“So what happened to my real mom?”
Ben’s jaw tenses, and he glances at the other shifters around us. “I think that’s something we should discuss in private.”
I’d completely forgotten we had an audience.
Beside me, Julien bristles. “My mate won’t be going anywhere ‘private’ with you. I don’t care who you say you are.”
Ben lifts his chin and meets my mate’s gaze. “Would you trust everyone in this room with his life?”
Mylife? Why would my mother’s identity be that important?
Julien studies my father—so sue me, I believe him—and the two of them have some sort of silent conversation.
“Everyone clear the room,” says Julien. Remy opens his mouth to protest. “I do trust you with my life, brother, but I want you to make sure everyone gives us privacy while I find out what’s going on.”
Remy nods and ushers everyone toward the kitchen. Julien leads me to the small office connected to the living room. My father follows and Julien shuts the door once we’re all inside.
“Well?” says Julien impatiently. “Explain.”
Ben bites at his lower lip. “How much do you know about male omegas?”
That’s a tangent I wasn’t expecting. Julien and I share a look.
“Not much,” says Julien. “My brother has done some general research, but the information is sparse, and some of what he’s found out has been contradictory.”
Ben stares at me as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a wallet. He removes a creased photo and hands it to me. In the picture, a younger version of the man in front of me has his arms around a smaller person—a visibly pregnantmaleperson.
“You didn’t have a mother,” says Ben. “Your omega father is the one who carried you.”
Thirty-Five
Keir
Idon’tknowthatI ever really understood what it meant to have your mind blown, but I damn sure do now. The idea that male omegas—presumably includingme—can get pregnant is outlandish enough that my head feels like it might explode as my brain struggles to process this new information.
It’s not going very well.
My mind is nothing but a mess of ‘does not compute’ and ‘error 404: words not found.’
I press my palms against my eyes hard enough that I’m seeing stars and take a long, deep breath, trying to calm the jumble of half-finished thoughts racing around my head so I can find at least a semi-coherent reaction.
That’s not…
How would…
What if…
Does that mean…
Of course, of all the things I could ask, the first question to make it past my lips is: “Where did I comeout?”
In my defense, it’s a perfectly valid question and, being a male omega myself, a very concerning one. Unless my… other father had something I don’t, there’s only one exit route I can think of.
Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick.
I run to the trashcan beside Julien’s desk, fall to my knees, and quickly lose my breakfast among the various pieces of office detritus. Once there’s nothing left in my stomach, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and rise onto shaky legs as I turn to face Ben. He still hasn’t answered my question and I’m not sure I want to think about why.
“Well?” I ask, my voice tight with anxiety.
