 
# Praise for Xander Collins

> Excellent Author and excellent book!
> 
> Goodreads Reviewer

> Holy Cow! I freaking loved this book it started out so intense then it got funny and loving. I adore the chemistry between the main characters.
> 
> Goodreads Reviewer

> Well written with beautiful characters and a great story-line. 
> 
> Goodreads Reviewer

# His Biggest Secret

### A Portville Mpreg Romance (Book 1)

## Xander Collins
**His Biggest Secret**

**A Portville Mpreg Romance**

**(Book 1)**

By Xander Collins

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© 2018 Xander Collins

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All Rights Reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.

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This book is a work of fiction and is intended only for adults over the age of 18.

All characters are 18 or over.

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### Contents

About His Biggest Secret

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About His Deepest Desire

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Also By Xander Collins

About the Author

# About His Biggest Secret

**Sometimes the biggest secret is the one we keep from ourselves.**

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Tough beta cop, Mark, wakes one morning with a hangover and some very vague memories of the previous night. One of those memories is something that Mark believes can't be possible.

He sees a flash in his mind of his best friend, Landon, who also happens to be his partner at work. Someone he's always had a crush on. The thing that Mark can't believe is what Landon is doing in that memory. And why Landon doesn't have any clothes on.

It isn't until Landon brings up the event that Mark realizes what is happening to him. For the last forty years, young beta men have been turning into omegas. Some as late as their twenties.

Mark is filled with shame when he realizes that's what's happening. He went into heat. He threw himself at his partner. He's now an omega.

And he's carrying Landon's baby.

Mark's whole world comes unraveled as he struggles with the changes his body is going through, as well as the changes in his perception of the world around him. He's no longer the tough beta cop he thought he was, but Mark starts to realize what true strength really is.

_His Biggest Secret the first book in the Portville Omegaverse series. It is a friends-to-lovers romance of 37k words with some bad language, hot sexy times, exciting and suspenseful moments, and a super cute baby to cuddle and tickle. It is intended for readers over the age of 18._

# 1

Mark

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_"A full city block is up in flames after arsonists hit another fertility clinic in Old Town earlier today. If you're taking one of the bridges into the downtown area from the East side this morning, be sure to check your navigation app for any alternate routes. More on local traffic and weather ten minutes after the hour."_

I lay there in bed for another few minutes, trying to wake up and take in the news that was slowly filtering into my brain. I stayed there with my hand on the radio alarm clock and my eyes closed before I could bring myself to move. When I was finally able to open my eyes the light from the room came flooding in. The brightness shot a stabbing pain through my already throbbing head.

I turned my aching head to one side and tried to make out the glowing digital numbers on the clock. 7:45. I was going to be late for work if I didn't get the hell out of bed in five... four... three... two...

I sat up, wincing at the pain, but that sharp, stabbing feeling wasn't just in my head anymore. There was a new source of discomfort concentrated underneath me. Right where I was sitting, in fact. I rubbed my temples and shook my head and tried to remember what the hell it was that I did last night, and why on earth my ass was so goddamned sore.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and threw the covers off, then stood up and tried to stretch out the ache in my muscles. I moved from side to side, then forward and backward, but nothing seemed to help. I thought maybe a Charlie horse—or a pulled muscle-had hit me in the middle of the night. But the thing was, every single one of my muscles felt fatigued and sore. I took a couple of steps and even had trouble picking up my feet so I could get myself across the room. What the hell was going on?

I figured I must be coming down with something. Maybe I'd caught the bug that had been going around all winter. The one that was keeping people in bed for weeks, even sending them to the hospital. When I thought back, I realized I had been feeling a little under the weather this last week. But being sick was the last thing I needed. My precinct was short on men, had been for months. I knew there was no way the captain would let me take any time off. With the rash of fertility clinic arson jobs that had hit the city lately I sure as hell didn't want to stay home. I had to make it in, no matter how crappy I felt.

As I walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light, I couldn't help but wonder if it was something else, though. Something I'd done last night. I didn't have a sore throat or a fever, and, the thing was, I couldn't actually remember how I got home last night. I didn't remember getting into a fight. And when I looked in the bathroom mirror I didn't see any scratches or bruises on my face or body.

But when I pulled my boxer briefs down I was kinda freaked out to see that they were damp. Soaked through was really more like it. And I had no idea where the hell all the moisture could have come from since it was all concentrated at the back. I reached around and slid my hand between my ass cheeks to see if I was bleeding or injured in any way, but I couldn't find anything.

"What the hell?" I said out loud to the mirror as I watched myself twist around futilely to catch a glimpse of my body from behind. It was no good. I couldn't see a thing except for some clear liquid on my hand that smelled... well, it smelled a hell of a lot like come. But that was ridiculous. I was a beta and when I went out looking for some action, I always made it clear that I was a pitcher, not a catcher. There was no way I would have let anyone go there, no matter how drunk I was last night. I closed my eyes and splashed water on my face, trying not to think about why I couldn't remember a thing.

I turned on the shower and slipped under the stream of hot water. I hoped if I stood there long enough it would help wash away some of the soreness in my muscles, and maybe even the uneasiness I felt bubbling up inside me. I put my head directly under the stream and closed my eyes.

_Okay_ , I thought to myself. _Step-by-step. What happened last night?_

I remembered getting off work and going out with Landon after our shift was over. He never let me forget that one time I pulled the wrong way into a secured parking lot. I wound up popping all four tires on those metal teeth that you're not supposed to back up over. Ever since then he's insisted on driving whenever we're out on a case. Some days we'd go out in a cruiser, but a lot of the time he picks me up in his own car. He even has a portable flasher that he likes to put up on his roof if we're after someone. On the days he picks me up, he usually gets me in the morning on the way into the precinct, then brings me home at night.

Yesterday was one of those days. He was driving, so I let him pick the bar. We wound up at one of those omega clubs over on Stark. I remember eating a steak and having a few drinks and the two of us watching some cute omegas strip. Nothing out of the ordinary at all for a Thursday or Friday night. Not even the number of drinks I had, which I wasn't even sure of at this point.

Everything after that was a bit of a blur, though. I remembered Landon being there and that was about it. For all I knew I could have brought a stranger back here last night. Someone who got up and snuck out of my place before I even got a sober glimpse of him. Even under the soothing warmth of the shower spray, I cringed a little when I thought about the fact that I'd blacked out again.

I had to admit I'd been letting things get a little out of hand for a while now. Going to bed with too many nameless, faceless men... drinking way too much. Especially on a work night. I didn't _always_ drink to the point of blacking out, but that was becoming more and more common. And I knew that's what happened last night. Everything was pretty foggy after that fourth or fifth 151 and Coke I'd downed.

I did remember Landon driving. At least, I remembered being in his car. He hadn't had as much to drink, which was usual. He was always a little more in control than I was. But then again, he was also an alpha. Betas like me could get away with letting things slide here and there. I wasn't expected to lead or be in command... not like an alpha was, anyway.

But maybe I was fooling myself. I had a feeling I'd been taking advantage of the situation—and of Landon—for a while. I'd been letting him take responsibility for getting my drunk ass home, and I'd been flat-out ignoring his subtle comments and questions about whether I was sure I needed another one for the road.

That wasn't the only thing I'd been ignoring, though. I'd done a pretty good job for a very long time of pretending I was happy. I'd convinced myself that I didn't need the kind of stability that came with a relationship. A part of me actually believed that I didn't care if someone was going to be there when I got home at night. And I'd been completely ignoring how desperately I wanted a warm body to wrap myself around when I woke up in my big bed every morning.

But it wasn't just any warm body I'd been wanting, even though that's pretty much how I'd been acting... for years. That this lifestyle—the strip clubs, and open bar tabs, and one-night stands—they were all I needed, instead of the guy who was sitting right next to me through it all. But Landon and I were partners and best friends. End of story.

The thing was, I didn't hate my life by any means, so it had been pretty damned easy to lie and tell myself that I was better off on my own. That's how I'd always pictured myself anyway. The lone beta cop who could take care of any bad guy that came along, as well as himself. I didn't ever want to need anyone. In fact, I hated the idea.

But being a cop wasn't exactly as fulfilling as I had imagined it would be when I started on the force five years ago. Not that I regretted it or anything. Far from it. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I loved being a cop. But I felt like I was missing something. And as I stood there with that stream of water beating down on my head, I realized that nights out with random dudes that I picked up at bars and mornings waking up with a hangover didn't seem to be cutting it anymore.

I bobbed my head back and forth under the water, trying to loosen my neck a bit, maybe even jog some more memories loose from last night. That was when an image flashed in my head that caused my eyes to fly open. _That couldn't be right_ , I thought as I stared at the white tiled wall. What the fuck would Landon have been doing with his cock out in the car? I had a clear picture in my head of him holding his very thick manhood at the base—the entire thing sticking up in the air like a goddamned baseball bat.

And the way I remembered his cock seemed crazy—like I was way up close to it. Too close. _Why would I remember Landon's cock right up in my face like that?_ In all the years we'd known each other, we'd never once fooled around. It's not that I hadn't thought about it. Just the opposite. I'd wondered what his cock looked like every single day since our first shift working together. Not to mention what his lips tasted like. He was just about the hottest alpha I'd ever seen in my life.

But I knew he needed an omega to give him things that I couldn't. So, whenever the subject came up I told him that I wasn't into alphas, and that was mostly true. I knew that I could never be the omega that most alphas were looking for, so I made it simple for everyone. I picked up other betas at the bars we frequented, and occasionally an omega that was up for a one-night stand, but I stayed away from alphas.

And so far, that seemed to be working for me.

I quickly soaped up and rinsed my body off, trying very unsuccessfully to wash away the feeling of fear that was rising from the pit of my stomach. The feeling that I'd done something really stupid last night. And that it had to do with Landon.

I was still in a daze when I pulled on my jeans and a T-shirt—then slid my holster over my shoulders. But as I threw on my leather jacket and headed out the door, that image hit me again and I stopped cold. I shook my head and I told myself that it had to be a dream. That's all it was. Some alcohol-induced hallucination that my brain cooked up in my sleep.

But as I shut the apartment door behind me, I couldn't shake the feeling of how real it all felt—but not just the memory. Something I hadn't even been able to admit to myself while I was in the shower.

When I closed my eyes, I could feel the weight and heft of Landon's cock in my hand. I could feel his smooth skin. I could smell his earthy aroma. And even though I'd brushed my teeth and had a cup of coffee, I could actually _taste_ him in my mouth. The deep, musky flavor was similar to Landon's scent, only a thousand times stronger. And that aroma was burned into my brains because it was one that has made my head spin ever since the moment we met five years ago.

I opened my eyes and swallowed hard. _Landon's cock had been in my mouth last night_. And that was a thought that both terrified me and completely took my breath away.

# 2

Landon

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"Yo, Lewis, what's your ten-twenty?"

I stood behind a stack of boxes in the dark, abandoned building. I couldn't see a thing other than a dim blue light that filtered in through the grimy warehouse windows that lined the top of the wall near the ceiling.

"Second floor, right next to the stairwell. Where you at?" I heard from my cell phone. Mark and I used an app that allowed us to use our phones as walkie-talkies when we were on out in the field.

"I'm on my way up. I don't think they're down here. I haven't heard anything for a couple minutes."

"Okay. Watch your back. I'll cover you from the second floor."

I crept out from behind a metal shelf that was lined with boxes and quickly crossed over to a staircase that disappeared into a dark stairwell. I scanned the cavernous room for any sign of movement, and when it looked like the coast was clear, I started up the stairs. I kept my eyes moving constantly, and my back to the wall, as I slowly made my way up to the landing, then turned the corner to head up to the second floor.

Suddenly a barrage of shots rang out around me, hitting the metal banister and the walls, and sending a rain of concrete chunks down on my head. I heard Mark yell for me to hit the floor and I didn't think twice. I trusted him more than anyone I'd ever worked with. No matter how much shit I gave him—and I dished out plenty—I knew that he was the best cop on the force and was always thankful he had my back.

The minute I hit the ground I heard a thud behind me. Then some yelling and footsteps from somewhere below me on the first floor. Within seconds, Mark was right there next to me, rolling me on my back with his face right in mine.

"You okay, Landon? Did you get hit?"

"No, I'm good." I sat up and looked at a motionless body on the cold concrete landing down below me. There was a growing pool of blood seeping out around the head that was starting to trickle down to the first floor. "How did you even know he was there?" I asked Mark.

"I don't know, man. I just had a feeling. When you told me you hadn't seen anything for a while and were on your way up I thought I'd watch your back and make sure you got up here okay. I'm glad I did."

"I'm getting to really appreciate those feelings of yours. They're usually right." I pushed myself up and grabbed onto the railing for support, then stepped around the blood and made my way back down the stairs. "You think anyone is still in the building?"

"No, there was no one up there. I think they were still on the main floor and took off when they heard the gunshots. Better get on the horn and have someone pick this one up," Mark said as he nudged the body. "Maybe they'll find some evidence that links him to those arsonists."

"Those guys are really getting out of hand. We need to find them before someone is killed in one of those blazes. I can't believe they're targeting fertility clinics. How low can you get?" I said as I headed to the cruiser.

"Well, it seems like a lot of people have that 'us and them' mentality these days—that if you don't believe what they believe, you're one of _them_."

"Yeah, but the sane ones don't usually kill people over a difference of opinion."

Mark slid into the car next to me and grabbed the radio. After he called dispatch we sat there in silence and waited for the cleanup crew to show up. I'd been trying to figure out a way to break the tension I'd been feeling between us all morning and decided being direct was the best option.

"So, you doing okay?" We'd already been on the shift for four hours and Mark hadn't brought anything up about last night. I didn't particularly want to be the one to do it, but I felt like we couldn't just ignore what happened, considering the implications.

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?'" I could tell by the tone of his voice that what he was saying and what he was actually feeling were not the same thing. His body language was also telling me a completely different story. As soon as I asked that question, his entire body stiffened up and he turned his head, so I couldn't see his expression. His eyes were always a dead giveaway to what he was feeling, and I was pretty sure he knew it.

I could see I was going to have to be the adult in this situation and say it out loud, even though I was just as nervous to talk as he was. "I think maybe we should talk about what happened. You know... last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He may have thought he was being convincing, but I could see his hand curling up into a fist next to his thigh. He knew exactly what I was talking about, but he was going to make me take all the responsibility, as usual. Of course, always the Alpha. Always in charge. What I wouldn't give to relax for once and not have to worry about being the responsible one. But it wasn't in me to ignore a problem, to pretend I didn't know how important it was that we get things out in the open.

"Okay, so I guess I'm the one that's going to have to say it out loud. Is that how this is going to go?"

Mark was silent for a moment, but then mumbled a response to the window. "I don't know what happened last night, Landon. I really don't remember."

I wanted him to turn his head and look at me. I wanted to see his eyes when he said those words. I had a hard time believing they were true. "You don't remember anything? Anything at all? You didn't feel any different this morning?"

"Well, I was pretty sore. Maybe I caught something. You know there's lots of flu going around—"

"Come on, Mark. Where were you sore? Tell me that."

Mark was silent again and I was afraid that I'd been too harsh. It wouldn't have been the first time. I wasn't exactly known for being diplomatic or subtle. If I had something to say, I said it. If I had a question, I asked it. If I was pissed off at you, you better believe you'd know it.

But I also knew that this was a very sensitive subject and I didn't want things to go bad between us. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to make sure you had at least a little fun last night. And that you didn't think I was taking advantage of you."

Mark finally turned and looked at me but he wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked scared. "What the hell do you mean? Taking _advantage_ of me?"

"Look," I said putting my hands up to show that I was trying to keep the peace. "You were the one that started it. I was surprised as hell that you were going into heat. I mean, you were pawing at me like a goddamned puppy dog."

"What are you talking about?" Mark asked, the stunned look on his face quickly turning to anger. "I might have been drunk. But in heat? That's not even possible!"

"Hey, you were drunk, I get that, but I also know what I saw... and what I felt. You were in heat, Mark. Didn't you have any idea?"

"I was not in... come _on_ , you've known me for five years, Landon! Have I ever gone into heat in all that time? Have I ever even smelled like an omega to you?"

"No, but you sure as hell did last night."

"When? How? We were in an omega bar for chrissakes. One of them was probably in heat or something. Jesus," Mark said as he hit the dashboard with his hand. "Don't put this off on me."

I was pretty sure that was probably the reason it had taken me so long to figure it out. That and the fact that Mark and I were so close that, with him, I couldn't see my nose in front of my face. But I know what I smelled. It was him. The incredible scent that had been calling to me all night and hit me like a ton of bricks when we got in my car was Mark. It wasn't until that moment that my alpha senses kicked in and zeroed in on the last person in the world I thought would be trying to seduce me. "Mark... you showed me your ass. You presented right in front of me. I'm guessing it was your first heat."

Mark looked like he was about to have a stroke and it suddenly hit me that he had absolutely no idea what was going on. "At twenty-four years old? Landon, I've been a beta since... well, since forever. That's what the blood test I got in high school said—"

"No, your blood test just didn't show alpha or omega status at that point. That doesn't mean anything, and you know it, especially with the way things have changed in the last decade. You also know that twenty-four isn't too old to present. Not anymore. It's happened to plenty of people."

"Not to anyone I ever knew." He looked out the side window again and by the way his voice cracked I wondered if maybe he was going to cry.

"Look," I said calmly, trying to bring the tension down a notch and put a positive spin on things. Especially since I was really excited about this new development. I had been thrilled all morning with the possibility of Mark being pregnant with my baby. But looking at the way he was reacting now, I realized he was far less than thrilled. "There's nothing wrong with being an omega. There are some in government positions now, and—"

"I'm not a freaking omega, Landon. I'm a goddamned beta!" He turned back to me and in his eyes was a heartbreaking mix of anger and fear. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and comfort him, but I got the very distinct feeling he didn't want me anywhere near him.

I honestly had no idea Mark was so oblivious to what was happening. Or more precisely, to what had already happened. But, then again, I'd had no idea either. Not until he practically stuck his ass in my face last night.

Mark had been my partner for five years—my best friend for four of them. And even though I'd fantasized about something happening between the two of us, that's all it ever was to me... a fantasy that had no place in real life. I never wanted to do or say anything to jeopardize our friendship or make him uncomfortable. He always told me he wasn't into alphas and I wasn't going to pull any dominance bullshit with him when he clearly wasn't interested. I had too much respect for him.

So, when I started to notice the intoxicating heat scent permeating the air around me, I figured it had to be one of the omegas at the bar. I was pretty pissed off at first because it was incredibly distracting. I hardly ever reacted that way to a random omega scent. As a cop, I prided myself on being in control in just about any situation. But while we were in that club, I swear I almost lost it.

But I didn't say anything to Mark because, being a beta, I figured he wouldn't have been as affected as I was. But when we got outside and the scent didn't go away, I was in shock. I couldn't believe it was him. I'd heard about omegas presenting very late, but up until last night, I'd pretty much thought it was an urban legend.

I kept telling myself that there was no way it was happening, but when we got in my car and Mark started coming on to me—when I was surrounded by his intoxicating scent, and those beautiful eyes of his were begging me to fuck him—the uncontrollable alpha in me was unleashed. There was no way I could hold myself back after all these years.

But I would never in a million years have taken advantage of him if I'd known he was blacked out. The thought made me sick to my stomach. I wasn't that kind of alpha, and I was suddenly terrified that I had done something very wrong. But I knew what I saw and smelled... and what I felt. It wasn't just me that was desperate for it last night.

"Mark... listen. I don't know what to tell you, but it's not in my nature to react the way I did last night, especially to a beta. I'll let one of them suck my cock or if I'm really horny I'll go to town on them, but just to get off. I've never been driven to mate with a beta because, well... because there's no point as far as I'm concerned. But last night? Mark, that was the most intense experience I've ever had in my life. I couldn't keep my hands off of you. I couldn't even form a coherent thought when we got in the car... and I thought you felt the same way. Don't you remember any of it?"

Mark had turned back to the window again and I couldn't see his eyes. But I noticed his fists. They were balled up against his thighs so tight that his fingers were turning white.

"No, I don't remember what happened last night. And I don't believe you. I didn't turn into an omega all of a sudden and I didn't throw myself at you. You're my fucking partner, and my friend," he said, looking back at me with tears in his eyes. "And that means a lot to me. This job, and our relationship... it's my whole life. I don't know what you're trying to do to me, but—."

"I'm not trying to do anything. You presented right in front of me last night. You don't think I know what that smells like? I'm a fucking single alpha. Every cell in my body knows that smell, Mark. Fucking _craves_ it. When we got in the car, _you_ told me to take my cock out and started sucking it. _You_ begged me to fuck you, Mark. Don't you remember any of it? Anything at all?"

Mark's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. I could almost see the gears turning inside his head like he was starting to remember. "But that can't be right," he said, dropping his head down into his hands. "I'm a beta, Landon. I'm a _beta_."

"Well, you better tell that to your body. The minute we left the club last night I could smell omega pheromones all over you. You were oozing them like nothing I'd ever experienced before in my life. Then when we got to the car you didn't go around your side right away. You stumbled into me, pressing your body against mine, and I could feel your cock through your jeans. At first, I thought it was that you were drunk. But then you grabbed my hand and pressed it into your bulge and whispered into my ear that it was for me.

"I didn't know what to say or do. My body was suddenly on fire and all I could think about was how incredibly good you smelled, and how desperately I wanted to mount you. I literally couldn't see or hear or feel anything but you. I had the worst case of mating-tunnel-vision I'd ever experienced in my life. Finally, I managed to come to my senses and I pushed you away—told you to get into the car. But the only thing that did was intensify everything—your scent and the burning desire inside me to have you."

Mark's eyes didn't leave mine the entire time I was talking. He didn't blink or move once and almost seemed like he was going into shock—like his brain had stopped working.

"So, once we got in the car I reached up to start the engine and you grabbed my hand. You told me to stop, that you wanted me to take out my cock. My head was spinning like crazy by then. I was so fucking worked up at that point, even though there was this voice in the back of my head that kept screaming 'No, you can't do this. This is Mark. He's your partner. He's your best friend.' I just couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. And I thought you... I really believed you wanted it too. I would never have done anything if I'd known you were blacked-out drunk and didn't want it, Mark. I swear to God."

He was still staring at me like he was in shock, but I could see in his eyes that his expression was softening and melting into what looked more like sadness. I wanted to grab him and put my arms around him, but instead, I pushed my hand through my hair and continued.

"So, I took my cock out, and you sat there and stared at it for a few seconds. We both watched a bead of pre-come drip down the head and when it reached the shaft, you leaned forward and caught it with your tongue." The words were coming out slower now as I remembered what happened with every cell of my body. I closed my eyes and swallowed, then continued. "I watched as you licked it up in one long movement, all the way back up to the tip. Then you put your lips around my whole head and sucked me into your mouth."

I was starting to get hard again as I heard my voice say the words out loud, so I decided not to recount every single moment blow by blow.

"After you sucked my cock for a few minutes, you looked up at me and told me you couldn't wait another second. You sat up, put your seat back, and turned around, pulling your pants down in the process. Then you arched your back and stuck your ass up and told me to fuck you. But you didn't tell me... you begged me."

"You're fucking kidding." Those were the first words that Mark had said in over ten minutes, and the sound of his voice almost startled me.

"No, I'm not. I'm telling you exactly what happened. You're saying you don't remember a single moment of this? Nothing I'm telling you sounds familiar at all?"

Mark stared at me for a long time but didn't say a word.

"You were so freaking wet," I continued. "Like, wetter than any omega I've ever been with in my entire life. You kept telling me that it was just for me, that you'd never wanted anyone like you wanted me. You told me that I was your first, that it was perfect because I would be the first to ever come inside you."

After a long pause, Mark spoke. "So did you?" His voice was shaking, and his words came out barely above a whisper. "Did you come inside me?"

"Yes."

"So that means..." Mark said slowly like he was finally putting all the images in his head together and could see them clearly for the first time.

"That means you're probably pregnant with my baby."

# 3

Mark

* * *

I sat there staring at my hands and wished the ground would open up underneath me. That the universe would do what I wanted for once and allow me to disappear. I could feel Landon's eyes burning into the side of my head, but I couldn't bear to look into them again.

The thing was, he was right. Everything he'd said was true. I didn't remember it all right away, but as he spoke, it was like a movie playing in my head in slow motion. I saw all of it. I remembered every single moment. And I could still feel him inside me. I even started tingling and getting hard when the memories came back. I had an impulse to grab him and kiss him and I wanted to feel his cock filling me up again. Suddenly, I wanted him so badly I couldn't think straight.

I didn't understand what the hell was going on. I'd never felt anything like this before in my life. I'd slept with plenty of other guys before—tons of betas and some omegas—but that's all it ever was. Just sex. All my adult life I'd never been sure if I was even capable of associating love or feelings or anything like that with sex. I always figured I was built differently. That I was a loner and always would be.

But now I felt so different. I actually wanted Landon to touch me. But not just touch me... I wanted him to take care of me... be with me... love me. And that scared the hell out of me because I'd never thought those words in my life, let alone said them to anyone. And there was no way in hell I could say those words to him. I was a cop for crying out loud.

"That's why I brought this up, Mark. We need to talk about what we're going to do if you are pregnant."

Before I could answer—or pretend like I was going to, because I didn't think I'd be able to get another word out for the rest of the day without bursting into tears—a call came through on the radio. A hold up on the other side of town. Landon replied that we were on our way and took off, which put an abrupt ending to the conversation.

For the rest of the day, everything was business as usual. Landon didn't bring up anything that had happened last night again and he didn't seem to be addressing me any differently. But every time my eyes caught his I could see it. That look of pity. That look that told me exactly how he felt about me now that I was an omega. He didn't respect me or see me as an equal anymore. How could he? Omegas were second-class citizens. Always had been, always would be. No matter how many token omegas they stuck in high-powered positions. They were for show. To make it seem like we had come a long way since the days of birth farms and sex houses. Nothing was ever really going to change.

When we got into the precinct, I ducked out before he had a chance to bring last night up again. I drove home, picking up some Chinese take-out on the way, then crawled into bed, turned on the TV, and hid from the world.

I knew everything Landon said to me today was true. That I had not only transformed into an omega overnight, but that I had thrown myself at him. At my best friend and partner. I was humiliated and couldn't even fathom facing him at work.

I was incredibly relieved that none of what had happened that night came up the next day, or the day after that. An entire week went by without any kind of conversation between the two of us other than work-related discussions. A part of me hoped that maybe the whole embarrassing event would pass by without ever coming up again. But I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be that lucky.

Especially when I started having problems keeping anything down. Another week passed since that embarrassing conversation, and everything Landon said had been continually spinning around in my head ever since. I made every effort to avoid him or any casual conversation that might lead to an opening for him to discuss my possible pregnancy.

At first, I chalked it up to the flu. The constant queasiness and mornings spent huddled up in one of the men's room stalls were easily dismissed as that, or food poisoning. But after a week of no other symptoms, I had to consider other possibilities. Or one possibility in particular.

"You okay?"

I could hear Landon shuffling around outside the stall door and I hoped if I didn't say anything he would go away. In that moment, I wanted everything to go away. My whole miserable life. "Of course I'm okay. I must have eaten something bad, is all. I'll be out in a minute."

Landon didn't say anything, but I could still hear him right outside the door. He wasn't going to leave me alone so that I could be miserable in peace. "All week?" Landon asked finally. "You've been throwing up every morning for a week straight, Mark. I think you need to go to see a doctor."

I stood up and pulled the stall door open and there he was. The big, hulking alpha that did this to me. And even though I was still unable to admit to myself what was going on, I blamed him. For everything. I wanted to let him know how much he was annoying me, but I was feeling too weak to yell at him like I wanted. So, I pushed past him and yanked on the door so it slammed shut behind me.

"I don't need to go to any freaking doctor," I said as I stalked over to the sink and gripped it, trying to keep myself from shaking. I bent down and rinsed out my mouth, then wash my hands for way longer than necessary so I didn't have to look up at the mirror and see him staring at me with that look of pity I was sure he had plastered all over his face. I was furious, and I wanted to blame someone for what was happening to me, but deep down I knew it wasn't Landon's fault.

As much as I wanted to pin this on him, I knew the person I was really angry with—the one I couldn't forgive for betraying me—was me. This was all my fault. I was the one that had turned into a week, simpering, pregnant omega. There was nothing to blame but my own goddamned genes.

As I stood there and watched the water spiral around in the sink and down the drain, I realized that what I really wanted, more than anything in the world, was for Landon to come up behind me and wrap his arms around me. I wanted that big, hulking alpha to make it all better. But how could I ask him to do something like that when it had never been a part of our relationship? We were both big, strong men who took care of other people. People who were in trouble or who needed help.

That's how I had come to define myself—through my strength and my ability to be of service to others. How the hell could I let myself be the weak one? How could I let someone else take care of me? Especially the alpha I looked up to more than any other person in my life? "I'm ready," I said, still avoiding eye contact with Landon. I dried my hands and pushed my way through the men's room door without looking back. "Let's get out of here."

# 4

Landon

* * *

I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to make Mark any angrier than he already was, but he needed help. He needed to see a doctor and he needed someone to be with him. Not because he was weak or couldn't handle the pregnancy on his own, but because he deserved to be taken care of. He didn't _have_ to do this on his own. But I didn't have any idea how to convince him of that.

I knew he didn't have food poisoning or the flu or anything like that. He was already starting to show. Pregnancies for omegas were a lot different than they had been for beta or omega females. When a female became pregnant—before the pandemic that gradually caused all women on the planet to become sterile—they had the standard nine months of steadily growing belly, hips, and breasts. In omega males, the gestation period only lasted five months and everything happened very quickly. It was basically pregnancy on steroids. And after just two weeks I could already see Mark's belly popping out over the top of his suddenly too-tight jeans.

"What about your brother?" I asked as we headed out to the cruiser.

"What about him?" Mark snapped.

There was that defensiveness again. He'd been like that for weeks. I'd been wanting to say something every minute of every day, but I could tell it would only make Mark angry. If only he would let me touch him, I knew I could make him feel better. I knew that my energy would calm him and make this all so much easier.

But I wasn't going to do anything without his permission. Not after what happened that night. Even though he was the one who came on to me, I could have stopped everything. I could have been a better person and told him we should wait. If I had—if I had just been able to control myself—he wouldn't be averting his eyes every time I looked at him.

So now there was no way I was going to force anything on him. Even if he was carrying my baby. The only thing I could do was try to talk to him—show him that I cared what happened to him. That was all I could think to do to help Mark through this. That and hope that he would come to his senses and let me take care of him.

"Well, he's a doctor. Maybe he can tell you what's going on."

"I'm not going to see my brother."

"Why not? You need to see someone, Mark, and he's family. He can help you."

"Why? Why am I the one that needs to see someone? It's not fair."

I opened the cruiser door and slid behind the wheel. "You're not even making sense, Mark. We both know why you need to see a doctor. So you can either pretend like you don't know what's going on, or you can act like an adult and go get yourself checked out. Because either way you choose to deal with this, we both know what's coming out of you in four months."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Mark mumbled as I backed out of the parking space. "It could be anything. What makes you so sure?"

"Well, for one thing, you smell very different to me."

Mark's entire body stiffened up and his hands clenched up into fists like the other day. "Like what? What do I smell like?"

I smiled and chuckled a little. "Well, ever since you've been using that pheromone suppression body wash, or whatever the hell it is, you smell like one of those tree-shaped car deodorizers."

"Gee thanks," Mark said. "What did I smell like before that?" His voice had softened a little and sounded curious. Almost like a little kid. It was a huge relief after all the gruffness and anger of the last weeks.

I paused for a moment, letting my mind go back to that night, even though I knew it was dangerous. "Like a summer breeze blowing through a fruit orchard. Sweet and fresh and... so fucking amazing," I said, closing my eyes for a second before I remembered I was driving. "I've never smelled anything like it... like you," I said, looking over at Mark. He was actually facing me, actually making eye contact.

"That's it?"

"Isn't that enough?" I said, laughing out loud. "Look, Mark, I could feel it. Not just that something about you was different, but that..."

"What?" he asked, his body starting to relax a bit.

"It felt like... when we were together... that we _belonged_ together. That we fit together perfectly." As those words came out of my mouth I stared straight ahead at the road in front of me. Now I was the one that couldn't make myself turn to face him. "And I don't understand why you don't feel it too."

Mark didn't say anything, and even though telling him what I'd been feeling for weeks was hard, I kept going. "I've never reacted to anyone like I reacted to you that night, Mark. And I've never knotted inside anyone... ever."

"You knotted inside me? You didn't tell me that."

"I didn't really get the chance. I know I should have, but you haven't been that easy to talk to these last couple weeks. But that's why I'm sure, Mark. I know you're pregnant with my baby. And since your brother is an omega gynecologist, I figured—"

"I told you, Landon, I'm not talking to my brother, so forget about that. This is humiliating enough as it is without bringing him into it."

Hearing Mark say those words was like taking a knife to the chest. I didn't know if he was just humiliated by the fact that he was pregnant, or if it was also because the baby was mine. I knew that this was a big change for Mark to be going through, but it didn't even occur to me that the reason he didn't want to talk to his brother was because he was embarrassed.

I drove silently for a while, trying to catch my breath because I had almost made a complete fool out of myself. I had almost pulled the car over, grabbed Mark and told him how I felt. I wanted so badly for him to know that in the last two weeks I've gone from seeing him as my best friend in the world to being madly in love with him. But there was no way I could do that now. Not if this whole thing—including my involvement—was a big embarrassment to him.

"You got it," I said as I gripped the steering wheel. "I won't bother you about it anymore." But even as those words came out of my mouth I knew they weren't true. There was no way I could sit by and let Mark go through all this alone, even if he didn't want me to have anything to do with the pregnancy or the baby. I'd have to find some way to help him, even if I had to go against his wishes. I couldn't sit by and watch him suffer like this. It was killing me to see him so miserable.

I promised myself I wouldn't say anything more that day, but the subject was going to come up again. It was going to be obvious to everyone down at the precinct very soon that Mark was carrying a baby, and when that happened, he would have to let me help him.

After questioning some suspects that seemed loosely connected to the fertility clinic arsons, we responded to a call on a stolen car parked outside an abandoned warehouse. That was starting to sound like the m.o. of the fringe group that was under suspicion. They seemed to be squatting, or at the very least spending a lot of their time, in some of the abandoned warehouses in Old Town.

After we ran a check on the plates, a big part of me wanted to tell Mark to stay in the car—that it would be no big deal for me to run in and check things out. But I knew there was no way that was going to fly. We both got out of the car and quickly moved up against one of the walls near some dumpsters. I didn't know if there was anyone inside, but after what went on at the last empty warehouse, I wanted to play it safe.

"You wanna take the front or the back?" he asked as he reached under his jacket and pulled out his gun.

"We could go in the front entrance together," I said, trying to sound natural—like I'd ever said anything like that to Mark in the five years we'd been on the streets together. "There's probably no one in there."

"You're joking, right? What if there is? They'll see us both coming in and head out the back." Mark scowled at me for a moment, then continued. "I'll go around back. Give me a minute to get down the alley."

I stood there behind the dumpster and watched Mark head down the narrow space between the two dark buildings, then disappear around the corner. I knew he would be pissed, but I got on my phone and asked for backup. I had a bad feeling about those guys that had taken shots at me last time, and we were within blocks of that warehouse.

After I made the call, I headed down the alley and followed the path Mark had taken to the rear entrance. I knew it wasn't a very effective way to go after these criminals if they were actually in there. But suddenly I was way more interested in making sure my mate was safe.

Just as I turned the corner of the building, I noticed a metal door closing. That had to have been Mark. I ran up before the door shut and grabbed it, then slipped into the dark building without making a sound. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but before they did, a massive blast of gunfire filled the room.

I jumped behind a column and looked around the dark room to see if I could locate Mark or any of the shooters. As my eyes got used to the low light, I spotted Mark behind another column just ten feet way. The shooters had obviously spotted him too because that column was getting completely blitzed by gunfire. I couldn't see where the shooters were, but I could tell from the angle of the chunks of cement that were falling off the column that they were up above us. They had to have been somewhere on the scaffolding that surrounded the main floor.

Mark looked right at me and gave me a hand gesture that seemed to ask what the hell I was doing there. I motioned for him to stay where he was, then stepped away from the column and aimed high. I quickly spotted one of the shooters and pegged him with my first shot. Then I jumped back behind the column.

I watched in horror as Mark did the same thing. He stepped out from behind his column and fired up into a section of the building that I couldn't see. I reacted within seconds. I'm not sure there was a single thought in my head other than to protect my mate at all costs. Pure alpha instinct came over me as I ran towards Mark and lunged at him, grabbing him around the shoulders and bringing him down to the ground so that I could cover his body with mine.

It felt like everything was happening in slow motion. As soon as our bodies hit the ground, I watched two bullets put massive holes in the column right where Mark had been standing. I rolled over and aimed my gun where the shots had come from, and after squeezing the trigger five times in quick succession brought a second shooter down. I glanced wildly around the room, aiming my gun in every corner until I was sure that the threat of more bullets raining down around us was completely gone.

I lay there, trying to catch my breath for a minute when I heard Mark scramble to his feet.

"What the fuck, Landon?" he yelled. I looked up at him and his eyes were filled with fury. "I'm not even capable of doing my job anymore? Is that what you think? You have to fucking protect me?"

"No, that's not it all! You don't understand, Mark—"

"Oh, I understand, all right," he said as he brushed his clothes off. "I understand that I'm a second-class citizen to you now, just like to everyone else. All I am to you is an omega that needs to be made pregnant, then swept aside so he can take care of the house and kids!" Mark yelled as he stalked to the metal door we'd come in through. He pulled the door open, then turned around and looked right at me. "Well, you can go straight to hell!" Mark kicked the door so that it crashed into the wall before it slammed shut, causing a thundering echo to bounce off the walls of the empty warehouse.

After he disappeared outside, I sat up and put my head in my hands. I didn't understand how something I'd wanted for so long could be going so incredibly bad.

# 5

Mark

* * *

As I left the warehouse I saw some black and whites pulling around to the back of the building. Landon must have called for backup. Awesome. I didn't remember him calling for backup once in the five years we'd been working together. But now he felt like it was necessary. Because of me. He obviously didn't trust me anymore and thought I was pretty much helpless.

I waved the men over to the open warehouse door as they got out of their cars but kept walking around the corner and back down the alley. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I wanted to get to the cruiser and get the hell out of there.

I was so mad at Landon I couldn't see straight. I couldn't believe he felt like he had to protect me—that I couldn't handle my job anymore. After five years, I finally saw what he really thought of me. But how could I blame him? It was the way the whole world saw omegas. Including me.

But the thing that pissed me off more than anything, was that I felt like I was totally going to lose it. I was going to fucking cry.

I hadn't cried since I was a little kid. And I mean really little. Like before I even started grade school. It wasn't anything anyone ever told me that I shouldn't do; it was something that I knew from watching the alphas around me. Being a beta meant I had to constantly prove myself, especially around my dad and brother—who were both alphas. If I cried or showed any weakness around either of them, I knew I would lose their respect.

It's not like I didn't feel sadness or hurt or any of those kinds of emotions. I just learned how to control them. I learned how to put up a wall as soon as I felt anything like tears welling up inside me. I would turn my emotions off and make them disappear. Only now I didn't seem to be able to do that anymore. Now I found myself crying alone in my bed at night. Crying about how unfair this sudden change was. Crying about the fact that I was about to lose my job because of it. And crying because the one person I wanted to talk to—my best friend in the whole world—couldn't possibly respect me anymore.

No one respected omegas.

I just wanted the old me back. I wanted to stuff my stupid emotions inside and get on with my life. If I could get that back—the control I had of myself and everything around me—then my life would be normal again. I could get drunk and fuck random men and I would be safe because, with all that, I didn't have to feel.

Not like what I was trying unsuccessfully to stuff down now. My stupid feelings for Landon.

I hated him for doing this to me. For making me fall in love with him. I hated being an omega and having all these crazy hormones and feelings constantly flowing throughout my body. It felt like everything inside me was sitting right on the surface, and the slightest touch—just one tiny drop of water—would upset the whole glass and send everything cascading over the edge.

I heard the car door open and immediately wiped my face dry, then turned toward the window so Landon couldn't see my eyes. I knew he wouldn't respect me if he saw me crying. Not that he did anymore, anyway.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his smooth, warm voice simultaneously calming me down a little and filling my eyes with tears again.

"Of course, I'm okay. Let's get the hell out of here."

"I really think we need to talk, Mark. We can ignore what's going on."

"I don't _know_ what the hell is going on. The only thing I know is everything is falling apart, and I have no idea what to do about it. All I want to do is go home and crawl and to bed until this is all over with."

"What do you mean over with? This isn't going to just go away, Mark. You're an omega now, and you're carrying my baby. How exactly do you imagine this is going to be over with?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but I knew that no matter what I said it wasn't going to make a difference. I could already feel the tears spilling out of my eyes and running down my cheeks again. I wasn't going to be able to stop any of this. Not the crying, not the pregnancy, and not the way Landon was treating me. "Can we please get the hell out of here?" I asked, my voice cracking. "I don't care where we go."

"Will you come back to my place with me?" Landon asked.

I didn't say anything for a moment. I knew he wanted to talk and that's the last thing I wanted to do. But I didn't want to be alone anymore. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay."

As we pulled up into Landon's attached garage I breathed a sigh of relief. I was glad to not have to go back outside again. I felt like I had a bright, red arrow pointing at my tear-stained face and I knew that everyone was staring at me.

"Do you want something to drink?" Landon asked as he threw his car keys into a wooden bowl on the counter. I'd always felt so comfortable in Landon's house. He bought it years ago when he was in his last relationship, which didn't last very long. We never talked about what happened, but I got the feeling it was a mutual split.

I was never sure who did the decorating—Landon or his boyfriend—but I figured it was probably Landon since he didn't change a thing. It was incredibly soothing—mostly earth tones and dark colors with the occasional off-white pillow or lampshade. It was so warm and cozy that when I was there, I usually didn't want to leave.

The decor was only part of the reason I felt so comfortable in his house, though. The main thing I'd always loved was how incredible Landon's place smelled. I'd been there at least a couple dozen times in the last five years, but I honestly didn't remember it smelling as good as it did in that moment when I walked in from the garage. My senses were flooded with layer upon layer of scent. Cut grass, a mossy forest on a breezy summer day, and something deep and spicy—like cinnamon—all rolled into one.

I stood there for a moment inhaling the air and letting it fill me up.

"Mark? Do you want a drink?"

Landon's words jolted me out of my daydream. "No... no, I don't want anything."

"Why don't you sit down?" he asked with his back to me as he opened the fridge.

I was feeling a lot better, but I still didn't really want to talk to Landon or look him in the eye. I figured if I stayed where I was, I'd be safe from getting too involved in a conversation I didn't want to have. So I leaned back against the kitchen island with my arms folded in front of me and stared at the ground.

I could feel Landon moving around the kitchen behind me, and with every step he took, it felt like a bolt of lightning shot through a different part of my body. Like my cells were keeping track of where he was and were firing off like mad every time he moved.

Ever since I stepped into his house, it felt like my body was becoming more attuned to his presence. I could actually feel him move around the kitchen island before I saw him out of the corner of my eye. And when he stood next to me, I felt a rush of tingles on the side of my body that was closest to him. The closer he got to me the stronger the tingles became, until he was just inches away from me. I swear in that moment my entire body was humming.

"I know this has been hard for you, Mark—" he started, but I cut him off.

"What do you know?" I asked, sliding down the island so that he wasn't so close to me. "You have no idea what it feels like to lose everything?"

Landon didn't take the hint. He immediately closed the space between us and towered over me. He wasn't that much bigger than I was, but when he was standing this close the difference in our height was obvious. "What are you talking about? How have you lost everything, Mark? How can you say that when you have a living being growing inside you? What exactly have you lost?"

I couldn't believe I had to explain this to him. How did he not understand? Was he playing games with me? "I'm losing myself, Landon. That's what I'm losing. I'm losing my status and my power as a beta cop. I'm changing into a weak, needy omega, and that's not who I am. That's not what I want to be. I don't feel like I'm _me_ anymore."

"But that's ridiculous, Mark. You're the same person. You just have different... abilities than you had before—"

"Then why are you treating me differently? You're acting like I'm helpless. Like I can't do my job anymore!"

"It's not because I don't think you can do it anymore. It's because you're pregnant now. I _have_ to protect you, Mark. It's in my nature. I can't help that."

"Well, I don't want to be an omega!" I yelled. "I never asked for it, and I never asked for this!" I said, gesturing to my stomach.

Landon was silent for a long moment and when I finally looked up at him I could see the hurt in his eyes. "So that's it, isn't it? You don't want the baby."

"No... no that's not what I meant—"

"Yes, it is. You said you never asked for it. What else could you have meant by that? You don't want our baby."

The last person I ever wanted to hurt in the world was Landon. I respected him so much and felt so many confusing feelings when he was near me. "That's not it at all, Landon. It's that I have no say in any of this. Don't you understand? This is all happening _to_ me. I don't get a choice if I'm a beta or an omega... or if I'm pregnant or not."

"Because if you did you wouldn't have chosen it," he said, in a statement rather than a question. "You wouldn't have chosen to be pregnant and you wouldn't have chosen me."

"No, Landon. That's not what I meant at all."

"Then please, Mark, tell me what you meant. Because ever since this whole thing started I've gotten the feeling that you're embarrassed about every single aspect of your pregnancy. Including the fact that I have anything to do with it."

I couldn't believe Landon had misunderstood so much. How could he even imagine that I'd be embarrassed of him? Ever since I was hired on at the precinct and he became my partner, I'd looked up to him. I lost my own alpha father a couple years before, and Landon was everything I'd always wanted to be—always admired in an alpha.

And even though I was only a beta, Landon never treated me any different from the other alphas at the station. He always treated me like we were equals. "I'm not embarrassed because of you, Landon," I said as I looked into his eyes. "I'm embarrassed because of _me_. I'm embarrassed because I'm not a beta anymore. I know how the world sees omegas. I know how people look down on them. How differently they're thought of and treated. I'm embarrassed because, it was hard enough to feel like I measured up when I was a beta, but now I'm another step lower than every man I've ever looked up to. You, and my father, and my brother."

Landon didn't say anything for a long time. He just stood there in front of me and stared into my eyes. Normally, something like that would drive me out of my mind, but his alpha presence was incredibly calming to me. I hadn't even realized it, but I'd stopped crying the minute I walked into his house. It hadn't occurred to me until that moment how much better I felt. And it was because of him.

"You're not less than anyone. No omega is," he said in a soft voice, but one that felt more commanding than if he'd yelled the words. Then Landon reached up and put his hand on my shoulder and every bit of tension, and anxiety, and fear that had been swirling around inside me melted away. I let my arms fall to my sides and when I looked down, I half expected to see a puddle of my own self-loathing forming around my feet on the floor.

I moved my head up so that I was looking right into Landon's eyes. I'd seen them a million times in the last five years, but they'd never appeared the way they did just then. I held my breath as I examined the flecks of light and color that seemed to scatter and bounce with every breath he took. It was like I was peering into a bottomless kaleidoscope and I was totally mesmerized.

He opened his mouth and spoke again, and again I felt his words melt into me. "I know this change is hard, but you're making it harder on yourself with these assumptions of yours. I'm hurt that you would think that of me—that I would judge you based on your genetic makeup. That's not the kind of man I've ever been."

"I'm sorry, Landon. I guess... I guess I just—"

"If you ask me, it's _your_ feelings about omegas that need to be addressed."

"But it's not just me, Landon. It's the whole world that treats omegas differently. I'm not making up the fact that they can't hold a lot of jobs, including police officer, simply because of their status." I was saying words that I'd been thinking for weeks, but suddenly my conviction seemed to be fading.

"Things are changing, Mark, and not just with you. The whole world is changing. And I think you'd be surprised if you opened your eyes and looked around a little more closely. Omegas used to be second-class citizens, but not anymore."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head. I couldn't believe what an idiot I'd been. And he was right. I needed to examine my own beliefs before I went pointing fingers at someone else. "I'm scared, Landon. I'm afraid that the person I've been all my life is slipping away."

"You're still you. That's never going to change. You're evolving a little. Getting new features added on, so to speak." Landon stopped for a moment, then squeezed my shoulder. "I'm right here, Mark. Please let me help you."

I could feel Landon moving closer to me, a fraction of an inch at a time, and with each bit of space the closed between us, the buzzing in my body became more intense. It was as if a switch had been turned on inside me and I could finally see in a room that had been dark for years.

But it wasn't just that I could see. I was completely surrounded by scents and sensations that I had never noticed before, and I could swear I was able to hear things that I had never noticed. Like the rhythmic sound of Landon's breath as it went in and out of his body, and the soft drum of his beating heart. Both sounds were so soothing... and incredibly sexy.

Time didn't seem to exist in that moment. Each breath that moved in and out of me felt crisp and clean, and clear as I inhaled the air that was surrounding Landon and was filled with his scent. As I felt his hands curl around the back of my neck and push up into my hair, tingles raced across my scalp.

I wondered for a moment if we'd kissed that night. I was sad to think that if we had, I'd been too drunk to remember our first kiss.

"I never got a chance to kiss you," Landon said in a deep, throaty voice that made me melt a little more. I smiled at the thought of him somehow being able to read my mind. It felt almost appropriate since our bodies seemed to be sharing so much, even though we were still barely touching.

"I'm glad I didn't miss it."

"What?" he whispered, his lips now impossibly close to mine. So close I could almost taste him.

"Our first kiss."

Landon's lips curled up in both corners and he inhaled in a way that told me my scent was affecting him as much as his was affecting me. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you miss that," he said as his lips began to close the space between us.

# 6

Landon

* * *

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. I'd been waiting for this moment for so long. I'd fantasized about it and dreamt about it, but I never let a single clue slip about how I was feeling. I had always been in control of everything—but above all, I was always in complete control of my emotions. And since I'd always had the feeling that Mark had absolutely no interest in me, I kept strict control over how much I let him see.

But that was all over now. Mark was right in front of me. He wasn't avoiding eye contact, he wasn't staring in the other direction out the car window, he wasn't blocking me with his arms crossed in front of him, and he wasn't halfway across the room, completely out of my grasp. Mark was right here in my hands, and his eyes were burning into mine. That ridiculous pheromone wash he'd been using had thankfully worn off when he started sweating back at the warehouse, and now that I was so close to him, his pure scent came through.

It was like a floodgate had been lifted and every cell in my body demanded him. His scent, and touch, and warmth, and energy. My caveman brain was screaming at me to take him as hard and fast as possible.

But the other part of my brain, the part that had been waiting for him... for this very moment... wanted to make it last forever. I wanted to take my time and touch every single inch of his body. I wanted to close my eyes and feel his essence inside me—and my tongue inside him.

But not just yet.

I kept my eyes open for another moment—long enough to memorize each and every shade of brown in his. Then I let his scent, and the anticipation of my lips on his, continue to fill me.

"Is there something wrong?" Mark asked, still staring into my eyes with an intensity that had me hypnotized.

"No," I said, breathing in, and taking the essence of him into me as deeply as possible. I was so very close to ripping his clothes right off his body, but this moment with his lips a fraction of an inch away from mine was heaven. "There's nothing wrong at all. Why?"

"Well, we've been standing here for almost five minutes and you still haven't kissed me." The most gorgeous smile spread across Mark's face and we both laughed out loud.

"There's no problem at all," I said, hovering a teeny bit closer to his lips. "I'm enjoying your scent... and the anticipation."

"Well, the anticipation is about to kill me. So, if you don't mind kicking it into second gear..."

"Hmmm. Getting a little antsy? This isn't fast enough for you? I gotta admit, Mark, I kind of like seeing you squirm. You may be a big, tough cop out there, but right here and right now I'm the one that's in control," I said, my thumb running back and forth across his full, lower lip. "How do you feel about that?"

Mark didn't say anything for a moment, but I could feel his body melting in my grasp. I knew this had been hard for him, transitioning to an omega so suddenly, and I knew that this was what he needed. Someone to take control, someone to support him completely. He needed to let go of the grip he had on what he thought his life should be, and he needed someone to help him loosen that grip.

I was sure that, with my help, he was going to surprise himself. I could see what a great dad he would be—as well as an amazing partner and lover—and I wasn't going to let him hide from any of it.

"I think I'd like that," Mark said, his eyes growing a bit wider with his own realization.

"You'd like what?" I asked, gripping his hair and tugging it so that he let out a gasp.

"I'd like you to be in control," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Please, he said, his eyes closed, "Please, kiss me, Landon."

A wave of warmth washed over me and inside me as I slowly lowered my lips to Mark's. And when they met, our energy immediately blended together—the sound of every cell in my body singing out filled my head and drowned out the world around us. It was the sound of the perfect union, of two halves of a whole that were meant for one another, finally finding their way back.

That moment was pure bliss.

I could finally see clearly. This is what I was meant to do. This moment in time was where I had been heading all along. I'd spent so much time trying to find happiness in other ways because I'd been too stubborn to see it. To see that the person right in front of me was my one true mate.

But it wasn't just that I could see it, I could feel it too. I could feel it in the way my skin tingled where my hands wrapped around the back of his neck. I could feel it in the energy that surrounded the two of us. I could feel it when I inhaled his scent and felt like I was a stronger version of me than I'd ever been in my life. And that with his breath inside me I was finally home. The air I breathed out was a perfect blend of two the of us.

I just hoped Mark could see and feel it all too.

As my lips opened and my tongue found its way into Mark's mouth, I savored the taste and texture of everything that was him. I wanted to take my time, but I couldn't fight the pent-up desire that had built inside me all these years. My hands were desperate for more.

I pressed my lips against his one final time before moving them down to Mark's jawline—the perfect, stubble-covered ridge that led to the incredibly sensitive skin on his neck. With each kiss, and lick, and bite, Mark moved in my arms, his body pressing into each contour of my own.

As I moved my hands across his broad shoulders and brought them down the curves of his muscular chest, I felt as if we were engaged in some sort of dance. Each touch from me elicited a movement from Mark that told me how much I was affecting him. Each moan told me that he was experiencing the same level of bliss I was.

I pulled Mark's T-shirt up in one swift movement and he immediately lifted his arms. Then, when it was over his head and sailing toward the floor, he opened his eyes, the irises taking over as his focus fell on mine.

I tore my eyes away from his, moving them down his sculpted chest and rock-hard abs, with my hands following close behind. I smiled when I noticed how the firm muscles gave way to the soft little mound of his belly. That was just about the sexiest thing I'd ever seen in my life—the evidence of my baby inside the man I was about to ravage. I concentrated my hands on Mark's mound for a moment, then dropped them down to the waistband of his jeans. I quickly undid them, then pushed them to the floor, and there—standing at attention—was his beautiful, hard cock.

I could see by the way he thrust his hips toward me how much he wanted me to touch his throbbing member, but he was going to have to wait a little bit longer. And that rigid cock was most likely going to be getting a bit harder.

I brought my lips down in the middle Mark's neck and almost came when I heard the low moan that escaped from his throat. I'd already trailed my lips and tongue down his chest, but I couldn't stop myself from taking another pass. This time focusing my attention on his nipples and the sides of his body. Each move I made brought incredible moans out of Mark's throat and caused his body to quiver and shake.

As my mouth moved back down toward his belly, I could feel Mark struggling to stay standing. He was gripping the counter behind him with both hands and had bent backward so his head was almost touching the surface.

I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away from the island, then quickly moved him over to one end of the couch. I pushed him backward so that his ass was resting on one arm and he was laying on his back. In this position, his cock was now the highest part of his body and was sticking up in the air, waiting for my touch.

I pushed myself between Mark's legs and lowered my mouth to one of his thighs. Mark gasped as I buried my face in the crevice where his thigh met his pelvis. I was careful not to touch his cock, though. I wanted to hear the pleasure in his voice and see the effects I was having on him in his whole body when the moment finally came. I wanted to bring Mark as close to the edge as possible before I let him come.

I lifted Mark's legs in the air and found his sensitive balls with my tongue. He reached down to grab his cock, but I caught it in my hand and placed it under his ass. "That's not allowed," I growled as I grabbed his other hand and forced it underneath him as well. Mark gasped for breath with every move I made with my tongue, but when I sucked both of his balls into my mouth, his moans turned into begging.

"Oh God, Landon. Please, touch my cock. Please! I can't stand it any longer!"

I looked up at the rigid rod of flesh in front of my face and smiled. He was so close his cock looked like it might explode. Mark's entire body quivered as I moved my mouth up to the head—not touching it yet. Instead, letting each exhale torture his sensitive skin.

As much as I wanted to devour him whole, I couldn't stop staring at Mark's perfection. The shape and size of his cock were like something from a dream, and the way the ridge flared out over the shaft... it was incredible. I brought the tip of my tongue to his head and the deep moans that were coming from Mark suddenly turned into high-pitched gasps.

Mark was panting and flexing his ass, which pushed his cock higher in the air, causing it to quiver and bounce. When I saw the pre-come beading up on top, I couldn't wait any longer. I wanted to taste him. I wanted his fluids to fill my mouth.

I flattened my tongue out on the frenulum and brought my lips up over the head as Mark yelled my name. Once I had him in my mouth and applied some suction, I started swirling my tongue around the head. I moved one hand up-and-down Mark's shaft while I cupped his balls gently with the other and within seconds Mark's body tensed up.

"Jesus, I'm going to come," he gasped, gripping the arm of the couch underneath him with both hands.

I loved the thought of Mark having so little control over himself while he was in my hands and was thrilled that I could make him come so quickly while barely touching his cock. I was in control of when and how Mark's cock was touched, and I was in control of when he came. I fucking loved it. I also loved knowing that this was his first orgasm. Mark was going to come many more times in my hands before the day was over.

I sucked him in as deeply as I could before running my lips and tongue back up his shaft, then over the sensitive head. Within seconds, Mark's musky juices were shooting down my throat. His entire body quivered and convulsed as I continued to massage his balls and suck his cock. I worked Mark's shaft and milked his cock until there was nothing more inside him and his body went limp.

But I wasn't even close to being done with him. I pushed Mark's legs into his chest so that his ass was in the air now and his soaking wet asshole was presented to me to do with as I saw fit.

"I can't wait to fill your ass up, Mark. And this time, you're going to remember every single second," I growled.

I gripped my cock and circled Mark's slick asshole with the head, then—when I couldn't wait another second—I plunged myself in. Mark let out the sexiest moan I'd ever heard and pushed his ass closer to me, allowing me to enter him even deeper.

I moved in and out of him slowly at first, but as a frenzy built inside me, I slammed into him harder and faster. Mark's cock was becoming rigid again as my head pressed against his prostate, and with a few more pumps, he was on the edge again.

"Oh fuck, Landon. I'm gonna come again!"

I gripped his ass with both hands, ramming into him again and again, and just as the warmth of the beginning of my orgasm started to spread, and a low growl came out of my throat, Mark's cock exploded again, shooting a stream of come onto his chest.

My orgasm peaked as I watched Mark's face fill with ecstasy. I didn't want to risk going any further because I could feel that a knot was imminent, so I pulled out of him quickly and shot a second stream of come onto his chest. I wanted to give us both time to enjoy the knot while we were laying in each other's arms.

"We'd better get into bed before I knot inside you and were stuck out here in this position," I said after I had recovered from the intensity of my release.

By the time I was done with Mark we had each come at least three times, the last for both of us happening after we'd been locked together with my knot for over an hour. We were completely exhausted and had curled up in my king-size bed, sandwiched in between my 800-thread-count cotton sheets and the incredibly fluffy down comforter that was covering us.

I'd learned a long time ago that a comfortable and clean house was very important to me. I also learned that I wasn't particularly good at keeping a clean house or doing laundry regularly, so I'd had a service come in once a week for years. I found it made things easier. And as I lay there, picturing my life with Mark and our children, I honestly didn't see any of it being much different. I had absolutely no interest in forcing Mark to stay at home to cook and clean and take care of the house and kids. Not if that wasn't what he wanted. I would insist on him having the exact life he dreamed of, and if that meant him continuing with his work on the force, I was going to do everything I could to make sure that happened.

That brought my mind to a big question. Would Mark give up his apartment and move in with me here? Would he want to move into a different house? Would he want to live with me at all? It was a big step, especially since he seemed so concerned with other people finding out about him... about us, but I certainly hoped having me around to protect him and take care of him during the pregnancy was something he wanted.

I squeezed Mark's little belly and kissed the back of his shoulder. "How are you doing?" I asked.

Mark didn't answer right away. He twisted around in my arms until he was laying on his back and his hand was on my chest, then he turned his head and looked up at me with sexy, half-lidded eyes and smiled. "I'm amazing."

"Yes, you are," I said, bringing my lips to his.

A slow, sexy laugh emerged from his throat. "You know what I mean. That was... incredible, Landon. I don't have any words for how it all felt. I've never been with someone who took control like that before. I had no idea that was something I wanted. But I guess I really had no idea what I wanted."

"So are you saying that this feels right? This is something that you want?" I asked, tracing the hairs on his chest with my finger. "I don't want to push you into anything you're not ready for."

"Honestly?" he said as he stared up at the ceiling. "I think I've been so freaked out by the idea of becoming an omega that I wasn't thinking at all. It's all that social bullshit I have ingrained in me about omegas being weak. That kind of stuff has been spinning around and around in my head for the last couple of weeks, and... I don't know... today at the warehouse, I seriously felt like I was losing it. I guess I've been affected by all that crap a lot more than I realized."

Mark stopped talking for a long moment. He just stared at the ceiling and ran his hand over my arm. I watched every move he made. Every swallow and blink and breath. Then finally he shook his head a little and continued. "I never thought of myself as the kind of person who would put down someone because of their genetic background, but that's exactly what I've been doing... to myself. I don't want to be that kind of person," he said as he turned his head and looked at me.

I smiled and kissed his forehead. "You're not that kind of person, Mark. I think you're just scared. We all do crazy things when we're scared."

After a moment he turned back to the ceiling and seemed deep in thought again. I had a lot of questions that were burning to come out, but I didn't want to rush him. I wanted him to come to his own realizations in his own time. That was the most important thing to me. I could help him with his transition. I could support him in every way that I think of, but when it came down to it, Mark had to want me to help him. He had to want to let go of his fear of what other people thought of him, and he had to want to be here with me.

"I don't know what it is about this place. I've been here before, and I always liked it—the way it's decorated and the whole earthy vibe you've got going on—but coming to your house today... I don't know... somehow it was... different."

"How?"

"I don't know," Mark said with a smile. I could see his cheeks turning slightly pink and that he was starting to turn his head away, so I slid my hand up to his chin and pulled it back toward me so that I could see his eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I... I feel like I belong here, Landon. With you. I don't understand how I couldn't see it before, but all of the anxiety that I was feeling... all of the fear and anger that I had swirling around in my head when we were in the car... it evaporated the minute I walked in here. Isn't that weird?" he asked, his eyes so honest and sweet that he almost looked like a kid.

"No, it's not weird at all. I can't tell you how much I wanted to hear you say that. I feel the same way too, Mark. It seems to me that the change you're going through has somehow helped us both see the truth."

"Which is?"

"That we belong together," I said, pulling his head closer to mine. I brought my lips to Mark's slowly, then gently brushed them together until we were locked in a passionate kiss.

# 7

Chapter Seven

* * *

Mark

* * *

When I woke up the next morning in Landon's arms, the sun was peeking through the blinds and I could hear birds singing outside. I felt like a total cliché, waking up feeling like my life was brand new after having had amazing sex the night before. But it was true. I'd never felt so good in my entire life.

But then when I thought about all the guys at working finding out—not about me and Landon, but about the fact that I was pregnant—I felt that anxiety building up in my stomach again. And when I thought about the captain finding out, and the idea of not being able to continue on the force after the baby was born... I just couldn't do it. No matter how much I knew it would hurt Landon, I didn't want anyone to find out. About the baby... or about us.

If only I could lay here in Landon's arms for the rest of my life, then all of my worries would be gone. But that wasn't even remotely possible, or what I really wanted, anyway. Because, in all of this, what I was most scared of was that this pregnancy, and being an omega, would take my identity away. I'd become a stay-at-home dad and a homemaker, and I'd lose every ounce of respect from my co-workers and friends.

Everything I'd worked so hard for all my life would disappear the minute they found out I was an omega.

I glanced down at Landon as I slipped out of bed. I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't stay. Not yet, anyway. I wrote him a quick note, and while he was still snoring and dead to the world, I left it on my pillow and slipped out of the house.

I walked down the street a bit, trying to decide what I should do. I knew Landon was right about me going to see my brother. I really did look up to him and wanted his advice, but I was terrified of him figuring out what was going on with me. But seeing him now would be better than later. If I waited much longer, I'd be showing too much to be able to blame it on one too many servings of chicken pot pie. So, I Ubered home to get cleaned up and change my clothes.

When I got in the shower I scrubbed my body with the pheromone-suppressant body wash twice. I knew being around alphas was tricky, and that eventually there'd be no way for me to disguise my scent, but I had to pray that I could pull it off for now. Especially since I was planning on going to see my brother, who was a full-blown alpha. I hoped I could fool him long enough to get some information.

I walked into the fertility and birth clinic where my brother was head physician. He'd thrilled our parents by graduating from medical school at the top of his class. He had his pick of prestigious hospitals to choose from when he finished his residency, but instead, he chose a birth clinic in this low-income part of town. Our parents would still brag about his accomplishments, even though they both asked him repeatedly when he would take a job at a _real_ hospital.

But no matter what he did, our parents practically gushed about my brother. The fact that he was a doctor, an alpha, and was older than me all seemed to be things they couldn't stop using to compare the two of us. It made my high school years almost unbearable, having to live under his sterling reputation.

My plan all along had been to become a cop after high school. I thought maybe that would finally be something my parents could be proud of, that they would brag to their friends about me for once. But before I started at the academy, they both died in a car accident. So, they never saw me graduate or even start at the academy. I was sure if they saw me now, an omega with a baby on the way, they'd be more ashamed than ever.

Their big, tough son... the omega.

I walked up to the reception desk and recognized Trent, one of the male omega nurses I'd seen many times before, but strangely I'd never paid as much attention to him as I did today. Now that I was changing... or had already changed, actually... I was suddenly more attuned to behavioral traits of the people around me.

Identifying myself as a very masculine beta was something that had given me a luxury that I'd never been aware of until now. It had made me almost completely oblivious to the mannerisms in the different statuses around me. I realized now that, when I was a beta, I basically saw what I wanted to see, and I heard what I wanted to hear, without having any understanding at all about how my behavior affected those around me.

I would blow through a room and disregard certain people, barely glancing at them or listening to what they had to say, because of how I perceived them. Not very open-minded behavior for a cop, or a human being for that matter. And definitely not very thorough.

I knew a lot of alphas perceived the world pretty much the same way, and I could see now that I had been trying to emulate alpha behavior in order to fit in. To be more like my brother and the other alphas I respected. But now that I was an omega, I was starting to see the world a little differently. And comparing myself to the way other omegas behaved was where I seemed to be starting.

Before I even approached the reception desk I could see how open and welcoming Trent was. He seemed to naturally put everyone at ease and create a comforting atmosphere. I wondered if that's what was going to happen to me. For some reason, in the back of my mind, that sort of behavior still screamed 'doormat' to me. Even though I knew it wasn't true.

"Hi Mark," Trent said with the big smile. "I haven't seen you in here for quite a while. It's always nice to have you visit the clinic, especially with everything that's been going on."

"Hey, Trent," I said. "You mean with all the fertility clinics being under attacked?"

"Yeah, it's been horrible," Trent said. "It's getting so I'm afraid to come into work anymore. Just having you here makes me feel a hundred times better."

"Really?" I asked, hoping to God I wasn't already giving off some sort of omega comfort vibes. "Did something happen here?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's nice to have a big strong man like you around to protect us in case anything happens," Trent said, with what appeared to be a bat of his eyelashes.

I laughed and looked down at the desk, then ran my fingers through my hair. I was a little surprised—but also incredibly relieved—that he was flirting with me. I'd never really noticed him doing anything like that before, most likely because I'd never been particularly attracted to him. He always seemed like the kind of omega that wanted to get pregnant immediately, and I made sure to steer clear of those types.

"Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about. So far, they've only done their work at night, and no one's been injured. They seem to be more interested in making some kind of statement than killing anyone. But we're gonna catch them soon, I promise." I smiled and noticed that he was still staring at me with incredibly dilated pupils. I guess that body wash stuff really worked because he didn't seem to be able to detect anything different. "So, is my brother around?"

"Yes, he's in his office. He doesn't have anything in his schedule now, so you can go right in."

"Thanks, Trent. Catch you later." I headed down the hall to my brother's office and knocked before opening the door.

"Mark! How's it going?" he asked from behind a massive pile of files on his desk. "What are you doing here?" He stood up and walked around the desk, then gave me a hug. I stiffened up and stepped back quickly so that the hug was more of a bro slap. I was sure he'd notice my scent change, but he didn't seem to be acting any differently toward me. After I took another step backward, he told me to take a seat. Then he loosened his tie a bit as he walked back around his desk and sat down in a black leather chair.

"That's quite a pile you've got there," I said, gesturing to the charts in front of him. "You must really be backed up."

"Yeah, well, with all of the other clinics going up in flames lately, this is one of the only fertility and birth clinics left on this side of town that's fully functioning. It's horrible what's been going on. Thankfully no one's been killed in any of these arson attacks, but whoever it is that's starting these fires is causing a lot of problems for everyone."

"Well, we're doing the best we can to find out who's responsible."

"Do you guys have any idea if this is a few fringe lunatics? Or a large group with some kind of agenda?"

"It does seem to be some sort of organized group. We've got a whole team working on it. Landon and I have been out on a couple calls recently that seem to be related. It's hard to say, though, because every time we catch a few of them and think we've made some headway, even more pop out of the woodwork. We still don't know who's heading up this organization. But clearly it's a group of extremists."

"Why would they be targeting birth and fertility clinics though? We help all kinds of people here, even patients that aren't pregnant. There are lots of people in this city who don't have money or insurance and are very much in need of medical care?"

"Well, some people think that their beliefs are the only ones that matter. Who knows why they can't—or don't want to—see the bigger picture. But, hey, keep this all to yourself, Stephen. The captain hasn't released a statement yet."

"No problem. So, have they narrowed it down to a specific group?"

"Not yet. There's another theory that it has something to do with all the changes that have been happening in the last decade. With beta males turning into omegas as late as their twenties. They think that shutting down the omega fertility clinics is the answer somehow."

"You're joking," he said. "That's insane. Like anyone has a choice in that. Besides, it's been going on a lot longer than ten years, or even twenty. According to my research, this trend has been steadily increasing for almost fifty years now. It doesn't make any sense that they would try to revolt against these changes at this point. Especially since omega males are the only option for natural birth anymore."

"Yeah, well, that's why we think the group is most likely a bunch of fanatics, regardless of their actual reasoning behind what they're doing. They've got their own agenda—whatever it is—and they haven't exactly given it out to anyone yet. We've got round-the-clock patrol set up at all the remaining clinics so hopefully, we won't have any more fires."

As I talked to my brother, it occurred to me that the way I'd been thinking about the changes in my own body wasn't much different, and that thought kind of scared me. My reaction to my own changes was painting a really unflattering picture of how I'd seen omegas, or how empathetic I was to other points of view. I might as well have been setting fires all these years for all the good my ignorant behavior did to help with omega rights. The very rights I was concerned with now.

"That's good to hear," my brother said, thankfully snapping me out of my spiraling mind. "And by the way, how's Landon? I haven't seen him in a long time. Does he still have that awesome house on the West side?"

"Yeah, he still lives there. He's doing good. But the reason I'm here is... I have this other friend... from work. He's going through some changes that he wasn't expecting and he has a lot of questions. I told him I'd ask you since you've done all that research."

"Yeah, sure. What does he want to know?"

"Well, for one, are these changes that happen final? Do they ever reverse themselves?"

"No, not from any of the evidence I've seen. Once the alpha or omega status has been achieved, that's pretty much it. From what the research shows, beta status seems to be a more flexible state than alpha or omega. From what we can tell, in a beta, all statuses are available, but only one is expressed. And it seems, in the case of this virus or whatever it is, that the alpha and omega status are the more inflexible, permanent statuses. So, once the change from beta to omega is made, the flexibility, so to speak, is gone."

"So why is it that the change is only beta to omega? Never beta to alpha?"

"We're still not sure about that. It seems to correlate somehow with the female population becoming sterile, which has also been happening gradually over the last fifty years. We're still not sure what caused that to happen. But that's where most of the research has been concentrated in the last decade or so. The most obvious answer is that the new omegas seem to be taking the place of the once-fertile female betas and omegas, but how it's happening, we don't know."

"So continuation of the species, I guess. But they have no idea why it all started in the first place? Why females became infertile?"

"Well, there are many theories. Some say it was caused by a virus—some sort of undetected pandemic—and some say it was the cumulative effects of the toxins in our atmosphere and food. But nothing's been proven conclusively. It's still a mystery. So how is your friend doing? How is he handling the change?"

"Oh, fine, I guess," I said, looking down at my hands. I hated lying, but I was nowhere near ready to accept what was going on, let alone to tell my brother the truth. "He's worried that... I guess that his whole personality is going to change. That he's basically going to become a different person."

"That's understandable," Stephen said. "Especially considering how much emphasis our culture puts on these roles: alpha, omega, and beta. The stereotypes don't leave much room for variation, unfortunately. But, no, that's not going to happen."

"What do you mean? How do you know that?"

"Well, the changes are happening on a hormonal and biological level, and those things can influence behavior to a certain extent. But who a person is—who they've become throughout their life—there's a million things that can and do influence that."

"You mean nature vs nurture? That sort of thing?"

"Exactly. You and I are brothers, we come from the same gene pool, and the same home environment, but many different things that happened throughout our lives that have caused us to become who we are. Plus, when we were born, we took different things from our parents that became our own, specific genetic makeup. If it were just up to hormones to determine our personalities, then we'd probably all be robots. Every alpha would behave like an alpha, as well as omegas, and betas. What makes each person unique is every moment, every thought, everything that's happened to them throughout their lives, as well as their specific genetic makeup. And changing from beta to omega isn't going to erase all that."

"So, you're saying, the person who turns from a beta to an omega, they remain pretty much the same person they were before?"

"Yes. They are the same person. The physical changes don't cause them to become someone else. Some of their desires and the way they view the world may change, but being able to see from a different perspective is arguably a good thing. I think it would actually benefit everyone to be able to live a day in another status's shoes. Especially people who believe all those ridiculous stereotypes."

"Yeah," I said. I was pretty embarrassed by the fact that I was one of those people. Or at least had been. I was trying to see things differently, but it was hard when I was still stuck in a society that banned omegas from working certain jobs. I didn't want to be an example of progress and change in our new society. I didn't want to be the revolutionary omega that picketed at the front of his precinct over unfair hiring practices. I just wanted everything to be normal. As normal as they could be for a pregnant cop, anyway.

"Does your... friend have any other questions? Like physical changes? Things like that?"

"Physical changes? What do you mean?"

"You know, penis size. That's usually the main concern. That the penis will shrink or disappear entirely."

"Oh man," I said, my throat drying up. "I didn't even think... I mean... that didn't come up when we talked. I'm sure my friend would be interested in that information, though. Does it... change?"

"You can tell your friend there's nothing to worry about in that department. There have never been any recorded changes in the male anatomy in a twenty-something male who has gone from beta to omega after puberty. His penis will stay the same size."

"Well, that's good to know. I'll be sure and tell him that," I said, sitting back in the chair and taking a deep breath. I had been able to relax when I was at Landon's, but hearing this from my brother somehow removed a whole layer of worry that had been welling up inside me. I didn't know who I was worried I was going to turn into, but I was relieved to hear that my true self wouldn't disappear. Not to mention my cock. "So, how's your love life?" I asked, trying to change the subject as nonchalantly as possible.

"Not great. Jamie and I broke up."

"Oh man, how come? I thought you guys were really happy together. The last time I saw you, you were talking about starting a family with him."

"Yeah, well, that was before he came home with his boss's scent all over him. He didn't even try to clean up first. He walked into the house reeking of alpha pheromones and their mating scent. I almost threw up when I smelled it, but I booted him out on the street instead."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm glad you got rid of him. You deserve a lot better than that. So, are you officially back on the market now?"

"Eh, I'm taking my time. I think I need a bit of a break. But it is funny you should show up. I've been thinking about asking you a favor."

"What?"

"Do you think you could set something up between me and Landon? Maybe a double date so it's not too uncomfortable for anyone? You know, kinda mellow. Low key. No Pressure."

"Seriously? You're thinking you'd want to date him?" In the five years I'd know Landon, I'd never heard my brother express any interest in him. And now that things were working out for me, of course, he was interested in my mate. But that was silly. There was no way for him to know anything about me and Landon.

"Yeah, it was just a thought," he said with a shrug. "I've always kinda had a thing for him."

"He's an alpha, you know."

"Yeah, I know. That doesn't matter to me."

"But what about kids. I thought you wanted to have lots."

"Well, there are other options, Mark. There's adoption and surrogacy. Two alphas can raise a child just fine, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I'm surprised to hear that, is all."

"I could do a nice, big barbecue and have you two over. Then you bring someone for you and bring Landon for me," he said with a laugh. "Is there anyone special in your life right now?"

"Is there ever?" I asked, hoping my face wasn't giving anything away. I didn't seem to be able to lie to my brother very well. Ever since we were kids I felt like he could see right through me, and I'd been lying through my teeth since I sat down. I felt like I was skating on thin ice and should get the hell out of there soon before he figured everything out. "Nah, there's no one special. Not right now, anyway."

"Well, see if you can set something up. Maybe he'd even have us over. He's got that amazing backyard and a huge grill. That guy really has some good taste."

"Yeah, well, I'll see what I can do." I stood up and made my way toward the door. "I don't know if he's gonna be up for it with all the craziness that's been going on lately, but I'll check."

"Great. See you later, Mark. And you'll let me know if you need anything, won't you?" Stephen grabbed my arm and stopped me from going through the doorway. "Anything at all, Mark."

"Yeah, sure," I said slipping out into the hall without looking back. "See ya."

As I walked down the hallway and out the front entrance of the hospital, I wondered what that last thing Stephen said was about. Did he know I was talking about myself? But if he knew, wouldn't he have said something?

I drove away with one question answered, but two new ones that weighed on my mind. Did my brother know I was an omega and was he after my mate?

# 8

Landon

* * *

I was really disappointed when I woke up and found that Mark was gone. I wanted to talk to him. I had been planning on moving him into my house on our day off. When I texted him it took him hours to answer, and when he did, he assured me that everything was fine, but that he was tired and needed some time alone. I figured he needed space so I gave it to him, but it hurt like hell. Especially after our amazing night together.

When I saw him at the precinct the following Monday, I was shocked at how big his belly had gotten over the weekend. I tried to talk to him without making him uncomfortable, but nothing worked. He wouldn't do anything but make small talk with me. Then, after I tried to get him alone to find out how he was doing, he wound up avoiding me the whole rest of the day. We didn't go out in the cruiser because the captain wanted us to question some suspects. So by the end of the day, Mark and I had said maybe ten words to each other.

I went home that night feeling like I'd done something wrong somewhere. I couldn't understand what had happened or how he could treat me like this after the way we came together. After so many years of hoping for something like this to happen, I wondered if maybe he never really did share my feelings. Maybe I forced him into an uncomfortable situation again and he was too polite to tell me to get lost.

But he had said that he felt like he belonged with me when we were in bed together. I hadn't imagined that. But going over and over every word he said definitely wasn't doing me any good. I had to let things lie for a while. I had to let him come to me.

The next morning, as I entered the break room, I walked in on some kind of fight. I had no idea what was going on, but I could smell the tension in the air. Mark was holding a maple glazed doughnut in his hand, but he was glaring at one of the officers—a jackass beta who was always trying to impress everyone with his smart mouth.

"It looks like you've gone up a whole dress size, Miss Lewis!" the asshole said to Mark from across the room.

I could see Mark's face turning red from where I was standing. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he yelled.

"Dude, you look like you're pregnant or something. You'd better lay off the maple-glazed for a month or two before you give birth to a king-sized donut!"

The five guys that were sitting at the table went into hysterics and Mark flew across the room. He grabbed the smart-ass cop by the collar and pulled him up off his chair.

Immediately my protective instincts kicked in, and within seconds I was standing next to Mark, pulling him away from the asshole and wrapping my own hands around the douchebag's neck.

All I could see was that asshole's ugly face, like I was looking through a tunnel, my laser-sharp focus on the object of my fury. I felt hands pulling at me, and I heard Mark's voice yelling for me to stop, but I couldn't release my grip. I was in the most intense fight-mode I'd ever been in in my life. When I finally came to my senses and pushed the asshole away, just about every cop in the precinct was standing around in a circle, staring at me like I was some kind of lunatic. I'd never gone off on a fellow officer like that. Ever. It didn't matter how big of an asshole they were, I was always the one in control.

I watched as the beet-red face of the man in front of me turned a more normal color, and I listened to him gasp for breath until he could speak again.

"What the fuck, Harrison?" he said as he glared at me, then gestured to Mark who was standing near the door. "Is that your girlfriend now?"

I looked over at Mark and I could tell he was furious. And I could feel his anger coming off in waves that were directed right at me. He was furious with me because everyone in the room knew what I was doing. I was protecting him.

Thankfully, the captain barged into the break room and the conversation came to a halt. I was half expecting him to drag me into his office and chew me out for assaulting a fellow officer, but instead, he sent me and Mark off on an armed robbery that was in progress. He said he thought it had something to do with the arson ring and that he wanted us to handle it.

Without even looking each other in the eye, Mark and I left the building and got into my car. He didn't say a word to me on the way to the scene, and I honestly had no idea what to say, even though I felt like I was perfectly within my rights to do what I did. There was no way I could let anything happen to my omega or my baby, and Mark knew that.

"You know, you're going to have to tell them something, and soon," I said after we'd brought the assailants back into the precinct for booking. I kept telling myself to keep my mouth shut, but on the way back out to my car, I couldn't hold it in any longer. "I mean, they can see that you're changing, Mark, and... what the hell is that goddamned smell? Did you pour that body-wash crap over your head when you walked out of your apartment this morning? You smell terrible!" I said, glaring at him. All my frustration and hurt was suddenly erupting and I had no way to stop it. I wasn't really angry at Mark, but that's exactly how it came out.

"You're mad at me? After what you did in the break room this morning? Do you realize how embarrassing that was for me?"

"For you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Every time I ask you, you say everything's fine. But it doesn't seem that way at all. You barely talk to me or look at me. And on top of that, every time I turn around you tell me how humiliating this whole thing is for you. Well, I'm sorry being involved with me and having my baby is so goddamned embarrassing! I'm sorry I ever tried to protect my fucking family! Jesus, just forget it!" I yelled, getting into my car and slamming the door. I sped away without saying another word to Mark. I left him standing there in the parking lot, and watched him get smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror as I drove away.

All night long I tossed and turned. I felt like a total jackass. I didn't know if I was the one that had overreacted or if it was Mark. Or maybe it was both of us. I couldn't understand what was going on with him. But that was the thing. I had no idea what Mark was going through. All I knew was how frustrated I was that I couldn't do a thing to help him, and that everything I did as far as he was concerned seemed to have the opposite effect that I intended it to.

I thought about calling him, but I knew if Mark wanted to talk he would have called me. So I continued tossing and turning for the rest of the night until it was time to get up and go back to the station.

"Hey Captain, you wanted to see me?" I asked as I poked my head inside his office. The minute I'd walked into the precinct, one of the men told me the captain was looking for me. I hadn't seen Mark yet and after what happened yesterday, I wondered if he'd even made it in.

"Yeah, Harrison, come on in. Have a seat." The captain gestured to the chair in front of his desk and I sat down. This didn't look good to me. Any time I'd ever been called into his office before, the entire meeting was over with in less than a minute. Having me sit down meant the captain wanted to talk to me about something serious.

"I know you and Lewis are partners, but I have no idea how well you know each other outside of the precinct, so I'm going to assume you have no information regarding his leave."

"Leave?" I asked, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. Mark took leave without telling me. He didn't feel like he could come to me about this. But why would he? I yelled at him, then left him standing in the parking lot. Why would he ever trust me again?

"Yeah, he had to take a leave of absence. He said he doesn't know how long he's going to be gone for, but to be on the safe side he took five months. He had to go out of state to take care of his parents. Apparently they're both sick and need his help."

"Take care of his parents? That's what he... that's what's wrong?" I asked. The hits kept coming. Mark's parents had been dead for almost 6 years now. They died in a car accident before he started at the Academy. It was actually one of the things that pushed him to join and make it through at the top of his class. At least that's what he told me, back when he was talking to me.

"Yeah, that's what he said. What? Did you hear something different?" the captain asked.

"No... No. I... I didn't hear anything. I was just curious. So, what's gonna happen? Am I on my own now? Or am I getting a new partner?" I asked. I was looking at the captain and I was trying to listen to what he was saying, but all I could think about was Mark. It killed me that he didn't want to involve me in any of this. I felt so helpless when all I wanted to do was take care of him. It was in my nature to protect my mate and I couldn't do that because he wouldn't even let me near him.

"Yeah, I'm sending you out with a new cadet." Captain Freelander looked down at the file on his desk and read off the name. "McMillan. Hank McMillan. He's just starting out, so he'll need some training and guidance, but he was ranked pretty high in his class, so I don't think you'll have a hard time with him. To be honest, I'm glad you're available. You're one of the best cops at this precinct, and I know he'll learn a lot riding along with you until Lewis is back." He paused for a moment, then continued. "There's just one thing you need to be aware of, Harrison."

"What's that?"

"I need to make sure it won't be a problem for you to work with an omega."

I paused for a moment, not sure I was hearing him right. "No, of course not," I said. "This new recruit is an omega?"

"That's right."

"Wow, that's really great. You know I'm all for diversity. But did you really think there'd be a problem?" I asked, still stunned by all the new information I'd been given in the last couple minutes.

"Well, not every alpha on the force is as forward thinking. There are some guys around here who would walk out on me if I partnered them up with an omega. And not everyone is thrilled with the new hiring practices—"

"Wait, what new hiring practices?"

"We've got orders to start hiring omegas. Just a few to begin with so we can see how well the new policy works. But I'll tell ya, I'm glad to be trying this first one out on the fairest and even-tempered cop I've got."

"Well, I haven't been feeling quite as even-tempered as I should lately, but I appreciate you saying that. So when did all this happen?"

"It's been in the works for a while now. A lot of people have been on the police commissioner's ass for years to get rid of those antiquated laws prohibiting all omegas from taking certain jobs. And finally, they're doing something about it. They've tried a few omegas out in different government positions over the last year, and now they're trying some out in the public sector—cops, firefighters, paramedics—to see if we run into any problems, you know... with heat. If things go smoothly, we'll be hiring more in a few months."

"That's really exciting, captain. I'm proud to be one of the first cops to be in on this new policy. I just wish I could tell Mark. I know he'd be happy to hear about it."

"Well, McMillan doesn't start until tomorrow, so you can have the rest of the day off. Just make sure you're in a little early in the morning to show him around."

"Yeah, of course. And thanks, captain."

# 9

Landon

* * *

I headed out to my car and took off. I knew exactly where I was going and what I was going to do when I got there. I was still a little shocked that Mark had lied about his parents like that, but I wasn't going to bring it up. As much as I wanted to give him a smack on the head for being such a wuss with the captain, and everyone at the precinct, I knew how hard this had to be for him.

What I really couldn't wait to see was the look on his face when I told him about the new policy. I knew he would be relieved to know that the captain would take him back, no matter what his status was.

I knocked on the door a couple times before I heard Mark shuffling around inside. "Who's there?" he asked through the door after I knocked for the third time.

"It's me. Please let me in, Mark. I need to talk to you."

"It's not a good time," he said through the door again.

"Mark, come on," I said, raising my voice so that it boomed down the hall. "We need to talk. Why are you doing this?"

"All right." The door opened up a crack and I pushed it open the rest of the way so that I could enter. And there he was, in nothing but a huge T-shirt that almost came down to his knees.

"What are you wearing?" I asked as I closed the door behind me. I looked around the living room and was shocked to see the state it was in. The entire apartment was a mess. There were Chinese food containers everywhere and piles of clothes all over the floor. It looked like Mark had taken all the clothes he owned out of his closet and scattered them over every inch of his apartment.

I watched as Mark's glassy, tear-filled eyes moved down so that he was looking at the shirt he was wearing. "It's a stupid T-shirt my cousin sent me for my birthday a couple years ago. I guess he got the size wrong when he ordered it."

"I'll say. It's enormous. It looks like you're wearing a dress."

"Well, it's the only thing that fits me anymore, Landon!" Mark yelled as he pulled a couple of tissues out of a box he had tucked under one arm. He wiped some tears off his face and blew his nose, then tossed the tissues on the floor. "You have no idea what this has been like for me! You have no idea what it's like to have everything taken away from you! First my parents, and now my whole freaking identity! I was a laughing stock at work yesterday!"

"Mark, you haven't lost anything. Please, listen to me. I talked to the captain—"

"You know what's going to happen if the captain finds out the real reason I took a leave of absence, don't you?" Mark said, pulling more tissues out of the box, then throwing them onto the floor once he used them. "There's no way in hell he's going to give me my job back. They don't want omegas on the police force, Landon. And if I can't be a cop, I don't know what I'm gonna do. My entire life is falling apart and spiraling out of control. My hormones are going haywire," Mark said in between sobs. "I can't stop crying, and none of my pants fit me anymore! I can't even get dressed to go out and get more clothes so I can look decent enough to go out and buy groceries! I'm just glad all I've been craving is Chinese food. At least I can get lo mein delivered." Mark covered his face with another wad of tissues, his whole body shaking with each sob. "I hate my life, Landon. I can't do this."

"Mark," I said as I got closer to him. My heart was breaking from hearing him in so much pain. "I want to help you, don't you understand that? It's what I've been trying to do all this time. Whatever you need... anything at all... I'll get it for you. All I want is to take care of you, Mark. That's all I've ever wanted," I said, gently placing my hands on his shoulders. As soon as I did, I could see the tension in Mark's body start to melt away. "I can do all of this for you. I can get you the clothes and the food you need. Just please come home with me. I want you to be with me, in our house."

"Our house?" Mark asked as he pulled the wad of tissues away from his face and looked up at me with his big, beautiful brown eyes.

"Yes. I want the house I live in to be _our_ house from now on. But only if you want that too."

"I do. I want that too," he said, sniffing and drying his face with a tissue. "That's what I've wanted all this time... but then I got so worried about my job and the guys finding out, and then none of my clothes fit me this morning so I couldn't even leave my apartment..."

"Shhh," I said, squeezing his shoulders. "It's okay. I know there's no way for me to understand what you've been going through, Mark. And I'm sorry I acted so badly yesterday. I shouldn't have left you in the parking lot like that. It was mean and selfish and—"

"No, you had every right to be angry. I knew you were trying to protect me. It's just that... I was afraid of everyone finding out... what they would think and what they would say. I was so scared of losing my job."

"Yeah, about that," I said, brushing Mark's hair out of his eyes. "I have something to tell you. I have a new partner—"

"Already? They're replacing me already?" he said with a panicked look.

"Hey, just listen for a second. I have a new partner, and... Mark... he's an omega."

"Seriously?" Mark said, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. "How do you know? Did he tell you? Is it a secret or something?"

"Nope, it's no secret. I haven't even met him yet. The captain told me."

"Wait, you're telling me they _hired_ an omega? Since when do omegas get to be cops?"

"Since now," I said, smiling at Mark. "And if you want to go back to the precinct after the baby is born, I have a feeling it won't be a problem. The captain wants you back, Mark."

"What do you mean _if_ I want to go back, though? Why wouldn't I want to go back?" Mark asked, his eyes finally dry.

"Well, it'll be completely up to you. If you want to go back, I'll be behind you one-hundred percent."

"Really?"

"Of course I will. I want you to be happy, Mark. That's all I want. But why don't we wait to see how you feel once the baby is here."

"Okay," Mark said with a sniff. "I guess that makes sense."

I looked around the room, then back at Mark's ridiculous outfit. "I want to get you back to the house. Don't you have a pair of sweatpants?"

"I told you, nothing fits me anymore. Not over this big stomach," he said, rubbing his hands over his swollen belly. "I can't get any of my regular T-shirts down past my chest. Why do you think I'm wearing this awful thing?" he asked, yanking on the oversized shirt that had an image of a dog laying in a lounge chair on a beach with a tropical drink in his hand. "But I can't go anywhere looking like this."

"I have an idea. Just sit tight for about an hour. I'll be back." I kissed Mark and ran out the door. I could barely feel the ground under my feet as I made my way to my car. I was beyond excited to finally be bringing Mark home with me.

I figured I could get Mark out of his apartment without him feeling like he was on display if he put on some of my clothes. I had to admit, it still stung a little that he was so embarrassed for people to see him pregnant. But he was my mate and I was going to do anything I could to make him happy.

I knew if I could get him to a good place he would see that these changes weren't necessarily a bad thing. He was one of the strongest men I knew and not just his body. He was brave and courageous. He was never afraid to fight anything we encountered while we were out on a case. And I knew that strength in him was the main thing that was going to get him through all these changes.

When I got back to my house I rummaged through my drawers and found an old pair of black sweatpants in the very back. They'd always been a bit loose, so I figured they'd at least get him to the car. Then I grabbed an old T-shirt I usually wore when I worked out. I wasn't a lot taller than Mark, but I was bigger in some ways. My shoulders were much more broad, and if my memory of his incredible ass was correct, my hips were wider, so the chances were good that we could pull it off with these two pieces of clothing and maybe one of my winter jackets. If worse came to worse, I could always wrap him up in a blanket.

All I really cared about at this point was helping him feel better. About himself and about everything. That was the most important thing to me, that he didn't see any of this as him being silly or idiotic. I viewed what he was doing as nothing short of magnificent, and I knew no one would care that he was pregnant. In fact, I was pretty sure anyone he ran into would be ecstatic for him. He had it in his head that there was something wrong with becoming an omega—that he didn't matter anymore—and that made me incredibly sad. So everything I did from that point onward was to make him feel as safe and comfortable as possible—while he got to my house, and for the rest of his pregnancy.

On my way back to his apartment I stopped by the grocery store and loaded up my car with boxes. I figured I could grab whatever he needed and put it in a duffel bag, then come back during the week after work and pack up the rest of his things.

"What's all this?" Mark asked as I walked in the front door to his apartment and tossed two boxes on the floor.

"Some clothes I think will fit you, and some boxes for your stuff," I said, throwing the clothes on the couch, then grabbing Mark and pulling him close to me. "After we get you home, I can go shopping for more clothes, anything you want. You just let me know and I'll get it for you," I said as I wrapped my hands around Mark's waist. I could feel his bulging belly pressing against my own and it made me smile.

"So, I'm packing everything up today? Right now?"

"No, just pack what you need. I filled my car with boxes on the way back here and I'll come back during the week and pack everything else. Then I'll probably hire some movers. It might be a little tight, but we can find a place to put your furniture. We'll figure it out," I said as I kissed Mark's furrowed brow. "There's nothing for you to worry about anymore, Mark. I'll take care of everything."

"You don't have to do all that. I'm pretty sure half the stuff isn't even worth the cost of moving it," he said as he looked around the room. "Most of it can go to charity."

"Well, whatever you want to do is fine with me. It's your call. Just let me know what you want done and I'll take care of it."

"I'm not a little kid, Landon. I don't need someone to take care of everything for me," he said looking down.

"Look," I said. I was going to get this through his thick head if it killed me. "Mark, this is what I do. It has nothing to do with whether or not I think you can take care of yourself. We've been partners for five years now and best friends for four of them. You think I don't know you can take care of yourself? I think what you've done with your life is amazing. Putting yourself through the academy after your parents died. Graduating at the top of your class. And, believe it or not, I think you being able to produce a baby inside you is beyond amazing. You may not realize it, Mark, but I look up to you. I always have. You're smart, and brave, and you've got a big heart. You're a damn good police officer and I consider myself lucky to get to work with you everyday. Hell, you've saved my life more times than I can count. I'm not doing this because I don't think you can take care of yourself. I'm doing this because I can't not do it. I'm an alpha and if you want this relationship to work you have to let me be an alpha. I want to give you everything I can possibly give you and I want to do everything I can for you. I _need_ to do these things for you, Mark. And, right now, there are a lot of things that you need. That doesn't make you weak and it doesn't mean that you're a lesser person than me. It just means you're human. We can do this together. That's what a partnership is, right? When we're out on cases together it isn't me calling all the shots or you shooting all the bad guys. We work together. And that's how I see this. It's just a continuation of our partnership only... deeper, and stronger, and a whole lot sexier," I said as I gripped his ass and gave it a squeeze.

I could see by the change in Mark's eyes that I'd finally gotten through to him. He didn't look angry or irritated anymore. In fact, he looked relieved. And that look in his eyes filled me with relief too. "So grab what you need, and let's go home."

Mark started nesting the minute we got back to the house. I told him he had the run of the place, that he could do anything he wanted, and he started by taking all the pillows and blankets from everywhere in the apartment into the bedroom and piling them onto my California-King-sized bed. Then he took me by the hand and we crawled into what he later started referring to as 'the sex fort.'

We spent almost every minute I had off from work lounging around in the fort while Mark's belly grew bigger almost by the hour. He still didn't feel comfortable going outside, but he was happy. I could see it in his eyes, and that was all I needed.

Over the next few months, I spent my days getting used to working with my new partner. It was fun to watch Hank grow into his own style, but I had to admit I missed working with Mark every day. On the way home from the precinct each night, I would grab whatever he was craving—usually a large carton of chicken lo mein—then rush to get back home to him. It was the most amazing sight in the world, seeing his smiling face greeting me as I walked in the door. Not to mention his belly that kept getting bigger and bigger.

No matter what had happened throughout the day, seeing Mark at the end of it made me feel like the luckiest man in the world.

# 10

Landon

* * *

"Did you do the dishes?" I asked as I walked in after work one night and set two bags of groceries and Mark's takeout on the kitchen island. "Did you clean up in here today?"

"Yeah, I washed the dishes and mopped up a little," he said from the other side of the couch. In these last few weeks of his pregnancy, he'd stopped getting up to greet me when I got home. Whenever he did get up off the couch, I had to pull him up with both hands. I wasn't sure if he could get up on his own at all at this point. "Why? Did I miss something?"

I walked around to the other side of the kitchen island and stood at the end of the couch so I was facing Mark. He was laying on his back watching something on a tablet he had propped up on top of his belly. It was so incredibly cute I almost started laughing. "That's why we have a cleaning service. They come into this house, they clean, then they leave. That's what we pay them for. I don't want you on your feet all day, honey."

Mark rolled his eyes, then looked over at me. "I'm not disabled, Landon. I can handle washing a couple of dishes. It wasn't a big deal, and at least I get to feel like I'm doing something other than lay around all day."

"You're already doing something," I said as I slid down onto the couch next to him. "You're doing something really, really big. Something most people on this planet can't do. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I understand. But I still don't want to lounge around on my back, eating bonbons and watching TV all day long. I need to do something, and, to be honest, cleaning is kinda fun." Mark laughed and shook his head.

"What's so funny?"

"I can't believe those words came out of my mouth. I mean, you saw my apartment before I moved out. I wasn't exactly the most fastidious person back then, before I... well, before I changed. That's certainly an improved feature to the old Mark Lewis."

"I don't like the way you always say that you've changed. You haven't really changed, Mark. All that really happened was you had some really great stuff added onto an already fabulous body. You're the same person, you know." I said, kissing his hand. "You haven't turned into some other creature... or a robot."

"That's funny cause that's kinda how I saw all this when it first started happening. I thought I was going to turn into a cleaning, birthing robot that had no personality. But that's not what happened."

"No, that's not what happened. You're still the man I fell in love with five years ago."

Mark looked at me and scoffed. "We started working together five years ago. You can't possibly have fallen in love with me back then."

"I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you. It's taken us all these years to figure out how to come together, but my love for you was there from the very beginning."

Mark smiled and moved his arm up, gesturing for me to crawl underneath. "I had no idea. I always had the hots for you but I figured you wanted an omega to breed with and gaze at with your dreamy eyes."

"That's exactly what I wanted," I said, scooting next to him and kissing him on the cheek. "But I wanted you too. Maybe that's why I held out for so long. I was waiting for you." I kissed Mark one more time on the side of the head, then turned and looked at the tablet that was teetering on top of his belly. "What are you watching?"

"Oh, it's one of those horrible natural-birthing videos on YouTube. I don't know if I can do this, Landon. It looks way too painful."

"You're going to freak yourself out if you keep watching those videos. Not all births are the same. Some are a lot easier than others. You won't have any idea how it's going to be until it's actually happening. Yours could be very different."

"Yeah, I'll be the one screaming in pain, that's how it's going to be different. Did you get my lo mein?" he asked, turning his head so that he was facing me and I gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Yeah, I got the lo mein. And a gallon of chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream, and the hot pockets you like."

"Thank you, sweetie," Mark said, kissing me again. "I'm starving."

"Why aren't you watching this on the big screen? We get YouTube through the TV in here."

"Yeah, I know, but it's getting uncomfortable to sit up for more than a few minutes, and I can't see the TV over my giant stomach when I'm lying down. So this is what I came up with," he said, gesturing to the small screen that was supported by three pillows.

"Very ingenious. But I think I have a better idea," I said, standing up and offering my hand to Mark.

"What?" He didn't make a move to sit up. He just glanced back and forth between my eyes and my outstretched hand.

"I can mount the TV on the wall. That way it'll be up higher."

"You'd do that for me?" he asked with a sweet smile.

"I'd do anything for you. I'll take care of it after dinner. Now are you going to eat at the table or do you want me to bring the container of lo mein over here and dump it right into your mouth?"

"No, I'll get up and eat at the table." Mark took the tablet off his stomach and held out both hands. "I've got to get up the motivation to make the big move."

I grabbed Mark's hands and pulled him so that he stood up and slid right into my arms. He wobbled a bit, but I kept him steady and wrapped my arms around his waist as far as they would go.

"It looks like we're trying to hold a basket ball up between us," Mark said as we both looked down at his round belly. "Only two more weeks until I'm due." His eyes were twinkling when he looked back up at me.

"I know," I said, pushing a bit of hair out of his eyes. I kissed his forehead and let my lips linger, taking in his fabulous aroma. As his pregnancy progressed his scent changed a little and I wondered if what I was detecting was the being that was growing inside him. "I can't wait to see what our baby looks like."

"I hope he has your eyes," Mark said, his lips touching mine softly. They lingered there for a long time until the kiss became deep and passionate, sending waves of electricity to my core.

"If you keep that up, your dinner is gonna get real cold," I said as I felt my cock spring to life.

"The lo mein can wait," Mark said, unzipping my jeans with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "I'm suddenly hungry for something else."

"You're kidding," I said, watching him struggle to bend down and lower himself in front of me. "This is the fifth time this week."

"I can't help it, Landon. I'm so freaking horny. Now, help me, please. I can't figure out how to get down there."

I laughed as I straightened Mark back up and kissed his furrowed brow. "Why don't we get on the bed like civilized people?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'm in no shape for an impromptu blowjob."

I pushed Mark ahead of me toward the bedroom and had to stifle a laugh at the way he waddled down the hall, holding onto the walls and gripping the doorway. It was precious. But I knew there would be hell to pay if he heard me, so I kept my amusement to myself.

I watched as he tried to strip off his clothes seductively, but wound up getting his head trapped in his T-shirt for a few seconds. Then, he crawled onto the bed and stayed on all fours for a moment, but quickly rolled over and flopped onto his back, letting out a long groan. "Jesus, that took everything I had out of me."

As he recovered from the epic jaunt from the living room to the bedroom, I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. But the thing was, even with the awkward movements and groaning, Mark was still the sexiest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

"Not everything, I hope," I said as I crawled on top of his legs and ran my tongue up the length of his hard cock. "I think it's my turn to take care of you."

"Landon, that's all you've been doing! I wanted to... I wanted..."

But the head of Mark's cock was already in my mouth and within seconds he'd lost his train of thought.

I heard that deep moan that told me he was close to coming already when I took his entire cock down my throat, so I quickly went to work on his asshole. I slid a finger in his already slick hole, and Mark pulled his knees up so that I had better access. Then I found his prostate and kept up a rhythmic thrusting until I had all four of my fingers inside him.

Mark was writhing around and moaning louder and deeper than I'd ever heard him moan before. We'd had tons of sex while he was pregnant—sometimes with me fucking him, and sometimes like this, where I massaged his prostate. I didn't always need to suck him off, either. He would usually come from just the prostate stimulation alone, after only about twenty thrusts. But this time something felt totally different.

I kept my mouth around Mark's cock and cupped his balls while I continued to fuck him with my fingers. I couldn't see anything but his belly from where I was, but I could hear the desperation in his voice.

"Oh, Jesus, Landon! Oh, fuck! That feels so incredible! Oh God, keep going! Don't stop!"

I wasn't sure about it at first. I'd only ever had four fingers inside Mark before. But he was begging for more, so I did what he asked. I kept going. And I didn't stop until I realized my whole hand was inside him.

Mark was in such a frenzy I was almost afraid he was going to go into labor right then and there. His moans and cries kept increasing in volume and urgency with each thrust of my hand, and every time my lips moved over the head of his cock his entire body shuddered.

I brought my mouth up past his head one more time, then swallowed his cock all the way down my throat, and all hell broke loose. Mark bucked and gyrated his hips, and I held on tight. I kept entering him with one hand, while gently massaging his balls with the other, and I was rewarded with a massive stream of come.

As soon as it started shooting into my mouth, I gripped Mark's cock with one of my hands and moved it up and down the length of his shaft as I sucked the head. Mark was gasping and moaning and the muscles in his legs were shaking as I continued to work his cock and asshole. Then, slowly, Mark lowered his legs and his whole body went limp.

# 11

Mark

* * *

When I opened my eyes I saw Landon's naked body, and his massive cock, hovering over me. He reached down and stroked his length while he gazed down at me.

"I wanted that in my mouth," I said, eyeing the pre-come that was dripping off the head.

"I'm fine doing this. I like looking at you. You're so goddamned sexy."

"Are you serious? My stomach is enormous, and I'm retaining so much water I feel like I must weigh three-hundred pounds."

"Don't be silly. You're gorgeous," he said, stroking his cock while he stared at me.

"I'm serious, Landon," I said as I gazed at his cock. "I want that in my mouth."

"Just relax. I don't want you to do any work. I'm taking care of you right now."

"It's not work. Especially if you get on top of me and fuck my mouth. I won't be lifting a finger," I said, moving my hands out to show him that I wouldn't be using them.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I really am perfectly fine with looking at your gorgeous body while I stroke myself."

"Get up here," I said as I wiggled my body down the bed a bit. "I'm not going to be satisfied until I taste you."

"If you say so," Landon said, throwing one of his legs over my head. He held his cock in his hand and pressed the head against my lips, circling them for a moment before he pushed it in. I felt a warm surge fill me as the scent and taste of Landon surrounded me, and at the sight of his cock disappearing further and further down my throat. Landon put his hands on either side of my head, then put all his weight on them as he pumped himself in and out of me.

I couldn't control the moans that came out of my throat as he moved in and out of my mouth, and as he did, my cock grew hard again. It had been getting more and more difficult to grab ahold of my cock as my pregnancy progressed, but I twisted a bit and somehow managed it. Landon continued to thrust himself into my mouth and I joined him by running my hand up and down my own shaft.

I could tell by his breathing and by how hard his cock was that Landon was close, and that brought me to the edge too. When Landon made his final, deep thrust inside me, I climaxed at the exact same time, and as his massive stream shot down my throat, I felt my own warmth stream all over my belly.

I gripped Landon's ass with my free hand and continued to suck him until he'd been milked dry. When I released him, he moved off of me, then glanced down at my belly.

"You came again," he said with a smile.

"We came at the same time." I couldn't take my eyes off of the amazing sight in front of me. My incredible alpha mate who had made me happier than he will ever know. I wanted to stay in the sex fort with him forever, but now that we had made love, I was ravenous. "I love you, Landon," I said as I felt him wiping the come off my stomach. "But where's that lo mein."

It was a week before my due date when I woke up to an incredible pain deep inside me, and I knew exactly what was happening. It was still dark in the bedroom and when I glanced at the clock I realized it was early morning.

I knew this day was coming. I'd been thinking about it for months, and planning for it for weeks. But no matter how much you prepare—no matter how many videos you watch, or how many books you read, or how many online quizzes you take—there's absolutely no way to know how you're going to react in the moment when things really start moving. Partly because you know there's nothing you can do at this point to stop the inevitable from happening, even if you wanted to.

"Landon," I said, grabbing him by the arm and shaking him hard. "Landon!"

Landon moved his head back and forth a couple times and asked me if I was hungry and what time it was, but I knew he wasn't awake yet. So I grabbed both of his arms and shook him again. "Landon! "

That did it. He sat straight up in bed and his eyes flew open. "What? Mark? What's going on? Is it time? Is it time?" His eyes were wide and he was looking around the room for me, like he didn't know where either one of us was. I grabbed his wrist and tugged on it again.

"I'm over here," I said. "Wow, you were really out of it."

Landon didn't seem to hear what I said. He just looked at me with sheer panic in his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked again.

"I think it's time, honey. I can feel something... happening."

Landon jumped out of bed and turned on the lights, then started pulling clothes out of drawers and throwing them over his shoulder like a maniac.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I don't know what to wear. What should I wear?" he said as he pulled open a new drawer and started pulling more clothes out.

"Anything. It doesn't matter. We're not going to a beauty contest," I said, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and pushing myself up. I waddled over to the closet and slipped my feet into some shoes. "Jeans and a T-shirt are perfectly appropriate for the hospital, and I can see about six of each of those on the floor behind you. Just pick something." I was perfectly fine with what I had on—a T-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms that Landon had found for me. The pants were the most incredibly comfortable things I'd put on in the last couple months, so I had him go back to where he found them and buy me ten more pairs. That way I didn't have to worry about doing laundry and I always had something clean to wear.

All I needed was a bathrobe and my overnight bag and I was set. After I wrapped my flannel robe around me, I turned back around, and Landon was staring at the pile of clothes on the floor like he didn't know what to do with them. I picked up a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had landed on the bed and handed them to him. "Just put these on," I said. "And don't forget shoes. I'll meet you out in the car."

"You're not carrying that thing out there," he said as he pulled a shirt over his head.

"I can carry a bag, Landon. It barely weighs anything."

"I said, leave it." I watched as Landon pulled on his jeans without any underwear. "Just start moving; I'll catch up with you," he said as he stuffed one of his sockless feet into a sneaker.

I rolled my eyes and set the bag down, then shuffled out into the hallway. By the time I made it to the garage door, I heard Landon banging down the hall behind me. He slipped his hand in front of me and turned the knob, then opened the door for me. After I shuffled through the doorway, he ran around me and opened the passenger door.

"Are you okay?" Landon asked as he slid into the car seat next to me. He had a panicked look on his face and his eyes were wide. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. We just need to get to the hospital."

"Okay." Landon looked back at the dashboard and started the car.

When he put the car in reverse I laid my hand on his. "You might want to open the garage door first."

He looked up into the rearview mirror and let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I don't know why I'm so scattered. I think I'm finally awake now." He hit the button for the garage door and it went up, then he put his foot on the gas and we flew backward down the driveway, the sound of screeching tires echoing down the empty street.

Before he put the car in drive, Landon grabbed the portable flasher and threw it up on top of the car.

"You're kidding. You're not going to use that, are you?"

"Of course I am. This is an emergency! Now make sure you're buckled in and hold on! I've got this!"

Landon took off down the residential street and quickly made his way to an intersection. He sounded his horn and checked to make sure the cross traffic had stopped, then sailed through the red light. I wanted to tell him to slow the hell down, but I knew it was pointless. He was taking the job of getting me to the hospital very seriously.

About halfway there, it occurred to me how incredibly calm I was. I never in a million years imagined on the day that I went into labor I would be more relaxed than Landon. After watching all those videos and hearing so many omegas tell their stories about getting to the hospital—about all the things that could possibly have gone wrong actually going wrong, about all the pain, and the hours of labor—I thought I'd be in hysterics the day my baby came.

But here I was, calmly riding along while Landon screeched around corners and blew through stoplights. But I knew that even as hair-brained as he was acting, Landon had everything under control. I'd seen him drive like a stuntman before—when we were out chasing down criminals—and he was pulling some of the same moves as he ferried the two of us to the hospital.

As we weaved in and out of traffic, I thought about how Landon had been right all along. What he'd said about all those videos doing absolutely nothing to prepare me for what was really going to happen. How every omega was different, that no one person's labor was the same as anybody else's. This was my own experience and it was playing out in its own unique way.

And even what my brother had said about each person being different—that was so true too. There were things about me that were different now, but I was still the same person, with the same ability to handle tough situations.

Which was another thing Landon was totally right about. And it was actually something I hadn't been able to admit to myself until that very moment. When Landon told me how much he admired my strength, I thought it was some big line. I knew that I had always wanted to be strong, like an alpha. But I was too close to see it in me. Landon told me that he believed it was the thing that was going to get me through this. And as I sat there next to him in the car, I realized it was true. I was just as strong as any alpha, and I always had been.

As we pulled up to the emergency room entrance, I felt more sure than I ever had in my life. I knew that this was the life I wanted—the one I'd been wanting all along. And it could only have happened when I gave up needing to prove myself as a beta and let myself be an omega.

I looked at Landon and saw the love in his eyes as he helped me out of the car. And when I thought back to the moment when I first realized I'd become an omega—when I found out that I was pregnant with Landon's baby—I couldn't believe that _this_ was what I was so afraid of. Because this was the most wonderful moment I'd ever experienced in my life. And I knew that it was just going to get better from here.

# 12

Landon

* * *

After I pulled up to the emergency room entrance and got out of the car, I grabbed a wheelchair, then grabbed Mark. I knew there was no way he was going to be able to get out of that low car seat on his own, so I picked him up.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said through gritted teeth. "Will you put me down, Landon?"

I set Mark down in the wheelchair, then kicked the car door shut. "I told you, I've got this. All you need to do from this point onward is push. I'll take care of everything else."

I didn't care if Mark was rolling his eyes at me. I didn't care if I was acting like a typical alpha. I was about to have a baby and there was nothing he or anyone else could do to stop me from doing thing my way from here on out.

"We're having a baby!" I yelled to no one in particular as I pushed Mark into the ER reception area. There were a number of people sitting and standing around and they all looked over at us and smiled. I couldn't believe how calm everyone was, but I figured maybe they hadn't heard me, so I yelled a little louder. "We need to get him into a room! The baby is coming now!"

"Landon!" Mark said as he grabbed one of my hands. "They heard you."

"Then why aren't they doing anything? We need to get you into a room!"

"There are people in line in front of us. We can't just barge up to the beginning of the line."

"Oh, yes we can," I said as I wheeled Mark past some clearly less urgent cases. The nurse behind the counter took one look at Mark and smiled, waving the two of us to the front of the line. "It's okay, dear. We'll take care of everything. Now, what's your name?" she asked Mark as she typed something into her keyboard.

"We don't have time for that," I said. No one seemed to be taking this seriously. "We need to get him into a delivery room right now! I'm a police officer and this is an emergency!"

Both the nurse and Mark looked at me, and then they both started laughing.

"It's okay, Landon. The baby's not coming out this very second," Mark said, grabbing my hand again. "We have time."

"Just take a deep breath, Mr...." The nurse glanced back and forth between the two of us waiting for a name.

"He's Harrison. I'm Lewis," Mark said, and even though I knew it wasn't that important—especially with all the advances we'd made as a society—I kind of wished our names were the same.

"That's fine. We'll have your partner in a room in no time at all, Mr. Harrison. Just let me get his information. Now, first name, Mr. Lewis?"

"Mark."

"And how far apart have your contractions been, Mr. Lewis?"

"They've been coming really fast, haven't they?" I asked, realizing that I hadn't actually been keeping track of the contractions at all. I had a feeling I'd forgotten something.

"The last two were about ten minutes apart," Mark told her.

"Oh, I thought they were coming faster than that," I said with a sheepish grin. I looked down at Mark and couldn't believe how serene he looked. I honestly thought he was the one that would be freaking out today, and that I would be the one to keep him calm. Obviously, that wasn't what was happening.

"It looks like we're ready," the nurse said as she picked up the phone. "Let's go ahead and get you back there and on a monitor. I have a call out to your doctor, but since you're in a week before your due date we might need to have our on-call doctor perform your delivery. Is this going to be your first, Mr. Lewis?"

"Yes, this is my first," Mark said with a big grin as he squeezed my hand.

I ran my hand over the top of his head, pushing his hair back, then kissed his forehead. "I can't believe this is finally happening, babe. I love you so much."

"Well congratulations to both of you," the nurse said to us, then turned to address a man in scrubs who'd come through the swinging doors. "Take this couple to the delivery wing, room 315. They're expecting Mr. Lewis and Mr. Harrison."

After Mark got settled in, some nurses came and went, taking his blood pressure and checking everything out, then finally we were alone in the room. I sat down in a chair next to Mark and held one of his hands in both of mine. "I'm so proud of you," I said. "You're handling this amazingly well. Like, way better than I am."

"Don't say that. You've done an awesome job taking care of everything, Landon. Really, I can't thank you enough. You helped me through one of the hardest periods in my life. I don't know what I would've done without you."

I could feel tears filling my eyes, but I didn't care. In that moment, all I could see was Mark. The rest of the world didn't mean a thing to me.

"I'm sure I'd still be living in my trashed apartment, with takeout containers piled to the ceiling. I probably wouldn't have even had the sense to hire someone to clean for me."

I saw Mark's eyes starting to fill with tears too and I squeezed his hand. Then the tears in his eyes fell down his cheeks and I moved my hand up to wipe them away.

Mark put his hand around mine and held it there against his cheek and looked deep into my eyes. "And I want you to know how sorry I am."

"About what, sweetie?" I asked, brushing a tear away from my own face as it ran past my lips.

"I'm so sorry that I've been such an asshole about everything—the change and the pregnancy and keeping everything a secret. I never meant to hurt you, but I know that's exactly what I did."

"You don't have to say this, Mark. I know—"

"Yes, I do. I need you to know how much you mean to me, Landon, and how much this baby means to me. I want you to know that I've never been embarrassed of you. It kills me to think that you ever felt that way. I could never have asked for a better friend, and I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am that you're my partner... and I don't mean at work," Mark said with a laugh.

"I know exactly what you mean." I smiled and wiped more of my own tears away. He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his eyes went wide and he almost crushed my hand in his. "Oh God, here comes a big one," he said through gritted teeth. I held his hand and let him squeeze as hard as he had to. There was absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for him, no matter how much it hurt.

When he relaxed and started breathing again, I figured it was a good time to bring up something that had been on my mind. "So, guess who I talked to the other day?"

"Who?"

"Your brother."

Mark was silent for a long time. His eyes darted around the room before he spoke again, but he didn't look back at me. "Stephen? Where did you see him?"

"He came into the precinct. He was looking for you. He said he'd called you a few times but hadn't heard back. He was worried about you, Mark."

"Oh. I've been meaning to return his call. Did you tell him ... anything?"

"Okay, I'm not going to lie to you, Mark. I told him you were pregnant. But I wouldn't have done it if I'd known you hadn't told him yet. It didn't even occur to me that he didn't know."

Mark was silent for a moment. "What did he say?"

"He was really excited, Mark. He was so happy for you. But I think he was also hurt that you hadn't told him. I think he'd really like to be here for this." I was worried that Mark would be angry with me, but when he looked back up and I saw the gentleness in his eyes, I knew I'd done the right thing.

"Yeah," Mark said. "I do want him here. I don't want him to miss something as big as this. He's all the family I have left."

"Great! I'll go out and make a quick call." I leaned in and gave Mark a long, deep kiss. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Okay, but make it really fast. Before the next contraction." Mark was still much more calm than I'd expected him to be, but I could tell he needed me with him during this.

"You got it, babe."

Stephan answered his phone immediately and told me he'd be there as fast as he could. When he walked through the door and saw his brother in the bed with his pregnant belly exposed to the world, his mouth fell open.

"Oh, my God... what... how... I thought something was up when you came to my office and asked about the status changes, but I had no idea you were pregnant. Why didn't you tell me, Mark? How could you keep this from your own brother? This is amazing!"

"I'm so sorry, Stephen." Mark was having trouble making eye contact with his brother but then looked up as Stephen pulled a chair up on the opposite side of the bed from where I sat, holding Mark's hand. "I was just... I don't know. I was embarrassed and scared. I didn't know what you would think of me."

"How could I be anything but ecstatic?" Stephen asked as he grabbed Mark's other hand. "And do you have any idea how thrilled our parents would be if they could see you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm sure they'd be mortified that one of their sons turned out to be an omega."

"Mark, that couldn't be further from the truth. It was always Mom's dream to watch one of her children give birth."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"I overheard them talking when I was home from college once. She said something about having another baby—that maybe this one would be an omega. She told Dad that she'd always hoped for one. I know she was happy with the two of us, but I can understand her wanting to be a part of the whole pregnancy and birth process with one of her children too. She was in the last generation of women to be able to give birth. I know she would have been thrilled to see you right now."

"I had no idea. I guess I just assumed they would have wanted alphas. I think I've always assumed that what everyone wanted was a bunch of alphas."

"Not even close," I said, feeling incredibly blessed to be a part of this conversation. I was so glad that Mark was hearing about this now. I wanted him to know how much he had always been loved. "I'll love our baby no matter what his status is."

"If there were only alphas there would be no younger generations. We'd all die off. And the world would be a pretty boring place."

Suddenly Mark gripped my hand hard. "Oh, God, here he goes again!"

Stephen and I watched as Mark gritted his teeth through another contraction. I was sure they'd be taking him in soon. The contractions were coming fast now.

"So you know it's a boy?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah, it's a boy," Mark said with a weak smile. He closed his eyes and let his head drop back on the pillow, then let out a long sigh. "That was a big one."

"We've decided on the name Trevor," I said as one of the nurses came into the room. She lifted the sheets so she could see how far along Mark was, then smiled. "I think we're ready to go into the delivery room," she said after examining him. "Are the two of you joining us?"

I looked at Stephen and Mark, then back at the nurse. All the time that Mark was pregnant I had pretty much convinced myself that I was not going to be in the delivery room during the birth. I'd seen way too many videos with gooey babies covered in God-knows-what to even consider it a possibility. But the minute we got to the hospital, I didn't want to leave Mark's side.

"Yeah, I'm going in," I said to the nurse.

"Me too," Stephen said with a grin. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Every time Mark had a contraction I wanted to get into that narrow bed with him and wrap my arms around him. But since that wasn't even a remote possibility, I stayed right by his side, holding his hand and brushing the hair off his drenched forehead.

Stephen stayed right there too, reassuring Mark that everything was normal and keeping him grounded. Stephen had delivered more babies than he could count and I was sure Mark felt lucky to have him in the delivery room.

"Mark, this is Dr. Livingston. He'll be delivering your baby since your regular doctor can't be reached."

Mark barely opened his eyes and glanced up. I was sure he didn't really care who took care of the delivery, but when I looked over at Stephen, he was as white as a sheet.

"Dr. Jake Livingston?" Stephen asked.

"Yes, I'm Jake Livingston," the doctor said from behind his surgical mask. "Oh, hello, Dr. Lewis. I didn't know you'd be assisting with this birth."

I couldn't help but notice the tension that suddenly filled the air between the two doctors. They were both speaking cordially to one another, but I could tell there was something off.

"I'm not assisting," Stephen said with a slightly gruff tone. "This is my brother. I'm here to support him."

"Fine. Well, I think this delivery is going to be over with in record time. Mark is already crowning. Nurse can I get your assistance? And Mark, are you ready to push?"

Mark opened his eyes and looked up at the doctor and nodded. "I'm ready."

"Okay, then... on the count of three, as hard as you can."

I gripped Mark's hand hard and kissed it, then glanced up at Stephen, but was confused when I saw his face. He almost looked like he was going to be sick.

"One... two... three... push!"

There was a bit of a commotion in the room with Mark pushing and the nurses scurrying around, but within what felt like seconds, I was being handed the most beautiful little baby boy I'd ever seen in my life.

He was so small and so sweet and he fit into the little nook in the corner of my arm perfectly. I kissed his soft head, then lowered him down into Mark's arms. I don't think there was a dry eye in the delivery room when that sweet little baby reached up and grabbed Mark's nose with its teeny little hand. Mark took that little hand in his own and brought it to his lips and he kissed all of Trevor's fingers.

I glanced up at Stephen and he had his eyes on Mark and the baby, but I couldn't help but notice an odd look on his face. He glanced nervously back at where the doctor had been only a moment ago. He seemed relieved to see that Dr. Livingston had silently left the room. I wondered what all that was about, but it wasn't the time to ask. This moment was all about Mark and little baby Trevor.

# 13

Mark

* * *

"Just keep trying, Mark. Keep holding little Trevor up to your nipple and eventually, he'll get the idea."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "He doesn't seem even remotely interested."

"Yes, I'm positive. This is perfectly natural. Sometimes it takes the baby a day or two to latch on, but I haven't had many problems beyond that."

"Oh, my God," I said with a gasp. "I think he just figured it out."

"That's a good boy," she said as she gazed down on the little bundle in my arms. "Now, you let me know if you need anything at all, dear. I'll be at the nurse's station. Just press the call button."

"Okay," I said absentmindedly. I couldn't stop staring at little Trevor. His lips were finally wrapped around my nipple and he was actually sucking. I couldn't believe it.

As the nurse walked out the door, Landon and Stephen popped their heads around the corner. "Is it okay if we come in?" Landon asked. But when he saw that Trevor was feeding, he rushed up to the side of the bed. "Oh my God, he's nursing already? When did he start?"

"Just now," I said, my eyes still glued to him.

"That's one smart baby you've got there," Stephen said as he joined us on the other side of the bed. "He's got your nose, Mark. The one you got from Dad."

"Yeah, I noticed that. The best part is, he's got Landon's gorgeous blue eyes. That's what I was hoping for," I said, looking up at Landon. "He's beautiful."

"He is," Stephen said. After a moment he broke the silence that had fallen over the room while we all watched Trevor. "So, Mark. How long have you been seeing Dr. Livingston?"

"Since he walked into the delivery room. Didn't you hear the nurse? He was standing in for my regular doctor."

"Oh, okay."

Stephen's tone had changed a bit and it tore my attention away from my son. I looked up at him and his face was slightly red. "Why do you want to know?"

"I had no idea he was back in town. It was a bit of a surprise to see him, I guess."

"Oh wait, wasn't he the one you dated while you were at med school?" I asked. "The one that—"

"Yes," Stephen said, cutting me off with a frown. "He's the one that ghosted me."

"What happened again? Didn't he transfer to another school or something?"

"Yeah, he transferred two years in. We'd been together for over a year and when he left I never heard from him again."

"That's right. What an ass," I said. "I'm sorry, Stephen. I had no idea he was the same guy."

"It doesn't matter. I'm sure he's a good doctor. It was just a shock seeing him in the delivery room. I'm sure I won't run into him again since my clinic is on the other side of town."

The three of us watched as Trevor nursed with his eyes closed and his tiny little hands balled up into fists until he drifted off to sleep.

"I'm so glad you're okay with me being here, Mark," Stephen said when Landon stepped out of the room for a moment. "I can't tell you how much it means to me. I've really missed you."

"I know, Stephen. I can't believe I almost let this whole pregnancy go by without telling you about it. I was just afraid that you..."

"Afraid of what?"

"I've always felt like you had everything, Stephen. You're a doctor, and Mom and Dad always gushed to everyone about how proud they were of you. Plus, you're an alpha."

"What does me being an alpha have to do with anything?"

"I guess I always felt like I'd never be able to measure up. You know how it is. Alphas are the prized offspring. I'd hoped that's what I would become when I was in high school—when everyone else was going through the change. Then when nothing happened, I decided to be the toughest beta I could be. I was convinced I could out-alpha any of the cops on the force."

"Well, from what I hear, you have," Stephen said with a smile. "But I still don't understand. What were you afraid of? I've always respected you, Mark. I've always thought you were an incredibly strong person."

"I don't know. I had these ridiculous notions in my head. After living my life believing that omegas were inferior, when I changed into one, I just freaked. I was afraid everyone—you and the guys at work and the captain—would all see me as a nobody. A baby machine. I guess I wasn't able to give anyone—including myself—the benefit of the doubt."

"Wow. Well, I hope you don't feel that way anymore, Mark. You have no idea how many people in this world, including alpha males, wish they were in your shoes. That they could experience childbirth. What you are capable of is special. Don't ever forget that."

"I'll second that," Landon said as he walked up behind my brother. "You're an amazing partner and you're going to make an even more amazing dad."

I could feel my face turning red, but I didn't care. I was just so glad to know that I had the respect of the two men who I respected most in the world.

"You know, the last time I saw you was when I came to your office. I seem to remember us talking about having a barbecue at Landon's house."

"Yeah, I remember that," Stephen said.

"It's not just my house now," Landon said. "It's Mark's too. And if he says barbecue, we barbecue!" I could see Landon's eyes glaze over as the barbecue wheels started turning in his head.

"I think we should wait a little bit before making plans like that. The three of you need to get settled in first," Stephen said with a concerned look on his face.

"Well, it's up to Mark. I think if we plan it in a week or two that should be plenty of time to settle in. And I'm perfectly fine with taking care of the whole thing. All you'd have to do is lay around in a lounge chair on the patio and look pretty," Landon said to me with a big grin. "What do you think?"

"A couple weeks sounds good to me. I'd like to get rid of this spare tire first if I'm going to look good lounging around."

"Oh, come on, nobody cares about that. You look fabulous, sweetie," Landon said.

"Well, what I'd really like to do is invite some of the guys from work. Make a real party out of it. We could have a post-birth baby shower too. I'd really like all the guys to meet Trevor."

"You're okay with all of them coming over to meet our baby? The captain? Everyone?" Landon said with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, I am." I looked down at the sweet little bundle in my arms. "I want everyone in the world to know that this is our son. That the two of us made this sweet little boy."

I looked up at Landon and saw that he had tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you feel that way, Mark. That means so much to me. What do you think about making everything official?"

"What do you mean? What do we need to make official?"

Landon took my hand and brought it to his lips, all the while staring into my eyes. I had no idea what he was talking about, but from the sweet look on his face, I could feel my eyes starting to fill with tears.

"Let's get married. I mean... will you, Mark? Will you marry me?"

A huge smile spread across my face and I couldn't contain the tears any longer. But I didn't give a damn if anyone saw me crying anymore. I'd held my tears in my whole life and it felt incredible to let them come out. There had never been anything wrong with crying. It had all been in my head and I was glad that I could finally see that. "Of course I'll marry you, Landon."

I'd never imagined that I could be so incredibly happy while I had tears streaming down my face. But there I was with my newborn son in my arms, my brother by my side, and the man of my dreams kissing my tears away.

# 14

Landon

* * *

I took a couple weeks of paid leave after Trevor was born so I could get everything set up for us at home. I'd spent so much time worrying about supporting Mark in his big change before the baby came, that I hadn't really focused on some of the things the two of us might need.

I mean, we turned the spare bedroom into a nursery. We had wallpaper put up that was covered with cute stuffed animals. We picked out a crib, and a bathing table, and all the other things we needed for our newborn. We bought baby clothes, blankets, bright toys, and squeaky animals. But there were still some things we needed that I knew would make life a little easier on both of us.

After we got home from the hospital, I got online ordering a few things that I was hoping Mark would be as excited about as I was. Things we could use for ourselves and for our new little guy.

"What came in the mail today?" Mark asked from where he sat on the living room couch. He had Trevor wrapped up snugly in a beautiful blue blanket that his aunt and uncle had sent after he mailed out the birth announcements. They told him that they both wished they could've been there for the birth and that they were so proud of Mark. They also said that they were thrilled with the magnet he sent out.

It was the sweetest picture. One that we took in the hospital of the three of us. You could see Trevor's big blue eyes and Mark's beautiful smile, and I just loved it. The magnets were Mark's idea. So we chose the picture and I had it made into one-hundred magnets that we sent out a couple days after Trevor was born.

After mailing one to every single person on both of our contact lists, we still had more than half the box. But I was okay with plastering the small image of Mark and Trevor everywhere I went. Every metal surface I could find had at least one of the magnets attached to it, and my locker at work was completely covered.

Ever since we sent out the announcements, relatives I didn't even know we had were sending their congratulations and a little something for Trevor. So on top of the boxes we were getting from stores, gifts were also coming in every day as well.

"This is a high-powered blender. It's the top of the line, the best one you can buy," I said as I pulled it out of the box. "We can use it to make baby food. According to the reviews, it'll purée anything. Even avocado pits. It's incredibly powerful."

"Sounds fabulous," Mark said, barely glancing up for a couple seconds before he turned his attention back to the little bundle in his arms. "But we won't be feeding Trevor baby food for months. And I highly doubt avocado pits are going to be on the menu."

We both laughed as I put the container in the dishwasher. "Yeah, I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself. But it will come in handy. There's a million things you can make with these blenders. Smoothies, soup, sauces, hummus..."

"It sounds like something for you, 'cause I'm not drinking any smoothies."

"Oh, come on. You like the ones I bring back from the mall."

"I'm pretty sure they put candy in those things, Landon. Nothing you've ever made at home comes even close to being as good as those bright pink and orange concoctions."

"Well, with one of these blenders I can make them taste just like those ones do," I said. "After I run this through the dishwasher I'll run out and get some frozen fruit and yogurt. Oh and that reminds me." I turned my attention to the second box and tore it open. "This must be... yeah, it's the pressure cooker I ordered. It's really awesome. It also functions as a slow cooker and a yogurt maker."

"That sounds great." Mark looked up at me again and smiled. "It sounds like you're the one doing the nesting now."

"Yeah," I said, laughing. "I guess I am getting a little carried away."

"No, not at all. You're amazing, Landon. This kid is so lucky to have a dad that's as excited as you are to feed him blended-up food. Honestly, I feel like the luckiest man in the world."

I walked over to the couch, leaned over the back, and kissed Mark. When I opened my eyes again, Trevor was looking up at us and he smiled a goofy little smile.

"Uh oh," I said reaching down and touching my fingers to the tiny little hands that were curled around the top of the blanket. "I know what that smile means. I think it's time for someone to be changed."

"Isn't that amazing?" Mark said. "He smiles when he needs to be changed. He doesn't scream or cry. It's too much. I keep expecting the actual work of parenting to start, but it hasn't yet. I'm in heaven." Mark got up off the couch and the three of us went into the nursery together.

"Don't worry, it'll happen. Especially when he gets a little bigger and we have a few more running around."

Mark looked at me with wide eyes for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, I guess it could get a little hairy."

"Don't worry. I'll be here to help you with all of it. I'll even start with this little monster," I said as I held Trevor in the air and blew a raspberry on his stomach. He screamed out the cutest little laugh, and I did it a couple more times for good measure.

"I've got to say, I really wasn't expecting you to be so interested in this part of having a baby," Mark said as I lowered Trevor to the changing table and unfastened his diaper.

"Why? Because I'm an alpha? You think I don't have any maternal feelings in me? That I'm just a protector?"

"I don't know what it is. I guess I still have some of those weird hangups. I thought they were just about me becoming an omega, but I guess I really did fall for a lot of those stereotypes. Even when I knew it couldn't possibly be true. I mean, I know we're all completely different. That just because we're a certain status... that doesn't mean anything. But these weird ideas pop into the back of my mind every once in a while. It's frustrating. I'm sorry, Landon."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I do understand. I'm a little surprised myself. I knew I wanted kids, and I knew I wanted you, but I really had no idea how much I'd love this... just being here with him... and with you." I felt Mark's arm move across my back and we both took turns letting Trevor grip our wiggling fingers. "That reminds me of something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Mark asked. He continued to play finger grab with Trevor while I removed the diaper.

"I don't know. It's not that important. We can talk about it later." I grabbed both of Trevor's feet and tickled his teeny-weeny little toes, then lifted his butt in the air.

"Now is fine. We're not going anywhere," Mark said as he tickled Trevor while I slid the diaper underneath him. "The three of us make a good team," he said when the tape was in place.

"We'll have to enter ourselves into the diaper Olympics!" I picked Trevor up and held him in the air again. He seemed to love being up higher than us and giggled every time.

"Come on, what is it?" Mark asked.

"Well, I wanted to ask you if you were still interested in going back to work. I know we just had the baby and it probably won't be for a little while, but... I don't know... I was kind of hoping we could split it up."

"What do you mean? Split what up?"

"Like, each of us works part-time... you know... on the force. And then we each get to do part time with Trevor. I'd love to be able to spend time with him while he's still so small. And I feel like when I come home after a whole day away, five days a week, I don't know... it just doesn't seem like enough. I want to be able to have real time with him. And if we have another one soon—"

"How soon?"

I looked at Mark and he was smiling, so I knew I wasn't freaking him out. "Whenever you're ready, babe. But we do want more. And when there are more there will be less of both of us to go around. So if we split it up now, I figure I could get my chance to be a full-time daddy, at least part of the time. And then the three of us can be together on the weekends. What do you think?"

Mark looked a little worried for a moment and I waited patiently for him to answer. "I think that's a fabulous idea," Mark said. "But I have no idea if the captain really wants me back. And do you think he'd want two part-time cops at the precinct? Is that even an option?"

"Well, things _are_ changing. They're hiring more omegas every day all over the city, and Hank has been doing really well. The captain agrees with me that he's becoming a really good cop."

"Well, he is learning from the best," Mark said, taking Trevor and walking back into the living room. He sat down in the same spot on the couch, but switched Trevor to his other arm. "I could sit here and watch this little guy all day," he said, then looked up at me again. "So, you think it could work? Do you think he'd let us both work part-time?"

"Well, I wanted to check with you first to see if you were okay with it," I said as I slid onto the couch next to Mark. "I have an idea. I thought maybe we could each work part-time with Hank. That way we wouldn't mess anyone's schedule up. He'd have a full-time job and each of us would have a part-time shift with him."

Mark tore his gaze away from Trevor and looked up at me. "That sounds like a great idea, but that means we'll be working opposite shifts. We wouldn't see each other all day."

"Well, we don't see each other all day as it is. It won't be any different."

"Yeah, that's true. I'll just have to get used to being away from this guy every day."

"Just half a day, and only five days a week."

"That's true," Mark said, looking back at Trevor. "I hope the captain goes for it. I do want you to be able to experience being home with him. It really is wonderful."

I put my arm around Mark and pulled his head close to mine, then pressed my lips to his forehead. I honestly couldn't think of anything that would make my life better, other than the moment when Mark and I were officially married. I felt silly that such an antiquated thing made me so excited, but I was coming to realize that I had an old-fashioned streak in me. And I still hadn't even brought up the name thing with Mark.

"So I was thinking..."

"Yes?" Mark said, drawing out the word.

"What are we going to call Trevor?"

"I thought we'd already decided on that. Have I been calling him the wrong name all this time?"

"Come on," I said ruffling Mark's hair a bit. "I mean, his last name. We haven't really talked about it."

"Yeah, I guess I assumed it would be hyphenated, like on the birth certificate."

"Well, we _could_ do that," I said.

"But?"

"But I was thinking it would be nice if we all had the same name."

"You mean, like your name? Trevor Harrison?"

"I don't feel like it would be fair of me to ask you to change your name. I was thinking maybe we could... I don't know... make a new name."

"Really?" Mark said, twisting around so that he was looking right at me. "Like what?"

"Like a combination of both our names. Harris maybe?"

Mark laughed for a minute. "That's not bad. It sounds a little better than Lewison. You really want to do that? Change your name too?"

"Yeah, why not? I don't know. When we were in the ER and you told the nurse our names, there was a part of me that wished we had the same name, you know?"

"Like in the olden days," Mark laughed.

"Yeah," I said with a laugh as well. "It's kind of old-fashioned, but I really want to. What do you say?"

"I love the idea, Landon. I really do. I think it's one of the most romantic things you've ever said to me. We'll be the Harris clan," Mark said, kissing me, then bending down to kiss Trevor Harris on his little head.

# 15

Mark

* * *

The day finally came for the big barbecue/wedding and I couldn't believe how nervous I was. It wasn't so much seeing all my coworkers again after so many months. It wasn't even that they were all going to see me as a full-blown omega for the first time. It was that everything seemed so real all of a sudden. I guess I'd been living in this little world of me and Landon and Trevor for the last couple weeks, and now that people were going to come over and see our little family together, it was just a little overwhelming.

This new life as a father in a husband, it was amazing. It was more than anything I could have ever dreamed possible when I was a single cop going to strip clubs and picking up random dudes. I can't believe I thought I was happy. I really believed that anything other than that life would be boring, or would make me a lesser man.

But I was so wrong. I was wrong about it being boring and I was wrong about childbirth and fatherhood being hard. I guess it's the unknown that really is the scary part. And change. But really, it isn't even the actual change that's the scariest. It's that moment right before you've changed. Before you realize what you're really capable of. Before you remember that you've done so many things like this before in your life. Things that were scary and seemed impossible. Things that you believed were all wrong, but somehow turned out fine. Or more than fine. And that's when you know that what's in front of you is just one more adventure. It's all a matter of how you look at it.

I never did give myself enough credit for being able to handle just about anything. But when I thought about how far I'd come in such a short time, I was really proud of myself. And now... now I knew that anything was possible. Especially with Landon at my side.

I walked out to the backyard with a tray of little smokies wrapped in bacon and set them down on the table of food and drinks Landon had set up. I really wanted to set the tray right on my lap, but I figured I should share. Landon had done such an amazing job. There was a long table packed with salads, appetizers, chips, and dips. There was a huge pile of all kinds of meats ready to be barbecued. And there were drinks for days. I grabbed a soda and made my way toward the crowd that was gathered near the grill.

It was a huge backyard filled with grass and trees and gorgeous landscaped areas, and right now it was packed full. Members of both our families who had been able to fly in were mingling with the cops from the precinct. My brother was in the middle of a group of big, burly men who were all gushing over teeny baby Trevor, who they were gently passing around. Landon was right there too, laughing, and chatting, and keeping an eagle eye on his son. He really was good at being a protector, and it warmed my heart to know that he would always be there for us.

"So, Landon tells me you're interested in coming back to work," I heard from behind me. I turned around to see the captain walking up with a beer in his hand and a smile on his face. "Cute kid, by the way. He's the spitting image of both of you."

"Thanks, captain. I think he looks more like Landon, but I'll take the compliment," I said, grinning from ear to ear. It felt so good to be myself. But then I remembered what I'd done and looked down at my drink. "Hey, captain, I'm sorry I lied to you when I took my leave, but I didn't know how to—"

"Don't even mention it, Lewis," he said as he slapped my shoulder. "I know what it's been like for omegas for the last few decades. Perfectly capable men and women who haven't been allowed to take certain positions because it was assumed that their heat would put everyone in danger. I probably would have done the same if I was in that position."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I never bought any of that crap. I was always pushing to hire more omegas so that we could at least have some evidence one way or the other. I knew if we brought omegas on we could prove that it was all a bunch of bull." The captain turned and gave me another slap. "But it looks like that's all in the past. And if you want to come back, I'm more than happy to work with the two of you and your schedule."

"So, I'm assuming Landon already gave you his proposal? That we each do part time shifts with Hank?"

"Yeah, he told me. I think that's a great idea. Kind of like work sharing. We may even be able to get some sort of maternity pay going."

"That may be a little optimistic," I said with a laugh. Although I thought it was an awesome idea. I just didn't know how much progressive thinking the world could take at one time.

"Well, I think we should document everything, and in six months to a year we'll have something to show those naysayers who think that the old ways are better."

"You're not talking about me again, are you?" I heard in my ear as Landon slipped his hands over my shoulders. "Me and my old ways?"

"No, sweetie. _Your_ old ways, I love. Speaking of which, when's the ceremony?"

"Right now," Landon said, kissing the crook of my neck.

I closed my eyes and smiled, letting the feeling of happiness and the chills from Landon's lips run freely through my body. "If you do that much longer we're gonna have to skip the ceremony." I felt Landon's smiling lips pull away from my neck, then let my body rest against his for a long moment before turning around. "Okay," I said when my eyes met his. "Let's do this."

Landon made the announcement and we all made our way to one corner of the backyard. Landon had some people come and set up chairs, and an aisle, and bunches of gorgeous flowers where we would be taking our vows.

It turned out that the new omega, Hank, had become ordained a few years ago in order to marry some friends on a beach in Hawaii, and he volunteered to perform the ceremony. So, when everything was ready to go, Landon put Trevor in one arm, then grabbed my hand, and we walked down the aisle together.

Everyone stood up as we made our way across the grass, and every single person there was grinning ear to ear. When I looked over at Landon and Trevor my eyes filled with tears seeing how happy they both were.

"We're gathered here today to join Mark Lewis and Landon Harrison together as a loving couple." Hank looked a little nervous, but when he glanced away from the crowd and saw how happy we were, I think he relaxed a bit. We went through a fairly short version of a traditional ceremony, but when it came to the vows, Landon and I chose to say our own. Landon handed Trevor to Hank, then grabbed both of my hands, and even though I was terrified, I went first.

"I couldn't have done any of this without you," I said, looking into Landon's eyes. "I may be courageous, and willful, and strong... and I may be a good cop... but... with you, Landon... I'm a thousand times better. You make me better. And I love you. So much." I had to hold myself back from wrapping my arms around him. After saying those words in front of so many people I just wanted to feel him close to me, but I had to wait for Landon to take his turn.

Immediately Landon smiled. He kept his eyes on mine as he brought his hands up, wrapping them around the back of my neck, then he moved his face close to mine. " _You_ ," he said in his deep, commanding voice, "are the man of my dreams. And I will _always_ be madly in love with you." He didn't wait a beat before bringing his lips to mine, and when he did, I pressed my body into his.

My head was spinning and I couldn't breathe. Landon had a way of sweeping me off my feet with a look, but what he'd just said melted my entire body. I felt myself molding into every curve of his as his hands held me firmly.

The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but quickly became passionate and filled with the deep desire we had for each other. And our lips didn't part until we heard yells and cheers from everyone who surrounded us.

"I now pronounce you, Mark and Landon Harris," Hank said, smiling at us and putting Trevor in my arms. "And Trevor!" I said as I held my son up in the air.

"And Trevor!" everyone, including Landon, yelled out. The entire group broke into applause and cheers as we kissed one more time. Then, as we walked back through the crowd—through our friends and family and everyone I cared about—and I sat down with Trevor in my arms, I realized I couldn't have wiped the silly grin off my face if I tried.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look happier in your entire life," Stephen said as he sat down on the lounge chair next to me. "You're literally glowing, you know that, don't you?"

I laughed out loud. "Well, I feel like I'm glowing." I looked at my brother and thought about how much things had changed in the last few months. "I feel a lot different than I did when I saw you at the clinic. I can't even remember who I was back then. I thought I had to keep all of this a secret from everyone so I could hold onto what I had. But look at this," I said, my eyes scanning the happy faces that filled the backyard. "It's amazing. I can't believe how stupid I was."

"You weren't stupid. You were just keeping a big secret from yourself, too. Probably the biggest one."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, you said you thought your life had to look a certain way in order for you to be happy, but you weren't. And you told me you wanted to be a certain person or you wouldn't be happy, and that wasn't true either. I think the secret we're all keeping from ourselves is that happiness doesn't come from any of that."

"Where do you think it comes from?"

"I don't know for sure. I'm no expert, obviously. But I think it has a lot to do with letting go. Like you did with your ideas about omegas and respect. I'm proud of you, Mark. You've done something a lot of people can only hope and wish for. You changed yourself. You let go of your fears and allowed yourself a better person, even though it was scary. You really are an amazing person."

"Thanks, man. Right back at you," I said, punching my brother's shoulder. I paused for a moment before continuing. I didn't want to come off like my life was more perfect than his and that I had all the answers, but I really wanted my brother to be happy too. "We need to find someone for you, now. And get you one of these," I said, gesturing to Trevor.

Stephen held his hands out and I handed him my son. "Believe me, I want a family." He shifted so that Trevor slid right into the crook of his arm, then sat back on the lounge chair. Trevor giggled and stared up at Stephen like he'd found a new toy. "I don't know," Stephen said as he absentmindedly played with Trevors small hands. "I guess I've just been hiding lately. After what happened with Jamie, and then seeing Jake in the delivery room, I kind of feel like staying under a rock and ignoring the world as far as relationships are concerned."

"Well, I'm not gonna let you do that. If I have to spend every single day looking for a guy for you..." I stopped talking when I saw the change in my brother's face. He looked horrified at first, then pissed off. "What's the matter?" I asked, turning around to see what Stephen was looking at.

"What the hell is he doing here? Did you invite that bastard?" Stephen looked angry, but there was a sadness in his eyes too.

When my eyes fell on the group of people at the sliding patio doors I finally knew what had him so upset. Jake Livingston had just walked in with two of the guys from the precinct. He was smiling and shaking Landon's hand, then he scanned the crowd and his eyes fell on Stephen.

"Did you guys invite him?" Stephen said through gritted teeth.

"No! I had no idea he was gonna show up. Honest! He must have come with someone from the precinct."

"So he crashed your wedding? What an ass. He needs to be taught some manners. Can't one of these cop friends of yours throw him out?"

"We're not gonna throw him out, Stephen. Just relax. Take your own advice and let it go. He's not going to bother you. I'm sure he's just as scared to see you as you are—"

"Stephen," a low voice said from behind me. "I'm so glad to see you again. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you at the hospital. I had an... well, I had something to take care of."

I looked at my brother's stunned face, then turned to see Jake Livingston standing behind me. I barely remembered him from the delivery room, and looking at him now I could see one of the obviously reasons why Stephen had fallen for him in the first place. He was tall and dark and handsome. The perfect doctor. Just like my brother. In fact, I was sure the two of them probably looked pretty damned perfect together. But that was ancient history. At least, it was according to Stephen. I wasn't so sure about that now. Not when I saw the way Jake was looking at my brother.

As I glanced back and forth between the two of them I knew there was nothing that could happen that would put a crimp in this amazing day. But I was a little worried about this turn of events. I didn't want there to be any bad vibes going on. I looked back at Stephen, who hadn't uttered a word yet, and raised my eyebrows at him. Then took a deep breath and let it go, hoping my brother would take the hint and do the same.

I hoped he could do what I'd somehow been able to in the last few months. I hoped he could take a deep breath, and let it out, and let all of his fears go too.

Continue reading for a sneak preview of Stephen and Jake's story in His Deepest Desire.

# About His Deepest Desire

**To find happiness, two lost souls may need a miracle... but could the miracle have been inside them all along?**

Eleven-years-ago, Jake broke Stephen's heart. Now he's back, acting like nothing ever happened. All Stephen wants is to move on and start a family of his own. But he can't find the right man to start over with. When Jake is hired as the director of Stephen's clinic, will Stephen ever be able to escape his ex ... and does he really want to?

When Jake left town, he thought he was doing the right thing. But no matter how hard he tried to forget, his heart couldn't leave Stephen behind. But getting Stephen back means telling him the truth about why he left and the tragedies that followed. Jake wants Stephen. But is Jake brave enough to reveal the deepest parts of his soul to have a second chance at love?

Will a sick baby force these two reluctant exes to risk it all, let go of the past, and let each other back in?

_His Deepest Desire is a second chance romance of 36k words, with heart-wrenching moments, super hot intimacy between two men, not one... but two cuddly babies, and a beautiful HEA that will most likely bring tears to your eyes._

# Chapter 1

Stephen

* * *

"Hey, Stephen!" Mark called out as he followed me into his house from the patio. "What's going on? You're not leaving already, are you?"

I turned around and looked at my brother. At first, I almost laid into him because I was getting the feeling that he wasn't on my side. But when I saw the concern in his eyes, I couldn't. He was such a different person than he had been a year ago, and our relationship was really different now. But I was still really frustrated with him.

"Why did you say that?" I demanded. I hadn't expected the question to come out the way it did, but I was feeling cornered.

"What?"

I rolled my eyes and glared at my brother. "This is just like when we were kids. You trying to make me look like the bad guy and then pretending that you didn't know what you were doing. Why did you say that I should lighten up on Jake? Don't you know how that makes me feel?"

I stared at Mark, hoping he would tell me he was sorry. That he was wrong. But he didn't.

"I don't know, Stephen. I feel kind of bad for the guy."

I felt a flash of anger fill my chest and I turned around. I couldn't even look at my brother anymore. I felt like he had turned against me, but I thought that was all in the past.

All throughout our childhood, I'd felt a low-level tension between the two of us and I never understood why it was there. There was good-natured rivalry and competition, which was great. The problem was, sometimes things between us got a little uncomfortable, but I never said a word about it to Mark.

He'd been born a beta and all through high school, and his early twenties, I got the distinct feeling that he was jealous of me. That he wished he had been born an alpha, like me. But when he became a cop and was respected by a lot of his colleagues, and I figured he had to have outgrown that envious phase.

But then it happened. He became an omega. One minute he was plowing down bad guys with a Glock, and the next thing I knew, his feet were in stirrups and he was giving birth to his son, Trevor. Don't ask me how it happened. I'm a doctor and I've been studying the phenomenon for years, but we still don't know what causes the change.

What we do know is women are no longer able to bear children. For the last four decades, not a single woman on the planet has conceived. The role of furthering the species has fallen squarely on the shoulders of omegas, and it seems that nature has taken it upon herself to make sure there are enough omegas around to keep the earth populated.

At first, this change was hard on Mark, as I'm sure it was for most betas who were affected by this later in life change. But I didn't find any of this out until a few weeks ago when his partner Landon called me and told me that Mark's baby was coming.

That's when I saw him again—Jake Livingston. The one Mark was defending not five minutes ago. "Look, Mark," I said, slowly. I didn't want to upset him on his wedding day, but I just couldn't stay at a party where that bastard was smiling and talking like he didn't have a care in the world. "I'm so happy for you. Really, I am. I can't even begin to tell you how good it is to see you with Landon and Trevor. The three of you are just... you're the picture-perfect family. And, look," I said, gesturing to the backyard that was wall-to-wall full of smiling people. You've got all your co-workers and friends and family supporting you on this amazing day. I'd love to stay, but I... I can't. I just... I can't be here if Jake is going to stay."

"Oh, come on, Stephen. The backyard is huge. All you have to do is stay on one end and I'll have Landon keep Jake all the way on the other side. Okay? Please?"

I hated this. I didn't want to disappoint Mark. "No, I don't want you to ask your husband to keep my ex-boyfriend away from me. This isn't grade school, Mark. I got to see the two of you get married, and that was so wonderful. But I've gotta get out of here. I'll come over for dinner one night next week. How does that sound?"

My brother didn't say anything for a moment and I was afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth next. Sure enough, he made it all about me. "Can't you just let it go?" Mark said, his eyes tinged with sadness.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Are you on his side or something?"

"His side? What do you mean? I've always been on your side, Stephen. You're my brother, and I love you. I just think..."

"You think the problem here is me? That everything will be fine if I forgive him? That I should just let bygones be bygones?" I stared at him in shock. I couldn't believe he was doing this to me. "That's not fair at all, Mark. You know the hell I went through when he took off without a single word or text or email. He just left me behind, Mark. Like I meant nothing to him. Like I was nothing. And I'm supposed to forgive that? It's been eleven years. I've spent eleven years getting over him, Mark. And I think I was doing a pretty good job before he showed up here, so don't act like I'm the problem."

"Were you, though? Look, I'm not saying that you're the only one that needs to make some effort in this situation, you know that. I'm saying... well, would it be so bad to just try to forgive him? To let some of your anger go?"

I looked out into the backyard, at all the happy faces celebrating my brother's wedding and new baby. Celebrating the loves of his life. I was so happy for him and I wanted to be there for my brother. I wanted to celebrate his wonderful life too. But my eyes wouldn't stop wandering over to the person who had taken my happiness away from me.

I couldn't just turn the hurt off. The part of me that desperately wanted that same happiness for myself was nothing but a gaping hole. "I was in love with him, Mark. Head over heels completely in love with Jake. I really thought he was my one true mate. And he left me alone without a word. You have no idea how many times I tried to call him and text him and even write him stupid letters. He never said a word to me, Mark. Do you have any idea how much that hurt?" I said, looking back at him.

Mark glanced down at the floor and sighed. "Yeah, I can imagine—"

"No, you can't. You spent your life jumping from one-night-stand to one-night-stand. And now you have your mate, Mark. You have Landon and Trevor. I don't pretend to know what your life's been like. And I'm not saying that I've suffered more than you. But with this subject? You have no idea how crushed I was. How worthless it made me feel. How that one experience kept me from being able to trust anyone again. I didn't have anyone to talk to about how I was feeling, Mark. Dad would have laughed if I told him. He would have said I needed to man up and find another mate. And you and I... we didn't talk about anything back then. I was so alone, Mark. And now that same guy is here at my own brother's wedding... and you're telling me to just let it go? I don't deserve this, Mark. I deserve to be able to experience these feelings that I'm feeling. I deserve to be angry and resentful, Mark. It's my right, goddamnit!"

Mark paused for a long moment, then put his hand on my shoulder. "No. You don't. You deserve to be happy, Stephen. If anyone in the world deserves that, it's you. You're a wonderful guy. You're smart, and good looking... from what I hear," he said with a laugh, which successfully broke the tension and made me laugh a little too. "And you're actually trying to make the world a better place. I'm not saying that you should let go of your anger because of Jake. Because it would make life easier for him. I'm saying you should let go of your anger because of you," he said as he put his hand on my chest. "To make things easier for you. I know you can't do it overnight, but can you at least try? Try to just ignore him... for your sake. Besides," Mark said with a sheepish grin. "I wouldn't feel right about kicking him out of our party. He's the doctor who delivered Trevor."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't want you to do that." I didn't know what else to say, though. I knew Mark was right, but there was a part of me that couldn't fathom forgiving Jake for what he had done. Just the thought of it felt almost like sandpaper rubbing on my insides. And the more I thought about forgiving him—of him getting away with what he put me through—the angrier I became. But when I looked into Mark's eyes again, I thought, maybe, just for today, I could to put my feelings aside. It was my brother's big day, his wedding and his coming out party. And I knew I wanted to be here for him. "Okay," I said with a smile. "I'll stay for a little while longer. But that's the best I can do for now."

"That's good enough for me," Mark threw his arms around me and gave me a giant bear hug, and I couldn't keep myself from laughing. This was the Mark I'd always wanted to be around when we were growing up. The one that I'd always hoped for when I really needed someone to talk to. And for a brief moment, when I thought about everything he'd gone through in the last year, I wondered if it was possible. If Mark could make such a huge change, could I?

But all thoughts of forgiving and forgetting went out the window when I walked back out onto the patio and saw Landon putting Trevor into Jake's arms. It wasn't anything that I had expected or even prepared myself for, but seeing the man that I had loved so much at one point in my life holding a newborn baby in his arms, it just made my stomach sink. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that I never seemed to get what I wanted. And from where I was standing, Jake had everything.

He had won over my brother and his husband, and now he was holding my nephew, my own flesh and blood, in his arms while he laughed and smiled like he didn't have a care in the world. I hated him so much in that moment I could barely get any words out through my clenched jaw. "I can't do it, Mark."

Mark turned around and looked at me, then slowly nodded his head. "Okay. I understand." I could tell he was hurt but there was nothing I could do about it. I was hurting too. "But come back for dinner soon. This week, okay? We're gonna have a ton of barbecue left over, and I know how much you want to play with Trevor." He said with a smile, but with sadness in his eyes. I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, but there was nothing that was going to make me feel better than getting Jake Livingston out of my sight.

I hugged my brother goodbye, then headed out to my car. I couldn't believe that Jake was not only back in town, but he was running me out of my own family's celebration. I decided right then and there that I never wanted to speak to that asshole again.

# Chapter 2

Jake

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_Well, that went well_ , I thought to myself as I left the party I'd just crashed, as gracefully as possible. When I'd agreed to meet an old friend at an afternoon barbecue, I had no idea whose house I was going to. I was just grateful to get out for a while. I'd been hibernating indoors ever since I got back to town.

It just so happened that an old friend of mine from high school worked at the same precinct as Mark Lewis (now Harris) and his new husband, Landon. Whose baby I also happened to deliver a few weeks ago... and who also happened to be the brother of an old flame, Stephen Lewis.

Uncomfortably small world, isn't it?

So this friend invited me out for a day of relaxation, which also kept me from moping around the house all weekend long. Unfortunately, my plan of eating and drinking and getting my mind off of how miserable I was backfired. I wound up doing my best to put a happy face on while Stephen's eyes shot daggers at me from across the yard.

The minute I walked in and saw whose house it was I knew Stephen would be there, so I tried to make the best of things. At first, I wasn't sure if I should talk to him or ignore him. But ignoring him just seemed childish. So I bit the bullet and went up to where he was sitting and said hello.

I could immediately tell by the look on his face what he was thinking. The anger in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Then when he got up and walked away without saying a word I knew it was hopeless—that I'd made the wrong decision.

It wasn't that I expected him to forgive me. I didn't expect anything from him, not after what I'd done. But seeing him again after all these years, I realized it was stirring up emotions inside me that had been buried for a long time.

I thought it would be simple. I'd leave my old life behind and come home to Portville. I figured if I was in a different town I wouldn't constantly be reminded of what I'd lost. I had friends here who could distract me and keep me occupied while I tried to branch out into a different field of medicine. Seeing babies all day long had turned into a harsh reminder of what I couldn't have.

But you don't just walk into a hospital one day and say, 'Now I'm an internist.' With my training, I could do anything relating to delivery, newborn emergent care, pediatrics, and even family practice. But in order to switch to a new specialty, I'd need to do another residency, which would be years of work.

That's where things started to get a bit complicated. Six months ago I got a call from a former colleague. My ex-boyfriend, Brad, actually. When we broke up two years ago. It was an amicable split. Things just weren't working out for either of us and it was too painful to keep trying.

After a year of not much contact, we started chatting online here and there and had been friends ever since. He said I was the first person he thought of when an ER obstetrics position opened up here in Portville. He told me he thought it would do me good to get a change of scenery, to get away from the place that held some of my most painful memories. He said I could probably move into family practice soon and that Portville was a lot more progressive when it came to omegas working in higher-level positions. He made it sound pretty good.

What he didn't tell me was that I'd wind up delivering my ex-boyfriend's brother's baby. Or that I'd end up crashing a barbecue where I was clearly not wanted. But no one could have told me that.

Brad and I both knew that neither of us would want to try to start things up again, so I wasn't worried about any old feelings popping up where he was concerned. But what I didn't expect was being bowled over by the emotions that came rushing back when I saw Stephen again. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't secretly hoped he still lived in this town. And I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't hoped I'd run into him one day.

But I always pictured that day in a sort of a soft-focus haze. Me sitting on a park bench feeding ducks in a pond. A field of flowers waving in the breeze off in the distance. Maybe something cute like a dog winding his leash around my legs and me looking up into Stephen's eyes, both of us laughing at the coincidence. Both of us happy to see each other.

What wasn't in my dream was watching his face turn as white as a sheet when I walked in as a last-minute stand-in to deliver his brother's baby. Or seeing him get up and walk away from me when I approached him at the barbecue. It had been eleven years since I'd spoken to him and part of me hoped that by now he, at the very least, didn't hate me.

But the part of me that knew how much he meant to me, that knew how much we meant to each other, that part understood the way he reacted to me.

I got home to my silent house and settled into some work. I figured I could go over a few charts and distract myself and try to forget the way Stephen looked at me. While I was immersing myself in a recent neonatal case, an email notification popped up. Normally I tried to ignore distractions while I was working, but this one caught my interest. It was a job offer for a new position at a clinic here in Portville.

I opened the email and read through quickly. From what it said, in light of recent events that had caused multiple birth and fertility clinics in the area to be shut down, the Medical Care Equality Board was putting a significant amount of money toward overhauling the remaining clinics. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment were being donated and purchased in order to upgrade the type and level of care in order to accommodate the increasing number of patients that visited these clinics around town. The Sunnyside Clinic of Fertility and Family Health would be implementing a new clinic director position and they were offering it to me.

The Sunnyside Clinic sounded familiar and I quickly did a Google search, finding out why. That was the clinic where Stephen Lewis was head physician. That would mean they wanted to hire me as Stephen's boss. It sounded like I would be overseeing the entire operation, under the direction of the MCE board who were offering me the position.

I stared at the picture of Stephen for a long time, with his vague yet sexy smile, while he held a patient's chart in his hands. He always looked the part of the perfect alpha doctor to me. Controlled, strong, insanely sexy, but also humble.

He had always been a kinder, gentler alpha than what I'd been used to. In fact, he didn't really come off like an alpha most of the time. He usually let other people speak while he listened intently, which was not common alpha behavior. He didn't try to control the room, but he always somehow seemed to be in control of every situation. To me, that was truly alpha. Being on top of everything without having to call attention to it.

I wondered who took the picture. I couldn't imagine they'd hired a photographer to come into a low-income clinic and do a whole shoot. But that's how it looked. He was somehow perfectly lit and looked incredible. His beard and hair neatly trimmed, and his white coat without a wrinkle. Perfect, as usual.

That was a word that I'd always associated with Stephen Lewis. I'd always found him perfect in every way. I don't know if I ever stopped thinking about him that way. And as I stared at that image, I realized how far gone I was. I was actually considering taking the job. I was actually considering being my former lover's boss. The man who, just hours ago, left his brother's wedding party rather than remain anywhere near me.

I started listing the pros and cons in my head of taking the position. Pro... the position was more administrative and organizational. At least it sounded like it would be in the beginning. That meant, even though it was a birth and fertility clinic, I wouldn't be required to practice obstetrics. Especially since they were adding additional services. Besides, Stephen would still be the head physician and would most likely be overseeing the delivery rooms.

Con... I wasn't sure how well Stephen would take me being there, and I honestly didn't want to hurt him any more than I already had. It made me incredibly sad to see the way he reacted to me. I'd hoped that there would be some way for me to talk to him. To explain. But I wasn't sure if that was ever going to happen.

But the biggest reason for me to take the position? The one that simultaneously made me feel like a selfish bastard and a masochist, was that if I took the position I would be near Stephen. I would be able to see him every day. I wouldn't have to wonder if we would run into each other again. And maybe... just maybe... I would get the chance to talk to him, to make him understand why I had to leave all those years ago.

I wanted, more than anything, for Stephen to understand that it was never about him.

So, against my better judgment, I replied to the email and agreed to meet with the board.

Then I realized I was going to have to tell Brad that I was leaving the hospital, and I figured I'd better tell him sooner than later.

"Jake. What's up?"

"Hey," I said. I paused for just a moment, but knew I needed to come right out and tell him I was leaving. "I need to talk."

"What's going on?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to tell you this..."

"Let me guess," Brad said, cutting me off. "You're taking a new position, aren't you?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, to be honest, I had a feeling this wasn't going to last forever. I know how hard it's been for you to work with the newborns. I brought you out here hoping to get you out of your funk, but I honestly didn't expect that you would be able to stay on long-term."

"Wow," I said, flooded with relief. "I'm glad you understand. I really do want to move forward with my life, and you've already helped so much. I'm eternally grateful to you for bringing me in to work at the hospital, but this position I've been contacted about is more on the administrative end. I'll be helping to develop a fertility and birth clinic into a broader medical facility."

"Wait, is this the Sunnyside Clinic project?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Well, I'm an observer on the Medical Care Equality Board and I have the minutes sent to me. I saw that they were planning a big overhaul of some of the clinics. But wait, isn't that the clinic where—"

"Yes. It's where Stephen Lewis is head physician."

"So, you're telling me you're leaving your current position at a hospital where you're working with a former lover, only to take a different position at a clinic where you'll be working with another one? That doesn't sound like you're trying to move forward to me."

"It's not like that at all, Brad. It's not about who I'm working with, you know that. Relocating to a new town, I can't even begin to tell you how much it's helped me move on. How much you've helped me. But delivering babies every single day... it's hard. Harder than I thought it would be. This position would be different."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Jake. I know how hard this has all been for you."

"For both of us," I said. "Don't think I've forgotten that you were there with me too."

"I know. Look, don't listen to what I said. I'm behind you no matter what your decision is. It won't be a problem at all to replace you. With all the clinics that have been hit lately, there's a surplus of doctors running around town with no place to practice. I'm sure I'll be able to fill the ER Obstetrics position in no time. When are you leaving?"

"I don't know. I just emailed them and agreed to meet." I glanced over at my computer and noticed I had another email notification. "Wow, it looks like they already got back to me. On a Saturday."

"Yeah, I'm sure they're desperate to

get these changes underway as soon as possible. You might even be starting on Monday."

"Well, I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. And Brad..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For everything."

"No problem. Take care of yourself, Jake."

"I will. Bye."

I hung up the phone and opened the email from Harrison Beaumont of the MCE board. He wanted to meet with me tonight.

"Maybe Brad is right," I said to myself. "Maybe I'll be seeing Stephen again on Monday."

But seeing Stephen again couldn't be the only reason I was taking this job, could it?

Find out what happens between Stephen and Jake. Tap here to buy His Deepest Desire at your favorite retailer.

# Also By Xander Collins

Portville Omegaverse Series

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His Biggest Secret

His Deepest Desire

His Wildest Dream

His Hardest Choice

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Or buy all four books in the box set:

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Portville Omegaverse: The First Four Portville Mpeg Romance Books

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Portville Summer Series

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His Steamy Summer

His Crazy Summer

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Other Books By Xander Collins

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Sugar Coated Omega

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Five Gold Rings: A Vale Valley Winter Romance

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# About the Author

Xander Collins writes super sexy, romantic omegaverse stories with the warm fuzzies, hot dudes, and cuddly babies we all crave.

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