“How do you mean?” I asked, piling barbequed pork on a roll and taking a bite. It was tangy-sweet and delicious.
“I don’t know. I can just tell, that’s all.”
“You one of those people who’re good at sizing folks up?” Angus asked, picking up his orange soda to take a drink.
Ben shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, I’ve never thought about it.” Lowering his voice, he said, “I think it’s just that when I was on the run, I started paying a lot more attention to people and sizing up their intentions, that’s all. I avoided alphas, of course. Here in Jessup, they still make me nervous if you two aren’t with me.”
Angus banged his fist on the table, gaining the attention of the people having lunch nearby. “A strange alpha has no business sniffing around you when Colt and I aren’t around.”
I couldn’t say I disagreed, but Angus was coming on a bit strong. When I looked at Ben to gauge his reaction, though, I could see he understood, as I did, that fear for those Angus loved tended to make him gruff.
“Guineas kill rattlesnakes,” I said, in an attempt to get Angus’s mind off the idea of alphas intruding on our omega.
With a huff, Angus said, “Knowing Adele Adler, she’d kill off the good ones, like rat snakes.”
The people who had been sitting nearby finished eating and walked away. With no one within earshot, I asked, “Why was her brother refused an omega mate?”
Offering Ben his pickle, which Ben gladly took and started munching on as he went back to scrolling on his phone, Angus said, “If I remember correctly, he was told he wasn’t properly set up to mate and take care of an omega. That was back when he was living with Adele and her husband. I heard recently that he’d bought a property and was raising goats. That’s probably why his request was okayed.”
“But I thought nobody’s requests were okayed,” I said. “I mean,” I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, then leaned forward and continued, “if they’re exterminating omegas, there aren’t any omegas to be had.”
Thinking about that made me lose my appetite, and I pushed my plate away. Ben leaned his head against my shoulder, maybe to comfort me, although I wasn’t sure he was actually paying attention to our conversation.
“We shouldn’t be surprised. Just like with Bertram, it’s an effort to combat the gossip about the Omega Reintroduction Program not being on the up-and-up. I saw several news stories this past week about omegas in different parts of the United Regions—all recently granted, of course. Just human-interest stories but probably planted to let people see that the ORP is not only real, but working.”
“Notice they aren’t publishing anything about omegas who were placed with alphas in thepast,” I noted.
Angus grunted, then jutted his chin at Ben with a fond smile. Turning my head, I saw that our omega had fallen asleep with his head on my shoulder.
***
Late that afternoon, after we’d been home a while and gotten our evening chores done, I sought out Maddox. I found him on the front porch standing at the railing, watching Jackson, David, and Ben walking together in the twilight. They were laughing and nudging each other in camaraderie. Jackson, Carter, and the girls were taking a flight home the following morning. We would all miss them, but Ben and David would miss Jackson the most.
“Hey, Colt,” Maddox greeted me with a grin and a pat on the shoulder. “How’s the threesome going?”
“You mean the one that includes your granddad?” I shot back.
Maddox’s smile disappeared. “Never mind.”
Laughing, I said, “That’s what I thought.”
I told him about the way Ben had been sleeping so much and our suspicions that he might be pregnant.
“Yep, that sounds exactly the way David was when pregnant with Ollie, only he…”
Maddox stopped talking when Ben charged up the steps and straight past us without a look, into the house, not even pausing to close the front door behind him. A couple of seconds later, sounds of retching carried to our ears.
“…threw up all the time,” Maddox finished his sentence.
David and Jackson hurried up the porch steps.
“Is Ben okay?” David asked.
“Sounds like the last thing he ate is coming back up,” Maddox said. “Could be he’s pregnant.”
Both David’s and Jackson’s faces lit up.
David laughed and poked Maddox’s arm. “Wow, that means you’re getting a new aunt or uncle, Maddox.”