The hover pod drifted down the airway making its way to Mac’s little town on the other side of the planet. He should have taken the aircraft to reduce travelling time, but he didn’t want to seem like he was spending state funds inappropriately. The trip was already questionable. He could have sent one of the council officers to take care of the complaint, but he’d found reasons why he had to go.
“The public wants answers. And I’m trying to find them.” Deltta shrugged. “The complaint sounded urgent enough for me to leave everything and attend to it. We can’t have omegas starving in commune houses when the council forced them there. There are already questions raised about the commune houses. This matter can’t get out.”
Yarr nodded, a sly smile pulling at his lips.
Fuck. He didn’t buy it.
“This has nothing to do with a certain omega.”
“It does,” Deltta said honestly.
He wasn’t going to deny it. Mac was the sole reason he was going there. He was tired of being ignored. He’d given him enough time to think things over. He’d tried not to push him, but enough was enough.
“He and I need to talk.”
“You should have connected with him.”
“I should have. But I feel we need to have this conversation in person.” He couldn’t reject him when they talked in person, Deltta thought. That was his biggest fear - Mac refusing to bond with him.
Finding him in Micha’s office had rattled him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he hadn’t stopped and thought about what Mac wanted…truly wanted; look beyond his excuses to what he wasn't saying. That bullshit about his body might have been his way of letting him down gently. Deltta just assumed he would want him, want to bond with him.
What if he didn’t?
Chapter 24
Mac
Mac slotted the cylinders into the delivery bot and sealed it.
“Is that the last one?” Jamue asked, moving the other three delivery bots to the side. After their first order, they’ve had more orders from other leisure rooms in the capital. Their business was growing faster than he’d imagined. Mac looked around Faria’s war room – the beta had his serving bots in the room. The space was getting too small for them.
“We should think about getting a place. Faria still has to do business here, and we’re taking over.”
“I know.” Jamue sighed. “I think it’s time. We still have more orders to send out and prepare for the sampling event in the capital.”
Oh, yes, there was that.
Mac forgot about that…well not forgot more like shoved it to the back of his mind where he wouldn’t have to think about it until the time came for them to go to the capital. The capital meant seeing Deltta. And…Mac wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He could always avoid him, but he was Djohn's cousin. He’d see him somehow.
Or maybe Deltta won’t care that he was in the capital. Probably. Tears prickled his eyes; he blinked them away.
Focus on business. It’s the only thing you have, Mac told himself.
“We can ask him to sell us his distilling machines and pressure pumps. He’s not using them anyway.”
“Talk to him, but we have enough credit to buy new equipment. It’s always good to save some credit,” Jamue said excitedly. “Can you believe how far we’ve come? Our business is doing better than I thought.”
“Yeah, I know.” Mac sighed.
“You don’t sound happy.”
“I’m happy.”
He was happy. It was just that…Mac shook his head.
He wasn’t going to think about Deltta Kohle. He was living his life as the alpha king. He should do the same. If only he knew how to do that. The claiming mark was a glaring reminder of what they shared and what he couldn’t have. Their memories together wrapped around him and dragged him into his well of depression.
“Damn, I’m starving.”