Page 38 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
“Hell if I can say. I found it outside the door. Figured all family got an invite.”
My eyes narrowed. Inviting Nate wasn’t necessarily nefarious, but there might be more to it; perhaps some way to embarrass Graden.
“So what now? Rehash or move on?”
I repeated his words. “And how do I do that?”
“By taking everything you hate about me, squeezing it, and throwing it in the dark back corner of your mind. Then leave it.”
My voice softened. “Is that what you did?”
The nod was slight, but I caught it. “I had to otherwise I would’ve gone insane – even more than I already did. Nate leaned back while Tiny’s gaze shifted between us both.
Nate looked down at the little sim. “We’ve been chatting sinceyouhaven’t been around. Told me about you growing up.” His face turned solemn. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you had a good life. I worried that ‘lawman’ might do something to you.”
“You wouldn’t have had to if you didn’t give me away.”
His hands balled into fists, and his skin whitened around the knuckles. “There was a time that made my biceps pop before I’d smash something. The Volardi took away my strength when they changed me. His eyes went off to the side – not avoiding my gaze but instead looking into the past. “You and I grew up in different worlds – literally and figuratively. I’m not that stupid kid anymore. I slept around and used my father’s money to get whatever I wanted. Generally, I acted like an asshole, because there wasn’t anyone to stop me. I was pretty much an Alpha even though we didn’t use those terms – at least untiltheycame. Tall, muscled, powerful, and gay although they don’t consider themselves that. It’s their standard, and my normal for the last twenty years. I was king of a tiny Tennessee hill, and beings that ruled the galaxy came down and showed me how small I really was.”
Around us, ambient noise from the ocean surf, wind, and my breaths slowed and dulled. “Peter, you knew him before he changed into an Omega,” I said.
He shook his head yes. “The old me thought that was the sorriest most perverted thing in the world. I used to call him a little bitch, and you know? He never did a damn thing to me. Just existed, and it was enough for me to torment him.”
“The…attack?”
“I know the word, and you’re right, that’s exactly what I tried to do. I wasn’t gay, even if the thought doesn’t bother me anymore. I suppose you could say I was straight – at least more so than now. I wanted to take Peter just because I could. Teach him a lesson for something he never did. Hell, I was strong, I had muscles that could lift a bale of hay, and he was just a skinny kid. No threat, but I had to dominate him, and it cost me twenty years of my life.” His eyes misted over. “During that night Matros nearly killed me. I was already feeling small thanks to the Volardi, but no man had every lifted me off the ground like I was nothing.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “Peter saved me. The Volardi couldn’t attack anyone on Earth unless they attacked a Volardi first. Peter became Matros’ mate so he could get saved. When it was done, he told his husband to leave me alone.” A slow tear dripped down his face. “The man I was going to-to…,” he wiped away a tear, “he let me live even after what I did, tried to do.”
I wondered if he hated Peter for that. It was a kindness on Peter’s part, but I’m sure Nate spent many a night wishing he was killed instead.Especially with what came after.
“My girl Becky and her Pa were left with me. He had a gun, and I wasn’t getting up. After thatmygovernment came. They wanted to stay on good terms with the Volardi. So I was sent to their ship.” His hands went out as if to show off his body. “They took a few inches of height, made sure I wasn’t as strong as before and changed me into an Omega. Then it went downhill from there. I went from an ‘Alpha’ male into practically one of their females and then sent to a colony to be a town’s entertainment for the last two decades.” He chuckled softly. “The funny thing is, I thought abandoning you would avoid everything Omega. I planned everything, give you up, betray the crew I was with… Stupid me wanted his body back so I wouldn’t end up as someone’s babymaker. You know what the funny thing is?”
“What?” I asked softly.
“That doesn’t seem so bad. Twenty years as a town’s plaything or to be with two guys who wouldn’t hurt me? You do the math.
I could, and it added up to a world of hurt.
He tried to stifle a sniff and failed, “I did everything I could so I wouldn’t get pregnant again after you. The town made sure that wouldn’t happen. They didn’t want families, just someone to fuck.”
All the arguments battled in my mind. The stuff of bad dreams and what I feared would happen to me, Nate attempted on somebody else. I was born from a nightmare – both from an attacker and someone who did it to him. I wasn’t Volardi – not really, but we both shared some beliefs. Taking another’s mate, especially inthat waywas wrong and I couldn’t excuse that. Although with the Volardi, it was more about taking somebody’s property and not learning from the past. With me, it was basic decency and fear. We were made for taking Volardi cock, but we should be able to say yes or no. If we didn’t, then that meant… I shook off the shiver while the real question came.
Do I want to excuse him?Hell, I don’t know.I felt sorry for someone I hated. Nobody should have to go through those years. What I avoided, he got every day. It was less about forgiving somebody and wanting to get rid of this pit in my stomach. Life was okay in New Texas, but I wish I could’ve been like some of the Volardi kids with three or the Humans with two parents.
My Pa – the one that’s in the ground – tried to do his best. And yet, I was born because my lawman father didn’t follow the law. Years later a bullet took him away and made a kid grow up. Now the dark-haired man on the bed with dead eyes was the onlythingI had left as a potential father. There’s no way he could sense my thoughts, but the question sent gooseflesh down my arm.
“You think the day will ever come, where you can call me Dad or Pa?” He said it as if he already knew the answer.
I shook my head no slowly. It was almost like saying it but hearing it aloud would’ve been cruel. No matter what he’s done, he’s still a man and didn’t deserve to be lied to.
Tiny’s little mouth pursed, then he looked away. He was only the size of my hand, but for a second he seemed bigger.
“I spoke to Graden,” I said. “We set you up with a home near the docks. We met two guys who told us about their area. It’s clean, and it’s a decent neighborhood. You’ll have a Smart-Box and monthly credits for anything extra within reason.”
“I’m guessing that doesn’t include a ticket off-world? I’m a prisoner on this planet.”
“Yes, but nobody will harm you here.”
“Yeah… nobody can hurt me.”
