Page 8 of Omega's Runaway Love
“That’s what happens when you forget family obligations. Just stick around for a few days and take your scolding like the adult you are. Your team can do outtake or compilation posts. They have before.”
I turned back to him, a smirk on my face. “Nate… do you follow me?”
He rolled his eyes. “No, I pay three full-time private investigators to monitor your every movement. What do you think, Zaya? You fly all over the world, and never with enough security for our liking. I know you have a delay on your updates so that you can mostly be done in a country before they start posting, but it’s still dangerous for a single-omega to go some of these places, and downright insane if word got out that you’re worth billions. One of us has to keep at least some sort of tabs on you, and since dad and papa don’t get the social media thing at all, that little chore falls to me.”
A tendril of guilt curled through me. As much as I teased my brother, I didn’t mean to make extra work for him. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my forehead on them.
He sighed, stood, rounded his desk, then took a spot beside me on the couch, where he pulled me into his arms.
“You know I support you Zaya, but you need to do more to help yourself. Dad and papa still treat you like a kid because you haven’t given them a reason not to. Almost missing granddad’s birthday was the most egregious, but you’ve come close to missing other family functions. And what are you going to do once the influencer thing dries up? You can’t expect it to last forever when everything else about social media is so transient. I have no doubt that you’ll make the most of it for as long as you can, and sponsorships will help, but eventually you’ll find an alpha and want your own family. Are you going to keep traveling everywhere while pregnant? What if your alpha wants you to stay home? Dad and papa have these same questions. They want to know that you’ll be ok once they pass.”
“But they’re barely in their fifties,” I argued. “There’s plenty of time for them to worry about me later.”
“You’re in your mid-twenties Zaya. How many of your friends from school are already mated with children? Didn’t you send a congratulatory post just last week to one of your editors when he announced his pregnancy?”
“Yeah…”
“Dad and papa want to play with grandchildren while they’re still young, you know.”
I sighed against his chest. Why was it that my alpha brother could soothe me when I was angry?
“Why don’t you find an omega then?” I asked. “You’re older than me, shouldn’t you have kids first?”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve already talked to dad and papa about my issues. They aren’t happy, but they are understanding.”
“What issues?” I asked, looking up at him.
Nate kissed my forehead, something he started when we were both small kids and had always comforted me. “Don’t worry about it, Zaya.”
“But…”
He shifted and stood. “Leave it, ok? You should instead think about how to convince dad and papa that you’re a respectable adult, and not somebody who never matured past his frivolous teen years.”
“Thanks, asshole,” I muttered.
He chuckled. “It won’t be too bad. Hear them out, promise to be better about whatever is bothering them, and make a plan to actually make changes. Show them that you’re listening and making an effort and they’ll be happy.”
“You don’t happen to know what they want to talk to me about, do you?”
“Sorry, they haven’t said anything to me.”
I sighed. “Ok…”
“Take your mind off it for now. Go do all the touristy things around the city. Take a ride on the river, and make yourself look silly in front of The Bean. Heck I’m sure you’ve got a few favorite restaurants and coffee shops that could use a Zaya boost. Do what you do and make the most of however long they want you here.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“You know I am. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“No, you’re not arrogant at all,” I snarked.
He laughed. “Go on. I’ve got work to do.”
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t know how to leave work at the office.”
“Just making sure that I’m ready for whenever dad decides to retire.”
“Better you than me.”
