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“Alright, I was going to take you out to dinner regardless. I had a meeting across the city at the hospital and wanted to surprise you, but it looks like I came right in time. Tell me they didn’t hurt you,” he begged.
“No. I promise it’s not as bad as you’re thinking. It’s just been a hard few days,” I explained. That was all he was getting for now, and I needed a subject change. Fast. “How’s school? Home life?”
“Nice subject change.” He snorted, giving me an exaggerated eye roll. “They’re still being assholes and pretending you don’t exist. I’m biding my time. I’m so sorry I haven’t been down in the last few weeks. Between classes and interning, I’m fucking drowning. I did have a breakthrough recently, though,” he said with a grin. “I had an interview two weeks ago, and they accepted me. That hospital specializes in obstetrics, and they only take two students every year. I’m one of them.”
“Oh my god, what?!” I gasped. “Congratulations, Liam. That’s incredible!”
“Thanks.” He blushed, but his grin was huge. He should be proud; he worked so fucking hard.
“Wait… obstetrics?” I asked. “I thought you wanted pediatrics.”
“It turns out the transition between them isn’t too bad. I did it last semester, and we crammed the extra classes in. It’s tireless, but I’m still on track,” he admitted. “After you got pregnant and I saw how you were treated, I wanted to work somewhere I could make a difference. Help spot alphas abusing their omegas and give them at least one ally.”
“That’s great,” I said with a sniffle. My brother’s heart was so big, and even now he was trying his best to make the world better. He couldn’t save me or change this situation, but he might be able to save another omega someday.
He pulled up outside of a small Italian restaurant. It was early enough we didn’t have to fight the dinner crowd. We quickly made our way inside and nabbed a table.
Liam ordered us both drinks, which made me smile. I was grateful he was taking care of me. It was a nice change, spending time with him and not having to try to be anything but myself. He knew everything about me, and it had always been so easy with us. We had been each other’s only allies for so long that it was impossible not to be best friends.
“Quit stalling. Spill,” he ordered, using a bit of his alpha authority—a rarity. Protective big brother was here, and I found everything tumbling out, from falling for the pack, to Ellis’ hesitations, to the visit from Omega Services.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted in a quiet voice. “I’m in over my head here, but I really tried not to be. Keeping my distance was supposed to be super easy, and I failed.”
“You didn’t fail,” he promised. “I’ve known Ellis for a really long time. If it’s because of our relationship, I’ll talk to him, but I’m guessing this has more to do with the ‘trapping you’ part. He’s always been a gentleman, and it sounds like he’s trying to not overstep his role as your protector. That, and his mom became pregnant with him during the early stages of her pack’s relationship and felt forced to stay. She reminded them of that often as well, so that’s likely right in the front of his mind. Ellis can be complicated. I’ve never met his mom, but from everything he’s told me, she torments her pack. As a beta, she always felt dismissed until she had Ellis with his beta father. Somehow, they produced an alpha, but even though that gave her a little more status, it didn’t make her any happier. So he might be feeling that if he offers you a spot now, you’ll accept it just for the baby and regret it one day. But at that point you’d all be trapped together in misery,” he explained.
“But I’m not trapped,” I argued in frustration. “I’m in the shitty situation of having to pick and prove my pack status, but I’d have chosen them regardless.”
“We both know that, but he’s always been a bit hesitant with commitment because of it. I don’t know how deep that bullshit with his family goes, but if this is happening, then I’d guess pretty deep.”
“I want to hug and karate chop him at the same time,” I grumbled. “Why are alphas always making shit complicated?”
“Because men are dumb sometimes. It’s not just alphas,” he promised. “And trauma has a lasting effect. You know that better than anyone.”
“Yeah, but I’m not stubborn as fuck,” I snarked. He raised an eyebrow and leaned back, giving me a look that told me he didn’t buy that. “Fine, but not that stubborn.”
“I’ll give you that. And not to be the meddling older brother, but you guys need to fucking get over yourselves and talk. So I’m inviting your pack to dinner since we just ordered drinks and appetizers,” he said, grabbing his phone and starting to type away.
“Alright,” I sighed. “But I don’t need you to fight this battle for me, okay?”
“No punching?” he whined playfully.
“Or maiming, or kicking, any of that,” I added on with a laugh. He softened and reached over, resting his hand on mine.
“I love you, Briar. I just want you to be happy and safe. That’s all,” he said gently, and damn if those tears didn’t make a comeback.
“I love you too,” I said back, wiping at my face and grumbling about pregnancy hormones. But we both knew those tears of love and acceptance had nothing to do with being pregnant. It just meant so much more to hear those words since my parents had proved their complete lack of love.
“Here’s your garlic bread and bruschetta,” the waitress said, interrupting the moment. She pretended not to notice the tears as she gave us smiles and slid over the plates. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Yes, actually. Can we have another table pulled over? We unexpectedly have six more joining us,” he said.
“Of course,” she said, giving him a shy smile. He jumped up to help her adjust the seating, and I secretly hoped he got her number. He could use a sweet omega like her in his life.
Just as he took his seat, the others walked in. Graham took the seat next to me, pressing his thigh against mine as he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“You’re mine, Briar. That baby is mine. You’re not going to any other pack. You hear me?” It wasn’t a threat, but a declaration. My stomach fluttered with nerves while I swallowed hard.
“Okay,” I whispered, trying not to show my sag of relief. He pulled back and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“I mean that, and so do the others, Briar,” he said gently. His brown eyes were full of so many unspoken things. “I’m taking you home after this. We need to talk privately. Clearly, I haven’t done a good enough job at conveying my feelings. And for that, I apologize.”
“Okay,” I said quietly. “I feel like I’m creating so much drama.”
