin rushed into the room, a bottle of milk in one hand. Ersa stepped aside because he knew Benjn wanted his dad. As if on cue, the cub quieted down when Master Quin moved closer to the crib. Ersa watched as Benjn snuggled against his dad’s chest.

Master Quin whispered softly to Benjn as he walked to the settee in front of the window, where he coaxed Benjn to feed from the bottle. Dad and cub engaged in a battle of wills, with Dad coming out victorious when Benjn stopped whimpering and eagerly reached up for the bottle. Master Quin sighed, his tense shoulders relaxing as he watched Benjn feed heartily. The moon washed the pair in a grey light that made them look beautiful, almost surreal. Ersa found himself rooted to the spot. No matter how much he willed himself to turn away, his eyes remained riveted to the pair, drawn to them with an intensity he couldn’t explain.

A while later, Master Quin got up and gently laid Benjn back in his crib. Benjn squirmed in protest. “Shhh… I’m right here,” Master Quin murmured as he rubbed the cub’s back in soothing strokes.

“I think he’s used to having you close at night. Maybe Benjn should sleep in your room. Having your scent around him soothes him.”

“No. He needs to get used to the fact that his father is not here anymore,” Master Quin said, his voice low. “This is the way things are now.” When Master Quin finally lifted his gaze, Ersa’s breath caught at the sadness etched into his eyes. The sight of it tugged at something deep inside Ersa. He wanted to reach out, to smooth away the pain written on Master Quin’s face, to make everything right… even if he didn’t know how.

“Nath took care of Benjn during the day, and I took care of him at night. Nath only woke up to feed him, and I would do the rest. Most nights, Benjn slept in my arms. When Nath left…” Master Quin trailed off, Ersa filled in the rest, and the realization sent a chill down his spine. The omega had left. Just… disappeared.

Why? His heart clenched as he struggled to comprehend it. He couldn’t imagine walking away from his own cub, leaving Benjn, so small, so vulnerable, alone in the world. The thought was inconceivable. What could have driven Nath to abandon his own cub?

“I’m sure Benjn misses that. His father is gone, but you’re still here,” he said. When Master Quin said nothing, Ersa stepped close to the crib. “I’ll go. I’ll sleep in your bed,” Ersa blurted out as he gently picked up Benjn. Settling the cub on his chest, he walked to the door. When Ersa looked over his shoulder, the alpha was still standing where he’d left him. “Are you coming, Master Quin?”

“We can’t do that. I…” He trailed off. His brows drew together, deepening the lines of uncertainty on his face.

“I know, but Benjn can’t stay in here. I understand you want to change his routine, but this is too drastic. It’s hurting him—Benjn can’t lose both his parents at the same time.” Ersa stared at the alpha, waiting. “Master Quin?”

“Call me Xander first,” he suddenly said. “We’re past formalities now, don’t you think?”

Ersa swallowed uncomfortably, biting into his bottom lip.

“You can’t do it.”

Ersa nodded.

“Why?”

Ersa looked away, unable to hold Master Quin’s intense gaze. “It’s… it’s not professional.”

At his words, Master Quin’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and his massive shoulders shook from silent laughter. Ersa’s cheek heated.

“Are you coming or not?” he growled, embarrassment making him snappy. Master Quin answered with a rumbling growl of his own that caused Ersa’s breath to hitch in his chest. Focusing on Benjn, Ersa continued out of the room. He hid a smile when Master Quin followed him without any fuss.

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