Wes had a modicum of empathy for the man. Tenure was a big deal. “Well, now that all this has happened, perhaps we can move on and go back to being the colleagues we once were. We both have to work here. It would be nice to be on even footing again.”
Lux offered a watery smile. “Even footing might be pushing it. Especially when only one of us has tenure. But I suppose we’ll see.”
With that enigmatic response, he stood and left the office.
That had been…odd. But Wes hoped it meant Lux had finally let it go, so they could put this episode behind them. He wasn’t looking forward to brushing off rude stares, but for years he’d contemplated whether his career could withstand people finding out about his polyamory. Now he had an answer.
He and Assa ordered pizza that night, a rare indulgence to celebrate getting through the day. They watched TV and cleaned up, reveling in the knowledge that the university community had discovered their secret and the sky hadn’t fallen.
Wes never should have let himself relax.
He should have been more prepared for the call when it came.
Talon’s name flashed on his phone screen. Dread pooled immediately in his stomach.
Assa was in the shower. That was good. It would soften the blow to hear it from Wes.
Talon spoke quickly, in hushed tones and admonishing whispers. He ended by telling Wes that all the agencies in the province had been informed of the situation. Any pregnant omega looking for adoptive parents would be made aware of theirproclivities. Even if the Pashuks vowed to be monogamous going forward, their history was known. Would an omega ever look past it when there were so many beta couples seeking to adopt? Talon did not think so. And he did not sound sorry.
Assa exited the bathroom to find Wes sitting teary-eyed on the edge of their bed. His expression fell. “Tell me.”
“Talon called,” Wes said quietly. “The omega…changed his mind.”
Assa did not need to be told why. He buried his head in Wes’s chest and wept. Everything had just become exponentially harder. They’d survived the fight over their jobs only to lose a much more important battle.
“We’ll find a way,” Wes murmured. “I promise. You deserve to be a father. We’ll find a way.”
Chapter Eighteen
Zeller
Zeller padded down the hallway, plotting every footstep to ensure he would not emit a sound. He hitched a breath at the crack of light coming from beneath Antoni’s closed door, but after a fraught five minutes, he reached the back of the house undetected.
He crept out the patio doors and tiptoed along the far side of the formal gardens without tripping the alarm. At the edge of the stone pavers, under cover of darkness, he sat on a half-wall, breathing fitfully.
Stopping for even a moment was not ideal, but as Zeller cradled his very-distended belly, he could not ignore his fatigue. He needed to move faster, but it was just so difficult—unsurprising, since he was due to give birth in less than two weeks.
He forced himself to rise.
Zeller felt blind as well as tired. At least in the theoretical sense. He didn’t have much of a plan other than to run away and escape the estate.
It hadn’t been easy. His parents had kept him under lock and key for months. They’d never given him his phone back. Once they had accepted that he had no intention of being cordial to any of the alphas they introduced him to, his room became more of a cage than ever.
He had tried appealing to Antoni, but the butler shook his head at Zeller’s entreaties to help him leave.
“I don’t think you realize the lengths your parents are willing to go to in order to have their way.”
“You know this is wrong! Valentin may have left, but I should be the one raising this baby.”
Antoni made a noise that sounded close to agreement before grimacing. “I love you like my own, kiddo, but I don’t have the power to go against your fathers. I’ll do what I can, but Keyes and Deveron aren’t budging on this.”
Asher was also no help, sticking to his belief that Zeller’s best course of action was to marry an alpha their parents approved of. Somehow, he viewed Zeller being linked to a distasteful alpha for the rest of his life as meeting them in the middle.
Zeller shuddered at the thought, even as he acknowledged that their fathers’ lone alternative to marriage was an even worse possibility. In recent months, instead of introducing Zeller to prospective husbands, they had been behind closed doors discussing adoption plans for his baby, refusing to give him any details.
Yesterday, he overheard them in the office and the stark reality of his situation had come crashing down.
They'd spoken in muted tones.
