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I meet his angry gaze. “I thought you were working the night shift tonight.”
“Clearly.” He grabs my pants, throwing them at me. “Get dressed and pack a bag.”
My stomach sinks. “Why?”
His face turns purple with rage. “You think you can bring guys home when I’m not around? Are you trying to get knocked up? Or do you just have no sense in that Omega brain of yours when it comes to Alphas?”
“It’s not like that,” I protest, Rian’s feeling footsteps still echoing in the house. “We’re in love.”
My father barks out an ugly laugh. “Sure you are, up until he gets you pregnant and ditches your stupid ass. Well, I’m not raising another kid. So, get the hell out of my house.”
“Dad.” I shake my head. “You don’t mean tha?—”
“Get out!” he roars.
Tears sting my eyes. “But where will I go?”
“That’s your problem, not mine.” He stabs a finger toward the door. “You have five minutes to pack a bag, and then I want you out of my house!”
With that, he stomps from the room, slamming the door behind him.
2
My father’s rage filled voice in my memory threatens to undo all the careful progress I’ve made over the years to make peace with being an Omega.
Is it worth risking a setback just to see if his views on Omegas have changed over time? I hadn’t told him I would be in town, and I’m not sure I can force myself through a strained visit.
I shake my head, trying to dispel the memory. Today is about happiness and celebration, not the fucked-up things I went through in high school.
Sean and Carrie have touched so many lives with their kindness and acceptance. If not for Carrie, I would have never learned to stop seeing my Omega status as something to be ashamed of. I never would have gone to therapy or made peace with the fact that my father’s views didn’t define me as a person.
Ben touches my arm. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah, it’s just been a long time since I’ve been home.” I rub the sweat from the back of my neck. “What have you all been up to?”
As Ben lights up with excitement about a new comic collaboration he’s doing with another artist named Basil Bark, the tension in my body melts away. He points out a guy with brown hair lingering near the stage, where his bond mate, Aster Woods, plays the violin.
As we chat more, Joshua appears, hand in hand with an older man, and I do a double take. “Is Joshua wearing a suit?”
I’ve never seen Joshua in anything but pajama bottoms. Of course, he was fifteen when we lived in the home together, but all of his social posts support that his habit hasn’t changed in the near decade since then.
Ben’s laughter jars me back to the present as he whips around and elbows his fiancé. “You owe me twenty dollars.”
Flinn sighs and reaches into his pocket to pull out his wallet and pass over the money. “Fine, but you’re paying for the cab home.”
Joshua spots us and ditches his date to race over and thrust his hand out toward Ben. “Give me my money.”
Ben dutifully passes over the twenty.
Flinn gapes at his fiancé. “Seriously? That’s cheating.”
The older man joins our group, nods at us, and curls a hand around Joshua’s shoulder. “Do you want anything to drink?”
Joshua holds out the twenty. “Get us some wine. My treat.”
He tucks the money into Joshua’s pocket and kisses his cheek. “It’s an open bar, brat.”
With another nod at us, the man strides toward the bar.
