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“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, you being…irritable makes sense but that’s not why I’m here.”
He wanted to demand that Simon get to the point and tell him why he was there so he could leave again, but instead, he pushed his nose into The Baby’s fine hair and inhaled. He could smell Morgan’s spicy cinnamon notes in the child and despite everything that had happened, that scent soothed him.
“There’s an Alpha downstairs who wants to talk to you, and I came to ask if you want to talk to him. You don’t have to.”
Eyes wide, Ricky jerked his head up. Was Morgan in Blue Mountain? Did he know about The Baby? Was he willing to forgive Ricky for his deceit or did he detest him?
“Hey, hey.” Simon got up and came over to him. “Breathe.” Small hands rubbed his shoulders. “You’re safe. Your baby is safe. Mitch won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Who…” Ricky licked his lips. “Who’s here?”
“His name is Keith Iredell and he grew up in the same pack as Mitch and Freddy. He’s younger than they are so they don’t really know him, but they know his family and they trust him. I’ll stay with you the whole time if you want.”
“I don’t know Keith Ire…” Ricky tried and failed to remember the name he had just heard. With how much time he spent sleeping, he couldn’t blame exhaustion on his memory problems. Not unless guilt and regret could make a man tired. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“Right. I understand, but he says he knows you, or at least he knows who you are.” Simon rubbed his lips together. “He says that Morgan Peters claims to be your mate.” He peered at Ricky intently. “He says that Peters wouldn’t lie about that and that he has news you’ll want to hear.”
Eyes falling closed, Ricky tried to keep his breathing even. Even after all he had done wrong, Morgan claimed him as his own. Well, maybe not claimed, but definitely acknowledged. Would he keep doing that if he knew Ricky had tricked him into having a child?
“If that Alpha’s lying, tell me and—”
“He’s not lying,” Ricky rasped, using his free hand to wipe away the tears streaking his cheeks.
The bed dipped and Simon’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Ricky. I can’t imagine how much it’d hurt to have your mate force himself on you.”
“He didn’t.” Head shaking, Ricky opened his eyes. “If anything, I forced him.”
“You forced sex on an Alpha? I saw Alpha Peters so I know he isn’t big but—”
“An Alpha doesn’t have to be big to be powerful,” Ricky said defensively.
“I understand.” Looking defeated, Simon dropped his hands into his lap and wrung them together. “Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we can’t physically outmatch an Alpha.”
“Of course not. We’re Omegas.” Morgan was an Alpha and Ricky was an Omega. They’d never be equal physically, a fact Ricky found comforting and arousing in equal measure. “Our bodies are meant to please Alphas, not fight them.” Simon was mated to an Alpha so he should understand that.
Head tilted to the side, Simon looked at him appraisingly for several quiet moments and then he put his palm on Ricky’s wrist. “Did you give in to him because you felt like you had no other choice?”
“No.” Ricky shook his head, frustrated. Simon was the only other male Omega Ricky had ever met, but he couldn’t relate to the man. He showed no joy in being an Omega. While their kind were supposed to be supportive of their Alphas, a soft place to land, he wore his hard edges with pride and he spoke disrespectfully of Alphas. Ricky had made a lot of mistakes, but disparaging his Alpha wasn’t going to be one of them. “Morgan is an honorable man. He didn’t make me do anything. I forced him.”
“But…” Gaze flicking up and down Ricky’s body, Simon said, “How?”
Compared to other men, Ricky was relatively scrawny, relatively short, and relatively weak. Those were parts of being an Omega. But they weren’t the only parts. “There’s more than one way to force something on a person,” he stated. “Especially if he’s your mate. Alphas want to please their Omegas.” Something even a young cub knew so Ricky certainly shouldn’t have to explain it to a mated adult Omega.
“I don’t understand what happened with the Golden Valley Alpha before you came here,” Simon said, head shaking, “but Keith is downstairs, and I think you’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
***
“You don’t have to worry. The Golden Valley pack isn’t violent.”
Violence wasn’t the cause of Ricky’s apparently obvious nerves, so he remained silent in the backseat of Keith’s car, his hand on The Baby’s chest and his gaze on the passing landscape.
“If they were going to hurt anyone, it would be me and they didn’t. They just let me leave,” he said, fingertips rapidly tapping against the steering wheel. “And that was with Alpha Peters unconscious and bleeding.”
